Figure Skating Costume Minute--Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2012--Ice Dance Costumes Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2012--Ice Dance Costumes Recap!

Ice Dance Style:

Applique Dance: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada during their Short Dance, Rostelecom Cup 2012, Megasport Sports Center Moscow Russia

Winding down my Costume Reviews for last weekend's ISU Grand Prx of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup (Cup of Russia) 2012...here's my final one, the Ice Dance Costumes. There is lots to discuss including a Kimono-clad Geisha, super-plunging neckline and an odd "headdress" accessory Figure Skating Costume Trend--Let's begin...

Top Three Ice Dance: (left to right) Silver Medalist from Russia Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, Gold Medalist
from Canada Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Bronze Medalist from Russia
Victoria Sinitsina and Ruslan Zhiganshin, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup 2012,
Megasport Sports Center Moscow, Russia

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada: Virtue and Moir won the Gold in Moscow for their STUNNING Free Dance (and a great Short one as well, of course). I reviewed their costumes for their new 2012-2013 season costumes for their Free Dance in my Skate Canada 2012 post HERE. They skated to "Carmen" by Rodion Shchedrin and I thought their costumes were FLAWLESS--their costumes were chic, directional, modern and Fashion Week-fab. I. LOVED. THEM.

Tessa's deep plunging neckline costume looked straight out of the NY/Paris/Milan Runways! And how FRESH to see a "Carmen" performance and not see RED or a single Red Rose--Olé to that!

For their Short Dance Costume--which I hadn't talked about--they skated to "The Waltz Goes On" by Anthony Hopkins. I thought these were pretty, had a nod to Period Costumes and worked for the Waltz/Polka dance. I also think the fact that they weren't so matchy-matchy--partner wise--worked. I liked the delicate placement of the feathers in her sequined chiffon costume/dress. I'm not a fan of the huge creme underskirt, but overall it was a pretty look.

Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland of Great Britain:  Coomes and Buckland skated their Short Polka/Waltz Dance to "Scalliwag" by Gaelic Storm (Celtic Music) and "Rhythms of the Fall" (from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics).

Their costumes combined Country-and-Western elements (his sequined-trimmed Western Shirt) as well as British "Period"-like elements in Penny's dusty rose and blue costume. Her back covered button detail, contrast yoke and bow are especially cute.

Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi of Germany: For their Free Dance titled "Two From the Grave", they skated to three songs "Tore My Heart", "Et Maintenant" and "Rama Lama". They look like these messy/torn-up seemingly-rising-from-the-shipwrecked-"grave"couple. It's such a MESS that I'm actually all for it. I juts feel bad for Alexander, because he really looks as if he got the BAD end of the Costume-and-Makeup Stick.

Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin of Russia: Monko and Khaliavin skated their Short Dance to "Sous le Ciel de Paris" by Yves Montand in these black, white and silver costumes. Can you say "BA-BA-BORING". Ooops, I think I just did. Try harder next time. PLEASE.

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia: For their Free Dance Music from the soundtrack of "Ghost (musical soundtrack)", these two Russian Ice Dance skaters did their best to phone in the 90's film and--later--21st Century Musical--with their retro-looking costumes.



Unfortunately, Ilinykh and Katsalapov looked as if they were either skating to the 1983 film "Flashdance" or an "American Apparel" ad. This is just my "Nick Two Cents"...

Alex and Maia Shibutani of USA: This brother-and-sister Ice Dance Team skated their Free Dance to John Williams' "Memoirs of a Geisha":

"Memoirs of a Geisha"

I thought the Shibutani brother-and-sister team costumes were perfect. Alex looked sublimely chic in his grey side draped waist-coat/vest, black pants and white dress short. Maia was a vision of pretty in her rose-pink and steel-gray Kimono-and-Obi costume.



And Now, The Headdress Figure Skating Costume Accessory Trend of 2012:



A trend of sorts--for Figure Skating Costumes--is the Headdress accessory.  Let's take a look at how it has surfaced so far during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2012-2013 Season.

"Slumdog Millionaire" Bollywood Princess: Alena Leonova of Russia skates her Free Skate, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2012-2013

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of USA: These cutie Americans skated their Short Dance to "Ojos Azul", "Dolencias", "Sikureada". I think they looked FAB-u-LOUS. Costume-wise, these two cannot do any wrong...at least so far. There was a little bit of Brazil, Latino, Carnival and Indo-Asian influences in these looks...and I loved it. 

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia: For their Short Dance to "Andijan Polka", they wore these costumes above---and she wore...yes, a sequined forehead-accessory; I am telling you, it's the LATEST, for Figure Skaters! These two--for their Short Dance--were one of my FAVORITES--in terms of their Costumes! The print, the "Miss Universe Parade-of-Nations Costumes" aspect...all of it, fit perfectly.

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Cup of China 2012--Ice Dance Costume Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Cup of China 2012--Ice Dance Costume Recap!

Cirque du Soleil, Can Can, Two-Steppin' Dancing Queens and Princes...Say Hello to Ice Dance:

Can Can Love: Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France skating their Short Dance, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2012/2013 Cup of China, Shanghai China

If you've been keeping up with my little ol' blog here, I've been recapping the Figure Skating Costumes at this past weekend's ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2012 Cup of China, which happened at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in (you guessed it!) Shanghai China. I've discussed the Men HERE, the Pairs HERE, the Women HERE and now, it's time to give my "Nick Two Cents" on the Ice Dancers, always one of the most fun disciplines when it comes to fashion and costumes.

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia: When I first saw these costumes, I thought, "Are they skating to a Disney film?". Then after a little research, I found out that for their "polka/waltz" Short Dance, they actually skated to "Say a Word About the Poor Hussar" by Andrei Petrov and music from the Air Crew soundtrack by Alfred Schnittke. Now,  I was still a bit perplexed because I had no idea what these songs were from. More research and I found out that the second "Air Crew" one is from a Russian film about an airplane crash (Ummm, OK...) but then I found out that the first song (Hussar) is from a Russian comedy/drama historical/period TV movie:

BINGO! That's why they are dressed liken that!! Yeayyy...

He was the officer and looked dapper, polished and strong. I especially loved the bold red stripes set against the white pants which made for nice lines to look at as they skated and especially, when extending his legs.  She was the ultra soft, feminine counterpart and looked romantic and pretty.

For the Free Dance to "Man with a Harmonica" from the Once Upon a Time in the West soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, they went the polar opposite of what they wore for their Short Dance--modern, contemporary looks that seem to be quite the trend with a lot of Ice Dancers as of late; they do the "costumes" in their Short and go a little more contemporary for their Free.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of USA:  For their "Polka/Waltz" Short Dance, these two cuties from the US skated to Selections from Quidam by Cirque du Soleil:

On the IceNetwork.com site, it says that Madison designed the costumes for both the Short and Free Dance for this season. I liked these "Cirque" costumes. The colors were impacting, vibrant and perfect for the dance. Like Joshi Helgesson of Sweden, it is a bit over the top, but she looked sexy and still "Soleil" fun. I also liked Evan's slim. fitted velvet midnight blue-colored costume, although I'm not a huge fan of the "all-in-one" costume. While I think it works with Madison's costume, it is a little "Costume Store" looking for my taste.

For their Free Dance, Chock and Bates danced to Selections from Doctor Zhivago composed by Maurice Jarre. I like the striking black and white colors but I am always afraid of white dresses with figure skating especially when the makeup rubs up against it. I think they look clean and safe with their costumes here, I only wished they might have "punched" them up a bit more; these costumes need a little more "pizzazz". His especially--it looks like a weird hybrid of a Roman toga/Russian soldier. Again, I think they wanted to go a bit softer, especially after what they showed for their Short Dance. And, as I stated above, they certainly are on trend with the more minimal, modern aesthetic of the Free Dance. I just wish they were a little less minimal and a bit more modern.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy: OK, let me get this out of the way: LOOOVE! When I saw them step into the ice to do their Short Dance, I think I quietly exclaimed "Now, these are Costumes!". For their Short Program, they skated to a Waltz sung by Luciano Pavarotti and a Polka by Strauss. These two looked like they came out of a Vienna Austria dinner theatre and straight onto the Shanghai ice! These costumes blend camp, color, and actual historical period costumes and do it superbly.

I especially love the back "lace up" detail of her intricate corset and how the gold was brought back to his ensemble in the trim. Well done Italia!

For their Free Dance to "Summer" and "Winter" from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, Guignard and Fabbri they went the semi-contemporary route (Che Sorpresa!). It was a nice counterbalance from their previous Short Dance costumes. I like the sequined multicolored butterfly motif in her dress. It looks like a pretty DVF cocktail dress but still seems costume-y enough for a dance like this.

Victoria Sinitsina and Ruslan Zhiganshin of Russia: Let's see, I wonder what type of music these two kids skated to?? I hope it wasn't Tchaikovsky "Swan Lake"....And I was right (not a difficult guess!), Sinitsina and Zhiganshin skated their "Polka/Waltz" Short Dance to "Tennessee Waltz" by Eva Cassidy and
"Country Polka".  I always love when another country does "US Country and Western" and takes it to a whole other level! These outfits were fun, "Line Dancing"-festive and impacting with the colors and details; such as her ribbon lacing on the sides, puffy sleeves and her ombre dyeing effect. I also love his faded denim vest and jean look. He looks pretty HOT and I would warn him to be careful if he ever mistakenly ends up at a Gay Rodeo. He will be MOBBED!

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France: Pechalat and Bourzat won the Gold Medal at this past weekend's Cup of China 2012 and Congrats to them. For their "Polka/Waltz" Short Dance to "Gaite Parisienne" by Jacques Offenbach and "Sous le ciel de Paris" performed by Yves Montand. They went Can-Can Fab with their costumes, giving a cheeky homage to their home nation, but at the same time looking like a pair of extras in a Clint Eastwood Western Movie. I liked the fuchsia and black color contrast. Notice how they used a little bit of her fuchsia on his vest's welt pockets. I also like his turned-down French Cuff.  Good clean "Can-Can" Costume fun.

For their Free Dance--once again like may of the other Ice Dance competitors--they went "Anti-Costume" and donned more contemporary looks. Pechalat and Bourzat skated to "Miss You," "Angie," "Symphony for the Devil" and "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Their "costumes", if you could call them that were what I would call "Boho Hippie Chick Meets 'Survivor' Reality Show Contestants". It was a bit of a mish-mash.

She wore a cami-like tunic top (or was it a dress) that was a teeny bit short and her black panties kept showing whenever a turn or a lift occurred. The panties were cute but..it was still  distracting to say the least. She had accessories on her forehead and a long dangling necklace that I guess were there to reiterate the "Hippie" part but they looked a bit contrived. He looked like he belonged in a "Jesus Christ Superstar" revival. To sum it up: I wasn't a fan. But who cares, they got the Gold! Although, let's just say, I really, really miss this:

Pechalat and Bourzat's costumes from last season's "Mummy and Pharaoh" themed Free Dance. I so wish there was a way to bring these back! S'il vous plaît

Figure Skating Costume Minute: The Ice Dance Costume Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute: The Ice Dance Costume Recap!

Yankee Polka, Swirling Skirts, Men in Black Pants, and Grecian Draping...

Top Three Ice Dance: (left to right) Silver medalists Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev of Russia, gold
medalists Meryl Davis & Charlie White of the USA, and bronze
medalists Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje of Canada show off their
medals in the awards ceremony during the Hilton HHonors Skate America 2012
competition at the ShoWare Center on October 21, 2012 in Kent,
Washington

Rounding out my "Nick Figure Skating Costume Minute" Recap on the costumes of this past weekend's 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America competition---now, it's time for the Ice Dancers. In case you missed my last two postings on the subject, you can click HERE on my thoughts on the PAIRS and MEN'S and HERE for the LADIES. Now, for a little background (to those not "in the know"), there are two parts to the Ice Dancing Competition--the first being a Short Dance whose theme is chosen by the ISU/International Skating Union--the theme this year is "Yankee Polka" (Umm, OK, I guess!). And the second part of their Ice Dancing Competition is the Free Dance where they are allowed to chose music and theme but still do many required elements.




So, let's discuss the Ice Dancers--and their costumes:

Anastassia Cannuscio and Colin McManus of the USA/ Short Dance--For their "Yankee Polka" Short Dance to "Polka, Waltz", I LOVED her peach and pink ombre dyed dress. It was very old-school ballroom dancer; long flowy skirt, matching-color arm gloves and nice one shoulder applique. I also liked that she slicked her hair back to diffuse any attention away from the already colorful and intricate costume.

Now Colin, the tuxedo shirt and black pants...I know that this is par-for-the-course in Ice Dancing to have the man throw on a dress shirt and black pants and "call it a day" but seriously...It looks as if she was a guest at a fabulous wedding and she picked up the Best Man...at 2AM! I want to see something more from Colin. Maybe a jacket with a matching peach/pink skinny tie! Something.

Lorenza Alessandrini and Simone Vaturi Italy Short Dance--For their "Yankee Polka" Short Dance, their costumes were great. They tried. Thank you very much. They definitely brought the Mary Poppins theme to life. See how there are touches of her on him; the matching red neck scarf to start. In addition, Simono looks put together. It looks like a COSTUME. And her little red a-line skirted number--with ruffled blouse and underskirt--when she is done skating she can transform into the perfect "Alitalia Flight Attendant" uniform!

Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giuletti-Schmitt of the USA (try typing on a blog, or saying that three times!)--They ended up Fourth overall after their Short Dance and Free Dance. For their "Ring of Fire" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Chris Isaak Short Dance, they were very "Walking The Line/Johnny and June Carter Cash" in their costumes. I thought she was "Two Step" great but Logan WORKED it!! Here's a warning, if he ever shows up in that at Oil Can's Harry in Studio City, he might get FIVE "lucky" dates!

For their Free Dance to Adele's "Turning Tables" and "Rumor Has It", I liked the plum/violet color used in her costume as well as the multi layered "skirt". He was "just there"--the dress shirt, vest and black pants: yawn--especially after that FAB Short Dance Belt Buckle Western Boy outfit!

Russsia's Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev--For their Free Skate, they skated to Ennio Morriconi's "Man With a Harmonica" from "Once Upon a Time in the West". These were "contemporary" costumes--modern, fresh; non-costume-y. I liked her "plunging" neckline and he looked modern and pretty hot. I am not usually a fan of the black pants on these Ice Dancing men, but here it worked (I think they might be Steel Grey?). I just get annoyed when she's in FULL COSTUME and Ice Dancing COUTURE and he...in a dress shirt and black pants. I call that an #IceDanceCostumeFail. But, like I said, here it worked. So much so, they got the SILVER at Skate America 2012. Hello.

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada--For their Short Dance to "The Sound of Music", they wore lovely, "contemporary" costumes that one could have gotten from a department store. Her pale blue dress is pretty but there was nothing "'extra" special; it's like a cocktail dress from Macy's. He looked like he was part of the catering team at a wedding. It's SOUND OF MUSIC!!! I'd love to see more.

For their Free Dance, I got it. For their "Humanity in Motion" Free Dance costumes, they (well, at least she did) tried a little harder. I LOVE her draped "Grecian  Goddess"costume. It's very now and very sensual and right--for  the music and theme. I liked how polar opposite it was from her Short Dance costume. This one looked custom made. I'm not 100% on board with her continuing the pattern into the leggings, but I liked that she took a risk.

I guess all the costume money was spent on her, so for poor Andrew...he got the white dress shirt and black pants. #IceDancingCostumeFail.

Meryl Davis ans Charlie White of the USA--For their "Yankee Polka" Short Dance to "Giselle", they gave me COSTUMES!! PS: Yeayyy!!! Love her blue-and-white corseted "St. Pauli Girl" costume. Both her and Charlie looked great--and more importantly, appropriate for their Short Dance.

For their Free Dance to "Notre-Dame de Paris", they went a little more subdued--Meryl donned a maroon midriff corseted costume and Charlie...well, he went into his closet and got a black stretch long sleeve shirt and black pants. I would have LOVED to have seen a compatible COSTUME partner to Meryl's corseted damsel. A full-on period-piece three piece suit/vest/shirt ensemble on him might make me smile.