Yes, speculation and rumours.mzheng said:Yeah, it was also my 'speculation' (or rather I heard the 'rumor') that Dean had called Raphael (after he watched Campbell televised on TV) that it was very important that Michelle skated to the original version he had choreographed.
Not really, I think it's perfectly possible to miss jumps and still sell the program and the choreography very well. That's one of the reasons Jeff Buttle got the silver medal last Worlds. The reason I enjoyed more the Campbell's version than Marshall's had to do with the overall quality of the peformance, not the jumps. I remember reading she was having trouble with the boots or something, so it probably helps to explain the bad performance.Mathman said:I liked the Campbell's version better, of the two. But it's kind of hard to tell because she performed it better at Campbell's than at the later Marshall's event. There's nothing like hitting all your jumps if you want to sell the choreography. Just ask the judges.
tdnuva said:Kwan fans might not like to hear my answer - so if you are thinking she only does good and everyone else is at fault, stop reading here.
My opinion on choreographing. For amateurs. It's not a thing done alone by the choreographer in an ivory tower. Of course s/he has to stay in touch with coach and skater to know what the skills are, which jumps are possible, how far into the program (depending on the stamina of the skater), which spins and so on. So, the basic element setup is surely not only done by the choreographer.
Where the choreographer CAN play a big role are the MITF, the transitions and everything that is judged in the categories choreography and interpretation. And I think there is not much dispute that Dean's choreos excel in this department.
The only mention I found of Kwan about Dean's choreo in Bolero (besides the basic info he did it) was just after one of the cheesefests when she fell in the step sequence. She said the steps were too hard.
So I think it's just her abilities and skills. If overall or just last season is not my job to decide. But at least last season it was too much for her to execute decent jumps, decent spins and then having to bother with steps in between. So she obviously threw out everything that "distracts" her. Which left us spectators with an empty program. And I crinch everytime I read this (end product) would be a Dean program.
I'd like to rephrase it.ovid101 said:I don't think the Bolero program worked for Michelle at all, the footwork was too busy in the beginning. After the early season fall at the end of the program (Campbell's), she needed to spend too much time working on fast twizzles, which is a dance type move that she hadn't used in her programs before. I think the effort on the footwork took too much practice time away from other things, like jumps and spins, and hurt her at Worlds.
Also, I think that the music is better suited to a dance pair, and not good for a solo skater.
All in all, I think he should stick to the Pros and stay out of the competitive World.
I wouldn't blame Dean either. I remembered at the time (after Campbells televised and watched her interview) I was chatting with someone, even joked about what Dean would think about the program if indeed team MK had stripped the original version already.....cuz you know she was known of 'stripping' by so many fans....It was funny that late (after winter Marshalls) I was told the Marshall's one is the original one and Dean indeed called RA (I do believe MS). It was also posted at the internet that Dean does not like anyone change his choregraphy, either take it or leave it kind attitude (also 'rumor' or 'speculation' ?).....SusanBeth said:If Dean did call, who could blame him? If I were a choreographer, I wouldn't want my name used and my work gutted either.
Mathman said:Dean might get mad if a skater changes his program. But remember, the skater hires the choreographer, not the other way around.
Mathman said:I liked the Campbell's version better, of the two. But it's kind of hard to tell because she performed it better at Campbell's than at the later Marshall's event. There's nothing like hitting all your jumps if you want to sell the choreography. Just ask the judges.
Well, of course professionals are better than amateurs -- that's why they're professionals. It would be urealistic to expect any of the current competitors to be able to skate like Brian Boitano or Kurt Browning, certainly not with respect to choreography and musical interpretation. These are folks who were Olympic competitors and world champions years ago and went on from there to get really good, LOL.tdnuva said:If you tell Dean to stick to the pro world.. AND we are talking about one of the top eligible skaters having problems to perform a Dean routine while several of "old" pros like Kristi or Kurt can do it, maybe that sheds a nicer light on the ability of pros compared to eligibles?
Mathman said:Dean might get mad if a skater changes his program. But remember, the skater hires the choreographer, not the other way around.
Are you kidding???? They did not have contact with Tarasova in that period at all. Did you smoke something today?CzarinaAnya said:I've never really been a fan of Dean's choreography, even though I loved the way he skated with Jayne. I think he gets alot of credit for his choreography, because he skated to the genius program of Bolero, in Sarejevo. But it was TT's genius that put the choreography together for that program. That's JMO, take it or leave it.
I'm not sure how many of them dose that. Make it clear that the program was not his choreographer's original choreography. AFAIK, most skaters and their coaches do some modification to the original choreography they were given. So far I diddn't hear any one go ahead saying where and where is not original choreographed.....SusanBeth said:That's true. However, they didn't hesitate to use his name, so they should have used his work. At the very least, they should have made it clear that the program was not his original choreography.
I've heard many good things about this program that Dean choreographed for Abbott (debuted at the Broadmoor Open in June). FYI, Jeremy is competing in the Senior Men's SP at Golden West tomorrow (Friday) around 3 pm -- for more info on this club comp. in LA go to:brad640 said:Dean did ['05 U.S. Jr. champ Jeremy] Abbott's SP to I'm A-Doun by Vanessa Mae.