Here is a pair of videos from the current competition at the Junior GP at Richmond:
Saturday, September 15, 2018
The future looks bright for Canadian ice dancing.
Dear faithful reader: Not much to report here at diarist central. Still chipping away at the dreaded Mohawk. Making glacial progress. Coach A. and I have added other foundation skills to work on to break up the monotony. After all, one can only do so many Mohawks during a 30 minute lesson. To that end we've been working on back chasses in waltz hold (makes my lower back and Achilles tendons ache in v. short order!), two foot turns (much to my embarrassment I still can't do back-to-front two foot turns without losing all momentum), forward cross rolls with an emphases on making them more progressive-like (seems like everything is supposed to become more progressive-like, i.e. skimming the ice with the advancing foot rather than lifting the blade), back cross rolls with deeper edges and stronger push, etc. etc. Anyway, that's life at present.
What's more fun to talk about is the state of ice dance, particularly in Canada. There's been a lot of gnashing of teeth over the prospect of Tessa and Scott retiring in between Olympic cycles. I say, not to worry: Marjorie Lajoie & Zachery Lagha are the ticket. I've been watching them for the past three years and they get better each year. Above is a video from a novice competition in 2015.Click on full screen for the best view.
By 2022 this will be the pair to beat. See if you don't agree. If I watch these videos a hundred times I won't see everything. The foot work and edges happen much too fast for this old geezer. Thank God I'm not a technical analyst or a judge. How do they keep the choreo in their heads? I struggle to remember a 14 step pattern dance.
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Thanks. That's a relief. I was having nightmares about the prospect of Tessa and Scott retiring.
ReplyDeleteMany do. Marjo and Zach are the cavalry--at least from the Canadian prospective. I take a world view--they are just plain good to watch regardless of nationality. I wish I could trade in my 71 year old body for one that had that flexibility and strength. By the way, at Richmond, they're in first place.
ReplyDeleteThey are super adorable, George. Thanks for alerting me--I've been one of the many who have been gnashing teeth. You have my sympathies about the mohawk repetition--how many times, O Lord?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. I think the future is bright for our up and comers. As for me, I'm still digging away in the trenches of fundamental skills. Now that my forward cross rolls are becoming more "progressive-like" they need more extension! It never ends!
ReplyDeleteActually, those elite skaters spend 2/3 of their training time with skating skills and edge work. I have seen sessions where they had to work on the outside mohawk in the 14 step for 1 hour straight because Martin Scotnicky wasnt satisfied with the outside mohawk.......so since then, I have been working on my still not existing outside mohawk on both sides ever since with the same amout of time. It is te repetitions actually that give you the perfection and the automatism you see on the ice. The warming up is important, but it is true, fight or fight reflexes come instantly to your body if you need them. ;-)
DeleteSome days I spend 100% of my time trying to improve Mohawks and it doesn't do diddly! Well, maybe I'll see a tiny bit of improvement--improvement that likes to disappear rather than find a home in my muscle memory...
DeleteTrue. Progress seems to be tiny.....as I had the idea in the other comment...maybe try figures? It really improves my skating skills if I warm up with those. More and more people do them now, especially adult skaters. If you have the chance of a workshop with figures, do it. :-)
DeleteThanks for the recommendation. The only school figures I can do at present are forward inside and outside 8s to the center. Haven't tried BI or BO 8s. No one is teaching figures in my neck of the woods.
DeleteExactly! I have asked an ice dancing coach last week in a session in Dortmund (Vitali Schulz coaches Kati Müller & Tim Dieck who are at the GP in Helsinki by tomorrow) to teach me BO to BI edges..guess what, it is super difficult as many skaters are not taught this diligently although it is essential for doing Mohawks and Choctaws to be standing on an BI edges and NOT put down the free foot whilst in a Mohawk or Choctaw!
DeleteI can do FO to FI edges quite good, Vitali wanted to see them first and then showed how to to that stuff backwards...much more difficult indeed as I have to do proper knee work and keep the shoulders square as if doing figures....
Maybe you can find a coach with figures knowledge such as Vitali. It is a lot of work to do. But I noticed that after repeating BO to BI edges practice my FO3s and even my RFIMo are promply getting better.....so I will keep on doing this exercise when there is time left and not force any Mo stuff right now (especially not the dreaded R+LFOMo!) It will come more easily when my BO to BI edges are ready.
The judges sit in the training sessions before competitions watching the skaters. It is mandatory for both skaters having to come fully dressed to the training session and judges to be taking notes. My coach who is an ISU judge does it regularly. Lots of work for them. It also influences the competition if skaters are good in such a training session. ;-) It wouldnt be possible to see all of the elements and steps for the judges if they only would see them in competition for the first time. :-)
ReplyDeleteOther wise I agree, Dubrieul/Lauzon in Montreal are doing a fabolous job for Canadian ice dancing! The Worlds in Montreal 2020 will be a real showcase for the Gadbois Center...;-)