Help for FS-watching newbie

[cvg16]

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!

[Medusa]

I will do men, it's my favourite discipline.

Lambiel 2006
Lambiel 2007
Urmanov
Yagudin
Browning

[Buttercup]

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.

[gkelly]

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

[cvg16]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[seniorita]

There is a user in youtube with amazing database ,
i would watch worlds and olympics performances and these:

Yagudin 1999 Trophee Lalique 'Broken Arrow'
Plushenko Nhk trophy 1999
Plushenko Nationals 2004
Stéphane Lambiel 2005 GPF SP - malaguena
Johnny Weir 2004 Nationals LP

Michelle Kwan 1998 Nationals SP- rachmaninoff
Michelle Kwan LP 2004 Nationals Lp -Tosca
Sasha Cohen 2006 Nationals LP

[Germanice]

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!!! )
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=VVW5W...om=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=nlb1w...m=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]

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 they are the first that come to mind...

[Spun Silver]

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]

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....

[cvg16]

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!

[cosmos]

You must see YuNa Kim

Tang de Roxanne

Danse Macabre

Scheherazade