- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
Joe--in response to your last question--I feel that both Kimmie and Mao are more lyrical than bravura, especially Kimmie. But both are still so young that is hard to say for sure which style they fall into. (I have not seen Yu-Na skate, so I can't comment on her.)
This is such an interesting topic. Inherently, I am more drawn to lyrical skaters, but I very much appreciate the bravura skaters as well.
Sasha, to me, is definitely a bravura skater. I have always felt that about her. There is a strong element of "Look what I can do" to Sasha's skating, which stands apart from any music she may perform to. When Sasha is skating, I feel like she is using the music to emphasize *her skating*--the spirals, the spins, etc. It's less about the specific music than about Sasha and what she can do. The music exists as a necessary, but secondary, backdrop.
Whereas with Michelle, when she's at her best, it's like she is very purely expressing the character of the music. It is about the music and the mood and the emotion--not so much about Michelle herself.
Katia Gordeeva is also a truly lyrical skater--very much at one with the music--never emphasizing her own tricks or dramatic expressions, but instead the character of the music itself.
This of course is just my opinion, very unique to me, and obviously something that other people will disagree with.
Oksana Baiul was a female skater who really combined both qualities. At her peak, she was exceptionally musical and could probably skate successfully to any kind of music; in this, she was inherently lyrical. Yet she also had such charisma and drama that ultimately your attention was always truly on Oksana--and in that she was bravura.
This is such an interesting topic. Inherently, I am more drawn to lyrical skaters, but I very much appreciate the bravura skaters as well.
Sasha, to me, is definitely a bravura skater. I have always felt that about her. There is a strong element of "Look what I can do" to Sasha's skating, which stands apart from any music she may perform to. When Sasha is skating, I feel like she is using the music to emphasize *her skating*--the spirals, the spins, etc. It's less about the specific music than about Sasha and what she can do. The music exists as a necessary, but secondary, backdrop.
Whereas with Michelle, when she's at her best, it's like she is very purely expressing the character of the music. It is about the music and the mood and the emotion--not so much about Michelle herself.
Katia Gordeeva is also a truly lyrical skater--very much at one with the music--never emphasizing her own tricks or dramatic expressions, but instead the character of the music itself.
This of course is just my opinion, very unique to me, and obviously something that other people will disagree with.
Oksana Baiul was a female skater who really combined both qualities. At her peak, she was exceptionally musical and could probably skate successfully to any kind of music; in this, she was inherently lyrical. Yet she also had such charisma and drama that ultimately your attention was always truly on Oksana--and in that she was bravura.
