Pair Free and Short Dance Olympics Figure Skating Sochi 2014

Pair Free and Short Dance Olympics Figure Skating Sochi 2014
Reviewed by Teresita Blanco

Today, I wanted to review the free and short dances of the Olympic Team Pair dance event. This event was more akin to the fancy jumping variety. The first pair short dance worth reviewing was the one performed by the US team of  Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir.

For their short dance, they performed the song by Santana, " Black Magic Woman". If I remember correctly, they had already won bronze in the team events. Since they already had a metal, they did not feel too pressured to perform better or to win.

As a result, they were able to dance in a more relaxed fashion. This allowed for them to perform some of the complicated jumps without splattering themselves all over the iceberg arena. I thought it was cute whenever Castelli was held up high. I mean her partner is more than six feet tall.

You know why that is so? Well, it makes it easier for the guy to toss around a petite woman. It also makes it a bit harder for the guy, because he has to slow down a lot. This may mess with the guy's natural jumping groove. In conclusion, synchronicity between a giant and a petit cutie is hard to achieve. Long story short, they did great even if the judges did not think so.

The next pair performance worth mentioning was the one performed by the German pair of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. This adorable couple performed to the beat of "The Pink Panther". It was quite reminiscence of that hilarious cartoon. Throughout the entire performance, the couple maintained a playful mood.

I liked some of the bizarre, almost childlike moves that they did. You know, like when the guy jumped over the girl. As they danced, the Russian audience reacted quite positive. At the end of their gig, one of the Russians threw them a pink doll panther, as a gift. Overall, they where one of my favorite performances.

The final short program worth reviewing was the one performed by the Russian pair of Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. For their short dance, they performed a Masquerade waltz. Their performance embodied perfection.

They did some lovely triple jumps and then some. Their turns too looked interesting. They flowed from one element to the next. This team scored the highest. For their short dance, they received their high scores. Frankly, I liked the pink panther better, but what can you do?

Now, let us move onto the short program. I caught the event half way till the end. So, I only watched a few weirdoes. In any case, first team worth mentioning is once again, the US team. Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir performed again their James Bond dance.

They did add a few new elements to score much higher than last time. They even tried the quad throw. Castelli almost got smashed against the floor. Still, she did managed to land somewhat gracefully. So, she got points for the jump. In the end, all the gambles that they took paid off. They obtained their highest personal score.

The next team worth reviewing was the long dance of the Russian team of Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov. They are the petit Russian skater group. For their dance, they chose the Adams Family theme. They did a lot of adorable twist and turns.

The line pants of Klimov helped make his turns look more interesting. This pair too had great unison. They also managed to land a few triple jumps. Well, I think that is enough on this team. Overall, they where pretty peachy.

Last, but certainly not the least, we have the dance pair of Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. I must say that something about their yellow attires made me really hungry. Other than that, I must add that they danced quite beautifully. They did a bunch of twist and turns. In one of those jumps, Voloszhar almost fell, but she managed to save the trick.

Aside from that tiny mistake, the rest of the performance was pretty amassing. Indeed, they where able to fulfill their dream of having the Russian monopolize the ice skating figure skating pair gigs. For completing their goals, this ice skating duet deserves 5 stars rating. The other weirdoes were fine too. However, the main Russian pair was better.