Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

[toutestgrace]

I would be surprised to see Sarah back in eligible competition. She seems to me to be very driven and goal-oriented, hence her steady rise in competitive skating and her success in school. That's why her performance this year baffled me. Yes, she was out of shape, but many injured athletes get back in competitive form in less time. As much as she said that she still had skating goals, I think the OGM gave her a subconscious "been there done that" notion that she just couldn't shake.

As far as the ballet comments, I agree they were misplaced. The teacher in my little suburban dance school would never have let any of her students get away with Sarah's round shoulders, exaggerated wrist extension, and unpolished leg positions.

[mathman444]

Toutestgrace, thanks for posting and welcome to Golden Skate.

So, are you saying that Sarah is not "tout grace?" LOL.

Mathman

[toutestgrace]

Thanks for the welcome mathman444! I didn't mean to bash re:the ballet issue. Sarah is one talented young skater whose progress in the eligible ranks I will miss watching if she doesn't continue. Her less-than-balletic faults only seem magnified by her (or Robin's) insistence on selecting classical ballet music for her programs. While I thought La Bayadere was so wrong for her, I loved her interpretation of Fosse.

[mathman444]

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Sarah is one talented young skater whose progress in the eligible ranks I will miss watching if she doesn't continue.[/quote]Toutestgrace, I think you just gave a perfect summary of why many skating fans all of a sudden don't know quite how they feel about Sarah. Like proud parents we enjoyed watching her progress year by year, getting better and better in many areas. Then all of a sudden she shot to the top and *poof*-- she's gone. I think we feel a little bit cheated, like when a daughter leaves home before we are ready for her to go.

Mathman

[mpal2]

Thanks for the opinions on the "ballet" description. I would have to agree with toutestgrace that the ballet selections for Sarah emphasized the wrong things about her skating. Fosse was the best program Sarah had done and I wished she had more like them. This is prompting me to start a thread on music selections fitting a skater. This has always been a big focus of mine. See ya there!