Help for FS-watching newbie | Golden Skate

Help for FS-watching newbie

cvg16

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Hi all! :)

I'm relatively new to watching figure skating - I've only really followed the season this year. The only MK program I remember is Bolero. I don't remember any of Yagudin's program. I only know Meditation from '02 Olys from Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze (did I get the names right?). I would really like to know more about past skaters - the good ones and interesting ones at least.

Since it's off-season, I was wondering if you guys could help me with my figure skating viewing education by suggesting, hmm, say, 5 definitive, must-see programs from the ladies', men's and pairs' discipline (I'm not an ice dance fan) since 1988? Or should I just watch all of the Olympic gold medal winning performances since 1988?

I just thought I'd ask here first before I blunder through youtube videos, given my limited internet time. Then maybe from your suggestions I'd look at related videos and work from there.

Thanks so much in advance!
 

Buttercup

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
cvg16, who are your current favorites? That might help direct people's recs. Anyway, I don't know about definitive programs, but here are some I like/admire from the past.

Yagudin's 2002 programs - Winter and Man in the Iron Mask. What can I say, they're classics. I prefer the Euros version of Winter.
2002 Euros also had a great SP from Alexander Abt.
B/S - Lady Caliph. This was their SP in 2002, and had CoP been in effect, their lead going into the LP would have been huge. One of the best pairs programs ever. And here's City Lights, as performed at the 2000 CoR.
Lu Chen - I love her Last Emperor program, with which she won 1995 Worlds. Thanks to TripleAxel1996 (who's uploaded loads of great FS clips), there's a really high quality video on Youtube.
Irina Slutskaya's LP at 2005 Worlds didn't have the best choreo ever, but it was an amazing performance, on home ice, after coming back from a very serious illness that kept her off the ice for a year.
By now you probably know that Brian Joubert likes The Matrix. Here's his first big event with the original program, 2004 Euros (he won).
Sometimes Carolina Kostner does come through with a great performance. Her 2007 Worlds SP was beautiful.
I'm not a huge fan of the Zhangs, but you have to admire her for finishing the LP at the Olympics in 2006. The judges got a bit over-excited, too.
Shen/Zhao - are amazing and they're coming back! Their most recent performance was the 2007 Worlds LP. They won.
 
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gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Nice choices, Medusa and Buttercup :)

Watching the top few from each Olympics is also a good plan, but not everyone managed to peak at the Olympics.

Here's a selection from the ladies' side

Ito
Yamaguchi (Olympic short program is more definitive IMO)
Baiul
Chen
Kwan
Butyrskaya
 
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cvg16

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
I will do men, it's my favourite discipline.

Lambiel 2006
Lambiel 2007
Urmanov
Yagudin
Browning

very cool list!. ive just finished watching the programs. thank you so much!

is stephane supposed to be a zebra? a tiger? a sunburned zebra? i loved urmanov's and browning's line in their jumps, very tight and straight in the air. i liked yagudin's straight line step sequence (i don't see anything that fast and crisp lately, i think), lambiels spins and the personality and attempt at character/personality in browning's program.
 

Buttercup

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
very cool list!. ive just finished watching the programs. thank you so much!

is stephane supposed to be a zebra? a tiger? a sunburned zebra? i loved urmanov's and browning's line in their jumps, very tight and straight in the air. i liked yagudin's straight line step sequence (i don't see anything that fast and crisp lately, i think), lambiels spins and the personality and attempt at character/personality in browning's program.
Stephane is supposed to be a zebra seeing snow for the first time, according to a recent interview.
 

cvg16

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
cvg16, who are your current favorites? That might help direct people's recs.

so far, i lean towards skaters with ballet-ic lines or people either so theatric and/or athletic, they could make me forget a few ugly lines here or there. i like asada, takahashi, kozuka, zhang, nagasu, cohen, shen and zhao.

thanks for your suggestions!
 

Mafke

Medalist
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
My advice is as much as possible just look at the feet (the one on the ice in spirals and spins) and forget about the rest. Sooner or later your peripheral vision will widen and you'll be able to take in the skater's whole body and you'll also have a much better idea of why skaters are placed as they usually are.

But remember the feet are where it's at.
 

Germanice

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Yagudin:
1999 Worlds LP "Lawrence Of Arabia"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JreQby8Kbug
2001 Worlds SP- Revolutionary Etude
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og59QN4L_ko
2001 Masters SP Winter (Best "Winter" EVAH!!! :bow: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzh-JW47GvI

Johnny Weir 2006 Olympic Games Short Program - The Swan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5t-4HFPOo

Some unforgettable Ladies performances:
Oksana Baiul (SP, 1994 Olympics) "Black Swan"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6zKfZVurJY
Lu Chen SP 1996 "Spring Breeze"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74Z5LIAnXY
Lu Chen - 1996 Worlds LP - Rachmaninoff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCRaoNfU0r8
Lu Chen 1998 Olympic LP "Butterfly Lovers"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVW5...EC9DF3B8&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=33

Pairs:
Mischutenok & Dmitriev - 1991 Worlds LP "Liebestraum"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsccALhUqfA
Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze - Worlds LP 2001 "City Lights"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlb1...8383416&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=110
Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze SP Lady Caliph (2002 Olympics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBVuogcy_eQ
Shen and Zhao 2003 Worlds Long Program "Turandot" (Legendary!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qqHEd0Bq9o
Shen and Zhao 2004 Worlds LP "The Nutcracker"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40X2SIc41HY

Dance:
Duchesnay/Duchesnay - 1990 Worlds FD "Missing"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnUMc0VnB-c
Klimova & Ponomarenko 1992 Olympic FD "Air/Toccata by Bach"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxXQWnV_Rg

Unfortunately sometimes the quality of the clips doesn't quite match the quality and magic of the skating, sorry! :)
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
why from 88 on? what's wrong with skaters like John Curry, Toller Cranston, Robin Cousins, Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Janet Lynn or Torvill and Dean? (to name a very small few)

certainly skaters that follow after (such as Browning, Boitano, Wylie, G&G, Bourne & Kraatz, Yamaguchi, as well as Kwan and the current crop) were and are amazing, but don't make the most common mistake newbies to the sport make and throw away decades worth of amazing skating. That still - in my opinion - rivals anything we've seen in the last 10 years (at least!)

*and yes I know I listed mainly my favorites :laugh: they are the first that come to mind...
 
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Joined
Mar 14, 2006
My advice is as much as possible just look at the feet (the one on the ice in spirals and spins) and forget about the rest. Sooner or later your peripheral vision will widen and you'll be able to take in the skater's whole body and you'll also have a much better idea of why skaters are placed as they usually are.

But remember the feet are where it's at.
That can be very hard advice if you're mostly watching on TV or Youtube! It's amazing what they choose to focus on sometimes.

You should send this message to the TV stations.
 

1795

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 6, 2006
dance:
many say that in ice dance you must "create the character" and not just dance a waltz or a romantic story. honestly, Delobel and schoenfelder are the only ones to me that really "push the envolope" in innovation, creativy, conceptuality:

Flight of the dove (carneval) the masks : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd7QKSHBUJs

Bonnie and Clyde, the guns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWh7MgpPNQ8

The Piano, sign language: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NDBF2yUKnk



....unless you want the usual "fierce" latin romances, the cheezy tosca, or the bland war time love story....:eek:hwell:
 

cvg16

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
My advice is as much as possible just look at the feet (the one on the ice in spirals and spins) and forget about the rest. Sooner or later your peripheral vision will widen and you'll be able to take in the skater's whole body and you'll also have a much better idea of why skaters are placed as they usually are.

But remember the feet are where it's at.

Oh, I see. My approach is slightly wrong then. I barely look at the skaters' feet and I mostly just focus on the body lines. I'll try it your way for the next few videos. Thanks!

why from 88 on? what's wrong with skaters like John Curry, Toller Cranston, Robin Cousins, Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Janet Lynn or Torvill and Dean? (to name a very small few)

I actually just randomly set a 2-decade limit. I need a few years to catch up, I think. I can barely keep skaters' names straight in my head as it is. Although I will check out the names you listed. Katarina Witt seems interesting when I saw her story on the Bio channel. Thanks!
 
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gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Oh, I see. My approach is slightly wrong then. I barely look at the skaters' feet and I mostly just focus on the body lines. I'll try it your way for the next few videos. Thanks!

Well, it depends what you're watching for.

If you want to understand the results of the sporting event, what the blades are doing on the ice is by far the most important thing.

If you just want to get aesthetic pleasure from watching the movement to music, then focus on whatever provides you the most pleasure.
 

Audrey19

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
I'm going to do pairs:
The very first to mention should be Belousova & Protopopov: they were (are) true artists, IMO the best pair skaters ever.
Moonlight sonata EX 1970: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKSk0YVrRCQ&feature=related
Unfortunately you can't find that much of them on youtube...
Gordeeva & Grinkov 1994 olympics EX:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW3AE09j8O4
"Lady Caliph" by Berezhnaya & Shikarulidze is probably the best pairs short program ever, but it has been mentioned already. Here's their swan lake SP from 1998: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJCGGBmCmf0
Shen & Zhao's Turandot from worlds 2003 is legendary as well, here's the nutcracker from 2004: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHQRfNDX3kI
And not to forget our reigning world champions savchenko & Szolkowy!
The mission, FS from 2007, unfortunately with terrible commentary that destroys the whole atmosphere and makes it difficult to enjoy the program...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBRKR8y9GPs

Enjoy!
 

cvg16

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Wow, I am developing new appreciation for pairs...and falling in love with Gordeeva and Grinkov. Amazing!

I'm hoping the same happens for ice dance. But I just can't get into it because I don't know what actually to watch for - no throws and jumps. I guess this is the discipline where feet-watching is a must.

Thanks again for the videos!
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
For ice dance, yes, watching the feet is extra important for understanding the results. It's also really hard to tell skating quality from video, especially tiny youtube videos, so don't worry if your preferences in terms of enjoyment have nothing to do with the results.

Ice dancers tend to be better than freestylers about skating to the music and performing for the audience, so it's easy to enjoy the dances on that basis without worrying about the sporting aspects.

The rules and trends have changed over the years. Originally ice dance was all about translating ballroom and other social dances to the ice. Then stage dance influences and theatricalism ended up having more of an impact in the 1980s, mostly as a result of the influence of Torvill and Dean.

This is the classic: Bolero


Here's a variety of some significant free dances from the late 80s and 90s; you can probably find at least one you enjoy:

Duchesnays 1988

Wilson and McCall 1988

Rahkomo and Kokko 1991

Klimova and Ponomarenko 1992

Usova and Zhulin 1992

Grishuk and Platov 1994

Krylova and Ovsiannikov 1997

Bourne and Kraatz 1998

Anissina and Peizerat 1998
 
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