” then segued gracefully into a sensuous rumba to the classic “Besame Mucho” before picking up the pace and finishing things off with another up-tempo mambo.
“It felt great today. That was our best OD so far this season. Everything felt on: the footwork, spins and especially the lifts,” said White, who spoke for many of the dancers when he added, “The Latin rhythms made it really easy to get into the ballroom spirit this season. We practice them on and off the ice, and they’re just a lot of fun.”
They’re also very adult, which might seem to pose a challenge to some of the teens in the junior competition.
“We’ve both grown up a lot since last season, when our quick step OD had us out there being more playful. Fortunately, Charlie is 18 and I just turned 19 a few weeks ago, so it’s legal,” Davis said with a laugh.
The couple earned 58.06 points and enter tomorrow’s free dance with 93.48 points, widening their lead over the field to more than nine points. Immediately after drawing the skating order for the final, White hustled over to the competitors’ bus to catch a ride to SavvisCenter for his singles’ practice. (He placed 12th in Monday’s junior men’s short program.)
“It’s still fun for me to compete in two events. Unfortunately, I made some mental errors in my short program, but I’m hoping to come back strong in the free,” said White.
Davis supports her partner’s singles’ career.
“I think it’s great. I competed myself in singles for years, so I understand how it is. Charlie loves doing it, and I encourage him,” she said.
Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates (Ann Arbor FSC), second after the compulsories, maintained their place with a sparkling OD to cha cha and rumba rhythms that earned 51.07 points.
“It all went well out there today. Our footwork was very good in both the diagonal and straight-line sequences, and our lifts were clean. It felt good to execute everything,” the 16-year-old Bates said.
The 2005 U.S. novice champions are especially pleased with their point total (84.09) and placement heading in to the free dance competition.
“We didn’t really know what to expect this season since it’s our first on the junior circuit. We’re still getting the feel of doing an OD and a longer free dance, so we weren’t thinking about our placement here. We just wanted to skate well,” the 15-year-old Samuelson said.
Third place went to Jane Summersett & Elliot Pennington (New England FSC/SC of Boston), who also chose to skate the cha cha and rumba. The couple maintained their energy throughout the fast-paced program but encountered some trouble on several of their more difficult elements to take 80.17 points into the free dance.
“We did fairly well, but our spin was a bit messed up, so it dropped down from a Level 4 to a Level 3. We also held our (straight-line) lift a tiny bit too long, so we got a (one-point) deduction. It’s hard to count during the lifts; we have to get used to practicing with a stopwatch,” the 18 year-old Summersett explained.
Elizabeth Miosi & Dimitry Ponomarev (SC of New York), seventh in the compulsories, placed fourth. Their steamy program of mambo and samba rhythms earned 43.78 points, and they head in to the free dance in sixth place with 70.98 points overall. Kimmerly Lauten & Augie Hill
(Stars FSC of Texas) placed fifth in the OD but climbed to fourth place overall with 72.44 points.
Kaitlyn Weaver & Charles Clavey (
Charter Oak SC and Texas Gulf Coast FSC, respectively) dropped from fourth place after the compulsories to fifth place overall (71.47 points) after they hit the boards at the end of their diagonal step sequence and Clavey fell, causing an automatic one-point deduction.