Hi everyone! Liz attended the practices alone and this was my first time reporting practices so please forgive me if they are confusing. I tried to give extra detail on the ladies runthroughs since they won't be seen until tomorrow night. In the practice summaries, I used the abbreviations for the jumps below. We did not use these abbreviations for the SP reviews. We attended the SP's together and very detailed reviews of the SP's including music, costume, all elements and comments follow the practice summaries. We don't guarantee the accuracy, but we like to think it's at least 99%. (Not modest or anything are we?) I hope you have as much fun reading them as we did watching them! Day one down, three to go!

a = axel
z = lutz
f = flip
l = loop
s = salchow
t = toe loop
rt = runthrough (of a program in practices)

Thursday, October 29

** PRACTICES - short and long program practices **

Ladies Practice, Group B
McConn, Malinina, Fontana, Bobek, Nikdinov

McConn
SP rt…nice 3z-2t, nice 2a! Skating to Duke Ellington's Caravan. LP rt…trouble here, popping and falling on a number of jumps. Latin guitar music w/synth (Tesh?)

Nikodinov
Very half-hearted all morning. Practicing lots of edge jumps, sals, loops, axels
SP rt…pretty violin music, 3z-2t clean, 3f (fall) stopped and gave up. SP #2 … blew it off almost completely, laughing.

Bobek
Spent most of the time talking to Callaghan at the boards. Problems w/everything, either popped or doubled. She really is stunning in person - those expessions!
SP rt…percussive music, less folky. Popped 3z (back to long edge entry in corner, flutzed.) 3t, 2a OK. Nice final spin.

Fontana
LP rt…all kinds of problems, didn't hit much except 3t and 2a.

Malinina
LP rt…Aladdin program from last year. More relaxed looking in person, but all kinds of problems too. But her final scratch spin! Wow! Major speed!

Ladies Practice, Group A

Butyrskaya, Arakawa, Rechnio, Robinson, Sokolova

Robinson
Much improved and very solid on 3l and 3s, hit 3f's and 3l's (but some with touch downs or 2 foots.)
SP rt…half hearted SP rt #2…Slow violin music, 2a, 3z (2foot)-2t, another clean triple (missed it).

Rechnio
SP rt…Muzaked Barry Manilow? Heavy orchestra, sax, percussion, YUK! Problems with flip all session. 3f, 3z(2 foot)-2toe. LP rt…Goodwill Games program, 3f-2t, 3z(2foot), then gave up.

Arakawa
Good technique, I wish she had more personality and attack - she could be really good. Hitting effortless 3t-3t's
SP rt…pretty violin music. 3z-2t, 3f, singled axel.

Butyrskaya
Didn't do a whole lot but was hitting most of what she tried.
SP rt…Slow jazzy music, (NOT "Fever") that picks up speed at the end. Nice 3z-2t, 3l (rough and she stopped), 2a.

Sokolova
Commanded this practice. Much improved and really on today, hitting everything she tried!
SP rt…jazzy music too, 3l, 2a…kept stopping. LP rt…purposely skipped lutz and flip but hit everything else really well.

Dance Practice, Group B

CD (Ravensburger Waltz) and OD (Waltz)

LeFebvre/Brunet, Fusar-Poli/Margaglio, Arakawa/Miamoto, Lobacheva/Averbukh, Semenovich/Federov

LeFebvre/Brunet
OD has vocals "A Most Unusual Day/Time?" are the lyrics. Not as fast as some of the top couples.

Fusar-Poli/Margaglio
OD is a famous Strauss waltz, lots of turns, twizzles, passion, intertwined lifts

Arakawa/Miamoto
Still look junior team.

Lobacheva/Averbukh
OD is Strauss too. Great opening! Complex choreography, big sweeping moves as opposed to F-P/M. They seem to be just a tad better than F-P/M, though it's hard to put your finger on why. Both of these teams commanded these sessions and you can easily see why they are at the top.

Semenovich/Fedorov
OD Good choreography, but skate much farther apart and don't turn as fast than L/A and F-P/M.

Dance Practice, Group A
Fuhring/Ellinger, Anissina/Peizerat, Chalom/Gates, Lang/Tchernyshev

Fuhring/Ellinger
Not a great team, but a bit of an attitude and refused to be intimidated by anyone and were actually trying to intimidate A/P - it was funny to watch. She was doing a solo spirals to rival Bobek!

Anissina/Peizerat
Gwendal's hair is even longer and wilder! OD is Masquerade Waltz. Timing a little off, lots of turning, similar to K&O's with lots of passion.

Chalom/Gates
Eve's gone really red with her hair. Also doing the Masquerade Waltz. Lots of turns too, some nice, tricky moves and the difficulty is well-balanced between them.

Lang/Tchernyshev
Masquerade Waltz #3!!!!! Interesting pattern over ice. That have more presence than C/G and are maybe a tad faster.

Pairs Practice, Group A

Abitbol/Bernardis, Berezhnaia/Sikharulidze, Khalturina/Kroukov, Maksuta/Zhovnirsky

Abitbol/Bernardis
SP rt…Spanish flamenco music, major problems with the music which was pissing them off and took awhile to get started. Major problems coming out of SBS spins in unison and they were getting pissed at each other. He's very shaking on the solo 3t, and kept doubling a lot. They didn't look "on" and really tight.

Khalturina/Kroukov
SP rt…Warsaw Concerto. SBS 3s's and were hitting them. Throw 3s very solid. Looking very good and serious. Spent a lot of time working on SBS 3s's and lifts.

Berezhnaia/Sikharulidze
Throw 3l is really solid and awesome!
LP rt…very unique music, opera vocal (like Katia's Brasilian Bachiana) with no words all the way through. Very pretty. Really were skating well overall, hitting 3t's with little problems.

Maksuta/Zhovnirsky
SP rt…Riverdance. SBS 3t's, good SBS spins, decent speed. She looks a little nervous. They are still a little juniorish in presentation and seemed a bit intimidated, but they are going to be good!

Pairs Practice, Group B

Sargeant/Wirtz, Hartsells, Ina/Zimmerman, Steiglers
Stieglers
Worked on SBS 2l's, 2a-2t's. Throw 3l is looking really solid. SP rt…Don Quixote. Th 3l, then they took a REALLY bad fall out of a lift where Johnny tripped himself. It happened right in front of me and it was scary! They are lucky they were both ok. They left shortly after and skipped the opportunity for a second rt.

Sargeant/Wirtz
SP rt…Tchaikovsky Violin Conc., mvt. 3, Kristy was doubling her 3t's. They didn't make much impression on me … they also left early.

Hartsells
SP rt…funky, percussive, exotic music. Having problems with the SBS 3t's, throw 3s's are very solid.

Ina/Zimmerman
SBS 3t's - he's having problems all session and just managed to squeak a couple out.
SP rt…Don Quixote (different from Steiglers) SBS 3t's (he fell, she stumbled and she looked mad). Double twist is not as high as with Dungjen. Final combo spin - they do the "Artur" spin!!!! LP rt…Phantom of the Opera, but left early and didn't take advantage of it.

Men's Practice, Group A

Hebert, Stojko, Litvinov, Clark, Delmore, Weiss

Hebert
SP rt…hitting 3a, but it's not very big. Hit a 3a combo in the rt. 3z, 2a, clean runthrough and good practice. Looked really good.

Stojko
Spent most of his time working on the quad of out footwork and was having a terrible time. Popped multiple attempts at the quad into triples. Everything was solid (though I didn't see any loops) but that darn quad was giving him fits!

Litvinov
Very rough rt with falls. Was landing 2a-half loop-3t, and 3t-half loop-3t's in practice.

Clark
SP is to 1812 Overture and had a good rt. He was hitting the 3z over and over! Treated us to an awsome combo spin with a great scratch at the end of the session when all the other men had left the ice. Looked so happy and like he was thrilled to be there!

Delmore
3a was giving him problems but he squeaked out a few. Hi s flip and lutz were solid but he started having problems at the end of the session.

Weiss
SP is a Van Halen medley. He was really on and hitting everything. His 3a was consistent and the takeoff looks improved!

Men's Practice, Group B Dambier, Tobel, Hopfes, Tamura, Urmanov, Yagudin

Dambier
Later in the warmup he was hitting 3a's and 3a-3t's.

Tobel
Skipped jumps in his SP rt. Worked on lots of axels finally, hitting a huge 3a. Also hitting huge 3f-3t's.

Hopfes
Lord of Dance (can you say Eltsova/Bushkov flashbacks!?!?) didn't notice much except he has great footwork that got some applause.

Tamura
Looked good and hitting mostly everything he tried.

Urmanov
SP rt…Bach's Toccata and Fugue (not Vannessa Mae)! Nice footwork and a great program. Clean runthrough except a doubled lutz. Worked on 3t-3t, then lutzes, 3a-3t's.

Yagudin
Mishin was watching him intensely! You can already see a difference in flair, arm movements, similar to Kulik (surprise!). Worked on loops, flips, 3t-3t, 3a-3t. Sit spins are much improved. SP rt…clown program, missed quad toe out of footwork. After rt complete went back to working on quad, but just wasn't getting it.

** PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM **

SARGEANT/ WIRTZ (CAN)
Music: Tchaikovsky violin concerto-3 rd movement
Costume: periwinkle chifffon dress-he had periwinkle top and black pants
Elements: SBS 3 toes, 2 twist (low), spiral seq., SBS camel-sit-change-sit (out of sync.), lasso lift 2 hand -1 change flip out, throw 2? Sal, BIDS (back inside death spiral), pairs spin
Comments: footwork on lift was scratchy-they were not particularly fast

ABITBOL/ BERNADIS (FRA)
Music: spanish flamenco?
Costume: more black & gold monstrosities (black crushed velvet w/gold flower trim)
Elements: big 2 twist, throw 3 sal (fall), SBS 2 toes, 1 hand lasso no change, SBS sit-change-sit-eggbeater (out of sync on exit just like practice-they're no Rudy!), BIDS, pairs spin, spiral seq. (straight legs!)
Comments: did not look happy going out there, line a little improved but still not great, lost any spark after her fall-presentation is very traditional for them

STIEGLER/ STIEGLER (USA)
Music: Don Quixote
Costume: he's wearing a Paso Doble getup (black velvet), she's wearing a strapless red & black dress
Elements: throw 3 loop (hand down), SBS 3 toe (he fell), 2 twist (ok), SBS camel-change-camel-eggbeater (he was shaky and almost fell), 2 hand lasso 1 change (slow and cautious prob. due to fall in practice), good spiral seq., BIDS, good combo spin
Comments: she stumbled a little after the SBS spins-great program, interesting choreography with flair, she hits some beautiful positions in the spiral seq. and combo spin. A big shame they had so many mistakes, it's a great program.

HARTSELL/ HARTSELL (USA.)
Music: funky percussive exotic stuff (reports of French Ballet music in the Free Press are waaaaaay wrong)
Costume: black & copper-he wore black bodysuit w/copper sleeves, she wore copper dress w/black skirt
Elements: 2 twist, SBS 3 toe, SBS camel-sit-change-sit, throw 3 sal, comb. spin (awkward on change, little slow at the end), 2 hand lasso 1 change, good spiral seq, BIDS from forward hydroblade entry
Comments: Awesome! Seem more powerful than last year. Not as fast or dynamic as B&S but a great energetic performance. Amy hereby takes back her skepticism over their chances of winning Nationals.

MAKSUTA/ ZHOVNIRSKY (RUS)
Music: Riverdance
Costume: matcing maroon & gold lame trim-arms looked like gold candy canes
Elements: SBS 3 toes (his little overrotated but clean), 2 twist (high but she tapped down on landing), throw 3 sal, SBS sit-change-sit-hold leg-eggbeater, 2 hand lasso 1 change, spiral seq (not holding positions long enough), BIDS, combo spin (slow, not good posititons)
Comments: they're little!! Some strange moves and still have the presence of a junior team but could be really good in a few years.

BEREZNAIA/ SIKHARULIDZE (RUS)
Music: violin music-hard to describe (almost Riverdancy at the end?)
Costume: gold & black Barcelona
Elements: SBS 3 toes, huge 2 twist, throw 3 loop (scratchy landing), BIDS (her leg position on the DS was unusual--she held it up a little), SBS camel-change-camel-sit, 2 hand lasso to 1hand, good spiral seq, combo spin (tad slow)
Comments: a little slower and tentative than usual for them, but definitely the class of the field

INA/ ZIMMERMAN (USA)
Music: Don Quixote (but diff. from Stieglers)
Costume: he wore black Paso Doble getup with red cummerbund, she wore sleeveless red dress w/black fringe around neck
Elements: SBS 3 toes (he fell-big shocker there!), 2 twist (good height), throw 3 sal (fall-his throw was bad), spiral seq. (short), BIDS, SBS camel-sit-change-sit-hold knee back (out of sync), lasso into sort of star pos. 1 change (little tentative), combo spin (M&D spin)
Comments: Would not have wanted to be John Zimmerman after she got up from that throw fall. The look was deadly! Way overmarked on presentation.

KHALTURNIA/ KROUKOV (KZK)
Music: Warsaw Concerto
Costume: peach dress-peach shirt & black pants (classy)
Elements: 2 twist (good height, nice light catch), SBS 3 sals (he doubled, she didn't get around and landed forward), SBS camel-sit-change-sit, BIDS, throw 3 sal, 2 hand lasso to 1 hand (1 hand exit), good spiral seq, OK combo spin
Comments: Their line, flow & expression is improved. It's a crime they're behind A&B.

Standings
1. B&S
2. S&W
3. H&H
4. M&Z
5. A&B
6. K&K
7. I&Z
8. S&S

** MEN'S SHORT PROGRAM **

LAURENT TOBEL (FRA)
Music: slow jazz
Costume: plain black pants and shirt
Elements: 1 axel, 3 flip-3 toe, 3 lutz, sit-change-sit, comb. spin (fast, good center), flying camel, footwork?
Comments: Good, but not as humorous as last year. Expressive-typical Tobel.

DERRICK DELMORE (USA)
Music: Saint-Saens' "Rondo Capricioso"
Costume: brown pants, black vest, white shirt, bow tie (sounds ugly but isn't)
Elements: 3 lutz-2 toe, 3 axel, camel-change-camel, 3 flip, sit-change-sit-corkscrew, circ. step, death drop-sit
Comments: We really liked him.

JEAN-FRANCOIS HEBERT (CAN)
Music: funky percussive African folk music
Costume: black pants, billowy gray shirt
Elements: 3 axel (2 ft.-short rotation)-2 toe, 3 lutz (2 ft.), sit-change-sit, circ step (pretty good), camel-sit-change-camel-sit, straight line step, turns into 2 axel (barely hung on), flying sit
Comments: Cool program and footwork, shame he left it all on the practice ice.

ALEXEI URMANOV (RUS)
Music: Bach "Toccata & Fugue in D Minor" (not Vanessa Mae version)
Costume: black pants, sparkly black shirt w/v-neck decorated w/piano keys
Elements: 3 axel-3 toe (both overrotated, don't know how he pulled it off), 3 lutz (fall), death drop-sit, circ step, 2 axel, sit-hop change-sit, straight line step, camel-sit-change-sit-catchfoot-scratch
Comments: Nice program, less flamboyant. No knee shakes and no eggbeater! Shame he missed the lutz, it looked good in practice.

MICHAEL WEISS (USA)
Music: Van Halen medley ("Jump" sandwiched between 2 Hagar era songs)
Costume: black leather pants, psychedelic yellow-orange-black swirled shirt
Elements: camel-change-camel, 3 axel, 3 flip-2 toe, camel-sit-catchfoot-change-sit-scratch, circ step, straight line step w/split jump, 3 lutz, death drop-sit-scratch
Comments: We both agree he should be doing a lutz combo and not a flip combo. Don't know what he was thinking. Program didn't blow us away, but we liked it and it has the potential to do so if skated really well.

FREDERIC DAMBIER (FRA)
Music: Gary Moore blues song-Pulp Fiction guitar thing
Costume: black leather pants, red shirt
Elements: 3 axel (hands down-fall out), 3 flip-2 toe, circ step, 3 loop (tilted outside but clean), camel-sit-change-sit, straight line step, sit-change-sit, death drop-sit
Comments: Nice straight back on sit spin, ho-hum.

YAMATO TAMURA (JPN)
Music: dark passionate slow movie? music
Costume: military style outfit-white jacket, royal blue pants
Elements: 3 lutz-3 toe (lutz was overrotated), 3 axel (turn out), sit-change-sit, straight line step w/outside spread eagle, 3 flip from mohawk, camel-sit-catchfoot-change-sit-scratch
Comments: more ho-hum

SHEPHERD CLARK (USA)
Music: Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture"
Costume: royal blue w/gold piping, sparkly sleeves
Elements: 3 axel (tilted forward landed on toe)-2 toe, 3 lutz (fall), death drop-sit, circ step, 2 axel, camel-change-camel (traveled), straight line step, camel-sit-layback-change-sit-scratch
Comments: Really a shame since he hit the lutz so effortlessly in practice. Still had a smile on his face. Will be a good program when skated cleanly

ALEXEI YAGUDIN (RUS)
Music: clown music
Costume: black pants, multi-colored fluorescent shaggy arms w/happy/sad theater masks on chest and back
Elements: 3 axel-3 toe, 3 lutz, circ step, 2 axel, death drop-sit, camel-sit-layback-change-sit-eggbeater, serpentine step w/hydroblade thingy at end, cannonball sit-change-sit
Comments: Well done, very clever w/cool mime movements in the beginning. Great footwork. Really pleased and pumping fist when done.

YOURII LITVINOV (KZK)
Music: slow gypsy music, fast dancy music
Costume: green crushed velvet pants, white shirt, brown vest
Elements: 2 flip-2 toe, camel-change-camel, 2 axel, camel-sit-change-camel-sit, spiral, 3 flutz?, flying sit, straight line step
Comments: Poor Yourii, that's all we can say.

MICHAEL HOPFES (GER)
Music: Lord of the Dance (still having flashbacks of Marina Eltsova's "beating heart" move from last year)
Costume: black pants, white top
Elements: looooong entry to 2 axel (sat down on landing), sit-change-sit, 3 flip-2 toe, camel-sit-catchfoot-change-camel-sit-scratch, straight line step (cool toe work), 3 loop, sit-change-sit, circ step
Comments: Great footwork!

ELVIS STOJKO (CAN)
Music: Kodo drums
Costume: black w/gold trim from last year
Elements: 3 axel-2 toe, 4 toe (fall), sit-change-sit, great speed in straight line step, 2 axel, death drop-sit, serpentine step (good), camel-sit-change-camel-sit-scratch
Comments: Not a surprise he fell on the quad given the practices, but give him a lot of credit for going for it. Surprised by the 2 toe on the combination. Footwork needs to be seen live to be appreciated!

Standings:
1. Yagudin
2. Stojko
3. Weiss
4. Urmanov
5. Delmore
6. Tobel
7. Tamura
8. Hopfes
9. Clark
10. Dambier
11. Litvinov
12. Hebert