Jan. 9
Senior Pairs Free Program
I have to say that if you are the type that is offended by people in your surroundings saying, 'My child is a skater', 'I'm a skater' or 'I coach skaters', then Nationals is probably not the preferred setting for you. And, I am not talking about these comments made by Galina Cohen, Sasha Cohen or Robin Wagner, respectively. I'm referring to people in the audience seated around you, that you won't recognize from TV or pictures or by name, making these statements for all to hear and draw interest. And even engaging some people into conversation by saying, 'Does my daughter look like a skater? Because she skates,' and so on. It's just a place where people from all levels of the skating World in the United States like to congregate. And, it's a place where groups like to go down and cheer their local skaters.
But yet, you can find the most zealous skating fans to those people that just came in because they saw Philips Arena was having an ice skating event who may not know the precise differences between pair skating and ice dancing. And, perhaps, know no other skaters by name except Michelle Kwan. It's just fun to have diverse skating backgrounds there.
Brandi Sandoval/Laureano Ibarra
skated to West Side Story
double twist
side by side triple jumps
side by side double axels into more side by side double jumps
press lift
fell
slow part opens There's a Place for Us
throw triple jump
another press lift - Brandi in a sitting position
spiral sequence
side by side double axels - she two footed the landing
death spiral
I Like to Be in America ensued
star lift that goes to a one handed lift
3.8 - 4.0
Lindsay Rogeness/Brian Rogeness
piano music
triple twist - caught a little after landing on the ice
throw double axel
side by side double jumps
press lift - went briefly to one hand on his part
pair spin
circular footwork
throw double loop
spiral sequence
press lift - Lindsay in sitting position and high in the air
side by side camel spins - out of synch and a little slow
death spiral
side by side double jumps into side by side double jumps - turned out on the landing a little
press lift into laying position for Lindsay
closing pose had a nice position of stretch and lean
3.2 - 3.7
Jacqueline Mattson/Jason Heffron
press lift
fell on throw triple jump - right in front of the judges' row
side by side camel spins
side by side double axels
pair spin
fell on throw triple jump
hand to hip lift
another hand to hip lift
Rohene Ward was seated in the audience clapping really hard on nearly every element they did. It was fun. It is probably known that I like lively cheering at skating events.
3.3 - 3.9
Janice Mayne/Michael Modro
triple twist
throw triple jump
side by side jumps - both fell
throw jump - she touched a hand down on the landing
lift
side by side jumps - he fell
side by side double jumps
death spiral
lift
pair spin
3.4 - 3.9
Colette Appel/Lee Harris
hand to hip lift
throw triple jump - a lot of lean in the air, great save on the landing
double twist
side by side double loops
press lift
double spread eagle
pair spin
nice soft section with lunges and spirals
throw double jump
sit lift
side by side camel spins
fell on first set of side by side double jumps into side by side double jumps
death spiral
3.8 - 4.5
Amy Howerton/Steven Pottenger
music sounds like a music box
press lift - nice back positions by her
side by side triple jumps - she doubled the jump
throw triple jump - two footed landing
double twist
hand to hip lift with Amy laying on her back in the air - this lift came down early and they barely averted a fall
throw jump - she fell
side by side double axels - singled by her
star lift
side by side double lutzes into side by side double jumps
pair spin - ends with Amy in an upside down position and him holding her extended upward free leg
death spiral
3.4 - 4.0
Tiffany Sfikas/Jeffrey Weiss
double twist
side by side jumps - she fell
throw jump - fell right in front of the judges
side by side sit spins
hand to hand lift - went to a one handed lift and had a flipping dismount
split jumps
side by side single jumps into side by side double jumps
pair spin
lift where he held her upside down by one of her legs
throw double jump
lift where he held her sideways - had a sweeping dismount
hand to hip lift
death spiral
3.9 - 4.5
Tiffany Vise/Derek Trent
She's the sister of novice ladies skater Brittany Vise who also skated in the Pairs Free Program. I enjoyed both of the Vise sisters in their pairs.
triple twist
side by side double jumps into side by side double jumps - they skated in a circle in between this jump set
press lift
fell on throw triple jump
press lift with changes of position
throw double jump
side by side double jumps
double spiral - nice
she did the splits on the ice in the spiral sequence before a lift
side by side spins - they rotated in opposite directions from each other
hand to hip lift - a little trouble on the exit, rough
death spiral
pair spin - included him lifting her during the spin
3.7 - 4.7
Emma Phibbs/Michael McPherson
side by side triples - he turned out the landing
triple twist
triple throw jump - two footed landing
press lift
side by side double axels - hand touched down by both
throw triple jump - under-rotated and two footed landing
lift - she was upside down for a long time
side by side spins
lift with changing positions
death spiral
4.3 - 4.7
Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig
noticeably fast skating
triple twist
lift with a flipping dismount
fell on throw triple jump
throw triple jump - fell on landing
side by side double jumps
spiral sequence
death spiral
star lift - went to a one handed lift
She has nice positions in the lifts.
4.4 - 5.1
Larisa Spielberg/Craig Joeright
side by side double axels - she stepped out of the landing
side by side double jumps - she did not recuperate in time from element one to attempt this
side by side triple jumps - she fell
triple twist - nice height
throw triple jump
side by side spins - out of synch
lifts nice
throw triple jump
death spiral
hand to hip lift - started like a throw twist, ended with Larisa in a standing position
star lift - she exited over his back
spiral sequence
straight line footwork
4.8 - 5.3
Kristen Roth/Steve Hartsell
side by side triple jumps - she did a double
he was ahead of her in position in the beginning choreography
triple twist
side by side double axels - she stepped out of the landing
side by side double jumps
press lift - went to a one handed lift
throw triple jump - not enough distance, she fell on the landing
side by side camels to sit spins - nice unison
double spiral that turned into a pair spin
sit lift
throw triple jump - tilted forward on the landing
death spiral
press lift
death spiral
4.2 - 4.7
Tiffany Stiegler/Bert Cording
triple twist - effortless
fell on triple throw
side by side double jumps - he touched a hand down on the landing
hand to hip lift - exit was a little rough
side by side double axels - two footed landing by her
side by side double jumps
spiral sequence
fell on throw triple jump
side by side camel spins to sit spins - showed nice posture by Tiffany
hand to hip lift turned into an upside down carry lift - held in the air a long time
press lift - became a one handed lift
hand to hip lift
death spiral
This team showed some promise. I was glad to see Tiffany on the ice since I have watched and enjoyed her skating when she skated with her brother Johnny. She hits beautiful positions in her skating moves and shows ballet influence.
4.3 - 5.0
Marcy Hinzmann/Aaron Parchem
triple twist - caught a little bit on his shoulder
side by side triple jumps - she fell
press lift
hand to hip lift
throw triple jump - she touched a hand down on the landing
side by side spins - they exited out of synch
throw triple jump
side by side double jumps into side by side double jumps
press lift
pair spin
lift
spiral sequence
This team had a different projection on the ice than Aaron Parchem and his former partner Stephanie Kalesavich. I felt he and Stephanie matched each other a little better stylistically and had a softer, more graceful appeal.
4.6 - 5.2
Laura Handy/Jeremy Allen
double twist
side by side triple jumps - she touched a hand down
side by side double jumps
throw triple jump
hand to hip lift with changing positions
side by side camel spins
spiral sequence
side by side triple jumps - she did a double
press lift - became a one handed upside down lift, he was also on one foot
throw triple jump - leaned forward on the landing
press lift with interesting dismount
death spiral
4.8 - 5.3
Brittany Vise/Nicholas Kole
side by side triple jumps
throw triple jumps - hand appeared to have touched down
triple twist - caught after she landed on the ice
side by side sit spins - out of synch at the end
press lift - went to a one handed lift
side by side double axels into side by side double jumps
hand to hip lift
fell on throw triple jump
circular footwork - good unison
lift - trouble going up
death spiral - almost came to a stop at the end
They shared a long hug at the end. They looked disappointed. I thought they had a nice style on the ice together and were well-matched.
4.5 - 5.2
Kathryn Orscher/Garrett Lucash
triple twist
side by side triple jumps into double jumps
throw triple jump - two footed landing
side by side double axels - he popped it
press lift
spiral sequence
hand to hip lift
death spiral - her hair touched the ice
throw triple jump
death spiral
circular footwork
hand to hip lift
They had a long, slow hug at the end.
5.3 - 5.5
Danielle Hartsell was seen sitting in the audience. Her brother Steve Hartsell and his partner Kristen Roth came into the stands and sat with Danielle. Coach Jason Dungjen was sitting behind them.
Also sitting in the audience, I saw novice ice dancer Adrienne Koob-Doddy and elsewhere novice ice dancer Evan Bates. Andrea Gardiner and Rohene Ward are friends and were seen walking together in the area.
Rena Inoue/John Baldwin, Jr.
side by side triple jumps - he did a double
moves that reminded me of barrel rolls
side by side double axels
side by side triple jumps - he fell, she two-footed the landing
fell on throw triple jump
lasso lift
death spiral
double spiral that became a pair spin
hand to waist lift with Rena in a kneeling position in the air
double spread eagles - facing each other
lift where she was standing and then leaned forward at her waist - held a long time
throw triple jump
side by side sit spins
lift - exited a little early
death spiral
Rena has nice positions, especially her back in the lifts. I was pleased that they attempted unique lifts and did not just do the standard press lifts and those we saw several times earlier in the night. The slower, softer part in the middle of the program gives a nice change of pace.
5.2 - 5.7
Jennifer Don/Jonathon Hunt
triple twist - caught in the air
side by side triple jumps - she did a double
side by side double jumps
throw triple jump
upside down lift - drew ah's from the crowd
side by side double jumps
throw triple jump
more cool lifts
lift - aborted and did not go up into the air
They were clearly the crowd favorites and received a partial standing ovation. I think Don's upbeat skating personality had a charm with the audience. The audience booed the marks when it was revealed that Don/Hunt had fallen into third place at that stage of the competition.
5.2 - 5.6
Tiffany Scott/Philip Dulebohn
death spiral
side by side triple jumps - he fell
side by side double jumps - he did not recuperate enough from the fall to attempt his
triple twist
press lift - went to one handed lift, had a flipping dismount
throw triple jump
lift - aborted, did not go up
side by side camel spins to sit spins - out of synch
he picked her up from the spiral position she held
throw single jump
side by side double axels
pair spin - slow, but lasted several revolutions
straight line footwork
press lift
death spiral
Some boos went up from the audience when it was revealed that Scott/Dulebohn had placed ahead of Don/Hunt. I actually felt a little bad for Scott/Dulebohn because the booing was loud enough for them to hear.
5.1 - 5.7
So, as I typed this I was reminded what it felt like to be there that night. On the technical side, there was no team that had fewer than two mistakes, and most of them had many more than that. Let me set the stage for how viewing a pair competition live differs from watching on television. And still, my seat for that night was in the back rows of the lower level. Television, to me, just doesn't come across this intensely. I was on pins and needles the entire time. It was just very nerve-racking and looked dangerous. When falls kept happening and lifts kept being aborted and not going up or going up very labored, it was like a domino effect happening to all the skaters. The audience spent a lot of time sighing and saying 'oh'. The surety in the execution of the elements was lacking.
My take and opinion on what could improve U.S. pairs. And, ironically, it has nothing to do with technical prowess. Ballet, ballet, ballet. And, did I mention ballet? I would have a young pair skater doing ballet more than even time spent skating or practicing on the ice. Ballet exposure would begin at a young age, so it could cultivate over time. Pairs that are a step above and set apart from the norm have maturity, grace, unison, and flow that can be derived from ballet training. In addition, of course, partners, that are established skaters, in the U.S. do have to make investments in each other and stay together sometimes. This too might aid unison and sureness of elements as well as style development. Judges do look at past records and past placements, so if a skater is often in the first season of skating with a new partner, raising in the ranks may be an upward climb.
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