When Daisuke Takahashi first moved up to seniors, he would either skate brilliantly, or he'd fall four times. Since I was already a fan of Emanuel Sandhu and Jeff Buttle, the last thing I needed was to fall in love with another inconsistent male skater so I resisted for a long, long time. I finally surrendered to the love the season he skated his "Techno'Swan" program. Now I don't care how many times he falls or whether he wins, it's just such a joy to watch him skate.
There are a number of skaters coming out of juniors that I only discovered this year, but I think you're asking about changes of heart. Carolina impresses me a lot more than in the past. Now that she's not spilling all over the ice I can see her good qualities. Also her music is so superior! (The Bolero and Scheherazade I heard today in COR would have Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov turning over in their graves. Instead of "Bolero-Ravel" etc. the music credit should read "Bolero pastiche" or "Muzak (Bolero).") Shostakovitch is a remarkable choice and that Mozart concerto is sublime; and what's more both she and her choreographer seem to actually hear the music.
In the past I've been off and on with D/W but with this year's scintillating free dance, they've totally won me over. Similarly Jeremy with both his programs.
KVDP has never been my cup of tea but I'm so amazed at the feats he is still pulling off at his advanced age that I look forward to every skate. I was concerned about his choice of Yagudin's MITIM music, but dang if he didn't pull it off in his way.
- Daisuke Takahashi: I love his programs this year.
- Yuzuru Hanyu: He's adorable and talented.
I would add Carolina Kostner to this list since this is the first season I am watching her as a fan, but my fandom began around May so I could say it was "before".I'm not in love with her programs this year.
Skaters who have piqued my interest but I am not quite a fan of yet are: Javier Fernandez and Nan Song. I'll be watching them and seeing if my <3 grows.
Han Yan.
I was aware of his potential before but this year he stands out for me in all aspects, jumps (TES), skating (PCS), and mental fortitude.
Very impressed with Fernandez' and Song's breakouts as well.
The Russian babes like Liza are getting my attention too now that they are appearing in the Senior competitions.
eta. I forgot there was a second part to the thread title. I'm simply much more impressed with these choices than before this season.
Last edited by SkateFiguring; 11-25-2011 at 03:58 PM.
If you could combine Han Yan's jumps and Yuzuru Hanyu's expressiveness, you'd have an incredible skater. I hope both develop their talents fully in the coming years.
I find Yuzuru expressionless when he skates. Both he and Han have big jumps, with Yuzuru having shown off fancy combos which wouldn't be seen in competitions. Han's skating is more mature and sophisticated whereas Yuzuru rushes between his jumps. They were rivals as Juniors and may the rivalry continue.
Oops, I forgot Alissa Czisny. I find myself rooting for her even if her skating style isn't the mostto me, because she definitely has a different mood to her skating--gentle, refined, and steady--and I know she is trying hard to improve which is always admirable.
There is worse. This music is haunted! Last year I was watching B/L lp in TEB to MITIM music and up until the middle of the program I found myself waiting for them to do the signature moves of Yags in the program. Then i woke up.Originally Posted by Spun Silver
I think Duhamel and Radford are great. She is really into the skating and the scoring and wants to do well and Coldplay FS.
Yeah, that's never gonna happen.I just don't enjoy her skating, sorry. *shrugs*
Very true.On the other hand, Kurt will never lose you or me as fans.
He really really did. I rewatched a tape I had (a friend made it) from a competition "way back"(By the way, Tonichelle, I watched a YouTube video of Kurt from last year's Kaleidoscope show, and I have decided that his footwork would have to be classified as perhaps a Level 9...because 4 can't begin to cover it. He spoiled us all rotten for other skaters, didn't he.)in 1997 and yeah, there's just no comparison (there was stuff from earlier on and he had Yags' footwork years before Alexei was a top contender... so much for unique, eh?
Berton/Hotarek - I barely paid attention to pairs after Salt Lake City, and found the discipline over the past two quads to have gone from bad to worse. So I missed the beginning of these guys as a pair, but I love them now! Great skating skills, beautiful dance qualities in both of them but especially her, nice tech in most of the pairs elements, and they really look and most importantly skate like a pair. They have delightful amounts of personality, and I'd really like to see them start consistently medalling on the GP circuit and becoming regular GPF attendees.
Kawaguti/Smirnov - I love Moskvina and I've loved most of her teams, but I've just never been able to warm up to these two. I could appreciate how good they were on a technical level when they actually had their stuff together, but there was just something missing.... until this season. I liked their LP last season, but I really love their SP this season. It's my favorite of any team. Maybe it's just the weak state of the discipline overall, but K/S come on ice and I'm like "aaaah, time to watch the professionals!". Somehow, they seem like the class of the field even more than S/S and V/T to me this season.
Carolina Kostner - Her programs this season are great, and her consistency makes some of her flaws much more tolerable. I still think she has a lot of flaws, is often overscored, but it's acceptable given the state of the field, and I don't think she's had any unfair placements because of it, unlike prior seasons. It makes it much easier to just enjoy her performances for what they are: unique and expressive.
Ross Miner - I think his presentation has improved a lot and so have his skating skills. He really underwhelmed me last season, and his programs are still completely unappealing, but I'm looking forward to him developing as a skater.
Brobova/Soloviev - Just because I'm contrary and she gets so much hate for her bad qualities, that I feel compelled to figure out her (and his) good ones and appreciate them.
When I see a skater, I either love them immediately or have complete indifference. I love Haruka Imai from the Japanese Nationals, I love Laura Lepisto from her bronze medal performance at 2010 Worlds, I love Caroline Zhang from her what, 2007 Nationals, Carolina Kostner from her 2007 World SP, Ashley Wagner with her Spartacus LP ... Sometimes I don't even know why I love them, they just appeal to me.
Some skaters I have indifference toward are Mao Asada, Yuna Kim, and Michelle Kwan. They just don't do it for me.
Once you're on the favorite list, there's no going back.
Carolina Kostner for sure. I'm usually majorly underwhelmed by her performances, but this season, I'm really a fan of her long programme! I thought she skated it really well in Paris and I'm looking forward to the rest of her performances this season.
Han Yan is quite expressive and his skating skill and speed is already magnificent. Instead of Han Yan, I wish I could combine Nan Song's consistency with Yuzuru!
Skating is truely subjective sport, the way about Yuzuru expressiveness is exactly the same way I feel about Chan.
Back to the thread; I would say Carolina. She as beautiful as in the past, it just that my taste have changed and I'm more apprciated by her style than before! Now I became her fan.
Last edited by treeloving; 11-26-2011 at 05:03 AM.
Not impressed with Kiira Korpi. Seems to me she gets extra points for being incredibly beautiful. At CoR, she got 105 for a FS with two triples, both 3Loops. She even underrotated a double salchow attempt.
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