Klimova & Ponomarenko (EUN) - 1992 Albertville, Ice Dancing, Free Dance

[marius1780]

il loro stile è profondamente cambiato dopo l'approdo dei grandi fratelli Duchensays.

indubbiamente divini, indubbiamente plagianti in molti passaggi...

[stanuris]

So good... Just... Really fucking good

[skaterboy3718]

This to me was divine. I felt ore of an emotional connection than Bolero and appreciated it s smoothness over Bsquared (Bestimianova and Bukin)'s drama and freniticness and the impact makes Davis and White and Virtue and Moir look almost like they are at a standstill. Bravo - a skating historic moment.

[Cirene71]

Unforgettable

[randomsandoz]

Such a beautiful free dance. Klimova and Ponomarenko were absolute ice dance masters. I'll never forget them..

[L11ourdes]

Especially in the first part they skate too slow, whereas the Duchesnays had a much higher speed.

[kirkenes]

@L11ourdes Oh please, the Duchesnays FD had some interesting choreography, but Isabelle was more of a hockey player than an ice dancer technically. It shouldn't've been even close. The Duchesnays were enormously gifted to finish 2nd, they didn't even belong in the top 5.

[BigdealXXIII]

Sorry to say that but it seems like we've been watching different programs. What I've seen it was NO ONE SINGLE stop from the beginning right to its end, just a flow accros the ice with a very difficult choreography and perfect technique.

It was the last Russian couple I really like (and Usova, Zhulin). The points was a real shame (5,5 for this???????), but the result turned out correct.

[intldawn]

I've watched this program so many times, and it just doesn't impact me in the way Usova and Zhulin's did. U & Z combined great difficulty and creativity with fantastic speed and that classic Russian style. K & P were beautiful and sensual, but it felt like their dance stopped and started a lot. It seemed to lack a consistent flow. I don't know. I still think K & P deserved gold but U & Z's free dance was the best of the night, IMHO.

[gk891]

@intldawn U/Z's FD was very passionate and dramatic but I'm not convinced of its difficulty. U/Z technical abilities never stacked up very well in comparison to K/P or G/P and that's often indicative in their programs (much simpler choreography in the handholds and steps). It was one thing that really bothered me about U/Z over the years. The one exception might be their 1994 FD but they performed it with much less speed and flow (which indicates their abilities or lack thereof).

[kirkenes]

@gk891 IMHO, U/Z were the most technically accomplished pairs before CoP. But you're right that their choreography often didn't do justice to their superb abilities.

[lambielkwanfan]

@gk891 maybe so but what was the basis for U/Z regularly finishing below the Duchensays. I cant see anything the Duchensays did better, either technically or artistically.

[gk891]

@lambielkwanfan There was no basis for them to finish behind D/D. I had D/D completely off the podium but with the Olympics being in France, there was no way that was going to happen.

[lambielkwanfan]

@gk891 I dont just mean the Olympics though. I cant see any event there was any basis for U/Z finishing behind D/D except for "maybe" the 1990 Worlds.

[gk891]

@lambielkwanfan Ditto for other competitions too.  I had D/D 3rd at the 1991 Worlds.

[lambielkwanfan]

@gk891 I agree definitely. Atleast the 91 Worlds there was some justification for a close contest between the top teams as K/P skated a bad first dance, and then came back strong the rest of the event but were not at their best still (and their FD although I liked was controversial to some). Here in Albertville though the teams were not really close. It should have been K/P >>>>>>> G/P or U/Z (g/p tech. u/z art) >>>>>>> D/D (tech. weaker and their most boring uncreative programs ever).

[gk891]

@lambielkwanfan I loved K/P's 1991 FD, perhaps even more than this one but that's just me. I almost feel compelled to put D/D 4th at the 1991 Worlds since G/P had an excellent OD and a nice FD (as unoriginal as it was - I think they skated to Italian folk music). My problem is that I never saw G/P's compulsories that year. And I definitely agree with you that D/D should've been off the podium completely in Albertville. My placements would've been 1) K/P 2) G/P 3) U/Z.

[lambielkwanfan]

@gk891 The worst thing about holding up the Duchensays here is they didnt even have what made them special. Technically they were never at the level of the Russian teams. What usually set them apart was very creative, original, and passionate programs. Their programs in Albertville werent even that, a safe and boring OD, and a generic FD. To be honest their programs in Albertville look like they could have been easily skated and done juast as well by anyone in the top 7 atleast.

[letem1974]

@lambielkwanfan the perfection