U.S. Nationals Senior Ice Dance Preview

[caitie]

The United States is currently enjoying an embarrassment or riches in ice dance, which is by far our strongest discipline. The last world medal won by a US figure skater in any other discipline was won by Evan Lysacek in 2009. In the same amount of time, four US ice dance teams have won seven world medals. Half of the teams at this season's Grand Prix Final were from the United States. Next week, our top teams will go head to head in St. Paul for the national title and a chance to represent the US in front of a home crowd at Worlds in Boston this spring. Who will come out on top?



1. Madison Chock & Evan Bates



Madison and Evan are the reigning national champions and world silver medalists, and with 2016 Worlds in the U.S. and the current world champs mired in injury, they seemed likely to top the podium this spring. Unfortunately, their season has gotten off to a rough start. Their Il Divo/Bocelli short dance is their third program of the season. (They scrapped their first attempt to Sleeping Beauty before the season began, citing boredom with the concept. Then they scrapped their second attempt to "Dark Eyes" after the music's suitability for the required rhythms was questioned by officials at their first event.) Although Chock and Bates have earned a reputation as technicians, they struggled to get top levels on their elements at their Grand Prix events. Heading into the Grand Prix Final, they had only managed better than a Level 2 on one of their free dance step sequences. And including the final, they've managed just one Level 4 on their Ravensburger Waltz pattern. Part of the problem may be that Chock and Bates faced unusually harsh technical panels at both Skate America (holla, Judy Blumberg) and Cup of China, where their coach Igor Shpilband appeared frustrated by their scores and there was speculation about the role of the Italian official on the technical panel in their decisive loss to Cappellini and Lanotte. But harsh judging can't explain Madison's errors on twizzle sequences, which have become A Thing; she made mistakes on twizzles at all three of their Grand Prix events. Madison also made a twizzle error at 2015 Worlds, and they had falls at two events last season. It's not clear whether these inconsistencies and technical glitches have harmed Chock and Bates' reputation with the judges, but it certainly doesn't feel like they'll be able to compete at Nationals looking ahead to Worlds. They'll need to be looking over their shoulders, instead.

Despite their rocky start to the season, Chock and Bates are still the most athletic U.S. team, fast across the ice with big lifts and impressive elements. Although their height difference is generally minimized by Evan's soft knees, it contributes to a messier looking Ravensburger Waltz pattern in the short dance (and the figure Evan cuts in his floppy, all-black tuxedo doesn't especially help), but the pattern's placement in the final minute of the program allows the dance build to a stunning end that concludes with the best scoring lift of any U.S. team (*any team?) this season.



Their Rachmaninoff free dance is choreographed effectively, with highlights like their striking curve lift (pictured above) perfectly timed to flourishes in the music. Madison and Evan showcase their connection by locking eyes at every possible opportunity; their straight line lift is memorable both for its interesting exit and the unexpectedness of Madison's joyful spiral position on the crescendo of the music being directed at Evan rather than outward at the audience. Their connection to the music is less clear, but their powerful, dynamic skating is up to the task of keeping pace as the piece builds to a climactic, triumphant end.

Much of their free dance has been revamped, with changes to their straight line and rotational lifts, a new step sequence, and a new ending. Madison shines (as always) in both programs, and the expressiveness of her movement as well as her skilled projection is sure to reach the rafters in St. Paul. They appeared to be back on track technically at the GPF despite Madison's twizzle error. They should be able to repeat as national champions, but their margin for error has shrunk.

Short Dance - SB: 71.64, Average: 68.83
Free Dance - SB: 105.91, Average: 103.53


2. Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani



The Shib Sibs are a fan favorite team, and for my money they have the best set of programs of any U.S. team this season. Their short program to Coppélia, a ballet featuring a toymaker and the mechanical doll he attempts to bring to life, is playful and polished. The program highlights Maia, showcasing her absolutely impeccable posture and her improvement as a performer. Their in-character partial step sequence is delightful and their Ravensburger is neat and smooth, although it doesn't seem to cover the same amount of ice as Chock and Bates'. Like Chock and Bates, they have struggled to hit their key points in the pattern. They had the worst Ravensburger levels at the Grand Prix Final, which cost them third place against Cappellini and Lanotte in the SD and an important chance to skate in the final group for the free. If they hope to pass the teams ahead of them, they must skate with more precision.

Their free dance to a mix of Coldplay's "Fix You" and "The Scientist" is inspired by their popular exhibition to Coldplay's "O" last season, and it's a smart choice. Also choreographed by Peter Tchernyshev, it's their best free dance in many seasons, and their emotional connection to the music is palpable. Audiences and fans have had a strong response to the program; it's poignant to watch a team that has struggled in the standings for so long skate so passionately to lyrics about trying your best and still not succeeding. Their circular step sequence set to an instrumental of "The Scientist" is gorgeous, and when they nail their difficult, perfectly-timed-with-the-music twizzle sequence (which they almost always do), it's a fist-pumping moment of pure awesomeness. The rotational lift that follows is exciting and carries the momentum forward as the program builds towards the end.



The Shibutanis' weakness continues to be their speed and ice coverage. They aren't as fast as top teams like Weaver and Poje or Chock and Bates, and the power in their skating through their final step sequence hasn't quite matched the power of "Fix You." They need to increase their speed and power (without sacrificing precision) and skate up to the level of the music.

It will be difficult for the Shibutanis to unseat Chock and Bates as national champions, but they definitely have the capability and the material to make it happen. Their scores have climbed closer to Chock and Bates' this season; despite the fact that Alex skated with severe food poisoning at the GPF, they were only a tenth of a point behind Chock and Bates in the free dance and managed to beat them in TES. (They also beat Weaver and Poje's TES in both programs at Skate Canada.) They'll need to bring their technical A-game at Nationals, skate freely (and fast), and be sure they shine in their best elements, showcasing their smooth flow over the ice during step sequences and their unison, speed, and fearlessness through their trademark twizzles. First or second, one thing is for sure -- their free dance will receive a huge ovation from the audience in St. Paul.

Short Dance - SB: 69.11, Average: 66.61
Free Dance - SB: 106.35, Average: 101.41


3. Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue



After a season of disappointing results, Hubbell and Donohue switched coaches to train in Montreal with the coaching staff of current world champs Papadakis and Cizeron. The move (along with Madison's ability to train more regularly now that she's fully recovered from the torn labrum in her hip) has paid off in both their results and their performances. They've made noteworthy technical progress, improving their levels across the board, particularly in the short dance. They have the best Ravensburger Waltz levels (by far) of any U.S. team. Unfortunately their technical gains have been undermined a bit by Zach's falls at two events, perhaps a result of the increased speed and attack they are approaching their programs with.

Their gorgeous short dance to "Hallelujah" is the best scoring non-traditional waltz of the season. The program showcases their beautiful edges and unison, and they skate it with so much feeling and emotion. It's truly one of the highlights of the short dance this season. Their angsty free dance to "Adagio for Tron" is conceptually interesting. Madison plays the angel of death and Zach portrays the tortured soul~ who begs her to end his suffering. During their dance, Madison's character falls for him and must decide whether her love should manifest as taking him away and ending his life or leaving him and letting him live. Madison's winged costume has received mixed reviews, but I love how the high necked, long-sleeved, stark whiteness of it allows her to visually melt into the ice relative to Zach, like she's a figment of his imagination.



Madison and Zach were competing in France at Trophée Eric Bompard during the Paris attacks. The experience affected them, and they decided to change their free dance's ending to make it more hopeful. (Zach lives!) The program creates a tense mood, and Zach's quality and expressiveness as a dancer shines. But as a whole, the program is not as effective a vehicle for them as their Hallelujah short dance. The music is repetitive, and the decision to place their two step sequences back to back in the program, separated briefly by a difficult straight line lift that has given them trouble, creates the sense of a muddied middle. Their short dance has been able to keep them ahead of competitors who have often placed ahead of them like Bobrova/Soloviev and Gilles/Poirier, but they've yet to maintain that lead in the free dance. Still, their scores have steadily increased, and they earned a spot in their first Grand Prix Final by beating Gilles/Poirier in the short dance on the strength of their technical levels.

Last season domestic rivals and former training mates, Hawayek and Baker, got a little too close for comfort at Nationals and were given the Four Continents spot Hubbell and Donohue probably expected to receive, especially considering that they were the defending 4CC champions (albeit they won during an Olympic year when the top teams were not in attendance). This season they've solidified their status as USA's third-ranked team with their increase in scores and their trip to the GPF, and I expect to see them on both the World and 4CC teams, deservedly so.

Short Dance - SB: 66.57, Average: 64.58
Free Dance - SB: 100.92, Average: 96.82


4. Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker



Sophomore slump, especially when your freshman season is stellar, is definitely a thing. The 2014 Junior World Champions had a charmed senior debut, with a surprise bronze medal at NHK and an even more surprising trip to Four Continents. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to keep that momentum going. In September, Jean-Luc suffered a concussion in practice. In October, their season began with a bang -- the wrong sort -- when they both fell in the middle of a lift at Finlandia and scored a disastrous 77.26 for the debut of their free dance. And in November, they were forced to withdraw midway through their second Grand Prix event after Kaitlin contracted food poisoning.

Their programs are a mixed bag. While their Nutcracker short dance ups their level of difficulty, their attempt to bring ballet character to the ice has so far been just that -- an attempt. Comparison with the Shibutani's Coppélia would be unfavorable. The choice of Nutcracker and their struggle to make the ballet movement look convincing has emphasized their youthfulness in the wrong way. Their costumes didn't help, although it looks like Kaitlin will have a brand new dress with a more mature silhouette for nationals.

Their free dance to the soundtrack of The Theory of Everything tells the story of Stephen Hawking's relationship with his wife during the onset of his ALS. Although the program is similar to their previous lyrical free dances set to movie soundtracks like Amelie and Romeo & Juliet, they tackle a more mature and challenging theme and incorporate touches of contemporary dance that are interesting and unexpected. The program's music edit is imperfect, with five (!) cuts of music that still fail to build to an effective conclusion. But Kaitlin and Jean-Luc's connection to the music and the story is evident, and it's refreshing to see a team incorporate explicitly contemporary choreography into their program without any of the usual trappings or gimmicks that often find their way into contemporary-influenced programs.



Technically, their levels have shown modest but steady improvement this season. The exception is their combination spin, which is still being called Level 2 almost all of the time (in fact, they've only received full points for it twice in their senior careers). And while Kaitlin's twizzles are still unpredictable, they've minimized the risk by making them the first element in both of their programs.

It's definitely not the season they hoped for, but Kaitlin and Jean-Luc have pushed themselves to learn all new lifts, increase the difficulty of their programs, and explore a new style. Although their performance at Nationals is unlikely to result in a spot on the world team or even another trip to Four Continents, they'll be able to build on this season going forward.

Short Dance - SB: 58.76, Average: 57.31
Free Dance - SB: 94.30, Average: 88.57 (or 94.23 if you consider Finlandia an outlier)


5. Anastasia Cannuscio & Colin McManus



Anastasia and Colin have a charming set of programs, and it's been nice to see them more often than expected; they were the host pick at Skate America once again and were also added to NHK Trophy after a withdrawal. Their short is a crowd-pleasing Cinderella-themed waltz that ends with the tick-tock of the clock counting down to midnight. Their Beethoven free dance casts Colin as the ailing composer and Anastasia as his music. At the beginning of the season, Anastasia and Colin released a video outlining the story they're attempting to convey. Anastasia shines in her sprightly role from the moment she pops out from behind Colin and spins off on her own, a perfect (and adorable) manifestation of the idea that art has a life of its own. The choreography is perhaps overly literal in a few spots, like the points where Colin clutches his ear (Beethoven goes deaf, you see!), but overall it's an effective and memorable program that absolutely succeeds in conveying the story they set out to tell.

The trouble spot for them this season has been the twizzles in the free dance; they've received Level 1 at three out of four events -- a very costly error. Since they perform similar twizzles without incident at the beginning of their short dance, the element's placement in the final, frenzied section of their free dance is probably to blame. Hopefully they'll have moved the element up for Nationals and won't leave those points on the table!

Technically, Anastasia and Colin don't quite have the quality of the teams ahead of them, but they are good performers who feel the music and have a warm presence on the ice. Last year Anastasia and Colin had a strong outing at Nationals, earning a surprise spot in the final group and appearing on NBC's televised broadcast. With Aldridge and Eaton's split, they should be a comfortable fifth here.

Short Dance - SB: 55.21, Average: 54.18
Free Dance - SB: 90.75, Average: 83.30


Other Teams

Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton split after Nationals last year, following two seasons of disappointing results. They've both regrouped with new, relatively inexperienced partners. Daniel has partnered with Danielle Thomas, who'd only skated for one year as a junior. Alexandra has partnered with former pairs skater Matthew Blackmer who is so new to ice dance that he only recently passed all of the required pattern tests. At the moment, Thomas and Eaton have the upper hand, finishing nearly twenty points ahead of Aldridge and Blackmer at Midwestern Sectionals in November. Karina Manta and Joe Johnson, another new(ish) team, are also in the mix. Manta/Johnson have already beaten Aldridge/Blackmer at Lake Placid and Thomas/Eaton at Autumn Classic. They also won Pacific Coast Sectionals with scores comparable to Thomas/Eaton's. With two good programs, they'll be in the mix for sixth place.

When to Watch
Short Dance - January 22nd @ 3:30PM EST on IceNetwork
Free Dance (Group 1) - January 23rd @ 11:47AM EST on IceNetwork
Free Dance (Groups 2&3) - January 23rd @ 3:00PM EST on NBC