I love this performance by Irina Slutskaya. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am! That's art!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvBSI97Vuw8
I love this performance by Irina Slutskaya. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am! That's art!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvBSI97Vuw8
Originally Posted by dorispulaski
I was there and I freaking LOVED that program. Watching it in practice just got me more excited to see it for the real deal!
Great thread! I have none to add of my own because the ones I thought of have already been posted.
There's nothing like pure raw power, gives me the chills just thinking about it, one of the aspects I most love about this sport, amongst many! *Cheers* (:^D
IMO there's no comparison between the way all ladies are supposed to smile and some men choose to. It's not a necessity for men unless perhaps they have upbeat programs. It doesn't bother me as I like the smiling, unless it's forced. It makes the skater look free and relaxed. But I'm aware that there's a gender distinction.
Thanks, I hadn't seen that before. I love her confidence and her total willingness to commit to the music. Fantastic!
Except her PCS were still comparatively quite low in comparison to the "frontrunners". If the IJS were truly being used well, her PCS for that SP performance would have been the highest of the competition (even better than Sasha Cohen, who was sick during this competition and it showed). The amount of choreographic movement in that program of Stephanie's was incredibly demanding and it was creative, worked together seamlessly, excellent with the music, and performed with one of the biggest and most constant smiles I've ever seen.
Yuna is fairy princess from waist up but more like sleek greyhound or racehorse with those legs and the way she flys into big jumps covering so much ice.
Yuna is like a hybrid, jumps like a man with pretty upper arm positions. She isn't really classical legs, feet, turnout but they molded her. She could now skate to some really different choreography. Would be great to see her work with Camerlengo, or Daisuke's Japanese choreographer. I wish for her athleticism to be at high levels again and try non traditional, unique programs.
I think quite a few of Cynthia's programs (Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Nocturne, Claire de Lune etc) are very soft and pretty in a very traditional, rather princessy way in not only style and choreography but also the choice of music.
But I do think she has the potential for less traditional styles, and I think it will probably suit Cynthia more than programs like her very traditionally pretty LP this year.
1/ Lu Chen had such grace in this 1996 Worlds short program. Her arm movements were so delicate and fluid and her spins had such gracefuls notes to them; these aspects are things that I have never seen Michelle or Yu-Na do, and I honestly doubt they could be able to pull them off half as well as she did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bt98gppjr0
2/ This Samson and Delilah (interpretative?) program from 2003 Hallmark is the most graceful and artistic I have ever seen Irina Slutskaya. I think her flowy and light dress suited this program well and I do think that costumes are integral to artistry as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qql51Zj9e_E
Neither of the programs ooze sex appeal, but rather enhance their natural body movements with grace and elegance.
I'd just like to thank everyone for the excellent discourse in this thread and in the feminism thread, which was moved to the politics area for some reason. I've really appreciated folks' comments and insights.
Great thread!!
Other great examples
Angela Nikodinov - Just for you sp 2001, This was femininity and beauty all rolled into one, the audience was spellbound watching this, the opening pose was a great reflection of the what was to come.
lu Chen - Piano Concerto No2 lp 1996 This took artistry to another level with fluidity, poise and softness on the ice.
Zuzanna Szwed - The Teacher lp 1997 Creative program with elegant touches and the music was so original, only Zuzanna could skate to and was a joy to watch.
Vanessa Gusmeroli - Legends of the Fall lp 2000 That was art to the next level, the program was so expressive, note all the spins were done in the closing section of the program, opposite directions too.
Michelle Kwan - Lyra lp 1998 Very connecting and engaging program that showed so much beauty, goes down as one of the best program's of overwhelming artistry.
Maria Butyrskaya - Tale of wandering lp 2002 , Maria has to be mentioned with this program as it showed a womans performance of maturity and beauty, Maria was in her prime years and showed so much sex appeal.
Kiira Korpi - Over the rainbow sp 2011 No one has so much photographers around her for her stunning looks than Kiira. A movie star on the ice, her over the rainbow program shows us her beauty and artistry to the max.
Yu Na Kim - 007 sp 2010 We have to mention Yu Na last as she has taken female skating to a higher level, we had Witt, then Kwan, now Yuna leads the way for female skating, her 007 Sp shows her power, speed, grace and beauty rolled into one, her technical prowess and stunning artistry was breathtaking.
Great examples of traditional female artistry, but they probably belong in a different thread. This thread is about programs where beauty and sex appeal are NOT the point.
I do love that program of Lu Chen's, but here's one that fits the thread better, with other things going on in the choreography.
Some more examples:
Laetitia Hubert
Gusmeroli
Rochette
Tara Lipinski had a different artistic style. Her Olympic year programs embraced her youth and athleticism, her joie de vie. Although I was not a huge fan, she definitely brought a different style to the ice (and 3+3s) which is what enabled her to beat the beautiful Lyra program. If she had chosen a program in a similar style to what Kwan was putting out, she would have been buried.
I agree on all counts, mskater93. I preferred Michelle, but I'm glad Tara skated to her own strengths. Even her costumes were in her own direction, much less mature, often with sleeves and high necks.
I also like the fact that Irina stayed true to her personality. Though her skating smoothed out with maturity, I don't think that was because she was trying to be more princess-like. I think she was just trying to refine her moves and the transition from one to the next, as any maturing skater would. She retained that tomboyish verve.
Along these lines, though not a singles skater, I always was impressed that Albena Denkova didn't put on a lot of glamor as an ice dancer. She and Staviski often had similar shaggy, modern hairstyles, with hers just a bit longer, and she didn't have a lot of sparkly makeup. This made her stand out from the other ice dancers, who tend to have an unusually high "princess quotient" among skaters. Could this be because ice dancers as a group are often older than ladies' singles and pairs skaters, because they don't have to be so small? (They do neither triple jumps nor high lifts and throws.) Thus their faces are more mature and their bone structure more defined. I'm making a broad generalization here, so surely there are exceptions--many! Like Kiira Korpi.
Last edited by Olympia; 01-10-2012 at 10:12 AM.
ooo, yes, totally agree with Irina on this. Actually, I think once she embraced her style (that tomboyish verve as you so rightly called it), she was able to add a level of elegance and completion to her transitions.
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