The best of ice dancing tells the  story of two people falling in love.  -Dick Button

 

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN) – Gold Medal

This couple just WOW-ed the audience (and judges) with their steamy, fast-paced, and technically superb flamenco!  Tessa used her long red skirt very skillfully as a prop; Scott’s expression was TERRIFIC throughout the dance.

At the end of the OD, V&M took the lead.  This is one of the MOST well-choreographed ODs I’ve ever seen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDLpfGN80g

In the Free Dance (FD), V&M skated after their training partners/good friends Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA).  I LOVED D&W’s FD, and wondered what V&M would do.  (Did you know BOTH couples have been skating with their respective partners for 13 years!?)

V&M went “old school” w/ a very sweet/elegant FD with one piece of romantic music.  Their costumes were very simple, yet beautiful.   The audience fell in love with them as well!

A fan blog:

http://virtuemoir.blogspot.com/

YouTube channel with many V&M videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/gillym123

 

Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA) – Silver Medal

In the OD, Davis & White wore lovely Indian-inspired outfits.  They danced to music from Bollywood movies, including the international hit Devdas.  In a interview on the NBC web site, Charlie mentioned that they both took a classical Indian dance course to prep for their dance.  Meryl was proud that many in India were watching (and commenting positively) about this program on YouTube.  Very cool!

 

In the FD, D&W skated first in the final group.  They set the bar VERY high!  Their dance was fast, difficult, and passionate.  Charlie is a VERY strong skater; Meryl moves like a ballerina.  (IMHO they performed better than at Nationals.)

Meryl and Charlie looked exhausted at the end of the FD b/c they did their BEST!  That’s how the Olympics should be…

YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/merylandcharlie

Watching these young North Americans, I was reminded of ground-breaking couples from the past: Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat (my favorite team- from France), Isabelle & Paul Duchesnay (brother-sister team from France), and Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (the famed duo from Great Britain).  These teams paved the way for this confident new generation with their creative lifts, innovate choreography, and dedication to improve their sport (with OR without a medal).

I wish Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto got the bronze medal this time; in 2006, they won the silver.  That judgment would have been fair, but it was NOT meant to be.  B&A have contributed a LOT to ice dance over the last decade; it was FUN to watch them grow up and improve.  They were the first U.S  team taken seriously at the international level.