Ice Cold

I've had a really heavy cold for about two weeks now. The last time I had a cold this bad you may remember what I did to cheer myself up and aid recovery. I watched figure skating. And what were Eurosport showing last  weekend? Only coverage of Skate America, the first grandd prix of the year! A happy coincidence readers. The difference with a Grand Prix competition is that it's assigned so it's a smaller field. It's no less fun though. In attendance at Skate America were some very exciting people.
The 'jumping bean' himself Kevin van der Perren was skating in the men's contest and even better he won the silver medal! It was lovely to see him do so well, he's a great ambassador for the sport, very committed and I think he's totally cool. And damn can he wear a pair of jeans, look up his exhibition performance and you'll see. Also gracing us was the lovely Michal Brezina who won the gold medal. I'm very excited about Micha he looks to be a talent to watch for the future and I love his Kodo drums routine. Speaking of ones to watch, little Dennis Ten looks to be quite something, he has a lovely confident presence about him and such power for an eighteen year old. The ice dance contest was quite a treat with Natalie and Fabian unveiling their new routines. The first one is like a salsa party type theme with 'Mas que Nada' the main music track, I love a good latin theme in ice dance its always so so entertaining. And their long programme is even better the theme is 'the pharaoh and his mummy' what a routine! So clever and just plain fabulous, and Natalie's costume even looked like a wrap of bandages. Another treat was Isabella and Deividas or as they shall henceforth be known 'the Shakira people.' Their long programme and exhibition were soundtracked to Shakira songs. Genius. Isabella had a fabulous slinky, shiny tassley dress on and wow is she good at latin hips. I think I'll be keeping an eye on this couple for future contests. Ooh and Asher Hill and Kharis Ralph were a revelation, he was extremely impressive, one of the best male dancers I've seen. Their exhibition was mind blowing, they danced to 'nature boy' (Nat King Cole) and his costume did not involve a shirt which was pretty damn awesome, oh and the choreography was pretty impressive too. And then I found out that Eurosport are also showing Skate Canada this weekend. SO excited. Kevin van der Perren is attending again, Patrick Chan will be there. Javier Fernandez too, who I quite like. And Daisuke Takahashi who for some reason reminds me of the Japanese singer Gackt, I think because he's so dramatic and expressive. Also Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are going which is bound to be amazing as their awesome as it is and a home crowd can only be a lift for them. More exciting even than that is the news that Maxim Trankov (and partner Tatiana) are going! SO excited. He's gorgeous and their super Mario exhibition last year was one of the most innovative routines of the season. So look out for the updates