Dream of the Perfect Double Axel

No more falls in the ice dance free skate last night, but no real spark, either. Dick and Sandra were going on and on about it: lots of clean, complicated, practically super-human footwork going on, but the skaters are so intent on their technical elements that they don't really interpret the music. Then there's the music they're supposed to be interpreting: Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, The Prince of Egypt?! Che formaggio! The costumes didn't get any better, either, most of them managing to be both boring and vulgar at the same time--quite a feat! Hey, the Americans are charming, and I'm glad they ended the US ice dancing medal drought, but even at their best, today's ice dancers are not incredibly inspiring. The most moving moment came when Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio finally broke the nasty stalemate between themselves (caused by their fall in the original dance) at the end of their near-flawless long program--though their costumes were so hideous and effluent that they actually detracted from the fine skating they did. And the ice dance dunce caps of the day go to Israeli team Chait and Sakhnovski, for skating to "Bolero," which was all but trademarked by Torvill and Dean back in '84. As Dick said, "They can't help but suffer by comparison." But hey, they sure can twizzle!

Categories: Torino, Olympics, skating