skating practice

On Sunday, Fiona and I got up at the crack of dawn, and took the bus to the Pacific Coliseum, to see the practice session for the original program ice dance competition. Tickets for the practice sessions were about $20 each for great seats, and went on sale a couple of months before the Olympics. I'm glad that I got a pair, and while Fiona wasn't too happy about waking up at 6am on a Sunday morning, she was glad we went.

The early morning photos are from our walk down to the highway to catch the bus. The skater photos show that the "OD" theme was "folk or country dances." We weren't aware of this when we watched the practice session, so we thought it was rather hilarious when we saw the costumes, like a German pair dressed as Polynesian dancers and Chinese skaters dancing in sequin-studded togas to "Zorba the Greek." Later we heard that the Russians dressed as Australian Aboriginal dancers sparked a controversy, but really it was a wacky paisley quilt of everyone dressed up as somebody else's folk stereotype. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir did a flamenco dance, but at least they weren't wearing Halloween costumes.

The skating was stunning, even though the skaters danced the first measures of their routine, then ceased before the exciting parts to skate around the arena holding hands. Near the end of the the 3 or 4 minute number, they would resume skating and complete to the bows. We saw some of the more complicated moves by other skaters as they moved around the arena practising (mostly) out of the way of the skaters whose music was playing. Of course, we watched the whole thing Sunday night on TV and saw our Canadians win this part of the competition. That made it all the more exciting.

Fiona said she felt anxious and excited for the skaters, wondering how they must feel, getting ready to skate in the Olympics. Some are only a couple of years older than she is. Seasoned or new, it must be an overwhelming experience for all of them. We were glad to witness this part of it and show our support.

question: have you ever seen a French skating duo, dressed as flashy hayseeds, performing to "Thank God I'm a country boy?"

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