Day Two: Favorite Pairs Program
I always had a fascination with pairs since the first time I saw an older friend of mine skate pairs with a guy who I was convinced was too short for her. Never the less they skated beautifully and that's when I
wanted to take a shot at it. My aspirations to becoming an amazing pair skater ended quickly with one swift kick to the head with a skate blade. I still sport the scar to this day and every time I look at it, a
flashback to that skate blade hitting my eyebrow comes back. As a single skater, I only have to count on myself to get the job done and not someone else. There's no drama or yelling when someone misses an
element not is there that exhausting search to find the perfect partner. Not to mention I've been known to like being front and center and sharing the spotlight with someone else is hard!
To choose one favourite pairs program is difficult, however if I had to choose it would have to be Gordeeva and Grinkov's Moonlight Senota. First, Gordeeva and Grinkov are still considered one of the greatest pairs to ever skate. They were technically strong, but also had a soft and graceful side to their skating. Moonlight Sonata had a different feel than any other program I've seen them skate. It had a mature and elegant aspect but also had the speed with every element was timed perfectly to the music. I also really liked the romantic feel it had as you could really feel the love and respect they had for each other.
Honourable Mentions
Shen and Zhao – Turandot: This is tied with my original choice of Gordeeva and Grinkov. This is when this pair took it to the next level in terms on artistic impression. They were always technically sound, but sometimes lacked the feel and mood of their programs. This was not the case with this program, especially at the 2003 World Figure Skating Championship where they dazzled the audience with an exceptional performance. This is when the world fell in love with Shen and Zhao.
Brasseur and Eisler - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: How can one not admire Isabelle after performing this program at the 1994 Olympics with bruised ribs? It may not have had the speed of the Russians but this program was beautiful technically as well as artistically. A beautiful program that deserved the gold medal at worlds and an Olympic bronze medal.
I always had a fascination with pairs since the first time I saw an older friend of mine skate pairs with a guy who I was convinced was too short for her. Never the less they skated beautifully and that's when I
wanted to take a shot at it. My aspirations to becoming an amazing pair skater ended quickly with one swift kick to the head with a skate blade. I still sport the scar to this day and every time I look at it, a
flashback to that skate blade hitting my eyebrow comes back. As a single skater, I only have to count on myself to get the job done and not someone else. There's no drama or yelling when someone misses an
element not is there that exhausting search to find the perfect partner. Not to mention I've been known to like being front and center and sharing the spotlight with someone else is hard!
To choose one favourite pairs program is difficult, however if I had to choose it would have to be Gordeeva and Grinkov's Moonlight Senota. First, Gordeeva and Grinkov are still considered one of the greatest pairs to ever skate. They were technically strong, but also had a soft and graceful side to their skating. Moonlight Sonata had a different feel than any other program I've seen them skate. It had a mature and elegant aspect but also had the speed with every element was timed perfectly to the music. I also really liked the romantic feel it had as you could really feel the love and respect they had for each other.
Honourable Mentions
Shen and Zhao – Turandot: This is tied with my original choice of Gordeeva and Grinkov. This is when this pair took it to the next level in terms on artistic impression. They were always technically sound, but sometimes lacked the feel and mood of their programs. This was not the case with this program, especially at the 2003 World Figure Skating Championship where they dazzled the audience with an exceptional performance. This is when the world fell in love with Shen and Zhao.
Brasseur and Eisler - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: How can one not admire Isabelle after performing this program at the 1994 Olympics with bruised ribs? It may not have had the speed of the Russians but this program was beautiful technically as well as artistically. A beautiful program that deserved the gold medal at worlds and an Olympic bronze medal.
Underhill and Martini – 1983-1984 long program. I can’t remember the name of this program but I remember loving it from the first time I saw it. When they were clean, they made it look effortless even though it was a powerful piece of music. They had so much speed that the program just seem to fly by!
Mishkutienok and Dmitriev – Liebestraume: Classic lines combined with one of the most beautiful classical piece of music makes for a lovely program. Not everyone can pull of a slower piece of music like Liebestraume, but they make it look effortless!
Sexiest pair skater Smirnov!! I've had a fascination with Smirnov for about 3 years now.
A special mention to Danielle Carr and Stephen Carr as I love everything Carr ;)
Good choices! Of course I agree with them all. Moonlight Sonata is simply lovely.
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