2007 LPIDC Program Notebook – Novice
Compulsory Dance Superfinal
Report by Melanie Hoyt
Lauren McKernan & Matt Kleffman
She has a great smile, and they perform a very solid and confident dance. Their last pattern may have been a bit smaller than the rest of their patterns.
Katie Wyble & Justin Morrow
A very energetic opening sets them up for the dance. Her shoulders looked tight in the first couple of patterns, but then it looked like she started to relax. Their closing also had good energy, but it appeared somewhat cautious overall.
Megan Evans & Nathan Truesdell
Their pattern appeared to be on the larger side, and they had good speed throughout the dance. Her free arm was very relaxed and she used it well. Their last pattern looked a bit smaller than the others to me.
Anastasia Olson & Jordan Cowan
She has good presence in the opening and a nice smile. I thought that they looked shaky on some of their turns, especially the last couple of patterns. Their first two patterns, however, were strong.
Lauren Ely & Travis Mager
I love the turquoise and black costumes! They opened with great energy, but they looked hesitant on their first pattern. Their steps are not very snappy, and she looks unsure on some of the turns. I thought that they had a slight misstep on the last turn, but they recovered almost instantly.
Elizabeth Lewis & Baxter Burbank
She has an adorable pink dress! I thought that they could have benefited from having a longer opening – they waited in their poses for longer than most of the other teams. Overall, it needed to be crisper, but it was a solid dance.
Chloe Wolf & Rhys Ainsworth
They were crisp and appeared to be confident. I noticed that they had a good push on the longer steps. Showing great control, they performed a very strong, enjoyable dance.
Claire Schretlen & Chase Brogan
She may have had a slight misstep on the fifth pattern. They looked confident and gave a strong performance, but sometimes, his foot returns to the ice faster than hers, compromising their unison.
Free Dance
Group A
Novice Free Dance Group A
Reported by Tammi McManus
Natalie Wojton/Michael Soyer: Very jazzy program. The team opened with twizzles, good synchronization and okay speed. Nice straight-line lift, each on one foot, grabbing the others blade. Strong one arm rotational lift. Nice smiles and energy throughout.
Una Donegan/Andrew Korda: Anytime, Anywhere. First set of twizzles had good speed and in synch. Lifts were very strong and included an upside down lift, combo lift in spread eagle position and one arm rotational lift. Nice program.
Claire Shretlen/Chase Brogan: Music from Troy. Nice upside down lift and diagonal footwork sequence. Attempted a catch blade element on the twizzles.
Kelsey Marie Little/Ryan Mason: Very nice opening, lyrical and setting the mood of the program. Difficult positions in the lifts. First set of twizzles were okay. Extended lift may have been too long.
Laurence Darveau/Simon Prouix-Senecal: Skated to a Christina Aguilara medley. First set of twizzles good, she had a fall on the 2nd set. Nice lift with him in a sit position and her doing a push up on his legs.
Anastasia Olson/Jordan Cowan: Gypsy music program looked very polished. Second set of twizzles picked up speed and well done. Overall, a clean, well skated program.
Nikki Yorgiadis/Graham Hockley: Medley of 40’s music. Looked like they really enjoyed the program and she was singing along. Strong twizzles and great split jump by him. Ran into some trouble with the spin and towards the end of the program.
Ariane Beaudry/Marcus Connolly: Corpse Bride with very theatrical costumes. Twizzle sequence was okay, but he had a foot down on the 2nd set. She had a fall on the footwork, but the program did pick up speed towards the end.
Janine Ashley Halstead/Robert Knopf, Jr.: Flamenco music. Nice start and good spin with him in back scratch position. Looked a little cautious in the middle, twizzles were okay.
Laurin Benson/Chris Lettner: Music from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Nice cut of music, starting very dramatic, and then moving into more lyrical. Twizzle sequence was good and picked up speed into the 2nd set. Nice program.
Lauren McKernan/Matt Kleffman: Good speed in the program with strong, controlled lifts. Were having trouble with the twizzles in some of the warm-ups, but hung onto them during the competition. Circular footwork maintained speed.
Megan Evans/Nathan Truesdell: Music from Little Miss Sunshine. Polished team, with strong lifts and good speed throughout the program. Had a very nice balance move with both on one leg, very low to the ice.
Group B
Reported by Tammi McManus
Chloe Wolf/Rhys Ainsworth: Skated to Les Miserables. Looking very polished in their performance. Slight problem with the 2nd set of twizzles. Nice spread eagle into a rotational lift and good expression.
Ryan Coombs/Christian Pickard: Putting on the Ritz. Nice lifts and hung onto the twizzle sequence. Fun program, but needs a little more expression.
Olivia Martins/Alvin Chau: Very nice opening. Strong twizzles, very fast and controlled. Footwork sequence had good speed. Wonderful, strong performance.
Mariah Benfield/Eugene Holmes: Spread eagle elements done in unison. First twizzle sequence okay, he put his foot down on the 2nd set. Nice no hold lift.
Grace Lee Sells/Robert Cuthbertson: West Side Story. Twizzles were okay, little problem with the 2nd set. Beautiful straightline lift with him holding her foot. The spread eagle extended lift was very nice.
Molly Raymond/Nathan Raymond: Georgia & Hit the Road Jack. Had a good start to the program, but a fall going into the spin. Very nice counter balance lift with both in a very low position on the ice.
Joanna Salvagna/Marc-Andre Servant: Elvis Medley. She had a fall in the beginning of the program, but they recovered well. Twizzles were nice and they had good speed in the footwork.
Lauren Ely/Travis Mager: Sitting on top of the World & Mack the Knife. Strong opening, but she had a slight stumble. Good circular footwork and twizzle sequence. Nice expression by both throughout the program.
Liza Branella/Ben Nykiel: Tango, Tango, Tango. Good diagonal footwork, but lost a little speed towards the end. First twizzle sequence strong, her foot down on the 2nd set. Very nice lifts.
Lauren Corry/Donald Bradner: Beatles Medley. Nice opening lift, very long spin. Difficult lift with both very low to the ice, but lost a lot of speed. Slight stumble on the footwork. Twizzle sequence was very good.
Olivia Griggs/Aaron Arnott: Good opening, very nice lift. Slight stumble in the circular footwork sequence. Mid-line footwork was in synch, looked nice. Needs a little more expression.
Kate McDermott/Colin McManus: Cosmic Girl, Release the Pressure, Canned Heat. Very different type of program and music. Nice upbeat start. First set of twizzles, strong and fast, he had a fall on the 2nd set. Curve lift, nice position by both of them. Circular footwork had good speed throughout, but he had a fall at the very end.
Elizabeth Lewis/Baxter Burbank: Good speed in the program, he had a slight stumble during one of the transitions. Nice combo lift in a spread eagle position and good speed on their rotational lift. Unfortunately, her hair ribbon fell onto the ice.