Datebook: Monday, July 2nd ~ 2007
I have to admit, these are scary times. With the flip of the calendar we are now officially on the countdown, by days, to Lake Placid.
Four weeks. 28 days.
The scary part? Our choreography is not finished for the OD and I believe we have only had one “complete” run through of the Free Dance. ( I say “We’ here as if I the parent am some type of omniscient presence, like maybe the Sky Cam that they use at Nationals, or actually ‘part of the team’ like Melissa, Dennis and Johnny—three people on the ice).
Because my daughter lives away from home (that only caused two heart palpitations!) I don’t see the programs in progress, I only hear snippets of details about them unless I ask.
“So, how is the OD coming along?”
“Great, we just have to come up with the ending, but we have the final pose. We just need to put in our final two lifts.”
“Wonderful. How many lifts do you have so far?”
“You can only have 2 lifts.”
“So you have no lifts yet and you are going to put them both at the end of the program?
“It’s not a big deal, they’re short lifts—they can’t be more than 6 seconds long.”
“So, you have about 15 seconds left to choreograph?”
“Like I said, it’s going great.”
“And what about your Free Dance?”
“Great. We did our first run through yesterday and we only fell twice.”
“Really.” By now I am open mouth breathing.
“You know you can have jumps now? Yeah, I come out of a sequence and turn and, well, it can’t be more than ½ rotation or it might be considered part of the sequence and that’s not allowed, you can’t have a pattern retrogression.”
“I see.” I answer, not seeing at all. In fact, I am instantly haunted by the fact that I have lived in this fairytale land of not watching the develpment of their programs, so I don’t know them. I will be “seeing” them for the first time perhaps at Lake Placid. And what has happened?
Has the ISU hired Quentin Tarentino as a consultant for “Kill” program requirements? I am going to have to watch lifts, spins, footwork sequences AND an axel, and/or lutz thrown in for a bit of added drama?
I would have grabbed a paper lunch bag to breathe into but I was afraid it would pop and scare the dog who just had surgery.
“I can’t wait to see it,” I lie like any good parent.
“Yep, it’s all good. These are my favorite programs.”
Scary Times, part two. Costumes.
We don’t have any.
Oh, we’ve ordered them, in much the manner I imagine people order a luxury car. You know, where you actually order some of the options in the catalog and don’t just take the show room model. That’s right. We can’t just use crystals from the selection of 8,221 in the workshop, we have to special order crystals from Austria that are 1/100 of a shade lighter, or maybe it’s darker, than the possessed deluxe sparklers.
Because of this I wish Ann Greenthal would consider having a fashion show on Tuesday night before the competition really kicks in. All the skaters could do the “ice-walk’ wearing their current fashions of the year, and the parents could have orchestra type seats so they could appreciate and commiserate together while viewing the current designs in Samba, Yankee Polka, and Blues. Maybe we could make it a charity function.
Anyway, I’m sure the costumes will be ready the day before we leave for up-state New York. Maybe we can stop in Albany so the kids can actually skate in them once before they compete. I am still a bit worried about the OD costume because this year the ISU hinted that they expected more, like hats, and other attachments.
Will the pitchforks and cobras stay in place?
But I retrogress….
Mombo
Four weeks. 28 days.
The scary part? Our choreography is not finished for the OD and I believe we have only had one “complete” run through of the Free Dance. ( I say “We’ here as if I the parent am some type of omniscient presence, like maybe the Sky Cam that they use at Nationals, or actually ‘part of the team’ like Melissa, Dennis and Johnny—three people on the ice).
Because my daughter lives away from home (that only caused two heart palpitations!) I don’t see the programs in progress, I only hear snippets of details about them unless I ask.
“So, how is the OD coming along?”
“Great, we just have to come up with the ending, but we have the final pose. We just need to put in our final two lifts.”
“Wonderful. How many lifts do you have so far?”
“You can only have 2 lifts.”
“So you have no lifts yet and you are going to put them both at the end of the program?
“It’s not a big deal, they’re short lifts—they can’t be more than 6 seconds long.”
“So, you have about 15 seconds left to choreograph?”
“Like I said, it’s going great.”
“And what about your Free Dance?”
“Great. We did our first run through yesterday and we only fell twice.”
“Really.” By now I am open mouth breathing.
“You know you can have jumps now? Yeah, I come out of a sequence and turn and, well, it can’t be more than ½ rotation or it might be considered part of the sequence and that’s not allowed, you can’t have a pattern retrogression.”
“I see.” I answer, not seeing at all. In fact, I am instantly haunted by the fact that I have lived in this fairytale land of not watching the develpment of their programs, so I don’t know them. I will be “seeing” them for the first time perhaps at Lake Placid. And what has happened?
Has the ISU hired Quentin Tarentino as a consultant for “Kill” program requirements? I am going to have to watch lifts, spins, footwork sequences AND an axel, and/or lutz thrown in for a bit of added drama?
I would have grabbed a paper lunch bag to breathe into but I was afraid it would pop and scare the dog who just had surgery.
“I can’t wait to see it,” I lie like any good parent.
“Yep, it’s all good. These are my favorite programs.”
Scary Times, part two. Costumes.
We don’t have any.
Oh, we’ve ordered them, in much the manner I imagine people order a luxury car. You know, where you actually order some of the options in the catalog and don’t just take the show room model. That’s right. We can’t just use crystals from the selection of 8,221 in the workshop, we have to special order crystals from Austria that are 1/100 of a shade lighter, or maybe it’s darker, than the possessed deluxe sparklers.
Because of this I wish Ann Greenthal would consider having a fashion show on Tuesday night before the competition really kicks in. All the skaters could do the “ice-walk’ wearing their current fashions of the year, and the parents could have orchestra type seats so they could appreciate and commiserate together while viewing the current designs in Samba, Yankee Polka, and Blues. Maybe we could make it a charity function.
Anyway, I’m sure the costumes will be ready the day before we leave for up-state New York. Maybe we can stop in Albany so the kids can actually skate in them once before they compete. I am still a bit worried about the OD costume because this year the ISU hinted that they expected more, like hats, and other attachments.
Will the pitchforks and cobras stay in place?
But I retrogress….
Mombo
posted by ice-dance.com @ 6:34 AM
1 Comments:
I think a cobra would be a great addition. However, are live animals allowed by the rules makers? If so, you could have them do a pirate theme and include an actual parrot on their shoulders! How fun would that be!
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