{"id":19689,"date":"2019-02-12T21:40:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T02:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=19689"},"modified":"2020-02-16T12:10:45","modified_gmt":"2020-02-16T17:10:45","slug":"recap-2019-four-continents-free-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/recap-2019-four-continents-free-dance\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: 2019 Four Continents Free Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photo by Melanie Heaney<\/em><\/p>\n

The podium included: Madison Chock & Evan Bates (gold), Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje (silver), and Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (bronze).<\/p>\n

The free dance event was held Sunday afternoon on February 10. Earlier, the couples had drawn for skating positions according to their Rhythm Dance placement. There were three groups of four teams each. The Japanese husband and wife team, Misato Komatsubara & Tim Koleto opened the competition. The next seven teams danced their programs followed by a Zamboni ice-make.<\/p>\n

Excitement began to build throughout the arena as the four last couples took center ice and were introduced before their warm-ups. Even the celebrated groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, had no chance of predicting the skating shuffle that occurred.<\/p>\n

Chock & Bates didn\u2019t look like a team that was off ice for ten months due to surgery and rehab. They used \u201cFever\u201d and \u201cBurning Love\u201d as fast-paced vehicles to execute the level 4 lifts, combination spin, and twizzles plus level 3 diagonal step sequences.<\/p>\n

The reigning US silver medalists tied with Weaver & Poje for the highest base values \u2013 45.08. Alone, they earned the highest TES (69.95) of the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had told us that we would win Four Continents back when we pulled out of the Grand Prix four months ago, I think we would be very surprised,\u201d Bates said. \u201cWe\u2019re so proud of our performance; we keep building.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple felt incredible, but definitely tired after their performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our third competition in five weeks, so we felt a little bit nervous today just knowing that we were running on fumes a little bit,\u201d Bates said.<\/p>\n

Canadian silver medalists Weaver & Poje skated their emotional dance, \u201cS.O.S. d’un terrien en detresse\u201d as a dedication to Kazakhstani skater, Denis Ten, who was killed in July 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a very emotional piece,\u201d Weaver said. \u201cIt was the last program he (Denis Ten) performed. He was a very dear friend of ours, so every time this music plays, we think of him. It is a great inspiration; we just hope to give our best to him through this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spin, lifts, twizzles and her one-foot step sequence earned level 4; the diagonal footwork and his one-foot step sequence were level 3.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the season, the reigning World bronze medalists opted to skip the Grand Prix Series and instead performed in the 27 cities cross-country tour, Thank You Canada<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our first international competition back, and we are just trying to get the feel for our experience again,\u201d Poje said. \u201cWe were more connected today than yesterday\u2019s performance,\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple scored 123.37 for a third place free dance finish. The 203.93 total points were enough to boost them into second place overall and their first Four Continents\u2019 silver medal.<\/p>\n

Gilles & Poirier skated a second place free dance to \u201cVincent (Starry Starry Night)\u201c that mesmerized the audience and scored 124.20 points. The combination spin, lifts, and twizzles earned level 4; the footwork was level 3. The program component scores included five 10\u2019s and a 56.65 score.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really proud of the free dance,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cWe created a moment that was reflected in the scores \u2013 by far the highest components we\u2019ve ever gotten. It\u2019s really exciting for us. It\u2019s the step we wanted to take at this event. It shows us that we\u2019re on the right track, and where we can to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The total 202.45 moved them into third place and the bronze medal \u2013 their second at Four Continents.<\/p>\n

Hubbell & Donohue had a slim lead going into the free skate. The 2018 GP Final gold medalists had an unfortunate error in the opening stationary lift and earned a level \u201cB\u201d with a 1.00 value. It received a 0.62 GOE. Their spin was level 2. Their TES scored 62.50, fifth in the competition, while the program components were 57.21 \u2013 the highest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased with the performance over all, but our first lift (stationary) is considered to have travelled too much that we didn\u2019t get any level or GEO for that element,” Hubbell said. “Maybe it\u2019s a good wake-up call to make sure that everything is good at Worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team tumbled to fourth place and finished off the top of the podium the first time this season. The free dance score was 119.71; the total was 201.66, less than a point out of reach of the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker of the United States, the 2018 Four Continents\u2019 gold medalists, scored 189.87 for fifth place; Canada’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolai Sorensen finished sixth with 186.91 points.<\/p>\n

ICE CHIPS<\/strong><\/p>\n