In addition to giraffes, dogs, cats and horses, I also LOVE figure skating. Here are my favourites for this season, so far.

The Broadway theme in ice dance (my personal most loved discipline) is bringing out a lot of interesting routines. Though Papadakis and Cizeron (current world champions from France) don’t always have great rhythm dances, in my opinion, I absolutely love their 80s workout to ‘Fame.’ Their speed is incredible.

I like Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier’s ‘Mack and Mabel’. This part of the competition isn’t always as strong for them so I love their attack on it this year.

Anything by the new Canadian dance team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen! Their edges are beautiful and smooth.

Now, the judges seem to have a lot of messages for American champs Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue. In the past I have agreed with them – I quite disliked last year’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ free dance. However, I like their free dance choice for this year: ‘A Star Is Born.’ It really suits Zach’s skating. But once again their work is being picked apart. They were just defeated at Skate Canada by Gilles and Poirier.

 

Though ice dance is my thing, I do follow the other disciplines. My biggest complaint about pairs and singles is that so many skaters don’t seem to listen to their music. So I really like the skaters who do:

Everything Sataoko Miyahara does is a work of art.

Rika Kihira is effortlessly musical, in a floating sort of way.

Nathan Chen, men’s world champion, is showing his musical side in conjunction with those big quad jumps.

The new Canadian pair of Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau has a lovely lightness and musicality to their skating. They skate like they actually enjoy what they do.

American Jason Brown (who trains at the Cricket Club where I used to skate when I was young) has a heartfelt rendition of ‘Schindler’s List.’

Lastly, Piper and Paul have set themselves a really difficult task skating to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now.’ The version they put together is incredibly difficult to skate to because it’s somewhat dissonant, but they have somehow made it a masterpiece.