Monday, September 19, 2011

2011-2012 SEASON PRE-REVIEW....................................... VM vs. DW - Music choices- Ending relationships and newly teamed couples-Coach wars!

I'ts another season coming up not more than a month ahead of us.. So looking foward to it because all of the teams especially Virtue / Moir and Davis / White will have a topnotch battle and will push themselves as hard as they can because a lot of talented young couples leaving junior level and becoming part of the senior competitions can be a serious and undeniable thread for them. Remember Virtue / Moir were on the podium in worlds in their second year in seniors so we never now what can occur in the events. It relies on how far they can go and how much they can force themselves to seperate their programmes from another teams. Virtue / Moir's missing the gold last season after becoming Olymic champions could cause them to work harder and go even more extreme with lifts, the area where they are tremendous and unique.Unarguably they launched a brand new era with their lifts in ice dance and since then other teams have been pushing themselves to make thriving lifts and a prominent genre of a lifting style has occured over the last couple of years. It was so diferent early in the 00's where teams were technically making much more easier and fleeting lifts. Mark my word, we will see the greatest lifts of all time this season. 
Apparently this could be the year with most of the ending relationships and re-teaming since the 90's. I can't even track anymore. Hubell's announced end of their relationship and Madison will continue her career with Zachary Donahue and his former parner Piper Gilles teamed up with Paul Poirier. Crone and Poirier ended their relationship this year either and Vannessa is still looking for a partner. Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein's partnership also ended after Zuerlein retired from competition and Chock teamed up with Evan Bates whom also announced his ending relationship with his former partner  Emily Samuelson this year. Emily teamed up with Todd Gilles, Piper Gilles brother. Kerr's also announced their retirement from competitive skating in April 2001. There is still uncertainty between Domnina and Shabalin's partnership. They were planned to compete this season but it seems like Shabalin yet to be fully cured Oksana Domnina is probably searching for a new partner.
Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue will perform their new programs in Lake Placid.Hubell and Donohue will be coached by Krylo team (Anjelica Krylova, Massimo Scali, Elizabet Punsalan and Pasquale Camerlengo) and they will skate FD to "Put a Spell on you" by Nina Simone so it will definitely be a romantic and passionate. One of the programs I'm definitely looking foward to it. Piper Gilles and Poirier will be choreographed by the one and only Christopher Dean so I'm expecting a splendid, unique and post-modern programme just like Crone/Poirier's Elenor Rigby last year. They haven't revealed their choice of music so wonder continues. Music will tell us a lot about their programme. Chock and Bates will be dancing to Chopin's Prelude in E minor coached by Zueva and Shpilband. Belbin and Agosto skated to a collection of Chopin's including prelude in e minor so I'm assuming its one of Shpilband's favorites. This programme will be elegant and sophisticated. 
Samuelson and Todd Gilles will be choreographed by one and only Christopher Dean so I'm pretty excited about this couple either. They haven't revealed choice of their music yet. SD theme will be latin this year obviously because looking at the music choices of most of the teams, they all will be skating to a collection of Rhumba, Samba, ChaCha, Merengue or Bachata.. Virtue and Moir are the luckiest couple here. They will cut their last season's FD and here it is a perfect Latin medley SD performance. That programme didn't get the attention it deserved so it will be nice to see that rotational lift again. Although I have doubts about their choice for FD. Fred Astair - Funny face is a nice song but they could have chosen a better one if they really wanted to dance with a Gershwin song, there are better ones.
I don't think that its suitable for ice dancing but I believe they will exhibit a fascinating FD performance anyway. I would like to see them combining romance and port-modernizm again so much just like in "Greatest gig in the sky" performance that wish for them to skate to songs like Anyway- Genesis, Live with me-Massive Attack so I'm a little dissapointed.
Davis and White's music on the other hand is what a spectacular choice; Nino Rota's La Strada, is a very passionate, dramatic and intence piece of music. I'm sure they will perform another legendary programme this season. Pechalat and Bourzat's moving to U.S to work with Camerlengo/ Krylova so this is definely their year. So many new teams are working with them. Their FD will be an Egyptian. I have never seen an example of it on ice dance before. If you guys have any then please post it. They are working with Kader Belmoktar and Mourad Merzouki particulary on the basic egyptian routines and overall choreography whom Egyptians. I't will be unique and if they can nail this performance could be one of the most popular ones on the ice dance history.
Anna Cappellini Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy compete in the free dance portion of the Ice Dance competition on day 11 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at Pacific Coliseum on February 22, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.As for the Cappellini / Lanotte  couple whom getting along very well will be dancing to Astor Piazzola's "Oblivion" very classic but good choice.But I'm very sure after seing their Requiem for a dream performance that every character suits Anna well and she is enchanted in more passionate performances. Coming to discovery team of 2010 Ilinykh and Ktsalapov, they have ended their relationship with Zhulin to start working with Morozov and Tarasova, they will be skating to Ave Maria which is a very sensual, religious and profound music. I have this feeling that they are going to be amazing on ice this season artistically as much as good they are technically. Looking at Bobrova and Soloviev, they will be performing with "Faust" I'm hoping adagio but they will probably dance with a collection from every popular part of it. So their kind.My sentimental favorites Weaver and Poje working with Bourne as well as Camerlengo and Krylova will be performing with Je Suis Malade from Lara Fabian, along with the classical choices this season I think this is the best choice among all.
Last but not least, It will great to see Hoffman and Zavozin back this year after her sickness it will be intriguing  how will they perform.
See you in Skate America!