Monday, March 24 - Pairs Short Program
The Hardest Thing
I attempted to go back to my room during the short break between the end of Men Qualifying A and the Opening Ceremony lead in to the Pairs Short Program. I had to switch booklets and make a decision on what kind of stuffed animals I would try to smuggle in. I had seen a posting on the Worlds web site before I left prohibiting the bringing of stuffed animals, flowers, T-shirts or any items into the MCI Center to be thrown on the ice for the skaters. I had no idea whether or not they would be strict with this policy or how far they were going to go in searching the spectators for the night events. Their claim was that items would be available for sale inside the center. I was well prepared with the choice of a medium sized stuffed animal or a beanie sized stuff animal that I could give to all of my favorites. I had packed them into my suitcase and thought, Oh well, I'll see what happens. I decided on the beanies for Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov that I could fit into the pockets of my coat. I had found two little adorable jungle animals in a card and gifts store before I left: a tiger and a male lion with a mini mane. I'm a grown woman, but I still find cuteness in stuffed animals.
I had planned to leave the hotel thirty minutes prior to the 7:00 p.m. start, which was plenty of time to walk to the arena and get seated. What do you know, but as soon as the Chinatown arch comes into view, I saw that there was an extremely long line. It extended over two blocks and even turned a corner down a side street to prevent the line from being in the middle of the street and traffic. It was unbelievable. I found the end of the line, and they must have opened up another screening area because a new entrance was opened around the outside of the McDonalds. It was not the entrance we had been using for the practices. Once I got to the gate, I discovered the security check was no different than practices. Fit your purse in the wooden box slot, open up the pouches so they can skim through it, hear the lecture about how you can't turn on the flash on that camera or it will be confiscated, hand your ticket to the ticket collector and enter. The long line must have been on the sheer volume of people coming all at once versus the practices where people came and went all throughout the day.
By the time I passed through the main gate, I could hear the music and peek through the curtains to see that the arena had exhibition lighting. The Opening Ceremony had already begun. And, what am I doing? I'm looking for my purple pillow that I had been using on the seatbacks. Once I got to my room after practices, I had noticed the pillow was not with me, and I had left it at the Men Qualifying. So, I went to the section I had been sitting in and was looking under the seats of that row. Luckily, the section wasn't heavily populated so not that many people were mad at me for digging around at such an inopportune time. Children bearing flags of different countries circled the rink. Derrick Delmore was being announced over the loudspeaker as he skates locally. It also seems like I heard Jennifer Don and Jonathon Hunt announced as guest skaters. Then, a choir began to sing. They sounded good actually, but I'm still obsessing over the pillow. I went to Guest Services and reported it missing to Lost and Found since a cleaning crew had come through after the Men Qualifying rounds, but they had no idea of it. To kill two birds with one stone at Guest Services, I wanted to collect a start order. So, I picked one up. I was surprised to see Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov had drawn to skate last. So, then my next goal is to find a seat closer to the ice where I'll be better able to distribute the stuffed animals and the folder of well wishes and encouragements I had for them. You see, the section I was assigned to did not have direct access to the ice surface, even though it was considered a lower bowl ticket. I would have had to have a good baseball arm to through anything down to the ice, and a good throwing arm I don't possess. My assigned section was one section over and up from the section next to Kiss & Cry where I had sat for practices and seen Bin Yao and Richard Gauthier earlier in the week. Somehow, I slipped down into that lower section. The seating attendant for that section must have been on break. I wound up about eight rows back of the boards that were on the edge of Kiss & Cry entrance where I remained for the rest of the evening. It wasn't completely crowded, and no one came to claim that seat. In fact, there were some other empty seats nearby that I had mapped a route to in the event that someone should come to claim where I sat. However, by the time I got down there, the Opening Ceremony was completely over, and I had been curious as to what such a ceremony included.
My notes on the Pairs Short Program.
Olga Boguslavska and Andrei Brovenko of Latvia - Cornish Rhapsody:
side by side triples - touch down by Andrei
double twist
throw double
sit change sit spin - exit out of unison
hand to hip star lift
double spiral - she held her boot behind her head in a spiral position and he joined her
death spiral
combination spin
Tech: 3.1-3.5
Pres: 3.6-3.9
Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis of France - La Strada (Circus music):
colorful costumes - Sarah in red, pink, green
side by side triples
double twist - nice ripple effect with Sarah's skirt
throw triple
death spiral
side by side spins - could hear him counting out loud
spiral sequence - she did juggling during it
star lift - swinging across his back for dismount
combination spin
Entertaining program. They suffered from skating second, an early draw, and the reserving of judges' marks for later skaters. They could have placed higher.
Tech: 4.9-5.4
Pres: 5.2-5.6
Maria Guerassimenko and Vladimir Futas of Slovak Republic - Music by Rachmaninov:
double twist
throw double - touch down by Maria
camel to sit change sit spin - interesting position at the ending
star lift - went to one handed lift
spiral sequence - he lifted her while she was in a spiral position and set her down
death spiral
combination spin - transitions a bit rough
She has a nice quality to her skating. Looks like Russian pair skating school.
Tech: 3.5-4.4
Pres: 4.0-4.6
Anabelle Langlois and Patrice Archetto of Canada - Harlem Nocturne:
I think this was when somebody from the upper levels started yelling out 'Let's Go Canada!' and continued as such for many Canadian skaters throughout the week as they took the ice.
throw triple
double twist
side by side triples
sit change sit spin - slightly off sync at the exit
combination spin with him holding on to her leg
spiral sequence
star lift
death spiral
Anabelle was watching replays on the Jumbotron before going to sit down in Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 4.9-5.6
Pres: 4.9-5.6
Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek of Poland - Lord of the Rings soundtrack:
side by side triple toe loops
throw triple - she squeaked out the landing
camel to sit change sit spin
double twist
spiral sequence - nice double spread eagle position and him holding on to her leg
soft part in the choreography
combination spin - good
star lift with somersault entrance - went to one handed lift
death spiral
They gave each other a long hug at the end and a kiss.
Tech: 5.4-5.6
Pres: 5.3-5.6
Marina Aganina and Artem Knyazev of Uzbekistan - Dance Diabolique:
side by side triples - fall by Marina
double twist - nice leg extensions before execution
throw triple - fall by Marina
star lift - went to one handed lift
side by side camels - out of sync
spiral sequence - he tripped during it
death spiral
combination spin
There were a lot of mistakes. Gasps by the audience on the falls.
Tech: 2.7-3.5
Pres: 3.7-4.4
Kathryn Orscher and Garrett Lucash of the U.S.A. - Quidam from Cirque du Soleil:
double twist
side by side triples
throw triple
side by side spins
star lift - went to one hand
death spiral
combo spin
Audience reacts. Presentation marks surprisingly high.
Tech: 4.3-5.4
Pres: 4.6-5.5
Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola of Czech Republic - Bandita soundtrack:
side by side triples - confident
double twist
he pumped her up and down to heartbeats in the music
throw triple
side by side spins - good
star lift - nice
death spiral
spiral sequence - good flexibility for her as she holds her foot in front by her shoulders
combo spin
ended to more heartbeats of the music
They were happy. She smiled big and hugged the coach. I tend to agree with the higher marks here.
Tech: 4.8-5.4
Pres: 4.8-5.6
Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang of China - Victory:
throw triple - aggressive and high
side by side triples - confident and in sync with takeoff and landing
star lift with changing positions throughout - her legs could have more stretch
spiral sequence
death spiral
she did a little dancing
combo spin - good
double twist - high
Tech: 4.7-5.7
Pres: 4.7-5.7
Warm Up for Group 4: Jacinthe Lariviere and Lenny Faustino almost collided with Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Markuntsov. Lenny took Yuko by the hips to steady her and keep from running into her. I noticed Tatiana Totmianina had bandaging wrapped around her knee.
I couldn't take my eyes off Yuko Kawaguchi. She is like a music box ballerina. The positions that she has, even in warm up, are very graceful. Tamara Moskvina's influence has facilitated improvement every year.
Jacinthe Lariviere and Lenny Faustino of Canada - Where's Bubba?:
jazzy music
double twist
side by side triples - fall by Jacinthe
spiral sequence
side by side spins - out of sync
star lift that moved to interesting positions
She slapped his cheeks at the end as part of the final pose.
Tech: 4.0-4.9
Pres: 4.4-5.3
Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia - Morning/In the Hall of the Mountain King:
combo spin - low positions
spiral sequence
throw triple loop - very smooth
side by side triples
side by side spins - perfect unison
some smiling by Tatiana
double twist - high
star lift - went to one hand and they exited quickly
music speeds up as they went into death spiral
They shared a long hug at the end.
Tech: 5.7-5.8
Pres: 5.8-5.9
Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Markuntsov of Japan - Spring Water:
death spiral
double twist - she began rotations once in the air
side by side triples
throw triple - big smile on Yuko's face at the landing
combo spin - low and stretched out position
star lift - went to one hand and she was in diving down position at the exit
spiral sequence - stretched positions, but I've seen their transitions smoother
combo spin - showed more flexibility
I'd never seen Yuko so happy. After the ending pose, she hopped directly into Alexander's arms. He seemed kind of surprised, but he lifted her off the ice in the hug and smiled. The audience booed the unreasonably low marks. Jumbotron showed Artur Dmitriev, another skater of Moskvina, for a long while sitting somewhere in the audience after their skate.
Tech: 4.4-5.6
Pres: 4.3-5.7
Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn of U.S.A. - Heartbreak Hotel:
side by side triple toe loops - step out by Philip
star lift - went up slowly
throw triple salchow
double twist
spiral sequence
side by side spins
combo spin - awkward transitions and leg line doesn't match
Tech: 4.5-5.3
Pres: 4.8-5.5
Eva Marie Fitze and Rico Rex of Germany - Played-A-Life by Safri Duo:
opening pose held for several seconds at the music's beginning
side by side triples
double twist
techno music with heavy drums
throw triple
spiral sequence - positions could be held longer
star lift
side by side spin - Rico's camel a little shaky
death spiral
combo spin
reached ending pose too early
They hugged at the end. They waved and sent greetings to friends in Kiss & Cry. They had plenty of time to do so. There was a technical glitch with the scoring after their skate. It took several minutes for the marks to come up, and two technical people went over to help some judges with their laptops. The Jumbotron focused in on one of the judge's screens, and the audience laughed because of the secret computer and anonymous judging thing. The Jumbotron quickly changed after the crowd reaction and filmed something else.
Tech: 4.0-5.0
Pres: 4.2-5.1
Diana Rennik and Aleksei Saks of Estonia - Feet of Flames:
purple aluminum foil material dress for her, matching purple foil top and black pants for him
another music selection with heavy drumbeats
hopped back and forth in the choreography
side by side doubles
throw triple
star lift
spiral sequence
side by side spins - out of sync
death spiral
They had a nice hug and smiles at the end.
Tech: 3.4-4.0
Pres: 3.8-4.4
Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China - Illumination:
elegant hand motions from opening pose
side by side triples - doubled by Qing
throw triple - big
spiral sequence - he pulled her by the leg in spiral position
double twist
side by side spin - a little off sync, heard Jian counting
star lift - went to one handed lift
combo spin - nice ending position
This was very nice music with their soft style.
Tech: 4.9-5.6
Pres: 5.2-5.8
Tatiana Volosozhar and Petro Kharchenko of Ukraine - Saltarello from Secret Garden:
side by side triples - fall by Petro, Tatiana almost tripped over him as he fell
double twist
throw triple - good distance covered
star lift - his hands out at the shoulder underscoring her position
side by side spin - a little slow
death spiral
combo spin - slow, but she has good extension
She had nice positions and style.
Tech: 3.8-4.8
Pres: 4.1-5.1
Warm Up for Group 6: Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov began with unison stroking, then they did individual elements. Maria did a scratch spin, single axel, double jump. Alexei did single axel, double jump and the camel to sit change sit spin. Together, they did a throw jump. Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao practiced the spiral step sequence.
Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China - Beethoven's Last Night:
he rolled her head around with his hand in the beginning
side by side triple toe loops
throw triple loop
he fell completely out of the beginning of the spin and could not get it back - audience gasped
double twist
spiral sequence
star lift - went to one handed lift
death spiral
combo spin - awkward change of positions - may be part of choreography
Tech: 5.4-5.7
Pres: 5.4-5.8
Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, Jr. of U.S.A. - Carmen:
double twist
side by side triples - doubled by John
throw triple salchow
star lift - went to one handed lift
side by side spins - interesting positions
double spiral opened spiral sequence
death spiral
combo spin
They received a standing ovation. The 5.9 mark is a huge surprise to them.
Tech: 4.3-5.6
Pres: 4.7-5.9
Julia Obertas and Alexei Sokolov of Russia - Summer of 42 soundtrack:
side by side triples
double twist
throw triple - fast takeoff
death spiral
star lift
spiral sequence
They were very fast, and she has such elegant positions and a strong back. I agree with the 5.7's here.
Tech: 5.3-5.7
Pres: 5.4-5.7
Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia - Blues Under the Rain soundtrack:
side by side triple toe loops
double twist
throw triple salchow
star lift with twist dismount
side by side camels to sit change sit spin
spiral sequence
death spiral
combo spin
Clean program! They tend to do well at Worlds. I don't typically like jazz music pair programs. But, the subtleness of the music suits their gentle style. Subdued applause as many people in the audience were exiting the building after their final pose. They were the final team of the night.
Tech: 5.4-5.8
Pres: 5.4-5.8
I had a 4 inch by 6 inch Russian flag and waved it for all three Russian teams as they took the ice. I wasn't sure if I'd be in for a hazing as I was in a pro-U.S. skaters section and among many American flags. The nation of my support did change for each discipline of the competition. But, I believed there would be enough people present supporting the American skaters.
My confession is that I'm an extremely shy person, and this was one of the most difficult things I had to do. I had to get up out of my seat, walk to the boards, draw the eyes of the people in the arena and potentially even some countries' television cameras and try to present my gifts to Maria and Alexei. I somehow made it to the boards and was standing there seeing if I could hand the gifts to them directly because I didn't know what was being done with items thrown on the ice. I did notice the throwing of stuffed animals, a rose, etc. on the ice from the Men Qualifying and earlier in the Pairs Short. But, flower girls were picking up the items and taking them backstage through the skater entrance to the ice and not directly giving them to the skaters sitting in Kiss & Cry. You see, there were two separate doors for the skaters at the competition: first - door to release the skaters to the ice from the backstage warm up area near the autograph wall, second - exit door to Kiss & Cry that is on the other side of the photographers' wall on the boards in front of the media booths. There was no room behind the photographers' wall for skaters to cross into Kiss & Cry, so they just made two separate entrances. Anyhow, I could see that the flower girls were coming from the release door and taking the ice gifts back through the release door and the items were not being visibly given to the skaters. So, in order to make sure they would actually receive the gifts, I would try to give it to them myself.
Well, Maria and Alexei forgot momentarily about the two separate entrances and were returning to the release door after their bows. I was waving the stuffed animals, but I was too shy to stand there and wait. That was when a backstage attendant pointed them back to the Kiss & Cry door, and I dropped the well wishes and encouragements folder on the ice. The folder made such a loud snap, crackle, pop on the ice surface, and I dropped the beanie lion and tiger as well. By the time I made it back to my seat, Maria was picking up the items. She looked up at me where I had just sat down, smiled and waved to me. I waved back. Then, as I collected my things, my make-up started irritating my eyes after the long day with my eyes open and trying to stay alert and fight sleep. I made the mistake of rubbing my eyes, which only made them more irritated, and people nearby that were leaving likely thought I was crying. I had felt horribly embarrassed and timid standing in the front and hoped I'd have the nerve to continue my planned distribution of gifts to my favorite skaters throughout the week.
And, now, for my overall thoughts on the short program: I thought it was a very competitive event, and there was a lot of strong skating and clean or nearly clean programs. Some ladies beside me were remarking that the short program is not as interesting because all the pairs are doing the same elements. Still, it is a good measure of the skating of each team. Other talk in the arena is how wide the range of judges' marks were throughout the whole event. One example is the overall range of 3.8-5.1 for the Ukranian team. I'm curious as to what would have happened with the top two positions if Hongbo had made the spin. At this point, it was hard to gauge the favorite to win it all. I really enjoyed seeing some of the lower ranked teams that are not shown often on U.S. television. My hands were somehow in better shape for clapping as I don't remember them hurting. Another footnote, after I watched the Pairs Short Program when I went home, I saw Velikova, Maria and Alexei's coach holding the stuffed animals for them in Kiss & Cry.
Upon my arrival at the hotel, I found droves of people actually forming a line to take the elevator. An elevator would fill up, the button would be pushed for another. As each elevator filled up, that many more people came through the lobby to wait for an elevator. So, the line never diminished. Ice dance coach Natalia Dubova walked up to the elevator area. She looked hesitant to get on and waited until some of them filled up and passed before attempting to get on.
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