Ladies Short Program

[colleen o'neill]

A little bow in the legs make for good spring in the jumps,and soft landings. nadine - you don't seem to mind them on Plushenko I really enjoyed Kanako's skating. Not only is there much to admire technically,but her expressiveness is a treat. I feel she's really one to watch for over the next a couple of years.

[Mrs. P]

I don't really understand this "you have to skate to serious music to be mature" bent some folks have on here. I thought this program suited Kankano's personality. And as other people mentioned here, she shows how much she loves skating. I agree with janetfan that she is a lot like Akiko in that regard.

And the girl has managed to bring a little personality in a COP program. That trait should not be taken lightly!

[silverlake22]

Yuna's legs are slightly bowed...

Anyways I think people need to give Kanako a break. She's 15 and it's her senior GP debut and she went out there and delivered a great program both in terms of technicality and performance. The crowd loved it too. Kudos to her. And about the whole cutesy thing, to me, Yuna Kim's Bond SP last season was pretty cutesy and she deservingly broke World Records with it! I mean sure Yuna was sexy and cutesy at the same time in it, but it definitely was an upbeat, fun kind of program. I say if you can pull the cutesy thing off and still get the job done, then you might as well. Kanako doesn't have the flexibility and line to pull off a soft, graceful ballet program and her look is too young to do a sensual program, so cutesy seems like the best vehicle for her.

[SerpentineSteps]

I don't really understand this "you have to skate to serious music to be mature" bent some folks have on here. I thought this program suited Kankano's personality. And as other people mentioned here, she shows how much she loves skating. I agree with janetfan that she is a lot like Akiko in that regard.

And the girl has managed to bring a little personality in a COP program. That trait should not be taken lightly!

Very well put. I also had the "juniorish" thought for a moment when I first saw footage of this program, but I think this is a brilliant choice of music for Kanako.

I think Yamada talked about the choice in a recent interview, that they chose to showcase her youthful energy and turn that into an advantage with an unabashedly cheerful program, rather than hiding behind some "conventionally mature" music (I'm not sure whether a newly senior skater's chosen this music in the past, but "Ave Maria" comes to mind), and that that would make her competitive against senior skaters.

Watching the program in competition, I think this choice was absolutely genius on Yamada's part. This is one of the few CoP programs that I've seen, where the skater really "breathes" the program that it would even be an outstanding exhibition number. Definitely deserving of her (relatively) high PCS marks.

[Princesspts]

Just finished watching all the programs twice...I thought everyone was flat and had little life in them except for Kanako.
Gotta remind myself that it's still so early in the season.

[Layfan]

Very well put. I also had the "juniorish" thought for a moment when I first saw footage of this program, but I think this is a brilliant choice of music for Kanako.

I think Yamada talked about the choice in a recent interview, that they chose to showcase her youthful energy and turn that into an advantage with an unabashedly cheerful program, rather than hiding behind some "conventionally mature" music (I'm not sure whether a newly senior skater's chosen this music in the past, but "Ave Maria" comes to mind), and that that would make her competitive against senior skaters.

Watching the program in competition, I think this choice was absolutely genius on Yamada's part. This is one of the few CoP programs that I've seen, where the skater really "breathes" the program that it would even be an outstanding exhibition number. Definitely deserving of her (relatively) high PCS marks.

Thanks for the insight. It's a good point. If she had chosen Ave Maria or some such probably the criticism would have been that she doesn't have the maturity for the music and doesn't compare to so-and-so who skated it :sheesh:

So, this is really her first senior debut, as Silverlake said?? Nice debut coming second in the short program. I know we have to see what happens in the free skate of course.

But her's was the only program I really feel like re-waching. The others seem rather self-conscious. I guess to an emerging skater like Kanako this competition would be more exciting than to the veterans. It showed.

[Mrs. P]

Thanks for the insight. It's a good point. If she had chosen Ave Maria or some such probably the criticism would have been that she doesn't have the maturity for the music and doesn't compare to so-and-so who skated it :sheesh:

So, this is really her first senior debut, as Silverlake said?? Nice debut coming second in the short program. I know we have to see what happens in the free skate of course.

But her's was the only program I really feel like re-waching. The others seem rather self-conscious. I guess to an emerging skater like Kanako this competition would be more exciting than to the veterans. It showed.

I agree, everyone except Kanako was cautious. Even Mao seemed a bit cautious to me as well. And yes, the more I re-watch Kanako's program, the more I love it. My favorite moment is at the beginning when she flashes that beautiful smile of hers as she starts the program.

[sunny0760]

Shockingly, I liked RACHAEL FLATT. She exudes more maturity in this performance than I've ever seen before (part of it is because of her new look, which suits her). The way she held her moves out at the beginning and the way she delivered some real sexuality in the choreography during the part where she mimics taking her shirt off...that was good. Unfortunately her spins are weak and she's still slow across the ice.

Pleasantly surprised at what Blades of Passion is saying. Yes, I mildly liked Rachael's program and some part of it made me smile. She has been trying to correct her flip technique which was the down factor at the oly and worlds and it seems to work a little bit if not fully.

Very impressed that Caroline could get rid of her mule kick. Kudos to her.

IMO the 3 best performances of the night : Carolina, Murakami, Rachael. I don't care too much of the order. They were overall good with different strenths and no one really stood out than the others. But I would not put Rachael higher than Carolina.

Better speed : Carolina, Murakami(very energetic and good height of jump), Kiira. But Carolina seemed to be cautious and her jumps were smaller with less speed than what she used to be able to do some seasons ago. Would Carolina pull 3Lz or F off in the LP?

These skaters can listen to/feel the music : Caroline, Rachael, Kiira(better expressiveness with some grace than before but can she not have higher jumps?).

[treeloving]

[QUOTE=Layfan;522028]Thanks for the insight. It's a good point. If she had chosen Ave Maria or some such probably the criticism would have been that she doesn't have the maturity for the music and doesn't compare to so-and-so who skated it :sheesh:

[QUOTE]

Thank for put the word out of my mouth. Kanako deserved scores she get, her psc is even a bit too low for me. I don't understand why someone think senior skaters should not have a youthful and sheerful program.

[LeCygne]

But her's was the only program I really feel like re-waching. The others seem rather self-conscious. I guess to an emerging skater like Kanako this competition would be more exciting than to the veterans. It showed.

I definitely agree, her exuberance is so refreshing to see. The smile at the beginning says it all. The audience even chuckled, making her laugh just as her music started. It reminds me of her LP at senior Japanese Nationals last year where she was so happy for Akiko that she stopped at the wrong spot on the ice for her program and had to side hop a bunch of steps. No sign of nerves at all. She's like the joyful junior Mirai without the mental fragility.

[Nadine]

colleen, Zhenya does not have bowed legs! Seriously, imho he doesn't, rather I've always said he has the absolute perfect figure for men's figure skating, especially as he matured, he literally became Apollo (http://paleothea.com/Men.html) . Lol, one time I recall going on & on & on about his figure (too much youth talking there), then he came out with "Sex Bomb". I much prefer when he skates "Nijinsky". In fact I really think his physique should be cast in stone, as thee perfect figure for men's f.s., the same way Michael Phelps's body was studied to see what made him the greatest male swimmer of all-time.

Sorry for going off-topic, but I really only came back for Zhenya this past year, and with him gone I find I'm not really liking skating any more. And I think this has colored my perception of it.

Good luck to the ladies, I will try to watch them on IN's on-demand feature when I get the chance.

[Tanja90]

Would Carolina pull 3Lz or F off in the LP?

no chance...she has an injury on her knee so she isn't training flip or lutz at the moment...

[heyang]

Just some general comments:

With the exception of the 15 yr old Japanese girl, most performances were somewhat flat, but it's early.

Ashley is off to a good start, as is Rachel. BTW, love her haircut; it's much more complimentary to her appearance.

Caroline Z was still skating slow, but her takeoffs on her jumps were better. She didn't do her pearl spin; so, I'm wondering if she just can't anymore. Personally, I didn't expect everything to be fixed and she has a couple of years to fix it and put herself in as a contender for the Olympics again. To me, the 2 seasons post Olympics are good for rebuilding technique and by the yr prior to Olympics you want to build a momentum of being on top. So, I'm still wishful that she can rebuild, but she will have improve her speed which will also help in her jumps.

[Poodlepal]

I'm sorry if this was discussed before (if it was, tell me what page it was on--I didn't read all 11 links), but how did someone who did a relatively easy combination beat a bunch of people who did a harder combination? I usually sit with my calculator and add along, and I'm usually close to what the judges say, but Carolina's high score surprised me. Was she the only one who was completely clean?

As for the young Japanese girl, all I have to say is--you go girl! Ever since 1998, every female skater (with a few exceptions here and there) has been trying to recreate Michelle's Angel routine--soft, slow music, subtle dress, delicate hair bun. Some do that style well, but others seem to have to reject their natural personalities to fit into that mold. Kimmie Meisner was one example. She always seemed like a peppy tomboy off the ice in interviews, but had to slow it down and bun it up on the ice. Ashley and Rachael also seem to be almost forcing themselves into that mold, that style of skating, although I think Rachael is breaking the mold little by little.

Murakami is adorable. She's not afraid to be different, and she deserves to be praised. And hats off to Tara L. for complaining about how slow everyone else was!
I really miss Tara, Kristi, Irina, Midori Ito, Sasha and even Tonya and Nancy (though I wouldn't put those two together in the same rink, LOL!). They were great skaters who had different styles.

[Mathman]

I'm sorry if this was discussed before (if it was, tell me what page it was on--I didn't read all 11 links), but how did someone who did a relatively easy combination beat a bunch of people who did a harder combination?

Kostner won on the program component scores. Murakami had the highest tech because she was the only lady who did a triple-triple (although the first jump of her 3T+3T was underrotated and did not receive full credit.)

Flatt was second in tech with 3Lz+2T, 3F and 2A, with no URs or edge calls. In fact, Rachael's program had the highest base value, but she was nipped by Murakami in GOEs.

In PCSs, Carolina received the highest marks, followed by Asada and then Korpi.