47. Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin RUS
2017 Cup of China short dance
Russian ice dance has been playing a bit of second fiddle the past few years, but Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin have the talent and the charisma to break into the big leagues. They were World junior champs back in 2013 and have taken a few years to find their voice, but this short dance is a prime example of everything their skating is about.
It's fun, it's dynamic, and it earned them a career best short dance score. And once they iron out a few more of the basics, it would not be a surprise to find them in the medal hunt on the World level. Let's not forget, Bukin's family knows what it's like to be at the top of ice dance - his dad, Andrei Bukin, was one-half of Bestemianova/Bukin, the 1988 Olympic champions.