2010 Skate America

1.Total Score 63.62(Elements 30.00 + Components 33.62) Skating last, an honor earned by their position as the ranking international competitors, Meryl DAVIS & Charlie WHITE, US, brought this section to a stunning conclusion. From the great form they demonstrated in practice, it seemed a certainty they would be dazzling, twirling around their ice ballroom to two very powerful Waltzes, the first from Puccini’s La Boheme and the other from Verdi’s La Traviata. But, on Saturday afternoon, as they sped into their first element, White nearly fell on their twizzles.

Asked if his stumble was due to speed, White laughed. "Yes, I was trying to break the light speed barrier. Actually, my tracking was a little bit off." So, what does that mean? Couples trying to accomplish complete unison without touching have to have great peripheral vision. But White somehow got on the wrong side of Davis. He said, "I was inside the circle and I needed to get the other side of her. In retrospect, I probably should have continued that position and not tried to adjust, which is the kiss of death." But he did, which caused him to catch an edge and very nearly fall flat. He was unable to complete the remaining two twizzles which would have made them eligible for the maximum Level 4.

They were given Level 2 with a minus 0.25 Grade of Execution. They also received only Level 2 for their next element, the non-touching steps. Davis admitted, "We didn’t get a couple of Levels we hoped for." They executed their Golden Waltz in the traditional order of steps, getting the maximum Level for the first half, which has easier steps, and Level 3 for the more difficult second half, which was a lot better than in their previous Grand Prix this season in Japan when they were saddled with the basic Level 1 for the second half.

Their rotational lift, however, was splendid and was clearly Level 4. One judge even punched in the maximum +3 and all but one other gave +2. (The remaining official put in +1 which is still better than the 0 "satisfactory" in which the competitor earns the base value without any Grade of Execution marks added (or subtracted). They finished with a transitional lift which does not get a Level or any marks but contributes to the overall impression and, the skaters hope is worth the risk and will gain them higher component marks.

Davis looked gorgeous in a melon-colored, knee length creation, with a little grey trim. He was snootily attired as an aristocratic man of leisure, in a period outfit with white billowing sleeves, a charcoal grey waistcoat, with a tied white cravat. Davis said her partner’s mistake was, "Nothing to be concerned about." They were then asked about their choice of music. "Initially," said White, "We thought we would use (music from) Amelie (a French movie) with a story about a typewriter. Davis admitted with a smile, "It was a way out there idea." White further explained, "But it turned out there wasn’t enough time to get the creative story apparent, so we went for a more classical route. We kept it simple and we are happy that we made that change."

2.TS 60.41(30.92+29.49) Vanessa CRONE & Paul POIRIER, Canada, skated to Fallin’ by Alicia Keyes, she in a white backless outfit, he in a short black jacket with bow tie. Crone said, "We went through a great deal of music but decided to use just one waltz, something modern,". Almost immediately after the program starts, he swings her upside down with her head barely missing the ice in a rotational lift. That earned Level 4 from the Technical Specialist, Mr. Shae Zukiwsky and his assistant, Francesca Fermi. These experts were supervised by the Technical Controller, Bob Horen.

Poirier said, "Vanessa and I were definitely pleased with our performance. There was definitely some pressure for us. Some Levels were not as high as in Skate Canada." They did the Golden Waltz in the normal order, gaining Level 3 with +0.67 GoE for the first half and Level 2 with +0.50 for the second half. Their non-touching steps and final move, the twizzles, were both Level 4 with +1.67 and +0.58. They were the only couple to execute their optional transitional lift before finishing their elements.

"After we won Skate Canada," Crone explained, "we had a good high. We had to come down from that, and train for this event. There wasn’t much time. We certainly didn’t want the victory to go to our heads. There is more pressure on us now. We wanted to prove ourselves here. It’s definitely an honor to serve as role models."

However, last week, she had an a reoccurrence of an injury to her left biceps, which is not completely healed and is strapped. She said, "It is a nagging injury." He said, "It’s so easy to get injured so it’s a rarity not to be injured."

3. TS 59.48 (32.42+27.06) Kaitlyn WEAVER & Andrew POJE, Canada, skated to At Last by Etta James and Cheek to Cheek by Irving Berlin, he in an elaborately formal outfit, she in a sophisticated black number with a wide necklace of silver and a flower in her blond hair bun. Weaver said, "I had a different dress for the NHK Grand Prix." The current outfit is a development of a dress she had had in her closet for almost 10 years. "The dress I was planning to wear was very Ginger Rodgers-ish with lots of feathers. But the feathers wouldn’t stay on the dress and it became impossible to skate in it. We would have got costume deductions. Fortunately, I had taken this along as a back-up.

"We had a bit of a shaky warm-up but the actual performance was better than we expected. It’s the first time we’ve got a Level 4 (for the first half) for our Golden Waltz so this was an improvement over our performance in the NHK." They lie only 0.93 behind their teammates. Weaver is an American who now holds a Canadian passport. Do her American friends think she is disloyal to the United States by representing another country? She said, "No. The only people I have a problem with is the border control people who can never understand why I go back and forth so much!"

They began with a Level 4 +0.67 straight line lift. Their Golden Waltz was executed with the second half first, and for this they earned Level 3. The Level 4 was for the first part. Both halves each +0.25 over the respective base values. Their twizzles were Level 4 and +0.42. Overall they earned the greatest technical score, 32.42, 1.50 higher than their teammates, Crone & Poirier, and 2.42 ahead of Davis & White. They concluded with Level 3, +1.33 non-touching steps and a transitional lift.

4. TC 56.46 (30.08+26.38) Maia & Alex SHIBUTANI, US, opened the group of the top five ranked couples. Performing to Richard Rodgers’ Carousel Waltz in a mango-colored dress with a touch of orange underneath, they began with their three sets of twizzles, earning Level 4 and +0.92 GoE. The possibility of executing three sets in a row is new this season, and helps to get the sought after maximum Level 4.

Maia had a disastrous fall in the Nebelhorn Trophy in September as she started the twizzles which resulted in them getting no marks for this element. In their next competition, the NHK Grand Prix, he tripped over his sister’s skirt during a low move bringing them both down. "We’ve definitely adjusted the dress. It is shorter now, and we’ve been careful to plan how I hold it for that part of the dance where we go low to the ice," Maia explained.

The sister and brother earned Level 3 for both their non-touching steps (with +1.17 GoE) and the first part of the Golden Waltz, (which got +0.33 GoE). However, in the second part of the Golden Waltz, Maia put her foot down after the dip and they received only Level 2 and minus 0.42 GoE. They earned a second Level 4 for their final move, a curve lift with +0.58 GoE.

5. TS 55.52 (28.49+27.03) Katerina RAZANOVA & Ilia TKACHENKO, Russia, skated to one Waltz, The Snowstorm by Georgi Sviiridov. They were second in this section in the Nebelhorn Trophy. She was in white and silver and he had an old-fashioned "morning" suit with striped grey striped pants, a jacket with tails and a big, floppy tie. They began with Level 2 non-touching steps. The first half of their Golden Waltz was Level 3 and the second half Level 2. Their synchronized twizzles and their rotational lift, which they did last, were Level 4. Unlike the rest of the field, they chose not to incorporate a permitted transitional move, which has no Level and therefore earns no marks, but which can improve the component score.

6. TS 52.13 (29.83+22.30) Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT & Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT, US, were the first to perform. She was in a red sleeveless number. He had a waistcoat over an open-necked white shirt. Their music wasThe Trouble with Love by Kelly Clarkson. They opened with an impressive Level 4 +0.67 straight line lift in which he drapes her over his shoulders while in a spread-eagle. Asked whether this was dangerous, he said, "We do a lot of off-ice training and we take precautions." She chirped in, "And sometimes, at the beginning, when we are experimenting, I wear a helmet."

They also earned Level 4 both for their twizzles, which gained a very slight positive, and for their first half of the Golden Waltz, which they chose to do after the second half. The second half was Level 2 and received their only minus, a minimal -0.17. Their last element, the non-touching steps, was Level 3 with +0.67.

7. TS 49.43 (28.17+21.26) Penny COOMES & Nick BUCKLAND, skated to a Waltz from the movie Amelie by Yann Tiersen and a Tango to Tango de los Exilados played by Vanessa Mae and Walter Taieb. The Britons were the replacements for the Italians, Lorenza Alessandrini & Simone Vatura. They learned of their second Grand Prix just as they were stepping off the ice in after taking part in their first ever competition in this Series in Nagoya. They began with a Level 3 rotational lift, followed by the second half of the Golden Waltz, for which they also got Level 3. The first half earned Level 4. The other two elements, their twizzles and the midline non-touching steps were Level 3.

8. TS 44.03 (23.43+21.97 -1.0) Cathy & Chris REED, Japan, skated to The Addams Family soundtrack, including, A Party for Me? and The Tango, both by Marc Shaiman. Their outfits were, Chris explained, "very authentic. They were copied in detail from the show." Silver spider webs were attached to their black outfits, and there was a white hand on his left shoulder. Their performance was well choreographed with delightfully spooky moves. He even sported a moustache. However, although their straight line lift was awarded Level 4 by the technical specialist, they also got a point taken off for the lift going longer than allowed.

Although they won in Nagoya, a few weeks ago, they were not satisfied and they have completely revamped their tango Free Dance. "The changes were made to open out the program," White explained, "And to get as many points as possible. We know how 0.04 can cost you a medal." (In the 2009 Worlds they missed bronze by that tiny fraction.) One of the principle changes is that they now execute four short lifts, instead of two plus a long lift, hoping to get greater Grade of Execution scores.

Starting this season, competitors have that choice. The base values are identical. Each part of the long lift, if it is executed at Level 4, has a base value of four points, just the same as two separate short lifts. This is part of the ISU Ice Dance Committee’s quest to provide more variety for audiences. Davis & White’s long lift in Nagoya was truly Wowser!! - but extremely risky. But taking the alternate is not necessarily safe, as they found out in Portland when they were docked a point for going over the time limit on a short lift.

2.TS149.08; 2.FD88.67 (45.25+44.42 -1) Vanessa CRONE & Paul POIRIER, Canada, skated to John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Eleanor Rigby performed by Joshua Bell, a routine which was choreographed by Christopher Dean and which helped them win the Skate Canada Grand Prix by a considerable margin.

Davis & White used Eleanor Rigby for their Free for the 2008 season. When asked o compare the routines, Crone said, "Meryl and Charlie’s program was very character driven. We wanted to take a more lyrical approach to our skating, to get a different feel and get ourselves into more of a creative mode, and push ourselves in a different way.

I definitely feel more confident in each performance that we do. The first time we stepped on the ice with this program until now has been a huge improvement, and I think that it is going in the right direction."

Maia Shibutani said, "We just love our programs this year. I don’t know what else to say. It’s just so much fun to skate them every day." Alex Shibutani was in perfect agreement with his no longer so little sister, who has grown three inches up but not gained even an ounce. He said, "It’s us. It’s classic ballroom dance, and we're trying to bring that across to the ice, and share the enjoyment that we have skating together with everyone else."

A major reason for their lower than expected marks, was their second rotational lift which the Technical panel deemed worthy of only Level 1. Weaver readily admitted it was her fault. "I missed my foot. I was grasping for it and couldn’t find my blade. Once you do that, it’s over. All you can do is smile and look pretty!" They were also penalized a point for going over time on one lift.

5.TS137.14; 5.FD.81.62 (40.53+41.09) Katerina RAZANOVA & Ilia TKACHENKO, Russia, skated to Mexico, opening with Level 3 diagonal steps which earned +1.17 over the base value of 1.17. They received Level 4 for their first lift, executed on a curve, with half a point GoE added to the base value. They also got Level 4 for their twizzles (with +0.50), and for their final move, a stationary lift (+0.58). Stationary lifts are a category which was invented by the silver medalists in this event, Crone & Poirier, when they were junior competitors.

Their reverse rotational lift was Level 3 and their combination spin only Level 2. (A reverse lift is considered more difficult because it goes against the normal flow of traffic around a rink.) They were the only couple to choose not to do any optional "transitional move".

He explained, "In the summer, we had a training camp and the judges decided they didn’t like our free so we had to get a new one, which was why we didn’t do so well in this section at the Nebelhorn Trophy because we hadn’t trained the new routine very long." (They were second in the Short Dance in Oberstdorf but only fifth in the Free.) "But this performance was much better."

The end of their performance was greeted with someone in the audience waving a flag with the emblem of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, which pleased them greatly. The Games will be held in the very south of their home country, Russia, and they are hoping to get an Olympic place.

"We’ve been training in various places, Moscow, Latvia, Japan and New Jersey which has been difficult. (They train with Nikolai Morosov.) They earned Level 4 for their first four elements including for both parts of their long lift. However, their circular steps were only Level 1. "I think maybe I did an extra twizzle. I’ll have to check the video tape, but our highest on this element has only been Level 2."

They earned the maximum Level 4 for their first lift, a rotational in which he swung her into an opening position and her nose practically wiped the ice. They also earned Level 4 for the second part of their long lift, but the first part was only Level 2, as was their Curve lift.

Coomes admitted, "It was hard because I have breathing problems obviously with the nose, but no way was I going to drop out of this event. We were last minute reserves and we only got to know we were coming here at the NHK. I’d have to be totally incapacitated not to take advantage of this great opportunity. We were just thrilled to come here. It’s our job to skate, whatever happens. But, obviously, I was struggling when I was upside down. There was pressure in the nose then, and in the spin. It was a challenge and obviously that showed n our marks."