Paul Chiasson
Ice dancing has a new look this year. Gone are the compulsory figures and the original dance.
Now it's all about this strange hybrid of the two, called the short dance.
This year, the short dance is composed of a couple of segments of the most difficult compulsory dance of all, the Golden Waltz, as well as a section that allows more creativity.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States, had to deal with the newness of the dance at the very first Grand Prix event, at NHK Trophy in Japan a month ago, and many were shocked that judges awarded them only the most rudimentary level of difficulty (level one, as level four signifies the most difficult) for one of the two Golden Waltz segments. This for the Olympic and world silver medalists? The archrivals of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir?
As the weeks have gone on, skaters have found higher ground on the Golden Waltz, higher levels of difficulty and higher marks. And Canadian silver medalists Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier have come out on top, earning the highest score so far this season for a Golden Waltz segment - 8.57. They earned a level four for it, en route to winning Skate Canada.
This weekend, Crone and Poirier will meet Davis and White for the first time this year at Skate America in Portland, Ore.
And not only that, Crone and Poirier will meet Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje for the first time since they narrowly won (by only .30 points) an Olympic berth from the Canadian bronze medalists at the Canadian championships.
Weaver and Poje went on to win the Four Continents championships last season and they also finished second to Davis and White at the NHK Trophy.
Weaver and Poje defeated Davis and White in that infamous section of the Golden Waltz in Japan, getting a level three of difficulty for it and earnings marks of 7.36 for it, compared to Davis and White's 4.29.
The Americans defeated the Canadians in the other segment, by only narrowly, the Americans getting 5.71 and a level three, while Weaver and Poje earned 5.21.
So far, Davis and White are tops in total points in a Grand Prix dance event, winning NHK with 165.21 points.
Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France won Cup of China with the second highest mark of the season, 159.59 and they received a level four for one of their Golden Waltz segments.
Crone and Poirier won Skate Canada with 154.42 points.
Weaver and Poje's silver medal at NHK gave them 141.57.
Marks aren't always comparable from event to event because judges' opinions vary.