Versatility

gio · Jan 16, 2009

Since in the other thread we are talking about Joubert choosing again the Matrix music and about versatility, I thought about something.

Wouldn't it be good to stimulate versatility in skaters? How? To impose music in the SP, in the same way they are doing for Dance in the Original program.

So it could be in rotation for 4 years - an Olympic cycle. The year after the Olympics they draw the 4 broad music categories (even arbitrary, not necessarly standard) for the next 4 years.

Just an example to understand what I have in mind
1) Classical pieces
2) Latin pieces (Carmen, Malaguena and tangos should be here)
3) Upbeat music (techno, pop) / jazz, blues
4) Folk music / World music

So the skaters will develop versatility in this way and we won't complain about :laugh:

: "this skater always chooses techno music", "this skaters skates always to classical pieces", "she repeats the same SP year after year".

museksk8r · Jan 16, 2009

I love the idea of this . . . I say bring it on! :clap:

just wondering · Jan 16, 2009

REALLY great idea. As I watch Nationals, I'll think about how different it could be.

JW

Tinymavy15 · Jan 16, 2009

I would love that. Pick genere for the season for the SP. Maybe for some events, I think having all the skaters in the same disciple skate to the same music could be interesting, but would be boring after a while. Doing the genre thing would be better. The skaters would chreograph and choose the music themselves, but much like the OD in dance, there would be musical and theme constraints.

Buttercup · Jan 16, 2009

Tinymavy15 said:
I would love that. Pick genere for the season for the SP. Maybe for some events, I think having all the skaters in the same disciple skate to the same music could be interesting, but would be boring after a while. Doing the genre thing would be better. The skaters would chreograph and choose the music themselves, but much like the OD in dance, there would be musical and theme constraints.

I like the idea of an OD-like SP. But I really doubt this will happen :frown2:.

Ladskater · Jan 16, 2009

Not sure this idea would fly with single skaters. They usually like to pick their own music that they skate best to. Some skaters do well with classical music while others prefer more modern/different pieces. If they were forced to skate to a theme it might get a little dull. I get what you are saying, but I doubt it would work. I think the problem now is that the competitive season is so long and there are more competitions so it seems as though we have heard that piece before as well as the skaters are allowed to go back to their old programs.

flying camel · Jan 16, 2009

Well I think it would be worth a try, but I fear with the way things are going with the COP everybody's pogram already look alike. I fear we will have like programs with very similiar music. It could be extremely boing.

vlaurend · Jan 17, 2009

Personally, I like the idea because it would make it easier to judge the PCS fairly and accurately (since everyone is interpreting the same style of music, it's easier to judge who's doing a better job of it). Unfortunately, everything that makes the judging more objective and formulaic also gets criticized for reducing creativity and originality, so I doubt it would happen.

screech · Jan 17, 2009

I think it's a neat idea. Yes, skaters want to pick something they're comfortable with, but that's the problem! I mean, Brian Joubert deciding to do ANOTHER matrix program? Someone else deciding on another classical piece? It's ridiculous! And there are so many different pieces of each kind of music, plus they could probably be re-worked into a bit more like their style... like a bit of a funkier version of Beethoven, but still Beethoven, etc.

Or they could do interpretive competitions where skaters have a 10 minute warm up with the same pieceof music playing the whole time and they choreograph a program to the music with set elements to be completed.

Clarice · Jan 17, 2009

I don't necessarily dislike the idea, but question how "fair" it would really be. I mean, if a skater was particularly good at interpreting Classical music, wouldn't they have an advantage the year that was the chosen genre? What if it was chosen in the Olympic year? What if it wasn't? Could the particular type of music chosen in a particular year influence the results? I would think that skaters would prefer to continue choosing the type of music that best suits their style of skating, so as to show themselves off in the best possible light. They want to win, after all.

gio · Jan 17, 2009

Clarice said:
I don't necessarily dislike the idea, but question how "fair" it would really be.

I think then we should ask the same question for the Original Dance. Is it really fair for a couple that it is not good in tango, doing a tango, because of the rules?

IMO the problem is of the skaters. They should develop versatility and skate to every music genres without major problems. That is a sign of artistic maturity IMHO.

Look at Yagudin, he was just superb in both Winter and Racing! Two completely different genres.
Or Kwan that in her SPs did Classical pieces, Latin pieces, Middle Eastern music and at the end of her career she choosed a dance version of Totentanz.

NatachaHatawa · Jan 17, 2009

In theory, it's a nice idea, but in practise I fear it would be awful. Imagine the ISU one year would decide that the theme was latino - it would be dreadful because there are only a few skaters who can skate to latino music.

Gio mentioned the original dances. I think we should remember that ice-dancing is originaly far more codified than regular figure skating and that before compulsaries were much more important. But it is true that that it is no more fairer than a would-be "original skate".

I aslo think that SPs allow skaters to bring out things that they can't in LPs. If there were to be a program with an imposed theme, then it sould be an extra program, not a replacment of the SP.

Versatility

gio

museksk8r

just wondering

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win

Buttercup

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

flying camel

vlaurend

screech

Clarice

gio

NatachaHatawa

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