Two new senior Ice Dance Teams

[snoopysnake]

Lydia Manon, who recently broke up with Ryan O'Meara, is now skating with her off-ice partner, Brandon Forsyth. Ryan will now be skating with Jamie Silverstein.

See http://www.bladesonice.com/mag/blaweb1.htm

This is encouraging news for US ice dance since we can send three teams to the Olympics thanks to Tanith and Ben's silver at Worlds. No citizenship-eligible team will come close to Tanith and Ben's excellence, but perhaps we will see one or both of these new teams in Torino.

Tanith and Ben for gold in 2010! Yes!!!

[icedancer2]

I am very happy for these new partnerships -- I really LOVED Ryan and Lydia together at Nationals this year (actually, I was blown away by how well-matched they were, especially in their OD! -- what amazing flow and skating skills!).

So I was disappointed when I had heard that they had ended their partnership.

BUT we have been waiting for Jamie Silverstein to come back for quite a while, and then there was Brandon Forsyth -- I'm glad it seems to be working out.
HOpefully they will be able to get it together in the next 10 months!!

[WeBeEducated]

Lydia and Brandon should be superb! Not so sure about Silverstein/O'Meara. She has not been skating competitively for many years.

I heard Kimberly Navarro is with Brent. That should be a great team to give them all a run for their money.

[Phuket]

Lydia and Brandon should be superb!

Hmmm...really? I'm not so sure. Not that there isn't talent...but it takes more than talent for a team to be a recognized success. Brandon doesn't strike me as someone who has the stick-to-it-iveness (I apologize for the spelling) to have long term success...maybe you didn't have long term success in mind when you said they'd be superb...maybe you were just thinking short term, in the moment success. That's something that Brandon can and has achieved, and good for him, he's done more than most...but the long haul...I don't see it.

As far as Lydia goes, I've heard she's a very hard worker, very talented. But frankly, if what I've heard is true that the previous partnership split so she could skate with her boyfriend....I find that concerning.

[ClevelandDancer]

My guess on Lydia and Brandon ... it depends if they can fund their training. I know lack of funding was an issue with at least one of Brandon's partner breakups.

As far as breaking up to skate with her boyfriend, I see this as a good move in all likelihood. They are in their 20's, they've been together for a couple years. It's a formula that has worked before ... Meno & Sand come to mind. Though it adds some extra stress to both the on and off ice aspects of their relationship, but it does remove some such as separation, jealousy, etc.

[quark]

My guess on Lydia and Brandon ... it depends if they can fund their training. I know lack of funding was an issue with at least one of Brandon's partner breakups.

I can't believe the stupid decisions being made by these ice dancers. Since Belbin and Agosto can't go to the Olympics, Manon and O'Meara were almost a sure thing behind Gregory and Petukhov. Why in the world would Lydia decide to throw that goal completely away? For a boyfriend??? There's no way that Manon and Forsythe will qualify for the Olymipics, assuming Forsythe can even get his act together for a season.

O'Meara and Silverstein is a team that is going nowhere. Jamie is 5 years from her last skating competition, and this "ain't" the movies where you can just pick up where you left off. As much as I love Jamie, I don't think she can return to anything near the semblance of perfection she once had. I'm so sorry she's decided to again risk her future on a sport that almost took everything from her. She's obviously forgotten, AGAIN, her experiences that led to the breakup with Justin. She has her work cut out for her in dealing with Igor and Ryan and Marina. While I wish her luck, these are bad decisions by all of the parties involved. WHAT A WASTE.

The rest of the ice dancing fraternity is just as bad. Kendra (Goodwin) has broken up with Bommentre, and Bommentre is supposedly partnering with Kiimberly Navarro. Who knows? In my opinion, the problem Bommentre has is not his talent but his insistence that he remain in a skating center where dance has not been successful. Goodwin would have made a better choice in partnering with O'Meara a couple of years ago. Now, she's out in the cold.

The second team that now has a chance for the Olympics is Galler-Rabinowitz and Mitchell. While I've always felt that they are not an International team of any consequence, the USA judges have always given them the benefit of many doubts. If Mitchell can get healthy, they have a chance at an Olympic berth.

Matthews and Zavosin are much better at International dance technique, but I don't believe that Zavosin is an American citizen. They have a good chance to place 3rd next year at Nationals, which means a lower team would go to the Olympics. HOW RIDICULOUS!

The only dark horse team is Steigler and Magerovskiy? But, isn't he also a Russian?

The actual state of USA ice dance is absurd. The third team that we will probably send to the Olympics will be so far down in the International rankings that they will be lucky to place in the top 25. For all of you who just love to watch the changing of partners, please be aware that we are losing big time in the international arena. These decisions appear to be childish, based less on the desire to improve their individual positions in dance than on personal tastes that have little to do with judgments on the objective of "winning" at ice dance. Belbin and Agosto is the only hope we have and that's a precarious cliff edge on which to base the future of American Ice Dance!

[WeBeEducated]

Based on everything I have seen I would place Max and Morgan way ahead of all but our top 2 dance teams(belbin/agosto and Melissa and Denis).
But I know that Lydia and Brandon also have proven they are very talented and their personal relationship could enhance their dance style and their chances for a medal at nationals. They are well matched physically too.
They possibly could get a medal at nats. Certainly that wasnt hard to do this year :P
Jamie has not competed as an adult basically. Five years is a long time to be away from a sport and make an immediate and impressive comeback less than a year later, and Ryan and Jamie are not a good physical match. Just not a team that I find appealing.