Olympic Figure Skating for Dummies Vol III: Ice Dance
Wondering which ice dance teams are in contention for a medal in Sochi? Wonder no longer!
The top contenders
Meryl Davis and Charlie White -- USA
Barring a huge -- and hugely uncharacteristic -- mistake, the current world champions and silver medalists from Vancouver are going to win the gold medal. They have been neck and neck with rivals and training mates Virtue/Moir the past four years, and have worked exceptionally hard to get to the top of the sport. These two teams have pushed each other at the rink daily and are responsible for the reinvigoration of ice dance and pushing it to a more athletic level. Like Tessa and Scott, Meryl and Charlie have skated together for an incredible 17 years, which is certainly an important factor in why both teams have achieved such success. You can't buy that kind of synergy.
Meryl and Charlie have always had a powerful, dynamic style. They are big and bold and passionate, with great speed and attack in everything they do. They are also incredibly consistent. I think the last major mistake I can remember them making was when Charlie had a fall at Skate America in 2011 or 2012. Seriously, they never miss. They don't have the emotional connection and chemistry between them that some teams have (although that's subjective, of course), but they are aggressive and daring in their free dance. They will go down as one of the best teams in ice dance history.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir -- Canada
Tessa and Scott changed the face of ice dance. They became a team at ages 7 and 9, and in their first year of senior competition in 2006-7 they were an incredible sixth at Worlds. This is pretty much unheard of in ice dance, where teams toil for years to move up the standings. They won silver the next year, and of course rose to the top of the world when they won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010 -- the first North American team to do so. Their success pushed Davis/White to greater heights, and that rivalry has also pulled the teams below along in their wake as everyone strives to reach the standard set by V/M and D/W.
Tessa has struggled greatly with compartment syndrome, and has had two surgeries. She was in serious pain in Vancouver, but never let it show. She has also been surprisingly inconsistent on the twizzles of late -- twizzles being a vital element considered the quad of ice dance due to the high point value.
Where D/W are bold, Tessa and Scott are subtle and intricate. They have a wonderful connection with each other on the ice, and their edges are sublime. They have a completely different style from D/W, with both teams a unique voice in ice dance. In their last season of competition, Tessa and Scott have two gorgeous programs, and although they will very likely take silver in Sochi, they will go down as one of the greatest and most influential teams in history.
The strong contenders
Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev -- Russia
This team won bronze at Worlds in March, and have been largely considered a lock for the bronze medal in Sochi despite weaknesses in their skating. However they have reworked their programs and skipped Europeans, with talk that they will go back to last season's free skate (pictured above). In their free skate this season they played birds, and there was a barking dog in the music, and it was frankly a hot mess. I think they will likely take bronze (especially with last year's tasteful free dance -- never thought I'd see a Russian ice dancer compete in a gray cableknit), but it's a little more uncertain now.
Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov -- Russia
The knock on this team has always been their inconsistency. Their former coach will take every opportunity to tell us that they did not have a strong enough work ethic, and their frequent inability to skate clean would suggest he's right. But at the team event last week, they lived up to their potential and delivered a strong free dance. Can they do it again? They were second at Europeans in January after disastrous twizzles (aka a twizzaster), but could ride the momentum from the team event to the podium with two more clean performances.
Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat -- France
Nathalie and Fabian won bronze at Worlds a couple of years ago, but have fallen down the rankings since. A quirky and fun team, they have not always been consistent in competition, but in their likely final season have two strong programs. Can they pull off a bronze? It will probably depend on how the Russians fare.
Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje -- Canada
Kaitlyn is originally from Texas, and moved to Canada to skate with Andrew. They narrowly and devastatingly missed the Vancouver Olympic team in 2010, and have worked tremendously hard the past several years. Kaitlyn's technical skills in particular have improved greatly. A couple off the ice, they have great chemistry and emotion between them, and have overcome the odds before. Last season Kaitlyn broke her ankle when she slid into the boards in training and her blade got jammed. Doctors said she'd never recover in time for Worlds, but she proved them wrong, and she and Andrew skated to fifth place. They are certainly battling for that bronze in Sochi.
Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte -- Italy
This team oozes class and sophistication. They are always impeccably and beautifully costumed, and are very well matched on the ice. They won Europeans in January after I/K faltered, and have a smooth, fluid style. They have an outside shot at the bronze, and are a team to watch in the future. And because I can't resist:
*fans self* Not too hard on the eyes -- nor are any of these teams. :D
Those are my picks for podium contenders in ice dance!
The top contenders
Meryl Davis and Charlie White -- USA
Barring a huge -- and hugely uncharacteristic -- mistake, the current world champions and silver medalists from Vancouver are going to win the gold medal. They have been neck and neck with rivals and training mates Virtue/Moir the past four years, and have worked exceptionally hard to get to the top of the sport. These two teams have pushed each other at the rink daily and are responsible for the reinvigoration of ice dance and pushing it to a more athletic level. Like Tessa and Scott, Meryl and Charlie have skated together for an incredible 17 years, which is certainly an important factor in why both teams have achieved such success. You can't buy that kind of synergy.
Meryl and Charlie have always had a powerful, dynamic style. They are big and bold and passionate, with great speed and attack in everything they do. They are also incredibly consistent. I think the last major mistake I can remember them making was when Charlie had a fall at Skate America in 2011 or 2012. Seriously, they never miss. They don't have the emotional connection and chemistry between them that some teams have (although that's subjective, of course), but they are aggressive and daring in their free dance. They will go down as one of the best teams in ice dance history.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir -- Canada
Tessa and Scott changed the face of ice dance. They became a team at ages 7 and 9, and in their first year of senior competition in 2006-7 they were an incredible sixth at Worlds. This is pretty much unheard of in ice dance, where teams toil for years to move up the standings. They won silver the next year, and of course rose to the top of the world when they won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010 -- the first North American team to do so. Their success pushed Davis/White to greater heights, and that rivalry has also pulled the teams below along in their wake as everyone strives to reach the standard set by V/M and D/W.
Tessa has struggled greatly with compartment syndrome, and has had two surgeries. She was in serious pain in Vancouver, but never let it show. She has also been surprisingly inconsistent on the twizzles of late -- twizzles being a vital element considered the quad of ice dance due to the high point value.
Where D/W are bold, Tessa and Scott are subtle and intricate. They have a wonderful connection with each other on the ice, and their edges are sublime. They have a completely different style from D/W, with both teams a unique voice in ice dance. In their last season of competition, Tessa and Scott have two gorgeous programs, and although they will very likely take silver in Sochi, they will go down as one of the greatest and most influential teams in history.
The strong contenders
Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev -- Russia
This team won bronze at Worlds in March, and have been largely considered a lock for the bronze medal in Sochi despite weaknesses in their skating. However they have reworked their programs and skipped Europeans, with talk that they will go back to last season's free skate (pictured above). In their free skate this season they played birds, and there was a barking dog in the music, and it was frankly a hot mess. I think they will likely take bronze (especially with last year's tasteful free dance -- never thought I'd see a Russian ice dancer compete in a gray cableknit), but it's a little more uncertain now.
Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov -- Russia
The knock on this team has always been their inconsistency. Their former coach will take every opportunity to tell us that they did not have a strong enough work ethic, and their frequent inability to skate clean would suggest he's right. But at the team event last week, they lived up to their potential and delivered a strong free dance. Can they do it again? They were second at Europeans in January after disastrous twizzles (aka a twizzaster), but could ride the momentum from the team event to the podium with two more clean performances.
Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat -- France
Nathalie and Fabian won bronze at Worlds a couple of years ago, but have fallen down the rankings since. A quirky and fun team, they have not always been consistent in competition, but in their likely final season have two strong programs. Can they pull off a bronze? It will probably depend on how the Russians fare.
Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje -- Canada
Kaitlyn is originally from Texas, and moved to Canada to skate with Andrew. They narrowly and devastatingly missed the Vancouver Olympic team in 2010, and have worked tremendously hard the past several years. Kaitlyn's technical skills in particular have improved greatly. A couple off the ice, they have great chemistry and emotion between them, and have overcome the odds before. Last season Kaitlyn broke her ankle when she slid into the boards in training and her blade got jammed. Doctors said she'd never recover in time for Worlds, but she proved them wrong, and she and Andrew skated to fifth place. They are certainly battling for that bronze in Sochi.
Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte -- Italy
This team oozes class and sophistication. They are always impeccably and beautifully costumed, and are very well matched on the ice. They won Europeans in January after I/K faltered, and have a smooth, fluid style. They have an outside shot at the bronze, and are a team to watch in the future. And because I can't resist:
*fans self* Not too hard on the eyes -- nor are any of these teams. :D
Those are my picks for podium contenders in ice dance!