ISU FOUR CONTINENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Original Dance February 5 2009

RYTHMS OF THE ROARING TWENTIES

The costumes support the chosen rhythm, they provide visual clues as to what the skaters will do and, are quite interesting.

The <<roaring>> will continue at the World Championships in Los Angeles where the <<rythms>> will reach their height for the season. From <<Swing>> to <<Blues>> to <<Ragtime>> the display was dazzling at the Four Continents!

Emily Samuelson / Evan Bates

SWING

Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier

RAGTIME

Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje

SWING/BLUES

Xintong Huang / Xun Zheng

BLUES/SWING

Kimberly Navarro / Brent Bommentry

SWING/SLOW FOX

Of all the teams entered, only two, Meryl Davis / Charlie White and Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir, selected the ‘’Charleston’’  as their rhythm. Scores for both teams were close, a total of 60.42 for  Meryl and Charlie versus a total of 60.90 for Tessa and Scott.

The Chinese teams followed Canada and the United States in the standings with Xintong Huang and Xun Zheng earning their top score.

Xiaoyang YU / Chen Wang

SWING/FOXTROT

Meryl Davis / Charlie White

CHARLESTON

Tessa Virtue /  Scott Moir

CHARLESTON

Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier

A great deal of preparation and research goes into getting each original dance ready. This may include watching old film clips, getting material from libraries, consulting with experts, and, of course, getting all the right information from the ISU!

Some props can now be used if they relate to the character of the dance. For instance we might see the lady using a fan during a Spanish dance.

The next season will see the return of the ‘’Folk and Country Dance’’ rhythms.

As the costumes support the chosen rhythm, the question of eventually combining the compulsory dance with the original dance raises particular problems... How would it be possible to switch, let’s say from the fiery and quite unusual performance of a Scottish Highland dance to the elegance and pomp of the ‘’Viennese Waltz’’?

To perform a particular dance, the skaters must place themselves in a particular frame of mind. Changing instantly from one ‘’character’’ to another would be very difficult, disruptive and likely unattractive.

The American public is very appreciative and supportive of great ice dancing. The dance event at World’s in Los Angeles will be very popular. Let’s hope this will include a great turn out for all portions of the dance event including the compulsory.