Kim and Kwan to headline "All That Skate Summer 2010"

I think Bezic's PDSTM was much more effective than Yu-Na's Bulletproof. It is clear that she has put on some weight and I'm really wondering if there is much more Yu-Na can do. Her body has stiffness in parts that Wilson has to choreograph around. This is why Yu-Na always does a lot of moves leaning to the left or right and will extend her arms. She can't do the long, flowing connecting moves of other skaters. Her club feet and lack of a spiral don't help either.

If Yu-Na does compete again, I believe it will be because she gets bored skating in shows.

I really wasn't moved by Hero. It was clearly a program to get a headline "Yu-Na skating with her idol" but it was so slapped together that it felt like one of the Disson shows. Star Skates Craptacular.

I can't get over these fans writing about the camaraderie being the highlight of the show. Spare me.

I'm really wondering if Sasha is injured because her skating, spins, etc look weaker (even by her own standards.) Sasha's skating is always more impressive on TV, but she just looks weak. Perhaps she took time off after Stars On Ice? I was rather surprised to see her debut a new program. Mein Herr needs a lot more work and a TON of speed to be effective.

I really don't find anything special about 'Bulletproof.' It is Yu-Na walking around and somewhat dancing on the ice, but her other programs have been more effective. The costume is not flattering by any means. It makes her look like she has gained much more weight than she actually has. She looks much slimmer in her other dresses from the show.

Wilson's choreography is just seeming to get a bit stale for me. Perhaps he is just overworked? I'm sure he'd spend considerable more time and energy on a competitive program for Yu-Na. It is her charisma that makes the Bulletproof work. She is quite the diva on the ice, but the choreography really does nothing to enhance it. The choreography is really all arm movements and doesn't come from the blade. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd love to see what Lori Nichol would do with Yu-Na.

Groshkova said:

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd love to see what Lori Nichol would do with Yu-Na.

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I don't know. It seems like every skater is going to either Nichol or Wilson nowadays. Perhaps she could work with Tom Dickinson again or maybe Lambiel?

It is a bit early to send every skater to Lambiel. I'd like to see Yu-Na work with Bezic on a program that wasn't to a pop song. I bet Bezic could really give her a wonderfully lyrical program.

Thanks to yunabliss and dlgpffps for your reports. It is no secret on this board that the Kween was my favorite skater back in the day. The last time I saw her skate live was I believe in 2006 COI. To be able to see her perform again these past 2 years in YuNa's show via youtube has been a treat for me. Loved YuNa's Bullet Proof, Michelle's Primitive and No One, Sasha's Mein Herr and Lambiel was on fire. All of the skaters' performances were top notch IMO and you won't hear any criticism from this fan.

Groshkova said:

I think Bezic's PDSTM was much more effective than Yu-Na's Bulletproof. It is clear that she has put on some weight and I'm really wondering if there is much more Yu-Na can do. Her body has stiffness in parts that Wilson has to choreograph around. This is why Yu-Na always does a lot of moves leaning to the left or right and will extend her arms. She can't do the long, flowing connecting moves of other skaters. Her club feet and lack of a spiral don't help either.

If Yu-Na does compete again, I believe it will be because she gets bored skating in shows.

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She did too much posing and standing around, and not enough skating. JMHO. I like it when skaters break out of the mold and "let loose" a bit (that's my style, I like to see skaters enjoying themselves out there), but at the same time, there should be a balance between both worlds.

I really wasn't moved by Hero. It was clearly a program to get a headline "Yu-Na skating with her idol" but it was so slapped together that it felt like one of the Disson shows. Star Skates Craptacular.

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I didn't think it was that bad, but then again, that song is one of my favorites. But the editors hacked it up...

The Cohen/Czisny SOI routine was much better, though. More "in-sync" moves, more utilization and unification of the two skaters' strengths.

I can't get over these fans writing about the camaraderie being the highlight of the show. Spare me.

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I think it's a good thing, though. I'm all for the skaters enjoying themselves. It radiates to the audience and makes them feel warmed, feel welcomed. It's the business-like approach, phoning it in, that's such a big turnoff for me.

I'm really wondering if Sasha is injured because her skating, spins, etc look weaker (even by her own standards.) Sasha's skating is always more impressive on TV, but she just looks weak. Perhaps she took time off after Stars On Ice? I was rather surprised to see her debut a new program. Mein Herr needs a lot more work and a TON of speed to be effective.

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Why is everyone speculating on her being injured? If she is so, then why did she participate in the show in the first place, then? My view is that if you won't, or cannot, give your audience at least 90+% effort, you are disrespecting them. (they paid good money to see you do what you do best).

If she keeps MH I think it could get better with more practice and more effort. But I want to see more of that from her. Less cold ice-princessy stuff. She should lose the other routine pronto.

And back to Yuna again, she also needs to find a happy medium between dancing and skating. If you've performed for a while, nothing wrong with a dance routine, but if you're still in the Olympic hunt, if you're the reigning Olympic champ, I think people in general will expect much more out of you than that, at least for the first few years. Except for your most rabid fans, of course.

Yuna's exhibition program tells me that she is not that of a great skater. Without her triple triple combination, she is just like any other top skaters in the world. Or she may not be considered as the top skater. She does not have any great spin positions. Her in-between connecting moves are nothing notable. Her edge work is good but not amazing. I do not think she has strong charisma to pull you into her programs. She does look like she pulls the audiences in but it is not because of her skating. It is because of her fans. Her fans love her just because she is the only champion in figure skating in that country. And perhaps they love her more just because she beat their long rival country's skater.I would love to watch Sasha, Alissa,Caroline,Michelle, Akiko or Mao's exhibition programs whether they would do jumps or not. But I would be very bored to watch yuna's program if she would not do any triple combinations. Actually I was bored watching her exhibition programs, especially bulletproof. I do not know what she is trying to prove but she is definitely a great pop dancer and she should do more elegant programs to show her Asian roots rather than trying to be someone she is not. She should do more classier programs as an Olympic champion. Thank you.

imo some of you are being way too harsh on yu-na. I'm a michelle stan first and foremost but yu-na along with mao are the two greatest of today and yu-na is one of the greatest of all time. she's quite beautiful physically and has a body that's very long and fluid. everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. yu-na's happens to be her jumps and artistry.

ashdustannie said:

imo some of you are being way too harsh on yu-na. I'm a michelle stan first and foremost but yu-na along with mao are the two greatest of today and yu-na is one of the greatest of all time. she's quite beautiful physically and has a body that's very long and fluid. everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. yu-na's happens to be her jumps and artistry.

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I agree with you in that everyone has strengths and weakness. And I truly believe that Yuna's happens to be ONLY jumps. Noone can do triple triple like her so far. She is amazing in that field.

Canastatango said:

I agree with you in that everyone has strengths and weakness. And I truly believe that Yuna's happens to be ONLY jumps. Noone can do triple triple like her so far. She is amazing in that field.

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I agree, I'll give her credit there. That's where she was so dominant this past season and no one else was even on the radar. Quite a rare feat to have someone like that. But anything else, she's competent, maybe decent, but there are other skaters who are better in those fields. JMHO.

Canastatango said:

Yuna's exhibition program tells me that she is not that of a great skater. Without her triple triple combination, she is just like any other top skaters in the world. Or she may not be considered as the top skater. She does not have any great spin positions. Her in-between connecting moves are nothing notable. Her edge work is good but not amazing. I do not think she has strong charisma to pull you into her programs. She does look like she pulls the audiences in but it is not because of her skating. It is because of her fans. Her fans love her just because she is the only champion in figure skating in that country. And perhaps they love her more just because she beat their long rival country's skater.I would love to watch Sasha, Alissa,Caroline,Michelle, Akiko or Mao's exhibition programs whether they would do jumps or not. But I would be very bored to watch yuna's program if she would not do any triple combinations. Actually I was bored watching her exhibition programs, especially bulletproof. I do not know what she is trying to prove but she is definitely a great pop dancer and she should do more elegant programs to show her Asian roots rather than trying to be someone she is not. She should do more classier programs as an Olympic champion. Thank you.

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That is a very ignorant statement. She was already a big star in Korea even before she won the world title. And if she's not that of a great skater or even a top skater, how could she have become one of the greatest Olympic champions as some experts call her? You seem like you just wanna bash her or pick on things one after another for some reason. And once again, the EX is just for the show to entertain. It's just ridiculous how some can judge her just based on this particular gala.

Canastatango said:

She should do more classier programs as an Olympic champion.

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This tells it all. I can sense where you are coming from. And, no, she's not trying to be someone she is not. In fact, she is more of a rigid tough young woman than a fragile princess-like lady. She naturally has a more fierce and versatility inside her. I'm not sure if I'm saying it right. lol Someone with better English could describe this better.


Edit: Obviously you don't have a good background information about her. Next time do some research before you write stuff like that.

cosmos said:

Frankly, I am really surprised by this comment of shine. I am happy YuNa made you to change a lot. I don't mean anything cynical. Actually, thank you.

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Actually, I'm not really sure what "change" you mean by this. I have never changed my opinion about Yu-Na. Rarely do we see someone who is so techically strong also has strong presentation skills like she does, and be so consistent (skaters are usually one or the other, or ordinary at both, or just heartbreakingly inconsistent). That's what makes her a great talent. My opinions of her fans also have not changed. I still think many of them really do exaggerate their praises for her. She has a long way to go before she's able to live up to those praises. Proof? Please see YunaBliss's last post.

Canastatango said:

Yuna's exhibition program tells me that she is not that of a great skater. Without her triple triple combination, she is just like any other top skaters in the world. Or she may not be considered as the top skater. She does not have any great spin positions. Her in-between connecting moves are nothing notable. Her edge work is good but not amazing. I do not think she has strong charisma to pull you into her programs. She does look like she pulls the audiences in but it is not because of her skating. It is because of her fans. Her fans love her just because she is the only champion in figure skating in that country. And perhaps they love her more just because she beat their long rival country's skater.I would love to watch Sasha, Alissa,Caroline,Michelle, Akiko or Mao's exhibition programs whether they would do jumps or not. But I would be very bored to watch yuna's program if she would not do any triple combinations. Actually I was bored watching her exhibition programs, especially bulletproof. I do not know what she is trying to prove but she is definitely a great pop dancer and she should do more elegant programs to show her Asian roots rather than trying to be someone she is not. She should do more classier programs as an Olympic champion. Thank you.

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I respectfully disagree. I think the exhibition should be seen just as that, an exhibition. Personally I think she has a lot of charisma. Just look at the fierceness she had with Dance Macabre in 2009 and with the Bond melody this past season. I think her less-than-ideal performance with Gershwin during Worlds is fresh in everyone's minds, but I still love that program. I like the nuances. That is what makes her programs. The nudge, the subtle movements she makes to the music. And let's not forget the speed she brings to the ice.

I'm not a big fan of Bulletproof, I agree with the others here that it's a lot of dancing and not a whole lot of skating, but to declare that the girl has terrible skating skills because of it is a bit of a stretch to me.

Here is a link to the entire Day 1 and Day 3 shows!

http://yunaforum.com/wiki/entire_show
(Courtesy of the Yuna Kim Forum )

shine said:

Actually, I'm not really sure what "change" you mean by this. I have never changed my opinion about Yu-Na. Rarely do we see someone who is so techically strong also has strong presentation skills like she does, and be so consistent (skaters are usually one or the other, or ordinary at both, or just heartbreakingly inconsistent). That's what makes her a great talent. My opinions of her fans also have not changed. I still think many of them really do exaggerate their praises for her. She has a long way to go before she's able to live up to those praises. Proof? Please see YunaBliss's last post.

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Excuse me for delurking a bit. I guess you are referring to my rave appraisal! Please consider that yes it is a 'RAVE' and it is in the 'context' of a fan forum, and I didn't expect anyone's going to quote me here but since Yunabliss did, and someone did took the p**s, so I might as well add my 2 cents here.

I certainly don't expect everyone to agree here, yet I'd happy to defend my opinion. For the record, I do believe she has indeed lived up to her billing and earned those praises. She is the richest female Athlete at the Olympics at age 19, and probably most made the most charitable donations among female athletes and people her age. If you can equate wealth with success, she is probably the most successful in Figure skating history. Athletic abilities, sure is open to debate, but certainly she remains the most record breaking figure skater today and also the most consistent; have always managed to win at least a LP or SP in all ISU competitions, and never stood outside the podium once.

Artistically, it will remain debatable certainly and rightly, but she does indeed have the greatest GOE scores. Her personal success? The list could go on, but her ever increasing fan base touched by her own personal journey over adversity and most of all, her skating should speak volumes. If those facts are not impressive, i don't know what praise is not worth these achievements? For the record, despite everything mentioned, what won me over (believe it or not, I used to be a cynic) was based on one single performance alone, her Dance Macabre at WC. It epitomizes strength, speed, arts with physics, fierce, grace, smarts with a sense of danger rarely seen on ice, and of course her Olympic moments are simply unmatched.

I appreciate arts in all forms for all its elegance, refinement and glorious splendor but also its ever evolving nature, mistake, flaws, mess and all. Her bulletproof was such an experiment, and was co-choreographed by a Hip Pop Artist dancing on ice rift to Brit Electronic Rock Chic du jour La Roux, it is hardly some master piece to be critiqued by ISU Judges based on pre-defined classical sensibilities and ‘rules’ and some stuck up searching for life existence, or (in most case currently) just to score points. Is her nonchalant approach something new and haven't seen before? I think so.

Perhaps this approach would alienate a practiced observer with established sensibilities that 'appreciate' good ice skating or know what an ‘edge’ is, but I bet you, for every 1 of these audiences she alienates, she'd gain 5-10 more who used to think figure skating is boring, pompous, elitist sport, and not worth watching it live.

Yuna changed all that, she it made it pop (popular) on ice with glitz and glamour with some of the greatest skaters in the world today to show what is possible. It is a sold out extravaganza show with very expensive tickets and expensive skaters, so if she are able to please all the live audiences (& performing skaters) and beynd and left them wanting more, then she has done her bit.

os168 said:

If you can equate wealth with success, she is probably the most successful in Figure skating history. Athletic abilities, sure is open to debate, but certainly she remains the most record breaking figure skater today and also the most consistent; [always won either the SP or LP in ISU competitions], and never stood outside the podium once.

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This is only because of the way underrotated jumps used to be scored, though. It's ridiculous that she won the LP at 2008 and 2010 Worlds, and also the SP at the 2008 GPF.

She is indeed a consistent skater though. Only "perfect" once (at the Olympics), but has many competitions under her belt where she only made 1 mistake throughout an entire competition while attempting high technical difficulty.

os168 said:

Perhaps this approach would alienate a practiced observer with established sensibilities that 'appreciate' good ice skating or know what an ‘edge’ is, but I bet you, for every 1 of these audiences she alienates, she'd gain 5-10 more who used to think figure skating is boring, pompous, elitist sport, and not worth watching it live.

Yuna changed all that, she it made it pop (popular) on ice with glitz and glamour with some of the greatest skaters in the world today to show what is possible. It is a sold out extravaganza show with very expensive tickets and expensive skaters, so if she are able to please all the live audiences (& performing skaters) and beynd and left them wanting more, then she has done her bit.

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Yu-Na changed all of that in Korea, not anywhere else in the World. Show skating with pop/rock music has been around long, long before Yu-Na. I can't believe you just tried to credit Yu-Na with that. LMAO!

never lost either a LP or SP in ISU competitions

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It's fine to love Yu Na, but that just isn't true.

This last World's 2010
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2010/SEG003.HTM
Yu Na was 7th in the SP

Skate America 2009
http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpusa09/SEG004.HTM
Yu Na was 2nd in the Lp

2008 Worlds
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2008/SEG003.HTM
Yu Na was 5th in the SP

2007 Worlds
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2007/SEG004.HTM
Yu Na was 5th in the LP

os168 just typed his/her statement incorrectly. What he/she meant to say is Yu-Na has never lost both the SP and LP at a single competition. Which is true, but only because of bad judging.

aftertherain said:

Here is a link to the entire Day 1 and Day 3 shows!

http://yunaforum.com/wiki/entire_show
(Courtesy of the Yuna Kim Forum )

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Thank you very much, what a treat!

Blades of Passion said:

This is only because of the way underrotated jumps used to be scored, though. It's ridiculous that she won the LP at 2008 and 2010 Worlds, and also the SP at the 2008 GPF.

She is indeed a consistent skater though. Only "perfect" once (at the Olympics), but has many competitions under her belt where she only made 1 mistake throughout an entire competition while attempting high technical difficulty.



Yu-Na changed all of that in Korea, not anywhere else in the World. Show skating with pop/rock music has been around long, long before Yu-Na. I can't believe you just tried to credit Yu-Na with that. LMAO!

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UHmm I didn't credit her with this, i just mean she made figure skating even more popular in Korea (although her fan base abroad is increasing all the time) through pop and rock. Of course everyone has used it, but not to the same effect, certainly not involving an actual street hip pop choreographer. As for scoring, well it is debatable, whether she is lucky or not, human beings are not perfect, nor are judging

Yes thanks for rectifying my LP SP statement, that was my English mistake (btw I am a girl), i just mean she managed to always at least win a LP OR a SP in all competitions she ha entered, so at least she best the competition in at least 1 event. When she flunk, she always flunk bad, which is some what amusing to me. IMO she was lucky (she likely knows it) to claim a Silver at World 2010, but only did as pretty much everyone flunked under the pressure except Mao, who deserved the Gold.

Blades of Passion said:

This is only because of the way underrotated jumps used to be scored, though. It's ridiculous that she won the LP at 2008 and 2010 Worlds, and also the SP at the 2008 GPF.

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blah blah blah... Do you have more that is ridiculous about Yuna?