The dance event was a little lacking in the star skaters we see in the men's and pair's events.
The most exciting dancers were the brand new team Nicole Orford and Asher Hill.
Orford and Hill have only been together a very short time, but they match each other perfectly. They share the same gorgeous lines and beautiful edges.
Their programs are not my favourite. They are very classic but not the most original. That said, I still love watching them together, and less original programs can be forgiven in the first season of a partnership.
I really liked the freedance costume, which I didn't get to see at summer skate, but I'm not crazy about the short dance costume. They are such elegant skaters, they don't need outlandish costumes, the skating can speak for itself.
The other dancers were not the most memorable. Most of them were fine but not exceptional skaters.
Two teams had interesting short dances, which look like they're going to be few and far between.
As much as I love the Ravensburger, not a whole lot of teams seem to be doing anything different with it.
Two teams here did something other than pretty people skating to pretty music (which, don't get me wrong, has its place, but there's a few too many at this point).
The first team with an interesting short dance was the Spanish team, Celia Robledo and Luis Fenero.
They did a tango-esque short dance with a waltz section. It wasn't my favourite program ever, but it was nice to have it break up the monotony.
The other team with an interesting short dance were the americans Karina Manta and Joseph Johnson.
Though they skated to Prokofiev's Cinderella, it was dark. Even their costumes stood out from the pretty princess dresses we saw from a lot of the others. Again, there's nothing wrong with them, but I know we'll all be awfully tired of that by the end of the season.
I'm still not sure exactly what story they were trying to tell, but it was still interesting to watch.
I had some mixed feelings on the freedances. A lot of them followed the vein of the short dances in being light and pretty, a couple though, stood out.
Manta and Johnson stood out again with their Joplin program. It was fun and had some interesting movements we don't see a lot.
Manta and Johnson are new seniors, but they are definitely on track to stand out in the best possible way. Unlike other new seniors, they are not trying to blend in with others.
