Iconic programs that you find ... overrated

[skaterr]

What are best practices? I've heard this term before but I'm not sure what it means

I just meant both the quantity and the quality of practices. I think Yuna is a hard worker. She had some kind of faith in herself. As you know, Yuna’s condition was not good at warm up before SP in sochi. Everyone thought she couldn’t have done a clean that time. She said She couldn’t control her body during her warm up. But she had a faith in herself. She had done her programs countless times. She thought it’s not a big deal. Her body would remember it.

 

[Barb]

I find curious that Russian ice dancers don´t seem very balletic, at least in their postures and lines.

 

[Ares]

Breathtaking...thank you for showing that fancam. I've always loved Yuna's Send in the Clowns, but that fancam makes me love it even more.

I've read that Yuna skating was even more impressive live, fancams can offer similar view sometimes.

 

[Ares]

I find curious that Russian ice dancers don´t seem very balletic, at least in their postures and lines.

I know right - you would expect the opposite with their tradition, people complain about Radionova's posture and lack of balletic seasoning but ironically I know that she spent / spends? quite much time practicing ballet Maybe it's much more difficult to translate to ice for her. I remember reading that Mao first sport was ballet before figure skating, maybe one of the reasons behind her exquisite style

 

[Ares]

Well, you know the old saying: "Americans are so inscrutable; they smile all the time."

But seriously, I think there are two points to mention. First, figure skaters are like stage performers. They have to project to the back row of the balcony. That's why they wear gobs of stage make-up and employ exaggerated theatrical gestures and facial expressions. In the television age it looks kind of funny sometimes, especially in close-ups.

The other point is that in the golden age of figure skating in the U.S., the standard was the professional touring show. The only reason skaters took part in amateur competitions at all was to pad their resumes so they could get a job with Ice Follies or Ice Capades. These were essentially Las Vegas Reviews on ice. You were expected to dress like a show girl and to smile like one, too.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5241006049_1faf90effa.jpg

We depart from the main topic further and further but this is my thread and I don't mind it

Interesting that Poles are somewhat in-between those two cultural phenomenons when it comes to public smiles and what smile means in non-verbal communication, employees are often instructed to use it like in UK but it's not standard and you can't expect ''lots of smiles'' everywhere you go. Russian or British extreme for us could be striking difference, certain girl who is my cousin once worked as a saleswoman in England was scolded by manager because she was not artificially grinning at customers all the time :sad4: Russians on the other hand use many of those gestures / facial expressions only in private setting which for Poles is strange too, but for Brits or Americans they look like depressed people all the time I suppose that it is because of our geographic location somewhere in the middle of that geographical and cultural axis even though we're Slavs like Russians (but Western Slavs). The western you go the more smiles you can expect from strangers. Russian supposedly assume that when someone is smiling to you than it means / suggests that this person knows you in person so it reacts in confusion in person from Russia, Poles don't react like that.

 

[plushyfan]

Hungary is in Central-Europe but the Hungarians are not slavic nation. We are smiling people but not on the American way.

 

[Barb]

Hungary is in Central-Europe but the Hungarians are not slavic nation. We are smiling people but not on the American way.

The first time I visited USA I was so confused because many strangers were smiling to me at the street , I was 17 yo. Interesting considering the actual situation.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Hungary is in Central-Europe but the Hungarians are not slavic nation. We are smiling people but not on the American way.

What's the difference?

Actually I'm finding all the posts about cultural differences MUCH more interesting than debates about what programs are overrated...

 

[lappo]

Actually I'm finding all the posts about cultural differences MUCH more interesting than debates about what programs are overrated...

Totally agree. It would be really interesting to find a way to ascertain how much (or if) the response to a program depends to subjective taste and how much (or if) is bound to cultural differences...there were also some very interesting observations in Yuzuru's Fan Feast regarding his current LP. Maybe it would be worth a separate thread when everybody share his/her experiences?

 

[TontoK]

I know right - you would expect the opposite with their tradition, people complain about Radionova's posture and lack of balletic seasoning but ironically I know that she spent / spends? quite much time practicing ballet Maybe it's much more difficult to translate to ice for her. I remember reading that Mao first sport was ballet before figure skating, maybe one of the reasons behind her exquisite style

The reason Mao became such a beautiful skater is that she matured in life and in the sport. People forget that in the late 90's, she was just a jumping bean. It's why I'm somewhat "blah" on the current state of the ladies discipline. There's no denying the technical and competitive strength of many of today's favored skaters, but there's also no denying that something is missing. The emotional side of the performance is just playacting.

 

[venx]

The western you go the more smiles you can expect from strangers. Russian supposedly assume that when someone is smiling to you than it means / suggests that this person knows you in person so it reacts in confusion in person from Russia, Poles don't react like that.

I'm Polish guy and when I see some stranger dude smiling to me, I'm afraid he wants to bite me.

 

[silverfoxes]

The people can decide like Plushenko or not. That is matter of taste. I think his is one of the reasons why Yagudin was more popular in N-A than Plushenko. Yagudin skated in American style. But the Russians chose Plushenko.

I must be a bad American...I hate fake smiles and I far prefer the Russian balletic style of skating to the American style. And of course, I think Plushenko is vastly superior to Yagudin in all ways.

 

[gotoschool]

I will just do underrated and underscored. The list could be longer.

Mao Asada Bells of Moscow, Waltz Masquerade Olympics and Worlds, Fantasie Impromptu Grand Prix Final 2007 and 4CC's 2008, Fantasie for Violin, Nocturne both 2006-2007 and 2013-2014 , Madame Butterfly Worlds and Japan Open,

Mao's Rach II at Sochi and Lu Chen's Rach II at Worlds 1996

Lu Chen- Worlds 1993 LP, Butterfly Lovers Olympics 1998 LP, 1994 Olympics LP, Spring Breeze Worlds 1996.

Midori Ito- 1988 Olympics LP

Fumie Suguri 2002 Olympics Moonlight Sonata

Irina Slutskaya- 2005 Worlds LP

Denise Biellmann 1980 Olympics LP- yes it is well known but it doesn't seem to get the recognition it deserves to me considering how far I thought it was ahead of its time. I didn't even know where the name of the spin came from because all I remember as a kid was Linda Fratianne from the competition, whose skating I did like but not nearly as much as seeing Denise's many years later.

I think Debbie Thomas was underrated when she skated well because she combined grace and power, especially some of her programs from 1986 and 1987.

 

[TontoK]

I must be a bad American...I hate fake smiles and I far prefer the Russian balletic style of skating to the American style. And of course, I think Plushenko is vastly superior to Yagudin in all ways.

I really like both, but I admit it took me longer to warm up to Plushenko. I liked Yagudin immediately.

 

[Mathman]

The first time I visited USA I was so confused because many strangers were smiling to me at the street

Nah, we were just welcoming you to America.

 

[sarama]

It made me question her sense of rhythm and line, not Charlie's so much.

^^^
This was my issue with it as well. Meryl doesn't have the best lines and that's okay, but this program really highlighted that (I blame Marina for that: after all those years of appropriate choreography to hide the problem, why stop for the Olympic program ).
Another thing I hate is the crescendo of the music: it starts too soon and it makes the program look like it's never ending :hpull:, in addition, to match the music they had to spend so much energy that they often looked visibly tired near the end, which kind of breaks the spell of the performance

 

[plushyfan]

I must be a bad American...I hate fake smiles and I far prefer the Russian balletic style of skating to the American style. And of course, I think Plushenko is vastly superior to Yagudin in all ways.

Well, you are my favorite American

 

[plushyfan]

What's the difference?

We have worse teeth. That's for sure

 

[andromache]

I must be a bad American...I hate fake smiles and I far prefer the Russian balletic style of skating to the American style. And of course, I think Plushenko is vastly superior to Yagudin in all ways.

I'm confused by this....which Russian singles skaters are balletic? Certainly not Anna, Elena, or Liza. Maria yes. Evgenia, maybe only a tiny bit.

Legendary queens of Russian ladies, Irina S. and Maria B., were not very balletic at all.

Oksana Baiul is the most balletic skater I can think of, but she wasn't Russian. Also, Sasha Cohen .

Ashley Wagner used to do very balletic programs when she was with Phillip Mills. Gracie Gold's Firebird program was so balletic in style that people complained about the egg-laying pose (which I loved!)

Russian pairs have always been the most balletic. Russian men, sometimes. Russian ladies seem to skate more in the "American" style rather than the "Russian" style.

Then again, I tend to think that these nationalistic "styles" aren't actually real, and we just use them as excuses to prefer skaters from one country over another. Some skaters have a more powerful, athletic style, others are very dramatic and theatrical, some are very balletic. Some are a great combination of styles. But any skaters' distinct style seems to have nothing at all to do with what country they are from.

 

[keasus]

^^^
This was my issue with it as well. Meryl doesn't have the best lines and that's okay, but this program really highlighted that (I blame Marina for that: after all those years of appropriate choreography to hide the problem, why stop for the Olympic program ).
Another thing I hate is the crescendo of the music: it starts too soon and it makes the program look like it's never ending :hpull:, in addition, to match the music they had to spend so much energy that they often looked visibly tired near the end, which kind of breaks the spell of the performance

They laid it all on the line with that performance, but "they looked tired near the end:hslap:"? They are one of the few couples in that quad that could skate full out and, pardon my expression, "balls to the wall," and make it look like they could go another round. The only time I saw them show fatigue was during a performance at a high altitude (Colorado, I think), and Charlie's exercise-induced asthma kicked in. I think their on- and off-ice training also helped them avoid serious injuries during their career.