Elegant arm movements on the ice

Bennett · Dec 8, 2007

BelleFilleYuna said:
I know Morosov is doing a great job for Miki, but I hated him for neglecting Miki's arm movements last season.
I was kinda HUH??? when I heard Miki saying that she never actually used her elbow to give more soft touch to her arm movements and she's working on it , because she had it before!!!!!!!!!

That's right. Wilson did a great job in carefully covering up Miki's posture and arms problems. But I don't think we can blame Morosov though. The use of elbow is such a basic in dancing. Honestly, I am more surprised that she never thought of using her elbows after all the years of FS performances, than that Morosov did not specifically instruct her to do so. Currently, her arms often stick out straight from the hunched shoulders. But she seems to be working on it. I hope that Morosov, former ice dancer, can help her with her posture and arms.

ks777 · Dec 8, 2007

BelleFilleYuna said:
Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence is one of my favorite program and especially from the beginning to her layback...just beautiful.

I know Morosov is doing a great job for Miki, but I hated him for neglecting Miki's arm movements last season.
I was kinda HUH??? when I heard Miki saying that she never actually used her elbow to give more soft touch to her arm movements and she's working on it , because she had it before!!!!!!!!!

I cannot imagine Miki doing another chreographer's, so I hope Morosov can find a way to give Miki a decent program that doesnot require too much flailing.

BTW I think David Wilson is the one who accentuates arm movements the most in a very subtle but beautiful way. No wonder Kimmie ditched his program, she must have felt uncomfortable with all the arm movements that Wilson was loading on her (no offence Kimmie)

Yes, Merry Christmas Mr. lawrance is one of my favorites also!!

As for Kimmie, Boeing would be a great sponsor for her.

Ladskater · Dec 9, 2007

Actually, the answer is yes they are, but some skaters are rather stiff in their upper body (except ice dancers of course! ) and therefore don't use their arms as well as they should. Some skaters take ballet training to learn how to use their arm movement. Karen Magnussen took ballet. She had beautiful arm extensions. Both Jeff and Kurt know how to use their arms and upper body movements. Of course, Emanuel Sandhu is very elegant on the ice. He also takes ballet. I think ballet training does help skaters in this area.

Also in the old school - tracing figures helped a skater develop good posture and use of their arms. That is why skaters from that era - Dorothy Hammill, Karen Magnussen and Toller Cranston for example all had such wonderful arm extensions and looked so graceful. I think that is what is lacking with some of the skaters today.

Bennett · Dec 9, 2007

Ladskater said:
Actually, the answer is yes they are, but some skaters are rather stiff in their upper body (except ice dancers of course! ) and therefore don't use their arms as well as they should. Some skaters take ballet training to learn how to use their arm movement. Karen Magnussen took ballet. She had beautiful arm extensions. Both Jeff and Kurt know how to use their arms and upper body movements. Of course, Emanuel Sandhu is very elegant on the ice. He also takes ballet. I think ballet training does help skaters in this area.

Also in the old school - tracing figures helped a skater develop good posture and use of their arms. That is why skaters from that era - Dorothy Hammill, Karen Magnussen and Toller Cranston for example all had such wonderful arm extensions and looked so graceful. I think that is what is lacking with some of the skaters today.

I love Jeff's upper body movements. His arms are very expressive in many different ways. His use of the neck, head, and upper back is great, too.

feraina · Dec 9, 2007

How come nobody has mentioned Caroline Zhang? She's a natural little dancer on ice. Her arms really help expressing the music, and they look very natural too. I think partly it's genetic, and partly it's the dance training, that help with arm movements.

ChrisH · Dec 9, 2007

feraina said:
How come nobody has mentioned Caroline Zhang? She's a natural little dancer on ice. Her arms really help expressing the music, and they look very natural too.

Maybe it's because more than just her arm movements are elegant. :agree: Caroline debutted another layback spin in her exhibitions where her arm looks like its dancing on its own on a spinning potter's wheel. Extremely elegant. Her ina bauer starts from her waist and flows to her wrists. Her ina bauer in the Skate America exhibition looked better than Arakawa's in the Olympics free skate.

feraina said:
I think partly it's genetic, and partly it's the dance training, that help with arm movements.

For Caroline, I imagine it also has to do with her violin playing. The notes seem to flow from her shoulders to her wrists.

Bennett · Dec 9, 2007

Wow I didn't know that Caroline plays violin as well! Sounds very nice. I do agree that practicing a musical instrument helps one's connection to music. I also think that her off-ice dance training would have helped her not only with her arm movenents but also her connection to the music.

mizu_iro · Dec 9, 2007

Wow, she plays violin?
Something that would be REALLY cool is if she recorded Meditation herself and then skated to her own recording...it's not too difficult of a piece to emote with, and that would truly make every part of the performance her own.
But as a violinist myself, playing violin doesn't really mean soft wrists...I always have pain in my wrists when the weather's damp, and I'm pretty sure it's because of my hours of sawing away. That may explain some of her great musicality, though.

Bennett · Dec 9, 2007

Yukina ota also plays the piano. She seems to like classical music.

OldSkaterMom · Dec 9, 2007

I agree about the figures. My daughter skated during the era of figures and it really does help with a lot of things....posture, carriage, balance, edges.....you didn't have the flutzes then. Everybody learned to take off and land on the correct edge.

Also, the arm movements are part innate and part taught. Some coaches are good at teaching them, some are not. The skaters need a team of people working with them. Every detail needs to be attended to.

Mathman · Dec 9, 2007

ChrisH said:
Caroline debutted another layback spin in her exhibitions where her arm looks like its dancing on its own on a spinning potter's wheel.... The notes seem to flow from her shoulders to her wrists.

I love your Caroline posts! They are like poems.

Every skater should have such eloquent fans. :agree:

ChrisH · Dec 10, 2007

Caroline's violin playing was mentioned in articles posted by other Caroline fans.

from a February 2007 article:
"I played the piano, because my sister played," Zhang recalled. "We used to take lessons together for a long time. I started piano when I was four, but I never liked playing as much as my sister did. I got the chance to pick up a new instrument at school in fourth grade, and decided that I really wanted to learn how to play the violin, because the year before, I had skated to a violin piece and really liked it. I mainly focused on violin after that, and I still practice now."

http://www.skatetoday.com/articles07/021307.htm

from a October 2007 article:
Zhang was a first-chair violinist in her junior high orchestra. A ninth grader now, she attends an online high school, Connections Academy, to accommodate her travel schedule.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...nia/20071028_Effortlessly_gliding_to_top.html

So Caroline started taking ballet lessons at 3 years old, piano lessons at 4, skating lessons at 5, and violin lessons at 9 (probably replacing her piano lessons).

mizu_iro said:
But as a violinist myself, playing violin doesn't really mean soft wrists...I always have pain in my wrists when the weather's damp, and I'm pretty sure it's because of my hours of sawing away.

"Sawing away." :laugh:

Okay, but some of the bowing motions are elegant. How are your elbows?

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Mathman said:
I love your Caroline posts! They are like poems. Every skater should have such eloquent fans. :agree:

Thank you. That's 90% due to Caroline and 9% due to her other fans.

There are eloquent fans here of several skaters and disciplines. From what I've seen so far, the quality of the (core) fans of figure skating is an attractive aspect to casual fans of the sport. :thumbsup:

Elegant arm movements on the ice

Bennett

ks777

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

Bennett

feraina

ChrisH

Bennett

mizu_iro

Bennett

OldSkaterMom

Match Penalty

Mathman

ChrisH

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