5 minutes ago, Fay said:

I find watching Russian ladies depressing. Tutberidze girls are just identical. Ok, Sasha might stand out because she’s behind the others in posture and skating skills. All the others… yawn. 
And then Russian fans dare to accuse Japanese girls of looking and skating the same! 

Yes, even their costumes are kind of the same, very similar ideas, repeated every season. All the movements, transitions, ideas for starting/ending poses - they have one structure for the program, that's the main problem for me. One formula and dozens of skaters who serve that formula. Typical group training - they do the same and those who can be strongest at the moment will win. But for the audience who is very well familiar with that formula and all of its features, nothing can impress any longer. Yes, they have quads - we've already seen many, high kicks - we've seen many, flexible backs -we've seen way too many... It;s really boring and the coaches look the most bored

Kseniia will go for 4T tomorrow: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1101096449-kseniya-siniczyna-zavtra-v-proizvolnoj-programme-ya-budu-probovat-chet.html

(and OT but she also has a visa for Skate America, it's great she doesn't have to deal with that after the test skate).

 

 

Mark Kondratiuk and Kseniia are indisputable winners of this.

 

( I mean, I know Kamila would win it and deservedly after her program, but Kseniia IS SO GREAT ;;;; Please RusFed don't drop her like Gubanova )

since I love pain I gave a look to some skates...

Weird enough I liked Anya's sp better among the main contenders. May be just the music, but it was the one that stood out the most (even if I could do without the overuse of those bended hands that I suppose are meant for to give that """oriental""" vibe that apparently is all the rage but god forbid asian skaters skate to their own music, that's too hard to understand for judges, right?). Felt nothing from the others, if not that Kamila is gonna get all the scores and Sasha's dress&hair combo looks impressive (I feel I've already seen that dress, and also music and costume made me think about Tarakanova, so now I'm missing her )

Since I like Dasha I hoped for a tolerable program. Well, turns out I hate it I didn't have high expectation and I can easily like Greatest Showman programs because it's still one of my fave warhorses, but mehhh the choreo is so generic, there's no trace of any of the softness, any of the passion, not one bit of the theme of the song. They actually made it into something depressing, same old dramatic something. Reaching out once or twice on the music cue is not meaningful choreo, Daniil! (also argh cameraman at one point thought it was better keep filming the coaches rather than move the camera to keep Dasha in the frame. wtf!)

(side note: Ted is insufferable. Connection to the music, really? Maybe so, but not the one they're skating to)

Thankfully Kseniia has a nice program she connects to, nice choreo. It could have easily ended as yet another generic dramatic program but instead it works, and even the costume is pretty and original. What a breath of fresh air! I'll be rooting for her even if I know perfectly well she doesn't stand a chance for OWG, even if she were to successfully land a quad.

 

 

I look forward to the free programs.

 

Free dance: I really dislike Abachkina/Drozd free skate, what a horrible choreo and messy performance. 

 

Davis/Smolkin - the same, sparkling costumes, lots of dramatic movements and expressions, pretty good skills but no charisma; too much of everything to cover up lack of personal style and team's chemistry

Skoptcova/Aleshin - softer and more lyrical style, I enjoyed it much more than previous two teams

Khudaiberdieva/Bazin - another weird, dramatic program I don't get. Sorry Liza, but imitating Sui Wenjing's haircut and skating to the same music doesn't add you charisma, find your own. It's ok to do such a things at junior level, when you can imitate your hero and call it isnpiration, but not as a senior at highest level, this is just a much worse copy, not inspiring at all.

 

The music cut was extremely random in Sinitsina/Katsalapov's free dance o.O I am not sure I understand this program either hmm. And Nikita's twizzle in the first half was so messy again.

Sinitsina/Katsalapov - techniqually they are great and she's a star but am I the only one who has an impression that they skate the same porgram like 6th season in the row? Yes, music changes, but it's always some classic elegant piece, romantic choreo, nude dress for her - no stylistic risk, very conservative approach, I find it boring. 

5 minutes ago, rubyblue said:

Sinitsina/Katsalapov - techniqually they are great and she's a star but am I the only one who has an impression that they skate the same porgram like 6th season in the row? Yes, music changes, but it's always some classic elegant piece, romantic choreo, nude dress for her - no stylistic risk, very conservative approach, I find it boring. 

 

I was thinking the same that this program looks exactly like what they did in the past seasons. Minus the strange music cut and last part of their free dance.

I wonder why it is PC who get accused of sameness while there’s SK who skated the same FD for the whole Olympics cycle. 

19 minutes ago, Fay said:

I wonder why it is PC who get accused of sameness while there’s SK who skated the same FD for the whole Olympics cycle. 

 

Maybe because P/C chose very similar lyrical free dances for five seasons in a row and they won 4 Worlds titles unlike S/K

4 falls from Petr  They were very bad falls...I thought he'd stop after the 3Lz. I hope he didn't injure himself.