Nina Jiang | Golden Skate

Nina Jiang

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
i think she's lovely. i love her maturity and her jumps are beautiful and smooth. i saw her skate at skate detroit last summer and she is so nice to watch. and she's only 14! but it looks to me she's already had a growth spurt, she looks 16 or 17. i can't wait to see more of her. she is like a yuna clone IMO.

her SP was also yuna-esque with the dress and the kind of sexiness in her program (yuna's bond) and i think her body is kind of like her's too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS6TwxtStY

i'm very impressed with her already, i can't wait to see more!
 

skateflower

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 5, 2011
I love her skating. She does have the 'star' quality. Unfortunately, her jumps are still quite inconsistent. It is very frustrating.
 

skateluvr

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
She's lovely, I was reminded of Jenny Kirk for some reason. She has nicer legs and feet line than Yuna but lacks the rangy, speedy, gangly look Yuna had at that age.Yuna was a stronger competitor by far than this girl. I hope Nina does well. She certainly can do no better than Yuna if she is trying to evoke her as a skater. Beautiful dress and very pleasant to watch.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
That was wonderful. The choreography into the double Axel was outstanding. I think the music (Man with the golden arm) called for big movements, and she nailed it.

Language question. Is Jiang the same name in Chinese as Zhang?
 

LeCygne

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
That was wonderful. The choreography into the double Axel was outstanding. I think the music (Man with the golden arm) called for big movements, and she nailed it.

Language question. Is Jiang the same name in Chinese as Zhang?

Nina has a very quiet, gentle way of skating, and I feel like she was able to keep that even with the jazz and sexiness that this program called for. She had a SP to Chicago a couple seasons ago that was similarly well done.

No, Jiang is not the same as Zhang. =)
 

shine

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I think she has phenomenal talent. I don't remember watching a 15 year old that is as polished and mature in their presentation as her AND with such impeccable jump technique... What's amazing is that she already had all those qualities even 2 years ago when we saw her on the JGP. I didn't like the comment about her being a Yuna clone because I think she has far better presentation at this stage of her career than Kim was - better line, better musicality, and more classically elegant. IMO if she's able to project just a bit more and develop some consistency, she'll become a contender very, very soon.
 
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skfan

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
i think she's lovely. i love her maturity and her jumps are beautiful and smooth. i saw her skate at skate detroit last summer and she is so nice to watch. and she's only 14! but it looks to me she's already had a growth spurt, she looks 16 or 17. i can't wait to see more of her. she is like a yuna clone IMO.

her SP was also yuna-esque with the dress and the kind of sexiness in her program (yuna's bond) and i think her body is kind of like her's too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS6TwxtStY

i'm very impressed with her already, i can't wait to see more!


can you comment a bit more on nina's skate detroit performance--was that... 2011 skate detroit? was her music the sheherazade one? did she skate short & long?

i like her long program better, even though the jumps weren't as successful, because her spiral in the long program was spectacular. i don't care that she didn't hike her leg up all the way--so few of the ladies have such grace in the arms, shoulders during the spiral. very nice to see her toepoint as well. and the spread eagle double axel double toe (?) sequence had beautiful arm and hand movements.

it helps that she's the best dressed american next to czisny, too. i'm going to pretend czisny is still wearing the tasteful dark blue valse triste dress from earlier in the season--one bad costume doesn't cancel out many seasons of excellent taste.

nina's short is a bit difficult to characterize--because there is grace in her movement, a bit of jazziness, yet it certainly doesn't feel authentic, organic, natural, whatever you want to call it. i appreciate her pushing her boundaries and i'm frankly grateful she didn't attempt to ooze sex on ice--that would have been a huge turn off and a huge failure, considering how tense she appeared to be. and in general, even if she _could_ carry it off, i prefer blank expression to O faces everytime.

i also think being able to land short program jumps while so very tense could bode well for the future. other skaters skate badly when nervous--for nina it's at least 1 out of 2 (in programs i've seen).
 
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macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
can you comment a bit more on nina's skate detroit performance--was that... 2011 skate detroit? was her music the sheherazade one? did she skate short & long?

i like her long program better, even though the jumps weren't as successful, because her spiral in the long program was spectacular. i don't care that she didn't hike her leg up all the way--so few of the ladies have such grace in the arms, shoulders during the spiral. very nice to see her toepoint as well. and the spread eagle double axel double toe (?) sequence had beautiful arm and hand movements.

it helps that she's the best dressed american next to czisny, too. i'm going to pretend czisny is still wearing the tasteful dark blue valse triste dress from earlier in the season--one bad costume doesn't cancel out many seasons of excellent taste.

nina's short is a bit difficult to characterize--because there is grace in her movement, a bit of jazziness, yet it certainly doesn't feel authentic, organic, natural, whatever you want to call it. i appreciate her pushing her boundaries and i'm frankly grateful she didn't attempt to ooze sex on ice--that would have been a huge turn off and a huge failure, considering how tense she appeared to be. and in general, even if she _could_ carry it off, i prefer blank expression to O faces everytime.

i also think being able to land short program jumps while so very tense could bode well for the future. other skaters skate badly when nervous--for nina it's at least 1 out of 2 (in programs i've seen).

it was skate detroit 2011, but i was only there for final rounds which i believe was a saturday (mainly went to watch hannah miller, i skate with her) so i only saw her long, which was the turandot program she skated at nationals (LOVE that music). i don't remember a whole lot, she didn't skate clean but did skate well. i want to say she won but i'm not 100% sure.

just to clarify--when i meant a yuna clone, i meant in looks, not skating style. maybe not in the face but her body type a bit i guess. i don't know it's a little hard to describe. she has a very nice mature quality to her skating and i see her making it big in a couple years if she doesn't grow a whole lot (like i said she's pretty tall for her age). IMHO she was VERY underscored in the short at nationals. i would have put her in the top 5 or 6 myself.
 

LeCygne

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Her presentation, artistry, and skating skills are quite good for a 14-year-old. She just needs to become more comfortable on the ice and not look as tense or cautious, which will come with time.

The main thing holding her back right now is her technical content. Her lutz is new this season and not at all consistent yet. Her flip and loop are slightly better but still less than two seasons old for her. She does a 3T-2T in the short, which is quite easy compared to the other ladies. She has done a 3T-3T in the past though, and is reportedly working on 2A-3T. If she could get either of those combinations consistent in addition to her lutz and flip, she would be a real contender. I know her goal is Sochi, but there is no shortage of U.S. ladies currently ahead of her in line.
 

skfan

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
it was skate detroit 2011, but i was only there for final rounds which i believe was a saturday (mainly went to watch hannah miller, i skate with her) so i only saw her long, which was the turandot program she skated at nationals (LOVE that music). i don't remember a whole lot, she didn't skate clean but did skate well. i want to say she won but i'm not 100% sure.

just to clarify--when i meant a yuna clone, i meant in looks, not skating style. maybe not in the face but her body type a bit i guess. i don't know it's a little hard to describe. she has a very nice mature quality to her skating and i see her making it big in a couple years if she doesn't grow a whole lot (like i said she's pretty tall for her age). IMHO she was VERY underscored in the short at nationals. i would have put her in the top 5 or 6 myself.


thank you macy for sharing your 2011 skate detroit impressions :)
 

Macassar88

Medalist
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
How old is she? She looks really refined. Even if she can't make Sochi, I could see her doing well in 2018.
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Nina Jiang is only 14. Lots of talented Juniors coming up to challenge the vets for those spots for Sochi. We need that third spot. Besides Gracie you have Courtney Hicks who will be back next season Lean Keiser Nina Jiang Angela Wang and others. Who knows how good these girls will be in two years. They may fade away as growth spurts play havoc on them or one more may blossom into a great skater.
 

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Nina Jiang is only 14. Lots of talented Juniors coming up to challenge the vets for those spots for Sochi. We need that third spot. Besides Gracie you have Courtney Hicks who will be back next season Lean Keiser Nina Jiang Angela Wang and others. Who knows how good these girls will be in two years. They may fade away as growth spurts play havoc on them or one more may blossom into a great skater.

she is already tall for a 14 year old, she looks 2-3 years older so maybe she won't have another growth spurt, and if she does it may be small.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Ah, Nina. I rewatched her SP just now it was quite lovely. Live, she was smaller, slower, not as sharp and polished as the other girls. I even noted her flip combo was a bit tight. She didn't stand out for me in the SP. (I only liked Agnes' program, Caroline's program, and Vanessa's steps)
For a 14yo, very good.
 

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Nina is awesome! :love:

I thought her presentation was a little sharper and more polished for the SP at Sectionals. I was definitely reminded of Yu-na, too, when I first saw her SP. I think it's the sexy music/costume/figure, but also the precision in her movements, which most ladies lack. It's very characteristic of Yu-na. On the other hand, Nina has bette line and stretch than Yu-na; Nina strikes a beautiful classical dancer figure while Yu-na is more like a jazzy musical/cabaret kind of performer.

But my dad (who's Chinese), who rarely watches skating but was kind enough to sit down with me for National's, exclaimed as soon as he saw Nina that she must be Korean, because her facial features are extremely Korean -- I had a hard time convincing him that her parents are Chinese. ;) So I guess there must be some facial resemblance between Nina and Yu-na as well: maybe the strong eyebrows, the flat face, and their eyes.

In any case, I think higher (and deserving) PCS will come Nina's way as soon as she lands her jumps more consistently and gets better competitive results -- much like the way it did for Jason Brown this year (I thought he was underscored in PCS last year).
 
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Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Nina has a very young face but skates like an adult and elegantly. It's good she made her splash this way so there is no need to reinvent herself later. She looked like a shy person who lights up in performing.

She does resemble Yuna a lot, in body and in movement, even little things like shaking a leg. Among the Ladies at Nationals, those who struck me instantly with a star quality, - maybe what some may call natural talents - were Nina, Christina, and Mirai.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
I also really liked the determined look on her face before she went out to skate. She could psych out her competition with that stony look. : )
 
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