Ladies' Free | Page 17 | Golden Skate

Ladies' Free

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I do prefere her[Joannie's] short program choreography wise but it is still just so good and I almost got the chills when she did her spiral.It is not like she is having the best spiral in the business but the way it goes with the music is simply magnificient.

ITA!:agree::agree:
I also think that she has nice edges in her spirals.
 

passion

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 17, 2005
Congrats Joannie! You have blown every doubt I had that marks were skewed towards Canadian skaters at Skate Canada. You are a great skater and as you said, anything is possible! So glad you were able to beat Mao Asada something I would have considered almost impossible. I am so proud of you!
 

SXTN

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Congrats Joannie! You have blown every doubt

She did! Her jumping technique is magnificient, esp. the way she opens them in the air before she lands....
Every time I see her in the Kiss&Cry I can really feel how happy she is, almost as if she still can't believe what is happening to her! And I'm sure that she would land every triple-triple in the short program if she stopped thinking "OMG, I'm attempting a triple triple in a few seconds" right before the take-off :laugh:
 

magicalwords

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
This is so awesome! Joannie won her second event too! Joannie looked so happy. I'm happy for her too. I just love both of her programs as well as her costumes this year (GORGEOUS COSTUMES!). I was happy that Joannie skated relatively clean except for few minor mistakes. I was especially glad that she landed 3T - 3S SEQ. Now only if she can get that 2A - 2A SEQ.

Poor Mao. I wonder what happened to her. She still flutzes (according to what I saw from her SP), she popped so many jumps, and even her loop is shaky! If she was consistent and maybe rotated some of her jumps more, then there wouldn't have been a need to fix her flutz.

On the good side, looks like she improved her speed and it also looks like she is doing her spirals using the edge rather than almost-flat.

Anyway, the music cut is horrible. It has no time for her to "rest" in between. It just goes all out and attack attack attack attack only. Mao seemed lost. She couldn't catch up to the music. In her SP, it seemed that her arm movements felt like they were too "strong" for the soft music (maybe because there were too many), and in this LP, her movements were "weak" for this music.

I kinda wanted her music cut to have other parts of the Masquerade Suite too...

Caroline's program seemed clean, but her jumps got downgraded. Her pearl spin was fantastic as usual.. but some judge gave a low GOE for that! Shame. Her pearl spin definitely deserves +3 GOE. That awesome. Anyway, she needs to fix her mule kick.. it got so worse from last season now it's horrible to watch that. Last year, it was bearable. This year, no. It's going to affect her back. I hope she can fix it so she won't have any injury problems.

And sort of surprised France's Didier is 4th! Wow. Good for her.
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I agree that the outfit itself was pretty but Mao has such a sweet, young face...and I was just startled to see it on her. Very boudoir-inspired, IMO, with black lingerie and red lipstick. Mao, you've got a shining career ahead of you, you really don't have to grow up so quickly...(sniffle)


I am getting over the initial shock over the dress:) Sorry for all my complaints, guys. I think that the dress might have become better on her sister Mai's atmosphere. Regarding the makeup, I think that it looked gorgeous at the distance. I would only hope that she would gradate the upper edges of the matt liquid eyelines using a pencil eyeliner or deep-colored eyeshadow or change it into a liquid eyeliner of a lighter shade with pearls and/or lames so that the matt black lines do not stand out in the zoom up. She and her sister Mai were wearing very lovely makeup at an ice show, THE ICE. I guess they had a hair & makeup artist at that event. I think that it would help if she always has one:rock:

Regarding the performance, I rewatched her two programs without sounds. I think that both are very busy. But in her LP, her moves were significantly rougher, or I might as well say more powerful. Mao is such a gentle skater with a very skinny body that I felt that her SP more naturally underscores her strengths. But it would have been nicer if her SP had more slow moves where she could focus on creating graceful moments. Both programs are really busy.
Her Chopin Nocturne was a lot simpler in choreos; but that simplicity showcased her beautiful posture and lines and gave nice silent moments to breathe in and out with the music.
 
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camion

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
For those who aren't too familiar w/makeup, used a bronzer, aren't French or Asian, "lame" means gold or silver/metallic sparkles lol. Speaking of French, I was just watching an interview w/Joannie on YouTube & never realized her English has a European laced accent so I'm assuming her school curriculum was probably in French or her Canadian province where she grew up used some French? Anyways since she was in Paris, has she given any interviews for French TV?
 

HCOSurfer

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
this is the year of the impossible becoming possible it seems....

Tell me about it. Joannie's finally winning titles and Alissa's skating her long programs without falling or popping any of her jumps. Lets hope this continues *knocks on wood.*
 

toasty_swirlz

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Speaking of French, I was just watching an interview w/Joannie on YouTube & never realized her English has a European laced accent so I'm assuming her school curriculum was probably in French or her Canadian province where she grew up used some French? Anyways since she was in Paris, has she given any interviews for French TV?

she's from quebec, so french was her first language.
 

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
I'm just getting around to watch the skating, belatedly.

Congrats to Joannie for a second gold! And too bad about Mao, I hope she will come back strong at NHK -- that's normally her best competition.

It's a shame that Caroline's jumps seem lower than ever (it's possible that it's actually the same height, or maybe higher, but she grew so much taller that they look especially low), and her mule-kicking seem more violent than ever. *sigh* I REALLY hope that she can get a good jumps coach to help her correct her technique. I keep on thinking R. Callaghan telling Kimmie to jump with her legs instead of muscling with her upper body into the jumps. Caroline is doing exactly that. Not only is she winding up so much with her upper-body and arms, but she's also dipping forward and throwing herself into the air on the flip and the lutz. Now I only skate at a relatively low adult level, and I was always taught not to do that dipping and twisting, so how can she have developed such unsightly (and dangerous) techniques under the tutelage of much more renowned coaches??

Jump issues aside, I actually really like her "Sleeping Beauty" choreography. It has so many different shades of mood, and the choreography is really good at reflecting those different shades, and Lori has her doing all these beautifully little movements that complement, even enhance, the music at all these places, sometimes even unexpectedly. It's so delightful. :love: Of course, Caroline can jump better and skate with more confidence, power, freedom, and joy, and I really hope she will get better with the season, because I really like her programs this year, and I think they have wonderful and thoughtful underlying choreography that deserves to be skated to their full potential. Go Caroline! :clap:
 

Tigger

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
I have two problems w/Caroline's LP. One serious and one that isn't in a way, but is to me...

The Serious Issue...That horrible, horrible swinging take off she uses for the lutz and flip. That needs to be addressed and hopefully soon. Not only does it just look really awful, she's going to end up w/a serious hip and/or back injury somewhere down the line due to doing the two jumps that way. I really do hope Caroline goes to or is sent to someone who's a jump techinician who can work w/her to fix that.

The Not So Serious One, But...There's one piece of the music of her LP from Sleeping Beauty that is the same cut that Disney used to identify w/the Three Good Fairies in the Animated Classic Sleeping Beauty and...Well...At Skate Canada, when it came to that part of the program, I wasn't watching Caroline anymore. I was "seeing" Flora, Fauna and Merriweather descending into the Royal Palace for Princess Aurora's Christening instead. By the time I managed to shake that off, I'd missed a chunk of Caroline's skate because the music had instantly brought up those images.

Same thing happened w/Bebe's SP music to The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The footwork section, it's the same one where Mickey has brought the brooms to life to fetch the buckets of water.

Yes, I know that sounds silly, but...*shrugs* :)
 

PolymerBob

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Well...At Skate Canada, when it came to that part of the program, I wasn't watching Caroline anymore. I was "seeing" Flora, Fauna and Merriweather descending into the Royal Palace for Princess Aurora's Christening instead. By the time I managed to shake that off, I'd missed a chunk of Caroline's skate because the music had instantly brought up those images.

Those 3 little fairies kicked butt, man. :rock: Like when that little blue one chased the raven around the witch's castle and zapped it into stone. Nobody in the whole movie did anything good without their help.
 

Tigger

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Those 3 little fairies kicked butt, man. :rock: Like when that little blue one chased the raven around the witch's castle and zapped it into stone. Nobody in the whole movie did anything good without their help.

Oh, I know. It's just I hate it when something like that happens when I'm watching someone skate to that music or other music that either comes from a movie I adore or has a special meaning to me. :)

Like at 2001 Worlds in Vancouver...The second ranked French Pairs team skated to The Lady and the Hooligan for their LP and it was the exact same cuts *and* sequence as Brian Orser's 1987/1988 LP. From the first note of music, I stopped watching them and "saw" Brian doing his LP instead.

To this day, I still haven't the foggiest idea how they did...LOL!!!
 

Andalusia

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
I have two problems w/Caroline's LP. One serious and one that isn't in a way, but is to me...

The Serious Issue...That horrible, horrible swinging take off she uses for the lutz and flip. That needs to be addressed and hopefully soon. Not only does it just look really awful, she's going to end up w/a serious hip and/or back injury somewhere down the line due to doing the two jumps that way. I really do hope Caroline goes to or is sent to someone who's a jump techinician who can work w/her to fix that.

The Not So Serious One, But...There's one piece of the music of her LP from Sleeping Beauty that is the same cut that Disney used to identify w/the Three Good Fairies in the Animated Classic Sleeping Beauty and...Well...At Skate Canada, when it came to that part of the program, I wasn't watching Caroline anymore. I was "seeing" Flora, Fauna and Merriweather descending into the Royal Palace for Princess Aurora's Christening instead. By the time I managed to shake that off, I'd missed a chunk of Caroline's skate because the music had instantly brought up those images.

Same thing happened w/Bebe's SP music to The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The footwork section, it's the same one where Mickey has brought the brooms to life to fetch the buckets of water.

Yes, I know that sounds silly, but...*shrugs* :)

Lol, Tigger, your post cracked me up. I feel likewise. I don't actually think of the fairies when Caroline is going into the lutz, but that section does remind me of the cartoon, which is one of my favourites. Now, thanks to you, when Caroline is heading into the flutz with that painful mule kick of hers, I'm gonna think of the three fairies flitting in to save her. :laugh: If only the fairies could have granted Caroline an extra gift at her christening: the gift of good jumping technique. :rofl: She already has the other three gifts down pat:

1. Beauty
2. Song (I'm assuming Caroline can carry a tune)
3. Okay, I'm not so sure Caroline can pull off the last one :p
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Regarding the makeup, I think that it looked gorgeous at the distance. I would only hope that she would gradate the upper edges of the matt liquid eyelines using a pencil eyeliner or deep-colored eyeshadow or change it into a liquid eyeliner of a lighter shade with pearls and/or lames so that the matt black lines do not stand out in the zoom up. She and her sister Mai were wearing very lovely makeup at an ice show, THE ICE. I guess they had a hair & makeup artist at that event. I think that it would help if she always has one

For those who aren't too familiar w/makeup, used a bronzer, aren't French or Asian, "lame" means gold or silver/metallic sparkles lol.

Thanks! An American cosmetic bland, Stila, also has an eyeshadow named, "lame":cool: But shimmer or glitter may be more common expressions. Even when you draw thick eyelines, a shimmer eyeliner can give a lighter and more nuanced look compared to a matt eyeliner.
 

Kinga

Medalist
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Now I certainly can't complain about Joannie winning unfairly, because Mao gave it away to her.

I knew that sooner or later such statement would appear :). No, Joannie did not win because Mao gave it away to her. Even if Mao had made less mistakes, I think that Joannie would still have been ahead, just because of her merits. Let's face it - at this point of the season, Joannie's programmes are more polished, are more 'defined', have more flow and expression. So definitely, Joannie's victory was not a gift from someone else.
 
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