Flash Dance: Flashback to 1998's Top Dance Teams

In 1998, skating was great.

Not the most epic ice dance competition we've ever seen, but when you look back on the names, it was pretty darn good.

Four years earlier, Oksana ("Pasha") Grishuk and Evgeni Platov got flack for winning gold over Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin and Jayne Torville and Christopher Dean in Lillehammer in 1994 (and I was one of the ones giving them flack. I couldn't stand that rock-n-roll schtik: ), their incredible 4-year winning streak cannot be denied. There was simply not another team that truly challenged them at the top. They skated with confidence and command over the years and embodied their winning ways.

In 1997, Oksana cut her hair and dyed it blonde. She started getting confused with Oksana Baiul, who at the time was in hot water for a drunk driving arrest, so Grishuk legally changed her name to "Pasha." She also got purple skates. Hey, maybe Pasha wanted to create more buzz around her team going into the Olympics, though she really didn't have to go to all that trouble--their 1997 material was excellent. Even though G&P were never my favorites, I always liked Evgeni's skating, and their 1997 "Feeling Begins," free dance was brilliant.

Their "Requiem" program in 1998 was an over-the-top Russian monstrosity, but it's so hypnotic, you can't look away. You also can't look away from the giant bedazzled crosses on their chests, Pasha's likeness to Marilyn Monroe, and her purple skates...but at least there's good, 'ole, normal Evgeni to balance the whole thing out. (Evgeni is a wonderful skater).

What I like about the program is the repetition of moves three times-- Pasha swizzles in between his legs in leapfrog position-- the pulsing, blaring, almost Bolero-esque rhythm of the music, and of course: the passion. I love the ending knee slide and Tatiana Tarasova's scream. (And really, what skating program is complete without a large Russian woman in fur screaming at the end?)


On one of the broadcasts I've watched, when put on the spot about if this team is the best team in the world, commentator and Olympic dance medalist Tracy Wilson is silent for a long moment, before saying: "Technically they're excellent. I can't questions their speed, the use of the running edge. I don't think they have shown up here polished. I've seen their unison better. I believe they are beatable."

In the Kiss and Cry, Tracey comments that the most important thing to Tarasova is the emotion that her teams portray, but she feels that it was at the expense of the technique here, as the program was a little ragged.

Still, when I watch this again, I love the passion of the music, and I long for the days of name-changing divas, repeating leap-frog swizzles, and purple skates:



Nagano's runner-up team was Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov. I was a big fan of their 1997 "Masquerade Waltz," free dance, but this "Carmen" free skate was a miss for me. As one of the commenters on YouTube wrote, this should have been an amazing program because Krylova was "made to be Carmen," but the choreography made them look like they were puppets. It was as though their arms and legs were being pulled up and down at bent angles, and their facial expressions too histrionic.

I like the first half of the program, most notably the part when Oleg runs across the ice after Anjelika, but the second half feels like it should have sailed, but instead, was stuck in the harbor. I appreciate that they were trying to portray a warhorse in a new way, but this vehicle didn't display their talents as effectively as it could have. Anjelika obviously gets all the attention with her striking face and expressions that can be seen from the top of the rafters, but Oleg is so underappreciated---I had forgotten what a good skater he was and how he moved with such abandon (not unlike teammate Artur Dimitriev).



Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat were third. Maybe not their best performance ever here (I remember Tracy Wilson saying they skated a little tight), but still a very powerful and innovative performance. I love this team: the combination of the Russian drama with the French avant garde. And let's be honest--Gwendal's hair is amazing, and she lifts him twice. What more do you need to know??




Fourth place was Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz of Canada. I know there was a lot of talk around this team getting robbed, but I have to be honest that this free dance isn't my favorite, either. It is certainly more accessible than some of the top teams, and showcases their musicality, staccato steps, and their trademark hydroblading, but it feels slightly cheesy to me. Maybe I'm just a little tired of River Dance--even though back then it was a fresh concept-- but they still skated very well here, and had the crowd on their side. In a skating world when the judges were still block-judging and Russians reigned supreme, there was no way a non-Russian team skating to light-hearted Irish music was going to win.



My favorite free skate of ALL of 1998 is Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow of the U.S. This program is also on my list of top skating programs ever. Every time I watch it I'm blown away by the musicality of the choreography and the fact that it has everything: passion, intricacy, creativity, and smooth gliding edges. Their skating was smoldering and fluid. As Dick Button said, "They are superb skaters and dancers..."marvelous lines. It's what ice dancing is all about."

Commenters from YouTube wrote:

"I just love it when dancers give space for the flow, the music and choreography to breathe!"

"As opposed to the top teams, this had the look and feel of more "modern" (post 6.0 system) ice dance. Very similar to Davis and White with explosive lifts, speed and athleticism."

And my favorite comment of all: "This was PHENOMENAL!! Stupid block judging!"

Despite this marvelous showcase of everything this sport should be, P&S were only 7th at the Olympics and 6th at the Worlds. Perfect example of how medals are not everything and some of the best skating is not necessarily on the podium:

(This particular video is from the 1998 Worlds in Minneapolis, the event following Nagano. The video quality on the Nagano video wasn't as clear.)





What was your favorite dance program of 1998??