Friday, March 28 - Ladies Short Program
Miss Consistency
For the Ladies Short, Kieran and I sat in the same area as in the original dance. Except this time we were in the center of the row and not as close to the Kiss & Cry wall. Some comments on some elements of the ladies' programs.
Miriam Manzano of Australia - Concerto de Aranjuez:
triple-double
triple flip - two footed landing
single jump
spiral
nice ending spin with leg extended backward to her ear level
Tech: 3.7-4.0
Pres: 4.3-4.4
Sarah Meier of Switzerland - Pure Mood/No Woman No Cry/Could You Be Loved:
triple-double
a little sassy in the choreography
interesting and good keyboard instrumental to reggae song No Woman No Cry
spiral
jump
She was visibly upset as she entered Kiss & Cry area to greet her coach. I guess she was hoping for better although I didn't feel it was a bad program at all.
Tech: 3.7-4.5
Pres: 4.4-4.9
Olga Vassiljeva of Estonia - Take Five:
triple-double
double axel - two footed landing
usual jazz program
Tech: 3.4-4.2
Pres: 4.0-4.5
Tugba Karademir of Turkey - Return to Sorrento:
opening jump
fell on first jump of combo, did double on the end
layback spin
double axel
camel spin
spin combo
spiral - did not hold the free leg steady
Tech: 2.8-3.7
Pres: 3.9-4.5
Mojca Kopac of Slovenia - Blues for Clock:
guitar music with a strong, definitive beat
turned out of the triple in the triple double combination
triple
Tech: 3.5-4.6
Pres: 4.3-5.1
Sara Falotico of Belgium - Tanguera/La Proprietaire:
triple-double - finished close to the boards
double - two footed landing
combo spin - ended with broken foot spin
straight line footwork - a lunge in the middle
layback spin - poor leg position, but good back position
spiral - position should be held longer
triple
Tech: 3.4-4.2
Pres: 4.0-4.5
Vanessa Giunchi of Italy - Indian Dance:
Egyptian music - very dramatic, little melody, mostly drums
double lutz
camel spin
spin with foot extended high in front
camel spin - right in front of our section
Tech: 2.7-3.8
Pres: 3.8-4.7
Idora Hegel of Croatia - Gypsy Songs:
triple lutz - stepped out of the landing
camel to sit to layback to sit combo spin that ended with leg extended high in front of her
Tech: 3.1-3.7
Pres: 4.1-4.6
Jenna McCorkell of Great Britain - Piano Concerto No. 1:
double axel
camel spin
layback spin with nice arm positions
notes getting more brief
Tech: 3.7-4.7
Pres: 4.3-5.5
Julia Lautowa of Austria - Harlem Nocturne:
jazzy music piece
a lot of shaking and shimmying in the choreography
Tech: 4.4-5.3
Pres: 4.7-5.3
Johanna Götesson of Sweden - La Comparsita:
double - two footed landing
triple - fell out of the landing
lunge
camel to sit to broken leg sit spin
spiral
Tech: 3.0-3.8
Pres: 4.0-4.6
Julia Sebestyen of Hungary - Hungarian Dance:
triple flip
triple-double
layback - low leg position
fell on straight stroking
backward spiral
catch foot forward spiral
donut to biellmann spin
Tech: 4.8-5.4
Pres: 5.0-5.5
Carolina Kostner of Italy - Classical piece:
wedding music
triple
triple-triple
camel with hands behind her back
spiral
double axel
combo spin
stroking could be smoother with more continuous flow
Tech: 5.3-5.7
Pres: 5.3-5.6
Dan Fang of China - Music by Secret Garden:
nice stretch on her spiral - held for a long time
layback spin - good leg position
I was paying so much attention to her presentation that I don't remember any of her jumps.
Tech: 4.6-5.4
Pres: 4.7-5.4
Anastasia Gimazetdinova of Uzbekistan - Cirque de Soleil:
opening triple - fell out of the landing
double-double
camel
double axel
Tech: 3.5-4.4
Pres: 4.2-5.2
Galina Maniachenko of Ukraine - Una Musica Brutal:
triple lutz-double - almost touched the boards
triple
Tech: 4.1-5.5
Pres: 4.3-5.6
Alisa Drei of Finland - The Gadfly soundtrack:
She motioned the Catholic cross - father, son, holy spirit before her name was announced.
layback spin - leg could be turned out more, but back position good and extended
camel spin
spiral
They took such a long time to reveal Alisa's marks. Joannie Rochette was on the ice warming up and was circling for what must have seemed like forever to her. During this time several skaters were revealed via the Jumbotron:
Lu Chen with a microphone in a media booth
Brian Boitano sitting next to Karen Kwan, Michelle's sister
Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow
Ilia Kulik and Ekaterina Gordeeva
Elvis Stojko
Naomi Lang and Vladimir Besedin
Dick Button at the media booth - Peggy Fleming doing rabbit ears behind his head
Tech: 4.0-5.0
Pres: 4.3-5.3
Joannie Rochette of Canada - Song from a Secret Garden:
She received a double hug from her coach on the way out to her starting position.
light music and gentle stroking
triple-double
triple
camel spin
double axel
spiral - forward to backward
camel to sit to camel to sit spin - travelling
lovely layback spin with nice hand and leg positions
Tech: 4.5-5.6
Pres: 5.0-5.4
Anne Sophie Calvez of France - Alegria:
triple flip-double (stepped out of double)
triple lutz - fell
awkward drop into sit spin
spiral sequence
layback spin
combo spin
She cried in the Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 3.5-4.5
Pres: 4.5-5.3
Ludmila Nelidina of Russia - The Last Opera:
nice St. Preux piano music selections
triple lutz-double
triple flip
lunge
loud blades on the ice, despite the music playing
camel spin
double axel
layback spin
catch foot spiral
combo spin included layback, camel, sit, backscratch
Tech: 4.5-5.4
Pres: 4.7-5.7
Shizuka Arakawa of Japan - Swan Lake:
triple-triple
triple
spiral sequence - a little wavering of the foot in one spiral
double axel
layback spin
straight line footwork with a lunge
slipped out of her entrance into the final spin (a la Van Der Perren) - it took her a second or two to get up
She was going so well until the final spin. People were stunned at the fall. She didn't seem to be taking it too hard, which was good. Her costume is larger than life in person. Those straps and feathers make it unique. I like it. I brought a 4 inch by 6 inch Japanese flag to wave for the Japanese ladies skating program, which is getting stronger by the year.
Tech: 4.2-5.5
Pres: 4.9-5.7
Sarah Hughes of U.S.A. - Cello Sonata in G Minor:
double axel
triple lutz-double (lutz rotations cheated)
triple flip
camel to layback to camel to sit change sit spin
circular footwork sequence looks unpolished in terms of positions and lack of flow
nice spiral
camel spin
layback with hands held up in a dome position above her head
She received a partial standing ovation. She does what is my favorite layback of any of the ladies. However, there were still jump rotation problems, and I have to echo the sentiments of those who say she is not fully ready as she has not competed much this year. But, these sentiments are by the standards of an Olympic champion, a title that she will be wearing from now on.
Tech: 4.8-5.6
Pres: 5.2-5.8
Yoshie Onda of Japan - Love in Slow Motion:
lovely sea blue dress with darker blue fringes
triple lutz-double (fell out of triple)
triple flip
double axel
camel spin
combo spin
spiral
layback spin
She completely lost the presentation spark I had seen in the practice. Her exhibition programs are nice as well. Perhaps she lets nerves get to her in competition.
Tech: 4.5-5.2
Pres: 4.9-5.5
Elena Liashenko of Ukraine - Apassionata:
triple lutz-double
triple
camel spin
spiral
double axel
lunge
combo spin
Tech: 5.0-5.7
Pres: 5.3-5.7
Viktoria Volchkova of Russia - Saint-Preux music:
double axel right at the start of the music
triple lutz -double (two footed landing on double)
triple flip
spiral
ina bauer
layback spin
straight line footwork
combo spin
She definitely had the highest jumps in the competition. Her lutz had great spring.
Tech: 5.1-5.7
Pres: 5.2-5.8
Sasha Cohen of U.S.A. - Malaguena:
mouthing some words as she took her starting position, before music started
triple lutz-double
fell on triple flip
camel
double axel
nice layback
great stretch in her spiral positions
charlotte
step sequence
combo spin
She would need to be clean in all three phases in order to have a chance to win it all here, and any falls will not help her cause.
Tech: 4.9-5.4
Pres: 5.4-5.9
Fumie Suguri of Japan - Larghetto from Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor:
triple lutz-double
triple flip
camel spin
spiral
double axel
layback
footwork
combo spin
She had a good, clean skate. She has great speed, which carried over into her well-centered ending backscratch spin.
Tech: 5.3-5.8
Pres: 5.5-5.9
Jennifer Robinson of Canada - Symphonie Moderne:
spiral sequence
triple lutz-double (triple two footed)
triple flip - eked out landing
combo spin
double axel
sit spin
crossed foot spin
layback spin
She was happy in Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 5.0-5.6
Pres: 5.2-5.8
Michelle Kwan of U.S.A. - The Feeling Begins:
double axel
triple lutz-double
camel spin
triple flip
layback with hands and feet held downward
spiral - held long
sit spin - right in front of our section
footwork - weaves back and forth
combo spin
She kept a serious face throughout. The crowd gave a huge standing ovation and was chanting, 'Six! Six! Six!' as in the 6.0 mark.
Tech: 5.5-5.9
Pres: 5.8-6.0
Elena Sokolova of Russia - Samson and Delilah:
triple lutz-double
triple flip - paused after the setup and before takeoff
camel spin
spiral sequence
double axel
inventive spin positions
layback spin
She pumped her fist at the end of the performance.
Tech: 5.6-5.9
Pres: 5.6-5.9
After the Ladies Short Program ended, I was walking in the hallway of the MCI Center to find the exit. I saw Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow stopped and talking to Coach Igor Sphilband. People were coming up to them making comments and asking for autographs and to take pictures. A few feet away, Paul Wylie stood in front of one of the booths, also posing for picture seekers.
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