2009 LPIDC Program Notebook – Junior

Free Dance

Group A

Nikki Georgiadis & Graham Hockley (GRE): skating in kelly green with gold filigree. Twizzle sequence mismatched, her way ahead of him. Nice rotational lift. One hand serpentine lift. Needs more speed. 49.52.

Clara Gosselin & Jason Cusmariu (CAN): skating to a gospel version of “Let It Be” in pale blue. Nice straight lift with variations. Timing slightly off in twizzles. Music change to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Nice low position in dance spin but slows down toward the end. Music change to “Revolution.” Good speed. One arm whip around rotational lift but lost the edge and fell. 50.25.

Elizabeth Ritenour & Derek Onkto (USA): opens with dance spin which spins in both directions. Skating to “Tango de Roxanne.” Circular footwork matched but slow and needs more extension and line. Twizzles almost matched until he puts a leg down before her at end of the sequence. Attempting some nice choreography but not quite there yet. 44.35.

Danielle Calthorpe & Matthew Barlow – withdrawn

Lauri Bonacorsi & Travis Mager (USA): she is outfitted in salmon, he’s in dark taupe with salmon stripe. Soft, gentle music and program. Very nice positions in dance spin. High-quality lyrical style. Twizzle timing looked fairly good. Steady one arm curve lift. Nice entry into a straight-line to rotational lift. Twizzles OK. Very unique choreography and first-rate lifts. Nice deep edges. Good ice coverage and flow. I really enjoyed the program. 67.77.

Gabrielle Friedenberg & Benjamin Nykiel (USA): “Schindler’s List.” Him in black vest and pants with grey shirt her in grey dress. Both with yellow Star of David patches. Very nice twizzles Speedy rotational lift. Some break in unison on circular steps. Strong dance spin with catch-foot. Serpentine lift a bit slow but nice positions. Straight-line footwork. Final lift looked short — he attempts one-foot but appears unsteady. 59.48.

Brittany Marshall & Ashley Deavers (USA): medley of Santana music. Her in black skirt with blue and red bandeau. Him in all black. It looks like maybe a slight slip on the opening footwork. Nice speed on dance spin. Twizzles slow a bit sloppy at end. Final rotational lift started out with good speed but then slowed down. 40.00.

Nicole Orford & Malcolm Rohon (CAN): “Mask of Zorro.” She’s decked out in black with red trim. He’s in all black. Twizzles started out strong, but he drifted a bit too close to her. Good speed and footwork well-matched. They skated with aggression. Nice positions and speed on curve to rotational lift. Dance spin also well done. Lots of attitude. Strong skate. Nice extension. 62.10.

Piper Gilles & Zachary Donohue (USA): she’s outfitted in an elegant pale lavender dress with matching headband and he’s in black pants and white shirt. Fabulous opening lift with lots of speed and unusual positions. Curve-to-rotational lift also outstanding with seamless transitions. It looked like a stumble on straight-line footwork into rotational spin. Nice flow and line. Very energetic and powerful skate. Eye-catching. 68.71.

Anastasia Cannuscio & Colin McManus (USA): “Love Story” in gorgeous shade of rich purple with pale lime green collar on his shirt and her headband. Unique entrance into the dance spin with good speed. Very fast catch foot twizzles. One-foot straight-line lift into rotational lift. It could use more emotion. 62.69.

Veronique de Beaumont-Boisvert & Sebastien Buron (CAN): twizzles drifting apart with loss of unison. Nice speed very low position in curve and right into a very neat rotational lift with her upside down. Sexy. Sassy. Nice dance spin. Another unique position on rotational lift and very cool positions during final moments of the program. Very creative program. 60.94.

Anastasia Olson & Jordan Cowan (USA): Tango. Both in black with her with partial red on upper body. Twizzles seemed slightly off of unison at the end. Nice long lined curve lift to one-foot change of position. Cartwheel into straight line lift. Finishes with strong dance spin. 64.45.

Group B

Alissandra Aronow & Alexander Pirogov – “Concierto de Aranjuez” (41.56)
This is the second season for Aronow & Pirogov, who compete for Lithuania. Solid combination lift to start. The program contained some nice highlight moves, but was marred by a fall (Aronow) and some stumbles. 

Katharine Zeigler & Baxter Burbank – “I Put a Spell on You” (51.72)
Zeigler & Burbank are one of two teams competing in the U.S. Collegiate Championships event (junior level). The performance included solid lifts and choreography that matched the music. 

Amanda Van Camp & Kevin Allison – Music from “Amelie” (42.14)
Van Camp and Allison teamed up this season. Their performance was good, but they lacked the speed and polish of some of the top teams, something that will improve with more time together. 

Isabella Cannuscio & Ian Lorello – “Hernando’s Hideaway” (68.01)
Cannuscio & Lorello have improved from last season and skated an expressive performance which showcased their unison — especially in the twizzles — and skating skills. The strongest performance in this group. 

Charlotte Lichtman & Dean Copely – Music from Charlie Chaplin (66.20)
Lichtman & Copely are in their second season together. Their program to music from Charlie Chaplin gives Copely an opportunity to show his expressive side and was adorable from start to finish. 

Olivia Martins & Alvin Chau – Flamenco (60.61)
Martins & Chau are a Canadian team who train at Scarboro, Ontario. Their flamenco free dance performance featured good speed throughout the program, nice highlight moves and solid lifts. Great speed and positions on dance spin.

Rachel Tibbetts & Collin Brubaker – “Concierto de Aranjuez” (66.07)
Tibbetts & Brubaker are entering their third season together and skated a lyrical performance to “Concierto de Aranjuez.” This was a strong outing for this team, highlighted by good speed and solid lifts. 

Janine Halstead & Robert Knopf – Ray Charles Medley including “Georgia on My Mind” (49.34)
Halstead & Knopf are skating at the junior level this season and are the second team competing in the U.S. Collegiate Championships. Though the difficulty of their elements were not up to the levels of other teams, their performance was solid and they showed improvement from last season, where they skated at the novice level. 

Elisabeth Paradis & Tristan Haliberte – Piazzolla Tango (49.84)
Paradis & Haliberte represent Canada and finished second in the novice division at the 2009 Canadian Championships. Their performance closed out junior free dance group B. The program had nice flow and choreography.