Interesting Chen-Lu article

**janetfan** · 04-28-2010, 11:27 AM

Here is an interesting article from 1998 about Chen-Lu, who remains one of my all-time favorite skaters.

http://www.nytimes.com/specials/olym...-fig-chen.html

ETA: If the link doesn't work, hit refresh and try again.

Besides being the first skater to ever win medals for China, Lulu was such an expressive skater and for me one of the most original.

I never realized that Sandra Bezic did the choreo for "Butterfly Lovers" and Lulu's performance of this at Nagano '98 Olympics was a truly memorable moment in Olympic skating history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVW5W5-IwbQ

And here it is again from the 2007 Asian games:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHwtN...ext=1&index=18

**gio** · 04-28-2010, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by janetfan

Here is an interesting article from 1998 about Chen-Lu, who remains one of my all-time favorite skaters.

http://www.nytimes.com/specials/olym...-fig-chen.html

ETA: If the link doesn't work, hit refresh and try again.

Besides being the first skater to ever win medals for China, Lulu was such an expressive skater and for me one of the most original.

Thanks, I very much agree with you. She was faboulous IMO.

She was original, bringing in her programs elements of Asian culture and philosophy. Some of her programs were introspective, meditational ... I don't know how to describe it, but it gave me that sensation. And I love it.

**Olympia** · 04-28-2010, 09:53 PM

I remember reading about Bezic's being Lulu's choreographer and being very happy about the fact. I have always loved Bezic's work, and I'm sorry I don't hear much about her these days. Interestingly, she also choreographed Tara Lipinski's programs for that Olympics, if I recall correctly, so she was involved in two-thirds of the 1998 podium. (Kwan's silver-medal programs were done by my other favorite Canadian choreographer, Lori Nichol.)

Definitely Chen Lu was one of the delights of the 1990s, and I was very glad she had that magnificent comeback in '98.

**janetfan** · 04-29-2010, 08:18 AM

I remember seeing Lulu Live back in '94 with COI and she absolutely mesmerized the audience - this on a night when Oksana, Nancy, Yuka and Michelle were also performing.

I wish there were better quality clips of her programs..........

Here is a lovely program from 1996. When I think of Asian skaters it is always Chen-Lu I think of first. Never Midori, Shiz or any of today's wonderful Asian skaters. Maybe it is because Lulu blended aspects of her Chinese heritage so beautifully into her skating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74Z5...eature=related

**Layfan** · 04-29-2010, 08:42 AM

Thanks for digging up that article! I always knew there was some tension with the Chinese federation and Chen Lu but I never knew the details. She did so much better at those Olympics than that article would have made you expect! It was one of the greatest comebacks ever.

And I agree that Butterfly Lovers was one of the most original programs I've ever seen.

Re Tara, Sandra did choreograph her Rainbow program. I read somewhere that Tara and Sandra e-mailed constantly in the days before the Olympics and Sandra kept making small tweaks to the program, helping Tara "close the artistic gap" with Michelle...

**Layfan** · 04-29-2010, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by janetfan

I remember seeing Lulu Live back in '94 with COI and she absolutely mesmorized the audience - this on a night when Oksana, Nancy, Yuka and Michelle were also performing.

I wish there were better quality clips of her programs..........

Here is a lovely program from 1996. When I think of Asian skaters it is always Chen-Lu I think of first. Never Midori, Shiz or any of today's wonderful Asian skaters. Maybe it is because Lulu blended aspects of her Chinese heritage so beautifully into her skating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74Z5...eature=related

What competition was this?