This week, we're trying something different! We're recorded a full-length audio commentary track for the 2019 Rostelecom Rhythm Dance, where we discuss technical elements, little nitpicks to look out for, and how we assess skating quality - but this time accompanied by video! We hope that you watch along while you listen to us, and that we can help you learn a little something about how to be a better ice dance viewer.

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Links:

ISU Official Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnVICTx0Ums

Russian Channel 1 Youtube Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvLUmoNAuBM

Event Protocols: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1920/gprus2019/FSKXICEDANCE----------QUAL000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

This week, we're back with our final list recapping the season: Senior Ice Dance! This was our most agreed upon list of the season, and we discuss how our favourite programs are assisted by strong music editing, the programs that gave us something we didn't even know we needed, and which teams might want to think about keeping their strongest programs for next season (or however much we get of it).

This episode is brought to you by InSkate! Check them out at inskate.co/flutzes_and_waxels

Our last discipline to cover in our lists of our favourite programs is ice dance, but this year we couldn't restrict ourselves to just one list! We begin with our favourite Junior programs of the season, and discuss under-rewarded choreographic elements, why we love seeing more goth/emo programs in dance, and why it's okay (and important!) for Junior skaters to skate like the young exuberant people that they are.

This episode is brought to you by InSkate! Check them out at inskate.co/flutzes_and_waxels

Our lists of the best pairs programs of the season continue to surprise us! We discuss the continuing dominance of the Russian pairs, why clean skates can be more important to your enjoyment of a pairs program than in other disciplines, and wonder what the future might hold for pairs skating, and whether some of the young teams on our list can keep the sport moving forward.

This episode is brought to you by InSkate! Check them out at inskate.co/flutzes_and_waxels

We continue wrapping up our best programs of the season with the men, and again have very different lists! We discuss the programs that made us see skaters in a new light, why covers of pop songs can be risky to skate to, reiterate the value of field moves, and conclude with the least surprising number one program imaginable (but come on, it obviously deserves it).

This episode is brought to you by InSkate! Check them out at inskate.co/flutzes_and_waxels

With the cancellation of the World Championships the skating season is abruptly over. But on the plus side, that means it's time for our season's best lists! We begin with our picks for the best ladies programs of the season, and discuss how much we've missed spirals, joyous junior skaters, and our childhood inspirational figures (who were ice dancers, of course).

This episode is brought to you by InSkate! Check them out at https://inskate.co/flutzes_and_waxels

Junior dance has been what we've looked forward to all season, and the competition at Junior Worlds did not disappoint. We discuss our feelings about the podium, and why we might have preferred it to be closer in points, why we personally prefer precision over speed in dance (even if international judges might not seem to agree), and dive into the continuing battle for dominance among Canadian junior dancers, and whether Canada will have enough JGP spots next season.

The junior ladies field is often a bloodbath, and we recap the strong skaters fighting for the podium, and the fight to even make it to the free skate. The top few skates were so solid that we spent a lot of time discussing the relative merits of choreography, plus we discuss why it's a bad idea to put tons of media pressure on a 13 year old and whether the Japanese ladies can come back from a bit of a slump year like the men just did.

This was a bit of a rough competition for the junior pairs, including the usually solid Russian teams. We discuss an immensely costly spin mistake, whether it's a good idea for teams to train a backup plan for side-by-side jump issues, and some young teams with potential who are still working on incorporating the harder pairs elements.

We're back to recap the Junior World Championships, and we begin with the men, who have a history of being inconsistent, particularly at Worlds. We discuss an uncomfortable throwback to last year's Junior Worlds, our slight annoyance that even our winner wasn't fully clean, and speculate on what next season might look like for the top finishers here.