The Arms Above the Shoulders | Golden Skate

The Arms Above the Shoulders

Joesitz (RIP)

Joesitz (RIP)

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
It seems to me, that the Russian male skaters will thrust their arms above their shoulders throughout their routines except when they stop to pose. It gets to me sometimes that it is a distraction from their skating feet which I am more interested in for scoring purposes than the "Hands-UP or I'll Shoot" style of Arms in Figure Skating.

Anyone for the style of arms in figure skating?
 
dorispulaski

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
It's an interesting question, Joe.

For example, despite the fact that the arms are key in any flamenco dance, I find Abbott's arm movements in his Flamenco SP this year excessive & irritating-and yet, I assume, they are authentic, as his choreo was done by Najarro.

Perhaps this is because, like you, it's their feet I am really interested in and I don't want to be distracted.

OTOH, I don't want to see airplane arms, like Kimmie Meissner used to have.

I really prefer the arms to not draw attention to themselves, except for some key choreographic moments in the men's and ladies.

In dance, I like to see good use of arms, as well as every other part of the body. I am not very consistent ;)

Paul & Islam have a great use of arms in their SD twizzles this year (check them out on IN)

Davis & White had a great use of arms in last year's Bollywood OD.

Now that I think about it, my attention drifts to the arms in the formulaic part of ice dance-the twizzles. I'm fickle. I get tired of seeing the same thing and am happy to have a new highlight. The same is true of some of the graded step sequences, which get repetitive, because there are only so many ways you can show one of each kind of turn on each foot. The character of the dance, which is a requirement in dance PCS, is often shown by what they are doing with their arms & upper bodies rather than their feet.

This is the a sad feature of COP dance judging, IMO. But it makes it a gradable sport.
 
M

mariposa

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
I too have noticed an excessive amount of arm above shoulder movements not only in dance but in ladies singles... I swear if I see one move arm over the face, arms wrapped around themselves etc I'm gonnna' scream....is this artistic? The more I watch, the more obvious it is. Joannie Rochette seemed to initiate the style and it worked well, for her..now-especially the Qubec ladies- Lacoste, Phaneuf, etc.. I don't know if it's because I'm more a singles fan or what that I notiice it. Is that what is rewarded by the judges..they all look the same. I thought Samson a refreshing change at Cup of Russia but she was not rewarded. I thought her PCS marks were low..I'm interested to see if anyone else has noticed this.
 
B

burntBREAD

Medalist
Joined
Mar 27, 2010
mariposa said:
I too have noticed an excessive amount of arm above shoulder movements not only in dance but in ladies singles... I swear if I see one move arm over the face, arms wrapped around themselves etc I'm gonnna' scream....is this artistic? The more I watch, the more obvious it is. Joannie Rochette seemed to initiate the style and it worked well, for her..now-especially the Qubec ladies- Lacoste, Phaneuf, etc.. I don't know if it's because I'm more a singles fan or what that I notiice it. Is that what is rewarded by the judges..they all look the same. I thought Samson a refreshing change at Cup of Russia but she was not rewarded. I thought her PCS marks were low..I'm interested to see if anyone else has noticed this.
Click to expand...

I like Samson much better than Phaneuf/Lacoste, both of whom I feel are overrated somewhat...Samson was very smooth, but the PCS in general at COR for the Ladies' SP were pretty low (I think Akiko got the highest and she only got around 27)
 
O

Olympia

Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Great thread!

I don't know if I can be precise about what I like. I certainly don't like windmill arms, either! And I don't like arms that seem to swing from the shoulders rather than from the fingers. Arm placement (a dancer could help me explain this) should flow through the body. For me a great example is Michelle in Lyra Angelica. Every movement helps create the picture, convey the emotion, and tell the story. Of today's skaters, I think Mao takes the prize over YuNa in this area.

Another significant aspect of arm movement is what it adds to the effect of unison in pairs. Remember that lovely early video that was posted of G & G in the "first performance" thread? (You might have been the one who posted it, Doris.) Even at the ages of 12 and 14 or whatever, they looked like reflections of each other, and a lot of that was the arm movements. When I recently watched Sale and Pelletier's Olympic performance of Love Story, I was struck by the unison of their arms. (A Lori Nichol program, wasn't it?) So I'll add that to the mix.
 
G

gourry

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
cooper said:
This is not the first time I read your post but don't embarrass us (Yuna fans). Am I allowed to say..pleasee go away?! :rolleye:
Click to expand...

But this time that poster is right on the topic, and that clip indeed shows Yuna's beautiful arm movements.;)

I'm not so sure if I got what Joesitz meant by thrust their arms above their shoulders, but if it means skaters throw both of their arms(or just one arm at times) up in the air meaninglessly when they glide, I do find it very distracting. I hate it even more when they call it 'choreography'.
 
E

ever

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
burntBREAD said:
Well, it certainly IS very, very beautiful, but...it's an exhibition, so obviously nothing in the program is for COP
Click to expand...

I said "Can you see here arm movements is not for COP but for performance?"

I mean arm movements is for performance whether 6.0 or COP. :biggrin:

Do I need more explanation? :)
 
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