2009 Skate America

Their ranking meant they skated last of the ten couples who are allowed in each Grand Prix. Back stage immediately after skating, Belbin said they were pleased with their performance. "It was hard to come back from China (where they had won that Grand Prix), deal with jet lag and still get down to practice with only a few days between events, but it was also good because it pushed us to make the most use of our time. We felt we skated this compulsory a little conservatively in Beijing. We were a little more refined and out-going here. We were pleased because we did get higher marks for the same compulsory."

Four of the top five ranked couples here also competed against each other in the Chinese Grand Prix, in which the five-time US champions and Olympic silver medalist beat the 2009 European champions, Russia’s Jana Khokhlova & Sergei Novitski, who were second, by 14 points overall. The Americans had been ahead by 2.03 after this compulsory in Beijing. This time they beat them by a slight increase of 2.34. That may sound microscopic, but for a compulsory, a very small spread can mean a difference of several placings.

They both agreed they were looking forward to nationals. Belbin said, "We were upset we had to miss our championships last year because that is the event where we get to see most of our US fans. We’re looking forward to the competition. Who wants a competition where the result is determined before hand. You can get complacent if you know you are going to win. You need competition to make you train your hardest and aspire to do your very best."

The Golden Waltz is acknowledged as the most difficult compulsory, taking a record 1 minute 58 seconds to do the required two sequences, with 48 steps, some of which, like the shoot-the-duck, are unique to this compulsory. The dance was devised by Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko, Russians who won bronze, silver and gold in successive Olympic Games, 1984, ’88 & ’92, and their coach Natalia Dubova for their 1988 season. Dubova was in the audience today. She has lived in this area for many years. Klimova & Ponomarenko married and reside in California where they are coaching and raising their two children.

Jana Khokhlova & Sergei Novitski, 2. 36.94 (18.96 + 17.98), also said they had skated well, although camera close-ups on their feet showed their centrifugal force on the turns was pushing her weight forward on her blades towards the toes. "We were satisfied with our performance," the red-haired Khokhlova said, "both for the performance and for the marks." She wore a white and light blue dress which had a cut-out on one side, that, for some, interrupted the classic line. He had a theatrical white tuxedo which showed part of his hairy chest under a small bow tie. Novitsky said, "The choice of costumes was made by our designer, Zaitsev. He is very famous in Russia."

Anna Cappellini & Luca LaNotte of Italy, 3. 32.04 (15.90 + 16.14), changed coaches earlier this year and now train in Lyon with Muriel Boucher Zazoui. Cappellini, who wore a silver outfit with red in the frilly skirt, admitted, "I felt secure but I did a couple of mistakes. I didn’t expect that. It was a shame. We need to correct that. We went to France to improve our skating skills and we think it is working. I felt pretty good in this morning’s workout so I wasn’t worried. But I just didn’t feel balanced in the competition." They lie a distinct distance, 4.90 behind the Russians and only a smidgen 0.11 ahead of the Israelis.

Alexandra & Roman Zaretski 4. 31.93 (16.28 + 15.65) She wore a silver outfit with a hem with an explosion of black feathers that was straight out of a Ginger Rogers’ movie. It’s the first time they had used it in a competition. As she came off the ice, she said, "The whole dance felt better than it did in China and the marks were more than a point more. We really felt it flowed."

Kimberly Navarro & Brent Bommentre, US, 5. 30.19 (16.10 + 14.09) gave a pleasing presentation with her in a pretty pinky-lilac outfit and him in long tails and a white tie. They, and their coach, Robbie Kane, felt they had skated this exercise far better than they had in the Paris Grand Prix. Kane said, "I was really pleased with them. They gave an immaculate showing. I am very upset about the way the judges are using the GoEs. In Paris they didn’t get one positive or feedback on the expression. This dance has a lot of position changes. It is all about the changing hand holds and expression and they are very good technically at doing this." Navarro said, "The footwork is like lightning. It is very complicated but that makes it very interesting. Maybe we had a little mistake with the free foot."

Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein, US, 7. 28.88 (14.96 + 13.92) concluded with a surprise for both judges and audience alike. They ended the two sequences with her going into a graceful layback spin. The writer has not seen a compulsory concluded this way before but it certainly was in keeping with the character of a Waltz. Chock, who had the most delightful, out-going smile all through the dance, wore a sleeveless royal blue outfit with a tasteful amount of sparkles and he the standard tuxedo. He said they were really excited to be competing with these top couples. It is their first season as seniors. She was wearing a bandage on her left wrist, the result of a bad fall in China in the warm-up for the free dance. Their score in Lake Placid was a Personal Best for this section.

Xiaoyang Yu & Chen Wang, China, 8. 27.43 (14.96 + 12.47) were the substitutes for the 2008 world champions, Isabelle Delobel & Oliver Schoenfelder, who withdrew only a short time before the event. Delobel had a son on October 1 and is still hoping to get back to form. They wore all white, including his boot covers, a decision that was made by their coach. "We need more practice," admitted Wang, who said they had performed the Golden Waltz before in one of the seven Four Continents championships in which they have competed. "You must have stamina for this dance. Our first sequence was good but not the second one."

Caitlin Mallory & Kristjan Rand, Estonia, 9. 26.89 (14.46 + 12.43) won the right for Estonia to enter a couple to the Olympics in February but they still aren’t sure whether they will be able to go. It is taking time for her passport to come through. The American Mallory said, "I think I have right up until the actual competition to have it approved. At the moment, we just don’t know."

"We are very pleased the ISU brought back this theme because the choice of music is much wider. I really enjoyed doing Latin dances in the past but you knew a lot of the couples would pick the same tango." Agosto said, "With this theme, we had music from the whole world to choose from." The ISU brought back this Folk or Country Theme after only two seasons because they believed it would be suitable for the wider audience which views the Olympic Games but may not be familiar with ice dancing. The ISU suggested that ice dancers choose music from their own country’s past hoping that would appeal to a broader spectrum of the skaters’ home population. But that is not mandatory. Many couples, for instant Scotland’s Sinead and John Kerr, who are performing to Johnny Cash’s well-known I’ve Been Everywhere, Man, said they had taken their highly popular Highland Fling as far as they could, and wanted to do something different.

There are arguments that it is "fairer" that there should be a draw for skating order as there was in the past instead of the present procedure of competitors performing in order in which they finished in the previous section. But from a spectator point of view, it is great that the event builds up to a fitting climax. Belbin & Agosto provided that and more. Dressed in white peasant outfits with red covering her boots and black shiny material his, they seemed to fly over the ice presenting a picture of seeming perfection. Their faces reflected joy in their performance, making everything appear smooth and executed without visible effort. They earned Level 4 (the highest possible) from the Technical Specialist Shae Zukiwsky and his assistant, Andrzej Dostatni, for their first required element, a soaring, amazing straight line lift which was also given +2 (on a scale which goes from -3 up to a maximum of +3) Grade of Execution from eight of the nine judges. The remaining judge punched in a +1. This reflects a proportional score which is added to the base level value of the move.

Though their perfectly synchronized sequential twizzles also earned Level 4, only two judges were moved to award +2. Three others gave +1; two judges presented 0, which means satisfactory in all aspects with the skaters earning the full base value; while two saw some slight flaw, and punched in only minus 1, meaning an amount is taken off the base value. Their non-touching mid-line steps were also awarded Level 4, again with eight of the nine judges awarding +2 and one dissenter +1. The graceful duo earned Level 3 for their circular steps but the specification make it almost impossible to earn Level 4 for this required element and they had to be content with Level 3. All members of the judging panel punched in +1, which is for a superior showing. (Last season, there were five elements but the spin was dropped from the required elements for the original.) Belbin said, "We are also allowed to do an optional non-scoring transitional lift which helps the component marks. When we first thought of doing this, our coach Gennadi (Karponosov) said he wasn’t sure we would have the strength to do it right at the end, and he was right, initially. But we worked very hard on it and it is a nice finish, especially for the audience."

Jana Khokhlova & Sergei Novitski, 2. 86.47; 5. 49.53 (21.90 + 27.63), have incredible speed and she has extreme flexibility but that makes them appear at times as if they are circus performers not dancers. And, in their chase after high marks, they shot themselves in the foot. They received the lowest technical score of all 10 couples and were only in fifth place in this section. Although they are still in second place, they lie only a fraction, 0.34 ahead of the Italians.

They were dressed in very theatrical outfits with her in all in purple, including tights decorated with flowers which extended over her boots and to a matching cloth tiara headdress. His blouse matched her dress which had a large though short flouncy skirt.

Their routine is called "Russian Soul" and is set to the music Vdol po Piterskol. Had Westerners presented this showing they surely would have been criticized for cheapening another country’s folk dance but since they are Russian they have the freedom to explore a different presentation. She admitted she made a mistake on the twizzles, putting a foot down but she said she was at a loss to understand why they also got Level 1 for their circular steps in which they lost unison.

Anna Cappellini & Luca LaNotte of Italy, 3. 86.13; 2. 54.09 (27.80 + 26.29), performed to Return to Sorento and a Rossini Tarantella. He had planned to wear a mask. She explained, "A mask is very genuine for an Italian Carnival where everyone’s identity is hidden. Obviously, he’s in love and it’s in the spirit of the music that he would have a mask and then take it off when he doesn’t need to hide anymore. But, apparently, the rules say it’s allowed only if it is attached to the costume so that it doesn’t come off. We didn’t want to risk a deduction." They have only recently moved to coach, Muriel Boucher Zazoui. LaNotte said, "It’s very different training in Lyon because there are many ice dancers of a high standard there and it helps push us each day. Even though we are competing against some of them, there is a feeling of camaraderie and we push each other." They earned Level 4 for their twizzles and straight line lift, Level 3 for their Non-touching Midline steps and Level 2 for their circular steps which opened their routine.

Alexandra & Roman Zaretski 4. 83.83; 3. 51.90 (27.00 + 24.90), performed to the famous Hebrew folk song of Celebration, Hava Nagila, which means Let Us Rejoice. So it seemed a little strange that they performed in black. "But these are very genuine costumes," Roman said. They are trained by Galit Chait, former Israeli champion and 1998 world bronze medalist, who now lives in New Jersey and is about to give birth.

They received two Level 4s and two Level 3s.

Kimberly Navarro & Brent Bommentre, US, 5. 81.47; 4. 51.28 (27.80 + 23.48), skate to the music Quero Voltar Pra Angola and present a combined Brazilian and African Shay dance. They have developed and improved the routine they used for this section in the ’07 season. Their coach, Robbie Kaine, said, "They’ve even taken drum lessons to understand the background."

Some think the costume design is a little over the top, with him wearing a leather wig. But they have taken immense pains to make the outfits authentic. They were based on designs from Brazil and Angola. He is the King of Angola Janga and she is a brave Brazilian slave. He has on a breastplate which seems a little small for a warrior. Fish scales are used on her outfit.

Their skating earned two Level 4s and two Level 3s and all their GoEs were positive, including three +2s for their rotational lift. They lie a substantial 5.51 marks ahead of the Russians and only 2.36 behind the Israelis.

Kristina Gorshkova & Vitali Butikov, Russia, 6. 75.96; 6. 46.64 (24.50 + 22.14), performed a "Russian Waltz" choreographed in Moscow by Elena Tchaikovskaya. They wear very elaborate white based matching outfits including fur-coated coats, obviously made for a cold country and she wore a hat. Their boots were covered with purple material with curves on top of the toes. "This is very genuine," said Tchaikovskaya. "This design is very old and the outfits are beautifully made with real sable." They received two Level 4s, a 3 and a 2 for their circular steps.

Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein, US, 7. 73.43; 8. 44.55 (22.90 + 21.65), executed an Afro-Cuban dance to Yema Ya and Agua Nile. She wore an elaborate sparkling two-piece. He was in white with a loose white, long-sleeved shirt over cream trousers "tropical" attire. They performed some very sexy movements including her body waves. Even their closing pose was steamy, with his hand resting suggestively on her thigh. "It’s an expressive dance," said Chock. "Many movements in dance are made to attract the opposite sex. Guerlein said, "We tried to have as much fun with it as we can." However, they earned only Level 2 for both their non-touching midline and circular steps. Their lift was Level 4 and their twizzles Level 3.

Xiaoyang Yu & Chen Wang, China, 8. 71.58; 9. 44.15 (23.80 + 20.35) performed a folk-like Chinese dance to music from the 2004 Chinese action/romance movie House of Flying Daggers. The Chinese don’t really have folk dances which couples perform. However Yu and Wang did a good job of using this music. They have seen the movie and adapted the ending so she is stabbed and dies. Although they received Level 4 for their curve lift and a 3 for their twizzles, the other two moves were Level 2. He had an elegant white top with a Chinese pattern which matched her dress. They were ninth ranked in this portion but did not drop.

Caitlin Mallory & Kristjan Rand, Estonia, 9. 71.47; 7. 44.58 (24.40 + 20.18) gave a very genuine presentation of an Estonian folkdance. The red-haired Mallory wore a garland in her hair. "My costume is really very authentic," said Rand. "The dance comes from the south of our country which is not very big. You can drive across it in about four hours." She explained, "My dress isn’t quite as authentic as it was initially because, after competing in the Nebelhorn Trophy, we had to adapt it slightly for skating purposes." They received two Level 4s, a 3 and a 2, and got marks which gave them 7^th place in this section but it wasn’t enough to advance them a place.

Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte, 2. 171.86; 3. 85.73 (43.60 + 42.13). Second and third places were separated by an incredibly small margin - only 0.09. Cappellini dressed in black, and Lanotte wore a white shirt with a tear at the shoulder and in the back. Right from the start of their Requiem for a Dream music, when she beckons him with a very come-hither, sexy look, it is obvious that she is a very dangerous woman. Lanotte explained, "The routine is called Addiction and she is my addiction. I’ve been out all night savoring the forbidden pleasures and that’s why I look so scruffy." Cappellini said, "The routine felt solid. We were able to put a lot of energy into our performance."

They earned Level 4s for their spin, the straight line steps, their twizzles, the rotational lift and part of their long lift. However, the first part of their long lift, a straight line, was got Level 2 as did their diagonal steps. Cappellini said, "We thought the 2 on the lift was odd, because we were expecting a Level 4. Fortunately, it didn’t affect getting the silver, but it was close." They also won silver in Moscow, in their other Grand Prix event this season. She added, "We were not expecting this. We’ve worked hard this year and this is the reward for our work. Their top component mark was one 8.0 and their low was four 6.25s.

Alexandra & Roman Zaretski, 3. 171.77; 2. 87.94 (45.80 + 42.14), performed to Schindler’s List gaining Level 4s for everything except the circular and diagonal steps which were awarded Level 3s. The difference between their component marks and those of Cappellini & Lanotte was only 0.01! They were thrilled with their medal which is their first one in the Grand Prix. He said, "I am so happy, I have no words. We are still shocked. It was a big surprise." Their top component scores were five 7.50s and their low was two 6.25s.

Jana Khokhlova & Sergei Novitsky, 4. 168.25; 4. 81.78 (37.70 + 44.08). Khohklova was devastated that they finished off the rostrum. She could barely hold back the tears. "I don’t know why. It is an unexpected result. We will watch the video with our coach." Novitsky took their surprise official rejection more philosophically. A perusal of the details sheet, now available after each competition, gives the explanation. They received only one Level 4, which was for the second part of their long lift, a rotational variation. The first part, a straight line, was Level 2, which they also got for their curve and straight line short lifts, and their circular steps. They received Level 3 for their twizzles and spin. The Technical Elements score, 37.70, was only ninth best in the ten-couple field, while their components, 44.98, were second only to Belbin & Agosto. The judges are responsible for marking the components. The Technical Specialist, Shae Zukiwsky, and his very experienced assistant, Andrzej Dostatni, who officiated at the last Olympic Games, were responsible for deciding the Levels. They were overseen by the Technical Controller, Linda Leaver. The Special and Assistant must agree on the call. If they don’t, the Controller steps in. Two members of this trio must agree on a call. The Specialists can not be questioned and the referee, Christi Heidler, has not made a statement on the situation. Khokhlova & Novitsky, who skated to Meadowlands, wore bright red costumes. Hers was long sleeved with a skirt that was double layered at the back. She also wore a cloth tiara. He had ballooning trousers which some found distracting. Their top component mark was one 8.25 and their low was one 6.0.

Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein, 6. 153.92; 5. 80.49 (44.70 + 35.79), who were youngest competitors – she is 17 and he just turned 21 on October 26, showed great promise interpreting an Andrei Rieu arrangement of music from Life is Beautiful. They displayed a lot of emotion, beating their teammates, Navarro & Bommentre by 1.07 in the Free Dance, although, overall, they were almost 7 points apart. They received Level 4s for all their elements except for the two sets of steps, circular and diagonal, and one of the short lifts, a curve.

Caitlin Mallory & Kristjan Rand, 8. 143.50; 9. 72.03 (39.60 + (33.43) had a very pleasing interpretation using music from the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg. But she tripped while going backwards on the twizzles, which meant that element received only the basic Level 1 and they got a point deduction for the fall. Their GoEs for all but the twizzles were at least base value. They gained four Level 4s. The circular steps were Level 3 and the diagonal steps Level 2. Their components included a high of one 6.25 and ten 6.0s and a low of two 5.0s.

Zoe Blanc & Pierre-Loup Bouquet, 9. 140.71; 8. 73.66 (41.90 + 31.76), skated to Marine Machine by Amon Tobin and Ramalama Bang Bang by Roisin Murphy. All but two of their required elements earned Level 4. The circular steps were Level 3 and the diagonal steps Level 2. All their component marks were in the 5s except for one high of 6.0 and four marks in the 4s, a 4.00, a 4.25 and two 4.75s.