Worlds 2010: Free Dance

The FD just wrapped up, and there were no huge surprises, which is probably a good thing, because I don't think the skating world is quite over its collective shock at the ladies' short earlier this afternoon.

Samuelson/Bates skated nicely as ever and finished in ninth place, which is great news for them and also means that the USA retain their three spots for next year. I love their energy and I love the way their lines match so nicely.

I had to miss Carron/Jones, but I saw Hoffman/Zavozin, who ended up in tenth place and earned Hungary two spots for next year, so good for them. Their music is hilarious. I absolutely live for the random thirty seconds of Everybody Dance Now at the end, and I love that they completely do their own thing with no regard for everybody else's endless Adagio programs.

I absolutely love Navarro/Bommentre's FD. I think it's really expressive and they look like they feel every note, and they look great together. Kim looked absolutely delighted afterwards, even if they were a little disappointed with their scores, which was really nice to see. I'm glad they were able to come to Worlds and skate well after missing out on the Olympic place. I have basically no technical knowledge at all when it comes to ice dance so I tend to judge which programs I like on how much I like watching them, and this one rates pretty highly.

On the other hand, I find Bobrova/Soloviev kind of dull, and I didn't like her black trousers under her dress. She's pretty, though, and again, it was nice to see them so happy with their performance and especially their scores.

Cappellini/Lanotte, my favourite baby Italians, were absolutely tragic. Anna completely lost the twizzles and ended up crashing right into Luca, and then sobbed most of the way through the program and completely broke down at the end, and it was just heartbreaking. Luca was a real sweetheart with her, though. What a great partner. They ended up eleventh after a 14th-place finish in the free, and so just missed out on earning Italy three spots, which can only have made things more difficult for poor Anna. They have not had a good season this year; hopefully they can come back strong.

Crone/Poirier were nice enough but kind of dull. I remember liking them much more in Vancouver. I actually got distracted halfway through by a big crash in the cycling world championships, which I had on mute while I waited for Eurosport to start broadcasting, and I do not understand the appeal in Queen elevator music. Their reaction to their scores, though, was priceless, especially their coach's.

I think that there are very few girls that can pull off that lift where they curl right over their partner's arm, and Sasha Zaretsky is not one of them. She and Roman seem like really nice people, but I just cannot get into their skating at all. I love, love, love Schindler's List though. I think all teams should do what the Russian Juniors, I/K, do, and have the girl die at the end. I just am not a fan of those two. Still, good job to them for placing sixth. They also get Israel two spots. Do Israel even have another ice dance team?

I had seriously been looking forward to Pechalat/Bourzat's circus FD all week and they didn't let me down. Nathalie's outfit is too cute for words, I love the ruffles on her boots. Even her hair looked better than usual, although I still wish she'd go back to her natural brown. This is definitely another of my very favourite programs, I loved every second of it and their twizzles were perfect. I especially love the choreography during the last section of music. They had a fantastic skate that was well-rewarded by their score, and actually ended up third in the free, although it wasn't enough to pull them up to get the bronze. Eurosport are always interviewing them and I love it because I love the way they say 'circus'. I really hope they don't retire, if only because I will be seriously deprived of Nathalie and her fabulous white coat in the KnC.

Having Davis/White follow P/B was absolute ice dance heaven, as far as I'm concerned. I really hope that's not the last time we ever see that POTO FD, because it is fantastic. Charlie was really going all out tonight; in fact, at one point he looked so frantic that I was convinced he was going to lose it all and fall over. I love the way he leaps in front of Meryl in the opening steps and I love the colour of her dress and I love that amazing lift down the centre and the way everything becomes builds so wonderfully to the climax at the end. They were first on the free, but it wasn't enough and D/W had to settle for silver again.

Virtue/Moir's program is basically the complete opposite of Meryl and Charlie's; it's smooth and floaty and gorgeous where D/W's is dramatic and exciting and brilliant. However pretty they are, though, V/M were not quite as exquisite as they have been. Scott slipped up on the twizzles and just generally looked a little scratchy, and there was a definite hesitation on the goose lift. I actually thought that there was a distinct chance that Meryl and Charlie would take the title, but the margin that V/M had after the CD and OD was enough to keep them pretty comfortably in first position, and we said hello to our new world champions.

Faiella/Scali continue to bore me. A clean program performed on home ice led them safely to a bronze medal, although P/B beat them in the free. In fact, I found the end of their performance to be the best bit. Federica was visibly overcome and in tears, and the audience was absolutely in raptures. Eurosport kept showing this one woman in particular who was clearly a F/S diehard; she was screaming and screaming with delight for all she was worth. That same woman also threw some sort of stuffed cat down that started to cackle kind of maniacally as they sat in the KnC, which more or less made my night.

I hate to say it, but the Kerrs did look a little bit messy after the other four performances of the group. As ever, the twizzles were a mess, but it was likely their last performance and I suppose they must keep in with that career-long tradition. The audience weren't really going with them as much as usual, either, probably because they were all spent after F/S. As well as the lift where Sinead lifts John, I love the one where she does a handstand on his one knee. They ended up very comfortably in fifth, which is their best ever result at Worlds and puts them in the gala, which is fantastic, and what a lovely way for them to go out - although I'm still secretly hoping they stay in for a couple more seasons.

As much as I love Charlie and Meryl, Pechalat/Bourzat had my absolute performance of the evening. I love those two. I hope they come up with something equally as fun and brilliant for next season, and I hope they can finally medal at Euros or Worlds next year!