Ice dance drama. Free dance

For ice dancers the second day at Rostelecom Cup 2015 was no less dramatic. Ksenia Monko Kirill Khaliavin had to withdraw from competition. Ksenia fell badly from the lift at trainings. Too bad they wasn’t able to compete and maybe improve somehow their results, also it was a Kirill Khaliavin’s birthday.

I think Charlene Guignard – Marco Fabbri’s costumes for the free dance are full and distracting, so I tried my best to abstract from costumes and look only at skating. And I need to say that the dance itself is good and strong. Lots of interesting elements. Really very well done. So, I wish they change their costumes to something less realistic. Not without mistakes but pretty impressive.

When it was already nothing to lose Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin skated their free dance very good, with energy and passion. I think it was their best skate of this dance by this time. But….judges love consistent skaters what they showed perfectly in the second mark. Great skaters, good dance but too unreliable duo for Federation to make a bet on them on Worlds.

As I predicted in my review of the short dance, nothing has changed at the top-3. But as I also wrote, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov did the best they can (no without the help of Federation of course) and their marks are close to the leaders. It’s good a bit of a help for the European and World championships. Their free dance maybe not so energetic and impressive as Ilinykh Zhiganshin’s Frida but this dance is suitable and convenient for them and help them to show their strengths.

Free dance of the Italians Anna Cappellini Luca Lanotte yet is my favorite among all free dances of the season. It’s so fun and full of life. A dance just for them that always make the audience smile. Impressive first two lifts, the last one yet look no so good (it the same as in the short). Maybe they will think of a different one, especially for the final?

Kaitlyn Weaver Andrew Poje on the contrast with sweet Italians looked so mature and dramatic! I really liked their dance, it’s something new for them. Good that they have learned new lifts, it will add them some bonuses in the judges eyes. It was strong performance, technically and emotionally. Canadians definitely wants the Worlds title)

Related topics: Anna Cappellini Luca Lanotte, Charlene Guignard Marco Fabbri, Elena Ilinykh Ruslan Zhiganshin, grand prix, ice dance, Kaitlyn Weaver Andrew Poje, Ksenia Monko Kirill Khaliavin, Rostelecom Cup, rostelecom cup 2015, Victoria Sinitsina Nikita Katsalapov