Early in the Season, Short Programs are Showing Well
It’s early in the season and many skaters are showing off this season’s new programs for the first time at Skate Canada. There were plenty of bobbles in the short programs, especially the ladies event where nerves got the best of most of the competitors.
But, I am pretty impressed at the quality of the short programs so early in the year. Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov of Russia had a beautifully choreographed and well executed pairs short, as did Joannie Rochette in the ladies event. Cynthia Phaneuf couldn’t put the jumps down but still did her elegant choreography justice. Patrick Chan also put down a very polished performance so early in the season. In contrast, I felt Dube and Davison’s short came off a bit low energy.
If this weekend is any indication, there will be some wonderful performances come the end of the season when the choreography and jumps come together.