They were supposed to take place more than a month ago - in Japan. But then the big quake hit. Although the playing venue in Tokyo was undamaged, in the end it was decided that it was not feasible to for Japan to host the championships amidst the ongoing post-quake crisis.
The ultimate substitute venue chosen was - Moscow! The championships took place beginning on April 24 (I think) and ended today. The big events were held today - the ladies' free skate and, amazingly enough, the final free dance in ice dancing! Who'd have thought that ice dance would become so popular? But with the rise of the North American ice dance teams during the past 10 years or so, interest in the sport here has increased. The duel between the popular (and beautiful) Canadian and American ice dance teams who won Gold and Silver in the last Winter Olympics, coached by the same coaches, training on the same ice in Michigan! No one could write a soap opera better than this.
The bad news: USA crapped out on men's singles, women's singles, and pairs.
The good news is that we won GOLD (second time?) and BRONZE (fourth time?) in ice dancing! Who would have thunk it?
How well I remember being glued to the television when the incredible English dance team of Torvil and Dean electrified the entire world with their performance to Bolero, and won the Gold Medal - kicked the otherwise dominant Russians/Soviet Union out of the stadium with their performance. That was 1984. I watched that performance again tonight at You Tube. It sent shivers up and down my spine and brought tears to my eyes.
Here's the report from The New York Times on Davis and White's incredible performance and first ever (may it be the first of many more to come) gold medals in ice dance for the USA:
American Ice Dancers Tango to Gold, Nation’s First on World Stage
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
Published: April 30, 2011
Video now available at You Tube!
The ultimate substitute venue chosen was - Moscow! The championships took place beginning on April 24 (I think) and ended today. The big events were held today - the ladies' free skate and, amazingly enough, the final free dance in ice dancing! Who'd have thought that ice dance would become so popular? But with the rise of the North American ice dance teams during the past 10 years or so, interest in the sport here has increased. The duel between the popular (and beautiful) Canadian and American ice dance teams who won Gold and Silver in the last Winter Olympics, coached by the same coaches, training on the same ice in Michigan! No one could write a soap opera better than this.
The bad news: USA crapped out on men's singles, women's singles, and pairs.
The good news is that we won GOLD (second time?) and BRONZE (fourth time?) in ice dancing! Who would have thunk it?
How well I remember being glued to the television when the incredible English dance team of Torvil and Dean electrified the entire world with their performance to Bolero, and won the Gold Medal - kicked the otherwise dominant Russians/Soviet Union out of the stadium with their performance. That was 1984. I watched that performance again tonight at You Tube. It sent shivers up and down my spine and brought tears to my eyes.
Here's the report from The New York Times on Davis and White's incredible performance and first ever (may it be the first of many more to come) gold medals in ice dance for the USA:
American Ice Dancers Tango to Gold, Nation’s First on World Stage
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
Published: April 30, 2011
Video now available at You Tube!
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