I have been watching the current series of Ice Dancing Grand
Prix competitions as it winds through the various countries: Russia, Canada, China, and Japan, so far,
with France, United States, and Japan (for the final) yet to come.
I am particularly fond of observing particular pairs of ice
dancers perform; especially with regard to the total impact that each of them
make. The four couples that serve as
centerpieces for my observations are:
Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (Canada)
Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (France)
Anna Cappellini/ Luca Lanotte (Italy)
Maia Shibutani/ Alex Shibutani (United States)
And the three that I enjoy watching the most are the last
three on this list.
There are other very fine ice dancers, but these four are
the ones I enjoy the most, for various
reasons:
1.
For some couples, it may be that I don’t like
the costumes, and Russia heads the list for bad costumes. There are a number of Russian dancers for
whom the costumes – and this is particularly true for the ladies – are simply
awful. I especially dislike transparent
skirts on the women, and Russian dancers seem to use them a lot. What the dancers wear, and especially the
women dancers, should serve to present them in the most flattering way, and
often for the Russians, this just isn’t the case.
2.
Sometimes the costumes for the men are designed
to make them fade into the background, so that the women are featured;
sometimes they coordinate with the women’s costume, sometimes they are
neutral. I like to see an effort made so
that the men and the women BOTH flatter themselves and showcase each other. I also find the modern trend of showing, or
appearing to show by using flesh-colored fabric, way too much skin, both
unnecessary and unflattering. I
especially dislike costumes that are designed to appear that large bites have
been taken out of the material, making me wonder if the costume is something
left over from a shark attack. The same
for overly-slashed skirts.
3.
Sometimes it is the choice of music, which goes
a long way to lending mood and theme to the dance. Good music greatly enhances the mood and
beauty of the dance; but bad choice of music can fracture the presentation into
separate and sometimes conflicting parts.
Bad music makes me want to turn off the sound, and for me, the
performance is badly flawed. Luckily for
these performances, however, music is not scored.
4.
Sometimes the skaters just aren’t expert enough
in their craft to get beyond the technical aspects of the skating to include a
presentation of the total program. I’m
very forgiving of the lack of technical skill, though, and I really enjoy
watching younger/newer couples as they begin their careers, especially if
costuming and music are well done. It
was just such a couple – the Shibutanis – that I began watching when they first
arrived on the televised skating programs, and who have now risen to the very
top of the ice dancing scene.
Anyway, on to my observations:
Virtue/Moir:
This couple executes – and I think “executes” is the right
word – a program that emphasizes the athleticism of the pair; and, they are out
to win. The emphasis is on the technical execution of the program, with
the goal of maximal point accumulation. It is hard to fault them in this goal,
since that is, after all, the point of the competition, but with them it is
more obvious than with other skaters. As
a result, technical competence is very high indeed. However, there are some non-technical (and
non-scored) aspects to their program that could be substantially improved. There is very little interaction between the
two of them, for example, and little if any interaction with the audience –
they are focused, and obviously focused, on the technical performance, rather
than the total presentation. Neither Tessa’s
costume nor hairstyle does anything at all to flatter her, (and it would be so
easy to flatter her), but rather the opposite.
It almost seems that it is unflattering on purpose.
Summary: I appreciate
their technical expertise; but I don’t find them all that much fun to watch. In short, they get high scores, but I don’t
care whether or not I see their performance.
Papadakis/Cizeron:
This couple personifies the unearthly, ethereal beauty that
can be achieved through motion. Many
times during their performance the commentators will fall silent, as awed by the
performance as is the audience.
Papadakis wears mildly flattering costumes that often include filmy,
dreamy, floating fabrics that contribute to the spiritual/ethereal content of
the program, and Cizeron is absolutely un-matched in the use of body motions to
bring, and sustain, the exquisite feeling of floating, peaceful, grace. He is one of the few men who draw the eye by
motion alone, without having to make any special effort to do so. Music is expertly chosen to enhance the
feeling of the dance; costumes are chosen to complement each other; skating is
technically perfect; interaction between the two of them is focused on each
other continuously from beginning to end, with the audience put in the position
of an awed voyeur, which is obviously one of the major goals of the program.
Summery: No
performance by these two should be missed, ever.
Cappellini/Lanotte:
This couple is the personification of the joy of dancing
together. They are extremely engaging
people to watch. They interact with each
other constantly, smile often, and draw the audience into their performance as
if the audience were composed of friends that they knew personally. Anna chooses modest (which I like),
well-designed costumes, with skirts that are of a proper length, opaque
(sometimes double-layered with contrasting colors), and that move continuously with
her and flare beautifully when she twirls.
She uses her costume to enhance and project her feminine beauty and
grace, and it helps that she herself is breathtakingly beautiful. Luca’s
costume is designed to mesh seamlessly with Anna’s so that together they help
to tell the story of the dance, often with a hint of boy chasing girl (and both
enjoying the pursuit) in many of their programs. Music is well chosen to enhance the dance and
both are highly technically competent.
Summary: To watch
these two dance on ice fills me with pleasure.
Shibutani/Shibutani:
The word I keep coming to for these two is
“professional”. Nothing is overlooked,
everything is in is proper place. Maia
is a lovely woman and hairstyle and costumes are chosen to enhance every aspect
of her beauty. She chooses modest
outfits with skirts of exactly the right length, of exactly the right color,
and exactly the right consistency so that they flow and flare exactly right as
she moves on the ice. Alex’s costume is
a muted complement to Maia’s costume. Music and dance compositions are designed to
bring out and show off their strengths and talents. I have watched them for years, now, as they
continue to get better and better. They
work together beautifully, and they are very, very good.
Summary: Every
presentation is a jewel.
