Chapter 88 2016 Finals Short Dance
◎Ignite the stadium◎
"Thank you, Xiao Lu, for your report from the scene." The host of the sports channel took over and spoke to the audience in front of the TV. "Then soon, the first group of ice dance contestants of the Grand Prix Final will go on stage to warm up. Let us look forward to their performance."
After a while, the broadcast on the stadium sounded, announcing the start of warm-up.
The six pairs of players who qualified for the Grand Prix Final were divided into groups of three. The first group to warm up were Mia Lucas, who ranked sixth in the two-station points, Katerin Ivanov, who ranked fifth, and Judy Jayne, who ranked fourth. They skated onto the ice one after another.
As the three pairs of skaters began to skate on the ice, the audience cheered in anticipation. Russian and Canadian ice fans held high their respective national flags and waved the skaters' banners.
"Everyone is so excited." Ni Chuan looked around the bustling audience and couldn't help but sigh.
"I saw a lot of people on the forum saying that there are many referees who support North American players, which is very disadvantageous to us?" Ni Chuan suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Feifei beside him, "But the referees didn't treat us well in the past, did they?"
"In the past, the referees were just not used to giving our players high P scores. But now the proportion of North American referees has increased. Not only will they not give us high P scores, but they may also increase the water content of the North American players' P scores. So the situation will be more serious." Feifei's expression was also a little solemn. "Rita Thompson from the United States defeated Tiantang in the World Championships last season, and Judy Jayne surpassed Tiantang in the China Cup this season. This should be a factor in this regard."
"Wow, what should we do?" Ni Chuan exclaimed in exaggeration, "Then the referee can just give whatever points they want. Whoever they want to be in front will be in front!"
"That's not the case." A senior Chinese ice fan sitting in the front turned around and said, "The North American judges are among the nine scoring judges. They are responsible for scoring the GOE of the moves and the five sub-items of the program content. However, in addition to them, the entire judging team also has technical experts. The technical experts are responsible for grading the technical moves. Each player's performance will be recorded and replayed when necessary to determine the grading of each technical move. So far, the technical experts are still very fair. The grading of the moves determines the basic score of the moves. As long as Tiantang plays to their technical advantages, the basic score will definitely not be low. The GOE and P scores will be more or less affected by the performance of the technology. It is impossible for you to skate perfectly but be given a very low P and GOE. Everyone who sees it will think it is unfair."
"I see. That is to say, the North American referees want to cheat, but they can't be too obvious." Ni Chuan nodded slowly. "If our players perform stably and have strong skills, they can still get relatively high scores. They can't cheat to any great extent."
"Yes." The veteran ice fan nodded and couldn't help but sighed, "But it's too difficult to perform stably. There are so many steps in ice dance competitions, and a wrong edge may result in demotion. No matter how good a player is, there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents on the ice. Well, anyway, prepare for the worst first, so you won't be too disappointed when the time comes."
"I hope Tiantang can get the bronze medal this time. It would be good enough if she could win against a couple of Rita Thompson and Judy Jayne." Feifei nodded, thought for a moment, then lowered her eyes and spoke, "But I am also prepared that Tiantang might lose to them because of mistakes or low P score."
"I think so too." The veteran ice fan nodded. "It all depends on tomorrow's free dance. It's a bird-snake battle, and I don't know who will win in the end. But in today's short dance, if Tiantang performs well, she will definitely gain an advantage first."
"Ah, come on, Tiantang." Feifei and Ni Chuan couldn't help but become nervous.
Soon the first group warmed up and Mia Lucas, who was sixth in the points standings, took to the field and they quickly finished their short dance.
The technical score was 37.42, the program content score was 34.45, and the short dance score was 71.87. The pattern derivative steps and the connecting steps were rated level three, and the other technical movements were rated level four.
"This pair's technique is pretty stable, but their performance has never been very good. The male partner always has a stern face, which doesn't look good." The veteran ice fan turned around and spoke to Ni Chuan and Fei Fei, "Although they are North American players, it is difficult to help them up. I think the referee has given up giving them water P points."
Next up was Katerin Ivanov. Katerin wore a fashionable rose-red suspender and black leather skirt, while Ivanov wore a casual shirt and denim trousers. They were also the first to use hip-hop rhythms in the competition.
Ice dance short dance has the same rules for the types and number of technical movements as free dance, but does not specify the order in which the movements should be completed. Contestants can arrange the order of technical movements according to the choreography. However, the choreographed lifts in free dance must be completed after the other specified lifts.
Katerin and Ivanov first skated to a street dance rhythm, doing synchronized twists and lifts, then switched to blues music, doing pattern dances and derivative steps.
"The key point of the first pattern dance, the three-step method, used the blade incorrectly. The pattern dance should be downgraded." The veteran ice fan watched Katerin and Ivanov's use of blade intently and spoke to Feifei and Ni Chuan like this.
"Wow, don't they have pretty good skills?" Ni Chuan said in surprise, "Katerin is first in the World Youth Championships, and Ivanov is fifth in the Winter Olympics."
"Ice dancing is like this. One nervous ankle might lead to point deduction. It's very easy to make mistakes. European and American players have high P scores, so they are not so afraid of making mistakes, but for us players... the tolerance rate is low. If you want to get good results, you can't make any mistakes at all." After the veteran ice fan finished speaking, Ni Chuan and Fei Fei immediately thought of the severe situation faced by Ji Tang and the others, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.
Katerin and Ivanov were still competing in the short dance on the ice. The rhythm switched from blues to cheerful street dance again, and they continued to do the straight-line transition required by the short dance. After the two completed the transition, they started to do the BREAKING kneeling dance. However, Ivanov accidentally fell while kneeling on the ice, which caused cheers from the audience.
"He fell in Japan and he fell again this time. What's going on?" Russian ice fans expressed surprise.
"Luckily, I didn't fall while doing the step sequence this time. It shouldn't affect my grading..."
"But there will be extra points deducted for falling, eh!"
"Why did you choose hip-hop rhythm?"
"Yeah, hip-hop skating on ice is very difficult. It has to be fast-paced and have that kind of rhythmic feel, which is completely different from smooth skating and social dancing. Oh, I don't think anyone can skate hip-hop well this season."
Katerin and Ivanov saluted and came to the waiting area.
Soon after, their results came out, with a technical score of 36.33, a program score of 35.03, an extra point deducted for falling, and a short dance score of 70.33. The pattern dance was downgraded by three levels for a key point error, the derivative steps and the connecting steps were downgraded to level three, and the other movements were graded at level four. The short dance score was behind Mia Lucas.
Next up was the third pair from the first group, Canada’s Judy Jayne.
Judy Jayne's rhythmic choices were swing and blues. Their costumes were similar to traditional social dance costumes, with the female partner Judy wearing a long pink skirt. They did not make any mistakes in their pattern dance, all the key points of the pattern dance were correct, the derivative steps and the connecting steps were graded at level three, and the other movements were graded at level four. The technical score was 37.26, the program content score was 37.98, and the short dance score was 75.24. They are currently ranked first.
"What a high P score!" Feifei exclaimed. Many fans had the same reaction as her.
Not only Chinese ice hockey fans, but also Russian ice hockey fans expressed dissatisfaction when seeing this rare program content.
"This is too high! It's almost catching up with Victoria Williams! It's too obvious that the referee wants to push Canada's No. 1 group to the top!" Chinese ice fans expressed dissatisfaction.
"There's another American team behind us, so I'm sure their scores will be even lower!"
"Do you really want to use P points to step on Sweetie? No way!"
"Hey hey! Come on, sweetie!"
"Ahhh, it's time, come on sweetie!"
"Please invite the second group of ice dance short dance contestants to come on stage to warm up." A cold voice came from the radio.
After the first group of three pairs of players finished warming up, it was the turn of the second group. The second group of three pairs of players were Ji Tang, who ranked third in the two-station points, Rita Thompson, who ranked second, and Dalia Nikolai, who ranked first. They stepped onto the ice one after another.
The ice dancers’ costumes are closely linked to their chosen rhythms, and the audience can tell the rhythms chosen by the three pairs of dancers through their costumes.
Of the three pairs in the second group, only Dariya Nikolay was dressed in a social dance style, with the woman in a long skirt and the man in a suit.
Ji Tang wore a shirt and black pants full of youthful vibes. The American group Rita Thompson wore a jacket dotted with rivets, full of punk vibes. It was obvious at a glance that both the Chinese and American groups chose hip-hop rhythms.
"Wow, this time China's JT also chose street dance rhythm? I thought Chinese people prefer conservative swing dance!" An American ice fan in the audience expressed surprise.
"Asian street dance... that must not be okay, right? Hahaha."
"They're still in front and behind our group, haha. Rita Thompson's street dance is very strong, aren't they afraid of creating a sharp contrast?"
"But I heard that JT performed quite well in the race?"
"I didn't watch it, but the intensity of competition in the Asian division is not as strong as that in our division. Anyway, I think that this season, the performance of street dance rhythm will not be very ideal, street dance and ice skating are not compatible. The Russian player just now did not show a strong street dance style. It looked like he was skating to street dance music. But if you have to pick the tallest one among the short ones, then Rita Thompson must be better!"
"That's right."
Soon, the second group finished warming up, and the other two groups skated off the ice. Ji Tang stood at the entrance waiting for notification.
"The next group to come on stage is from China, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi." A voice came from the radio.
Ji Tiantian gently pushed the ice and slid towards the center of the ice with Tang Yi.
The wind caused by the gliding easily blew a few strands of hair from Ji Tiantian's ponytail into the air.
There was a burst of cheers at the scene.
"Come on sweetie!"
"Show your momentum!"
"China! Must win! Sweetie! Must win!"
The Chinese fans on the ice had been waiting anxiously and nervously, and when they saw their country's athletes on the field, all the pent-up emotions seemed to have found an outlet. They shouted loudly and waved the bright red national flag in their hands.
"Sister Tiantian! Come on, Brother Yi! Let those foreigners see your street dance!" Ni Chuan stood up, put his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Let them see real street dance on ice!"
Amid cheers, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi stopped in the middle of the ice one after another.
Ji Tiantian looked up at the cheering audience. She subconsciously clenched her fist and slowly raised it.
Tang Yi looked at Ji Tiantian and raised his fist as well.
"Come on! China! Come on! Tiantang!" Chinese ice hockey fans saw their actions and raised their fists.
Ji Tiantian smiled and waved her fist in the air, and the fans followed suit. Ji Tiantian smiled, showing her white teeth, and gave a thumbs up to the fans. A burst of cheerful laughter immediately broke out at the scene.
"I think what Tiantian means is that when the street dance music starts, she wants us to punch along with her." Feifei poked her head out and talked to a group of ice fans around her.
"Do we do it together when the music starts?" someone asked in confusion.
"No, no, it's when the hip-hop music starts playing... Well, anyway, we just need to watch their moves!"
Ji Tang got into a ready position on the ice, and soon their blues selection, "The Distant Journey" started playing.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi held hands, and accompanied by melodious and soothing music, they quickly entered the pattern dance part, heading towards three key points.
"Looking at the momentum at the opening, I thought their dancing would be so passionate, but it's so boring. It's not even as good as Katerina's group." American audiences in the auditorium expressed dissatisfaction.
"Many contestants in previous stations were like this. They said they chose hip-hop rhythms, but in fact they just skated to hip-hop music."
"Yeah, yeah. It doesn't feel like hip-hop at all."
"Hey, so this season still depends on Rita and Thompson."
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi quickly skated through pattern dances and pattern dance derivative steps, then performed a powerful waltz jump together. After landing, they knelt on one knee on the ice in sync.
They held the ice with one hand, then looked up at each other and smiled together.
The music on the field suddenly switched to their street dance selection, "Hot Wind". A high-pitched female voice sounded.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi stood up and slid forward side by side.
No matter what the road ahead holds, at least they are enjoying this moment.
They raised their fists together, and Ji Tiantian looked up at the audience.
“Ahhh!” Feifei and many Chinese audiences noticed Ji Tiantian’s gaze, and they raised their fists together.
The powerful drum beats in the music sounded, echoing throughout the entire stadium.
The audience followed Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, punching their fists hard to the music.
The huge ice surface seemed to have turned into a drum, and everyone was beating it hard. This was the sound of a drum calling for a miracle.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi punched while changing their footwork flexibly, and began to walk in a straight line across the long axis of the ice rink without holding each other.
While keeping sliding, they tried to increase the rhythm of their upper bodies as much as possible, swinging their fists one after another.
They faced each other, stared at each other, crossed their feet and slid forward at high speed, changing their positions at the same time, skating around each other on the ice in a figure of 8. Under the magnificent drumbeats, there was the smooth sound of ice blades cutting deeply through the ice.
The smooth sliding did not slow down the rhythmic movement of Ji Tang's upper body. They punched, locked, punched, locked, and the feeling of street dance LOCKING made them show strong vitality.
Although it is gliding smoothly, the sense of pause in street dance is always there.
Ice and fire, two completely different sports, are perfectly integrated in them, arousing unparalleled momentum.
The American audiences who had originally been pessimistic about Ji Tang all showed surprised expressions. They could not help but be infected by Ji Tang's performance.
"How can this Asian duo... do so well?" someone exclaimed.
"They simply grasped the essence of street dance..."
"I see. They didn't show their emotions at the beginning in order to hold back for a big outburst later!"
"Indeed...it's not just the performance, the choreography is also very attentive!"
Many foreign audiences couldn't help but raise their fists and wave them along with Ji Tang.
Ji Tiantian spread her ten fingers at her side, looked at her dance partner, wrinkled her nose and made a roaring expression.
She was roaring like a lion. Tang Yi followed Ji Tiantian and made the same expression. Intense emotions burst out as they slid!
They performed their step sequence simultaneously, leaped out, and pumped their fists high in the air.
"I feel that our contestants want to express more than just their desire to break free from their cages," the host of the sports TV station said excitedly, "They are leading the entire ice dance project into a whole new world. A new rhythm, a new pattern. They are leading the entire project, leaping out of the old social dance and into the modern street dance season!"
"Who says street dance can't be combined with figure skating! Who says Asian skaters can't skate well on ice? We want to break everything!" The host's voice couldn't help but rise. "I can feel the fearless momentum of breaking through everything from the movements of Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi! This is the spirit of sports! This is the spirit that their dance wants to show! Dancing on ice is beautiful and elegant, but also full of power!"
Next, there are the synchronized twists in the short dance.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi clenched their fists and crossed them in front of their chests to complete the first set of four-week twists, then clenched their fists at their sides to complete the second set of four-week twists, and finally held the knife in one hand and clenched a fist with the other hand above their heads to complete the third set of powerful twists.
After the end, they put down their floating legs together, and their positions were right opposite the referee's seat.
They simultaneously swung their hands downwards, roaring at the referee. The unwillingness in their eyes was enough to tell the referee that they would never admit defeat.
No matter what time it is, they are determined to create miracles.
"Ahhh, Tiantang, good job! Go!" Screams rang out one after another at the scene.
"China's JT! Come on!" Foreign audiences couldn't help but shout.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi knelt on one knee on the ice together, rotating on one knee while swinging their upper arms, performing the BREAKING dance moves on the ice.
Then Tang Yi stood up first, and he pulled Ji Tiantian's hands hard, and lifted her body into the air. Ji Tiantian's legs were briefly suspended in the air, and she was picked up by Tang Yi after landing on the ice.
Ji Tiantian gently touched Tang Yi's forehead, and they started to do the twisting lift together.
While spinning, Ji Tiantian leaned back, stretched her arms straight, and showed a cheering smile.
"Ahhh! Tiantang! Tiantang!" The ice fans in the audience cheered and applauded together.
Then came the finishing move. Ji Tang and Ji Tang knelt on the ice together. They faced the referee's seat, stretched their arms high, and spread their fingers.
When the last note fell, they put away one hand, while the other hand turned into a powerful fist and hung high in the air.
The music stopped.
After a short silence, the audience burst into applause. Many audience members, including foreign audience members, stood up, jumped and clapped vigorously.
"China! Come on! China! We will win!" Some audience members, with tears in their eyes, kept shouting, "Never give up!"
"Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi have now completed their short dance. The emotions and feelings they want to express are all gathered in the last fist raised in the air. I believe that the audience at the scene and the audience in front of the TV can definitely feel everything he expressed."
The host's voice was transmitted to all parts of the country along with the live broadcast. "I heard that this season, our contestants overcame many difficulties to reach the finals. They knew that this season's street dance rhythm was a great opportunity to surpass European and American contestants, so they decided to choose this rhythm. However, many experienced ice dance choreographers and coaches are not familiar with this rhythm, and the help they can give them is very limited. Our contestants, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, relied entirely on themselves to complete such an excellent program that touched people's hearts and ignited the arena."
On the ice, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi stared at each other, both breathing heavily. Ji Tiantian did not stand up for a while, but put her hands on Tang Yi's shoulders, as if she was taking a rest to recover.
"We can see that both contestants are very tired. They have to make sure that their skating is not wrong, and they have to express the rhythm of street dance, and they have such intense emotions. It is really not easy." The host took a deep breath and raised his voice. "The scores are not out yet, but we can see that the two contestants have performed very well without any flaws! They are the best! Ji Tiantian! Tang Yi! Asian miracle! Let's celebrate for them!"
Tang Yi stretched out his hands and hugged Ji Tiantian, with their heads buried in each other's shoulders.
A hotpot restaurant in the capital is broadcasting the ice dance grand prix final.
Chang Yu stood in front of the TV, watching Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi hugging each other, his eyes slowly turned red, but the corners of his mouth never fell.
"Boss, why is ice dancing so touching?" A customer looked at the TV screen and spoke while wiping away tears.
"To be honest, I just realized it too." Chang Yu said with a smile.
"Wow, today's hot pot is too spicy, wow, I can't stop crying, wow, wow..."
There was thunderous applause in the arena. Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi slowly stood up from the ice and saluted to the audience.
Then they slid to the exit together and hugged their coaches.
Accompanied by their coach, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi sat in the waiting area. As they waited for the scores to come out, the atmosphere was still very lively.
"It's very rare to see such a lively atmosphere in a short dance." The host said in an exciting voice, "Let's look forward to the final results of the two contestants!"
"I watched the competitions in other stations. Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi are the only pair of contestants who can combine the rhythm of street dance and ice dance so well. I don't think they will lose!" Someone in the audience spoke excitedly.
"Yes. Tiantang is also a rare player this season whose short dance transition steps have reached level 4. Their skills are so strong, their GOE must be high, otherwise the scoring rules would be a joke. Only the P score might be suppressed..."
"I also feel that hip-hop rhythm is tailor-made for them in terms of style and expression. They are exactly the athletes the International Skating Union needs! They can open a new era of ice dance!"
"The benchmark for street dance rhythmic strength! If their scores are all low, who would dare to challenge street dance?"
"Yes, yes, the world's number one street dance model contestant, how can it be lower?"
"Ooooooh please don't go lower!"
Soon, Ji Tang's scores came out. His technical score was 40.82, his program content score was 36.22, and his short dance score was 77.04, his best in the short dance this season, and he was currently ranked first in the finals.
Except for the pattern-derived steps, which are rated at level 3, all other technical movements are rated at level 4. The step sequence is rated one level higher than Judy Jayne’s, proving that they have more diverse steps and posture changes and a wider sliding trajectory when skating the whole set of steps.
In the waiting area, Ji Tiantian, Tang Yi and the coach hugged each other tightly.
There was warm applause from the audience.
"Wow, what a high score! That's great! That's great!"
"With strong ability, what's the big deal about being in a high P group! Tiantang is the best!"
"Sweet sugar is worth it! Aaaaaaah!"
"Tiantang! We must win! China! We must win!"
The Chinese audience in the auditorium roared loudly.
"This Chinese pair... is so strong..." Some foreign audience members showed a surprised look on their faces.
"If I had known that China's JT was so good, I would have gone to watch the Asian leg."
“Who would have thought that the most powerful hip-hop group this season would be born in Asia.”
"Compared to them, the other players are just skating to the rhythm of hip-hop dance. Only they are really dancing hip-hop dance on the ice, conveying the spirit of hip-hop dance that dares to express itself..."
"Yeah, yeah, this score is really... I think their P score could be a little higher."
Ji Tiantian let go of the coach, stood up and looked towards the audience.
"Ji Tiantian! Tang Yi! Ji Tiantian! Tang Yi!"
In the audience, everyone was shouting the rankings of the two ice dancers, as if they were cheering for two great pioneers.
Thousands of times of training result in outstanding performance on the field time and time again.
Careful preparation, fearless innovation, hard training and no mistakes have resulted in one rare and valuable high score after another.
With tears in her eyes, Ji Tiantian waved her hands vigorously towards the audience.
Ni Chuan, Fei Fei, and many audience members also waved to her with tears in their eyes.
At this moment, their spirits seemed to be connected, they felt the same excitement and indescribable pride. A surge of blood kept boiling in their chests.
At this moment, Ji Tiantian understood one thing very clearly, that is, as long as she stood high enough, no matter how heavy the mountain was, it could not crush her.
She felt that there was a bright world waiting for her ahead.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi came to the side accompanied by their coach, put on their coats and watched the remaining two groups of players compete.
The next players to play were Rita and Thompson from the United States. Perhaps because the situation was too tense, Thompson staggered after entering the ice.
There was joyful laughter among the Chinese ice fans.
"I heard from those Americans that Tiantang would not perform well and that Asian contestants would not be good at street dance. Hey, what do you think?"
"Tiantang is the perfect hip-hop representative in my mind! I am waiting to see how the American contestants perform!"
"Everyone, pay attention! The pressure is now on the American team!"
"Hahaha Thompson is so nervous. It must be very stressful to be behind Tiantang!"
"Come on, come on, let's see how they perform!"
After they got into the starting position, the American group's street dance rhythm song sounded, which was Rihanna's "Umbrella".
Accompanied by light pop music, Thompson and Rita did a few rhythms on the spot and then started to move into the step sequence.
"The songs they selected are obviously much milder than Ji Tang's. They don't feel powerful enough. Tsk tsk tsk." An audience member commented.
"Many ice dancers who choose street dance rhythms will not choose very energetic songs. Many people will not choose songs with lively drum beats like "Tian Tang", which obviously increases the difficulty of skating."
"It's true that comparison hurts. If I compare them before the sweet candy, I might think they skate very well, but after the sweet candy, it really... lacks feeling."
“Hahaha, what a stark contrast!”
Ni Chuan watched the American group's competition in a leisurely mood, and from time to time he looked at the American audiences who had not been optimistic about Tiantang before.
The American audience was very quiet, and the atmosphere was far less intense than when Ji Tang was skating.
After completing the step sequence, Rita and Thompson blew a kiss to the judges together. Then they followed the soothing blues music and entered the blues pattern dance and the difficult steps of the derivative steps.
"Tiantian and Tang Yi always move their upper body while skating the step sequence. The American couple obviously has fewer dance moves." Jiang Lin stood at the edge of the ice and spoke softly to Xu Chi, "They only dare to do a few dance moves after completing the step sequence."
"It can't be helped. They are afraid that the intense street dance moves will affect their use of blades in the connecting steps, which would lead to demotion." Xu Chi smiled, "Because they know their P score won't be low, they don't want to take risks. Even if they choose street dance rhythm, they will still adopt a more conservative arrangement. This may be the weakness of European and American players."
"I don't dare to take risks, in fact, it's because my skills are not solid enough." Jiang Lin couldn't help but smile, "Look at their blues pattern dance, it seems that they missed a key point."
After a while, the American duo Rita and Thompson finished their short dance and came to the equal area.
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