Jan. 9
Senior Free Dance
Let's dance. So, what fuels my fascination with ice dancing and makes it of such interest to me. The three R's sum up what I look for most in ice dancing.
Rhythm - In ice dance, it is important that the team can skate to the beat of the selected music. I find this more true to ice dancing than in single skating and pair skating. Because single skating and pair skating have so many jumps, tricks and other elements to look for, skating that is not on beat does not have as much of an impact. It's no secret that I enjoy compulsory dances, and timing is also one of the means by which those dances are evaluated. Dancers that can utilize beats of the music to enhance the musicality of the program are a treat to behold.
Romance - Ice dancing reminds me a bit of ballroom dancing. And, in ballroom dancing, there is usually a flirtatious manner of movement and an air of reciprocal attraction between the partners. This holds true for my preferred version of ice dancing. Of course, some program themes are more romantic than other themes. But, a team that can portray, whether it stems from real life or imaginary conditions, passion and a connection between partners has a crucial capability that contributes to expression. Also, the maturity of ice dancers, as sometimes opposed to the other disciplines, in the dresses/costumes, make-up and hairstyles that are worn, and generally more advanced age of elite level ice dancers comes into play. More mature skaters can be equated with those who portray more grown up feelings and emotions. I also feel a connection between partners aids pair skaters' presentation. But, the close proximity required of the dancers, including the encouragement of dance holds that are used and restrictions on how long the partners can be separated, lends essence of more of a romance factor in ice dancing.
Relate - This is in reference to the music selection or theme ice dancers use. Relating the moves and style of the program to whatever music theme chosen is important for presentation. Everything from highlights that fit and make sense to the way that head, arm, and leg movements are expressed can be utilized to interpret the flavor of the music. Teams that are able to portray all moods of the spectrum, for example - from happy to sad, have an advantage. So, if the compulsory is happy/lively (waltz, polka) and the free dance is dramatic, they will have the diversity to pull off multiple stages of the dance competition. Relating can also be a measure of the creativity of a team. Dancers that incorporate innovative moves and effective choreography with the theme draw interest and help the audience to conceptualize the program.
Rebecca Magerovskiy/Sergey Magerovskiy
They wore all black formal costumes. They danced to James Bond music that included a vocal of The World Is Not Enough. I was getting settled back after the program break and don't have many notes. Those in our seating area were trying to figure out if there were married to each other or brother and sister given that they have the same last name. We decided they didn't look enough like each other and later learned that they are married to each other. Of the three R's, I would say the Magerovskiys were probably best at relate. They wore James Bond-like costumes and displayed energetic moves in the program.
3.8 - 4.5
Alexandra Snyder/Nick Traxler
The musical selection is All That Jazz. Theirs was the usual jazz program. This is probably the most popular music type beside the Latin programs. The last lift of their dance drew some oo's and ah's from the audience. I would pick relate for them as well because their moves fit a jazz program.
3.4 - 4.5
Laura Munana/Luke Munana
The announcer pronounced the last name like MOON-YAH-NUH. Given their first names, those in our seating area believed their mother was possibly a daytime TV fan in the 1970's.
They danced to Asian music - with an emblem on the back of his costume. It was intense music. They were both strong and had very unique highlights. There was a nice upside down lift. He also flipped her from a low glide position to up in front of him as she hung from his arms and he held her up from below the shoulders. The strength of the Munanas is definitely relate to the music. They had moves that were in keeping with their Asian music theme. They also showed creativity in the interesting and different highlights.
3.5 - 4.8
Julia Rey/Philipp Rey
Another same name team. Those in the area were again trying to figure out if they were brother and sister as they did not really resemble each other. I later learned they are brother and sister and had previously skated for Germany. Their costumes were very European, as far as flair for the interesting. Hers included a background of the nude colored fabric on the shirt portion and hanging things from the skirt part. They skated to Spente Le Stelle, dramatic music, so the dramatic stylings were in place. Still, I had hoped they could push the intensity of their expressions a bit more. They had the right energy in their body movements. They skated a little farther apart from each other. I'm a broken record, the Reys are relate as well. They did give effort to the expression.
4.1 - 4.9
Lydia Manon/Ryan O'Meara
Someone said 'whoa' when they saw her make up, as the affect was noticeable even from a distance. But, it made sense when they started skating to the music of Cabaret. They began with a spin. They put their heads together in the choreography. They did fun looking slides on the ice. They did a dance spin. She hung from his neck in some moves. Money Makes the World Go Round enticed the audience into clapping along to the dance. They did a lift while he was in a spread eagle position. They did a lift where she was stretched horizontally and showed good extension. The straight line sequence featured turning in each other's arms. They finished with Life Is A Cabaret. I thought they had more interesting connections in their holds than the previous teams. This was the crowd pleasing dance of the evening. They did relate well because of how they brought the Cabaret music to life and made it sing.
4.5 - 5.2
Hilary Gibbons/Justin Pekarek
They skated to Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. They did a nice spread eagle lift and then another spread eagle lift with Justin in a lower position. They did straight line footwork. A spin brought them into a final pose. They shared a kiss at the end. They received a nice round of applause. I would have to give it to them on romance. They were skating to Romeo and Juliet after all and didn't do a bad job at romantic holds.
4.5 - 5.4
Loren Galler-Rabinowitz/David Mitchell
They did a nice spread eagle lift where he dipped her between his legs. They were a little slow in spots. They executed a lift where she was in a standing position. There was another spread eagle lift. They did circular footwork. Their music score has stops for words spoken in Spanish. They go on with more lifts. The twizzles were a little bit out of synch. They did a nice dance spin. They showed strength in a horizontal lift that reversed its direction before he set her down. They are a nice young team, and I look forward to seeing more from them. It's a toss up between romance and relate because I can see potential for them to develop in both areas.
4.9 - 5.6
Christie Moxley/Aleksandre Kirsanov
Their music is Charlie Chaplin. They started with a spin. In the twizzles, she almost got off balance. He carried her while he did a spread eagle. They put their heads together while walking in the choreography. The song Smile brings on a slower part with some nice spins. They went back to the Charlie character with energetic hops in the choreography. There were more clever Charlie-isms by putting their heads together in the circular footwork sequence. I will give them a rare rhthym because of the way they could do tricks like putting heads together and still doing a circular sequence. And, the Chaplin walking and elements made sense with the beats in the music score. Of course, they relate to the music theme as well.
4.7 - 5.5
Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto
Theirs is a West Side Story music medley. They took a moment to get into their starting pose. They did a lift and then a spin on one foot. The circular footwork was busy. They had a lift from Ben in a low glide position. On the twizzles, he appeared to touch a foot down a little toward the last part. The slower part featured a spin with Ben in low positions. They did lifts from a spread eagle position and then a shoot the duck position. They had an energetic swinging lift. They received a partial standing ovation, but as far as crowd appeal I think some preferred Manon and O'Meara.
5.7 - 5.9
I haven't received much from Belbin and Agosto's free dances of the last two years. Which is sort of disappointing because I really saw promise in them with the Sarajevo free dance from the 2001-2002 season. Maybe I prefer the more serious, dramatic themes. Although Ben wears a torn shirt with blood on it in the West Side Story free dance, I don't feel much matching drama or differing expression, particular facial, emitted in the dance from them. The program layout looks challenging technically, but I don't feel it carries a story or makes a creative statement. I also feel they have yet to develop more the romance, maturity, bodyline and positions of some of the elite world senior teams. I often can picture them doing great with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and other Disney and older classic films (and yes I do watch and enjoy several Disneys ). I have thought about a free dance done as a waltz to the song that goes I know you, I've walked with you once upon a dream from Sleeping Beauty. I just hadn't realized who all could tackle it. Some well-done lighter pieces can contribute to the assortment of dances for those with varied taste. Sometimes, I hear a song on the radio or from a movie score and think about which of the dance teams I could see dancing to that. Now for original dances of Belbin/Agosto, I certainly enjoyed last year's to waltz and polka.
Kendra Goodwin/Brent Bommentre
They danced to tango music and probably utilized the movements the best of those that tangoed here. They included closed position holds, leg curls and a little clapping in the tango expression. They had a nice diagonal footwork sequence with lunges and swinging leg movements. They executed a lift with Kendra going from a standing position to a horizontal position. More lifts followed with the tango flavor and intensity. They twizzled. There was a lift with her leg extended and resting on his shoulder. They did a lift where Brent flipped Kendra from an upside down splits to a position up by his shoulders. They had a lift with Kendra swinging while holding her arms around his waist. They make an attractive couple and showed promise with the expression side as well as nice moves and highlights. I'll give them a relate because of the stand out tango expression, but I also realize they have potential to display a romance factor.
4.9 - 5.6
Melissa Gregory/Denis Petukhov
Those in the area commented that Melissa and Denis have matching hairdos. They opened with a lift, a spin and fast twizzles. He lunged forward with a knee to the ice while they turned. They did circular footwork and a rotational lift. They did a balance move where she was leaning on his knees with her feet lifted off of the ice. They did an upside down lift in which he was skating on one leg. They executed a spread eagle lift where she went to an upside down position. They had double spread eagles where they faced in the same direction, Denis behind Melissa. They did a spin and had variety in the straight line footwork moves. They did a second set of twizzles. Denis kicked his leg up in the footwork right in front of the judges' section. The final move was a lift with many changes of position. Theirs was a dramatic, mature performance. I find that their program and costumes remind me of Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov although I do like both teams' dances. A romance is theirs due to some of the holds in the dance and how much their program stood out as far as maturity.
5.2 - 5.8
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