Last season’s top success left Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis exhausted this season. According to the expert, a leap in development would require renewal.
The World Figure Skating Championships ended on Sunday, and there are now two Finnish couples among the 16 best ice dance couples in the world.
An experienced duo Juulia Turkkila – Matthias Versluis took 10th place, and first-timers at the World Championships Yuka Oriharan and Juho Pirinen ranking was 16th. The combined result of the couples will bring Finland two ice dance spots for next year’s World Championships.
Sports expert Mika Saarelainen according to him, it is sensational that two Finnish pairs reach such a high level at the World Cup level.
– Two ice dance couples from a small country are among the top 16 in the world. This is how great ice dancing is done in Finland, Saarelainen enthuses.
Finland’s number one pair Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis have established their level near the top of the world, but did not reach their best this season.
The bronze medal at the European Championships a year ago was replaced by sixth place, and the ranking at the World Championships dropped by one.
Record points in international competitions were also not achieved.
However, according to Saarelainen, the pair’s maximum potential has yet to be reached.
What would that require?
– One concrete example is step sets. In them, you have to get the steps in order so that they succeed from one competition to another. Easy to say, of course, but it takes a tremendous amount of work.
In addition, the expert would like the experienced couple to take risks and have the courage to reform. Turkkila and Versluis have already skated together for eight years and already competed in their fifth World Championships.
– The free dances in particular have been great, but for next season you should think about whether you could do something different. Their trademark is a strong contemporary dance movement language, which is worth sticking to, but for example the choice of music could bring a new angle.
Although the season has just ended for the Finns, eyes are already turned to the future. According to Saarelainen, rumors about the changes are already circulating.
– The little birds have been singing that something new is coming from there, and it is in the right direction.
The new theme of rhythm dance
In the coming season, the rhythmic dance, whose theme changes every year, will inevitably be renewed as well.
This year, we danced to the music and atmosphere of the 1980s, which, according to Saarelainen, was not the most ideal option for Finns.
The rules for the next season have not yet been officially confirmed, but currently the new theme is a 20th century dance party.
If the theme comes true, Saarelainen sees a broad music coverage as offering better opportunities for utilizing one’s own strengths.
– On the other hand, it can be challenging to know where to start? It means music from 1901 to 1999. It can be, for example, Charleston, jive, disco or pop. However, the theme would offer such a huge treasure trove that you can choose what suits you best.
A delicious competition setting
Finland’s second ice dance couple, Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen, succeeded in their World Cup debut and, according to Saarelainen, made their international breakthrough. The foreign media was buzzing around the Finnish couple for a long time after the free dance.
Saarelainen believes that the pair has all the conditions to raise their ranking next season.
– They have every opportunity to be among the top ten in the world. It requires honing the technique, but the World Cup showed that the difficulty levels came in the same way as for others. They are hungry, and that is an important motivator.
Saarelainen is excited about the extraordinary situation for Finns, where two ice dancing couples challenge each other on the ice of their home country.
– Mutual competition moves couples forward. Both have to push themselves and do their best, and yes, there is that competition between them.