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Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
You seemed to forget now ladies can do 3A in the SP, in addition to a 3/3 combo and there is one lady who plan to do just that. With an uninsipiring choreography and less than perfect element, as was the case with her 3/3, she can be vunlerable.

Mao is planning a 3x3 in the SP? Interesting. Neither Mao or Miki have done one this season yet. Why the sudden change when the more conservative layout has worked for them? Why take the risk with Amano on the tech panel?
 

wallylutz

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Mao is planning a 3x3 in the SP? Interesting. Neither Mao or Miki have done one this season yet. Why the sudden change when the more conservative layout has worked for them? Why take the risk with Amano on the tech panel?

My understanding is that Mao is planning a 3F/3Lo combo given that 3Lo is her best jump and she did get this combo credited as clean at the SP in the 2009 Worlds. But it's not 100% certain at this point. My guess is this can also be affected by the skating order and luck of draw. It's possible that if other contenders don't skate very well, her coach may instruct her to play it safe.

I don't know what Miki has planned, but with Morozov still at helm for her, the threat of 3Lz/3Lo is always there. Morozov will also likely see what other ladies do and then decide in the last minute what Miki should really try.
 

alexeifan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
If Mao tries a 3/3 I'm gonna guess that it'll be under-rotated.

From watching the practices I think Yuna will win this, she has the jumps and the speed. I like Mao's spins and spirals better but I just don't see her getting the jumps. I'd love for Mao to win this but I'm having doubts. As far as choregraphy I think Alissa has the best short this season it's just stunning even after seeing yuna's sp.
 

gourry

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
So far I only saw Yuna's practice video(are there any other ladies'?), and I like it a lot! Can't wait to see her performing it in full makeup and costume. :biggrin: It will be awesome.

By the way, her Giselle is not full of ballet, but to say it has nothing to do with ballet is just :rolleye:.
Sure, not much toe pointing, but aren't you forgetting something, like port de bras? It's so weird some ballet lovers always seem to ignore Yuna's beautiful port de bras.:confused:
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
My understanding is that Mao is planning a 3F/3Lo combo given that 3Lo is her best jump and she did get this combo credited as clean at the SP in the 2009 Worlds. But it's not 100% certain at this point. My guess is this can also be affected by the skating order and luck of draw. It's possible that if other contenders don't skate very well, her coach may instruct her to play it safe.

I don't know what Miki has planned, but with Morozov still at helm for her, the threat of 3Lz/3Lo is always there. Morozov will also likely see what other ladies do and then decide in the last minute what Miki should really try.

I've seen a recent video of Mao practicing a 3Loop+3Loop and 3Flip+3Loop. The former makes more sense in the SP since she needs the 3F for the solo triple out of footwork. She cannot afford the risk/cost of the 3Lutz in the SP, especially with the preceding footwork and then the added risk of the 3A to begin with.

So if she goes for triple triples I think she'll save the 3F+3L for the LP and do a 3L+3L in the SP.
 

alexeifan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Wouldn't that be something if Mao did the 3A and the 3/3 after such a difficult year! Were her 3/3's clean in practice?
 

magicalwords

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Mixed feelings about Yuna's sp..

As for choreography wise, so far nothing particularly memorable except for her stomach grabbing... choreography before her 2A and another choreography right before her step sequence. But even with rather unmemorable choreography, the program wasn't boring, which is surprising :laugh: I was greatly surprised when I realized her program was already over as she was doing her final combination spin in the program. I'm okay with her music cut since the time allotted for sp is considerably shorter than for lp; I'm actually glad that she's focused on portraying mad Giselle rather than trying to scramble everything together in one short program. Mad Giselle suits her style more too, I think, judging by how her more "innocent" "bright" program Die Fledermaus went compared to her other sp programs...

So enough on Yuna.


Are most of the podium contenders arriving today?
 

wallylutz

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
By the way, her Giselle is not full of ballet, but to say it has nothing to do with ballet is just :rolleye:.
Sure, not much toe pointing, but aren't you forgetting something, like port de bras? It's so weird some ballet lovers always seem to ignore Yuna's beautiful port de bras.:confused:

Given that most elite female skaters and quite a number of elite male skaters take ballet lessons on a regular basis, generic ballet movements are fairly common in figure skating program and not just limited to ladies. Want to see a real competitive program with ballet focus? Take this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6zKfZVurJY

It's quite obvious that when you compare the two, it's very hard to consider Kim's 2011 SP to be anything ballet like.

So if skaters include one or two ballet like movement in their program given that many of them take ballet lessons regularly, does that prove their program has "a lot of ballet movements"? I think the answer is a clear no.
 
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prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
But even with rather unmemorable choreography, the program wasn't boring, which is surprising :laugh: I was greatly surprised when I realized her program was already over as she was doing her final combination spin in the program.
I agree with you. :) I don't think Giselle will be YuNa's best, but there is still something about it that makes me watch.

Let's be careful calling people trolls...I've seen most of the posters here before on other topics, it seems like there are many different opinions and preferences.
 

alexeifan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
I agree people should be careful with the 'troll' word. I'm sick of hearing that anytime you don't like a Yuna or Mao program. I like both skaters, they're both incredible but I'm disappointed with Yuna's program, after taking so much time off I thought there would be more legendary like choreography. That doesn't make one a troll to state their views on a program, trolls= hate kind of speech.
 

magicalwords

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
I agree with you. :) I don't think Giselle will be YuNa's best, but there is still something about it that makes me watch.

Yes, there is definitely something special about the way she executes the choreography :) even though it was just a practice clip, I could definitely feel which parts she was trying to be dynamic and powerful and which parts she was being softer and more fluid. Yuna IMO is very good at controlling that and I think it's why I find it hard for myself to be bored by her programs.

Hopefully the choreography will come alive when she has the costumes and makeup and everything in the real deal :cool:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
My understanding is that Mao is planning a 3F/3Lo combo given that 3Lo is her best jump and she did get this combo credited as clean at the SP in the 2009 Worlds.

Maybe she will show a tape from 2009 as part of her program.

All I know so far is, I just saw Kim do a 3Lz/3T. All these fully rotated 3Lo combos that Mao and Miki are going to do -- I think I will wait until Friday before commenting further.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
I watched Yuna's practice clip once and thought she looked very strong.

I didn't expect Yuna to be skating like Oksana or even Sasha. Yuna is a gifted athlete and skater. She is also an elegant, exciting skater.

I think when she comes out in costume and makeup the SP will be fine. It still depends how she skates it the night of the competition. We saw a practice run trhough and nothing more.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
To Parma: Be cool, man (or lady). :cool: What will be, will be. Everything will play out the way it will play out, no matter what anyone says on the Internet. :yes:
 

babayaga

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 27, 2010
Maybe she will show a tape from 2009 as part of her program.

All I know so far is, I just saw Kim do a 3Lz/3T. All these fully rotated 3Lo combos that Mao and Miki are going to do -- I think I will wait until Friday before commenting further.

I doubt Mao will go for a 3/3 in the short program honestly. But even without it, if everything else is clean she will still have 3 triples with one of them being a 3A which should be enough to stay very close to the top.

As for Yuna's short program, I liked it more when she showed parts of its choreography first without the music in that open practice session. With the music it for some reason doesn't look as good as I thought it would be. But maybe she didn't try as hard as she would during the actual competition, so I'll wait till then to decide whether I like it or not.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
i ll dare say i like Yuna as Bond girl more than gisele and that kind, I find her more convincing in less dramatic programs in general BUT maybe with the costume and competition mode ambiance(which i wont be able to watch in real time anyway,lol) I may eat my tongue and this may be her best sp, her comeback is impressive nontheless and I m kinda sure she will medal, probably win.
Seriously now has anyone else arrived from ladies?
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Still, based on the full run-through, that's all Yu-na needs to win the short program, IMHO.

ITA agree regardless of me not being in love with it...yet.:)

I think it's very much okay for someone not like Yu na's program. It's okay. This doesn't mean that anyone is right/wrong.
 

pokky_oc

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Hmm... I'm pretty sure if Yu-Na skates like that, she'd score around 70-73 even though she can't do her 5 points spirals and her G.O.E. on her jumps have been cut. ( 0.7 on her 3Lz+3T, 3F ) and ( 0.5 on her 2A ).

I'm guessing something like this...

3Lz+3T 10.10 1.54 11.64
3F 5.30 1.26 6.56
FSSp4 3.00 0.50 3.50
2A 3.30 0.80 4.10
LSp4 2.70 1.00 3.70
SlSt3 3.30 0.90 4.30
CCoSp4 3.50 1.00 4.50

TEC 38.30
PCS 33.00

SS 8.50
TR 8.00
PE 8.25
CH 8.25
IN 8.25

SP 71.30

And this is being generous enough I think :laugh: We haven't seen 70+ in Ladie's SP this season yet, so it should be exciting!

And as for Miki, I hope she puts in a 3S+3Lo in her SP! I really think that she can skate a great short program! And for Mao, I hope she puts in a 3-3 of some sort... I do agree that she shouldn't risk a 3Lz in the SP but she has landed it number of times this season! The Japanese Nationals, the 4CC Warm-Up and the 4CC FS. :think:
 
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silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Has Miki done a full SP run-through with 3Sal+3Loop combination and 3Lutz out of steps as her jumping passes? That would be a very welcome change and she certainly needs the upgraded content if Yu-Na and Mao skate clean. I've always wondered why Miki never tried a 3Sal+3Loop combination, as it would be much less prone to downgrades. She did do a 3Toe+3Loop a couple years ago, and it still got downgraded, but since the 3Sal is such an easy jump for her I figured that would be an ideal fit.

Mao's SP is terrible. I hope she doesn't go back to Tarasova for a competitive program next season because that woman has lost her touch, at least in terms of making CoP programs. Nothing in the program goes well with the music at all. I wouldn't say her step sequence looks hurried, rather TOO much time is spent on the footwork sequence. The pattern becomes a mess and she spends way too much time on that one element trying to execute a million steps and turns. I think she must be going for a Level 4, but it's just not going to happen.

I don't think this music is the best fit for Mao to begin with but the current choreography is total crap. At the VERY least she shouldn't be doing all of her jumping passes back-to-back-to-back at the start of the program. Ick.

BTW, Yu-Na's LP is better than her SP. I was trying to put it as nicely as possible a couple months ago when I said that Yu-Na's Giselle SP was more like Miki Ando's Giselle than Yukari Nakano's Giselle (for those who remember the battle of the Giselle's back at 2008 Skate America). Musical similarities aside, hopefully you all see what I mean now.

I agree about Miki, and if she goes for 3s-3lo then she doesn't have to worry about having to do a 3f which gives her trouble, and further her 3s-3lo is probably more likely to get full credit than her 3lz-3lo. Seems like the way to go unless she just plans to play it safe and do 3lz-2lo and 3lo. But if Mao and Yuna do 3-3s, or even if Mao does 3-2 but is otherwise clean with a 3a, the first layout is probably the way to go.
 
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