Best and Worst Programs of 2011-2012

For me Ashley's LP was my favorite in a long time, probably since YuNa's Olympics.

Worst was Mirai's LP. The choreography sucked the spark out of her, and Michelle and Yuka's success with the music makes me think she could have done some magical with the right choreography. Or maybe it's a piece better suited for a SP. Either way that program was a fail.

Best LP/FD— The duo of "Die Fledermaus." One classic waltz, two amazing programs. Go Akiko and Meryl and Charlie!
Honorable mention: Daisuke's LP (I don't think anyone else could do Blues for Kook as well as he did) and Carolina's Mozart piece.

Worst LP — Ksenia's Marilyn program. Just tacky and using the introduction to 20th Century Fox as skating music? Ick!
Honorable dismention: Mirai's lifeless Spartacus (especially in wake of hearing the song recently and realizing it's a pretty amazing piece) Alissa's too slow rendition to Valse Triste. (Which became unbearably slow at Worlds).

Best SP/SD — Carolina's staccato steps to Shostakovich! Whee.
Honorable mention — Capellini and Lanotte's SD. Latin sizzle! Also, Daisuke's "In the Garden of Souls."

Worst SP — Alena's rendition of Pirates in the Caribbean. Posing does not make great choreography.
Honorable dismention — B/S's SD. The witch outfit on Bobrova did the dance no favors.

I'd say Jeremy Abbott's LP was the best program of the season, short or long, all disciplines. Its beauty is in the Kwan-range, IMO. Hope he keeps it for next year.

Worst programs:

P/B's The Mummy. Clichéd choreography, unimaginative theme, awful music cuts and outright racist to boot. The worst program of the season by far.

D/W's Someone Like You exhibition number. Once again, Davis/White manage to have two immensely energetic and crowd-pleasing competitive programs, only to go the opposite direction with the dreariness when they should be entertaining. Adele's dour and creepy little song is a chore to sit through, and D/W's choreography to it has no coherent narrative, nor do they have the chemistry or gestalt performance ability to portray the emotions (which is a blessing, really, considering how wretched the song is). They'd have been better off doing an encore of their FD at every gala.

Denney/Coughlin's East of Eden SP. Awful music cuts. It's like the record skipped multiple times! Thematically and stylistically totally wrong and impossible for the new team to pull off.

Dishonorable mentions:

Gracie Gold's two competitive programs. Awful music, listless choreography. I refrain from putting them in the worst list because she is a junior.

Julia Lipnitskaia's Je t'aime, an incredibly, melodramatically and forcefully mature song that is completely beyond young Julia to skate to. Not that I really want to see anybody skate to it, but it's especially wrong for Julia.

Best programs:

Davis/White's Die Fledermaus free dance. One of the greatest, happiest marriages of technical intricacy and musicality ever in the sport. I'm still not over how their best performance of it at Nice lost to V/M's cautious and fumbled go at charades on ice. If I was there, I'd have pulled a Kanyé and stormed the judges' table.

Savchenko/Szolkowy's Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake exhibition number. It was modern dance on ice, with first class pair skating thrown in. Storytelling that was so effective you don't even notice it's a narrative, and just feel the emotions instead.

Daisuke's SP, FS and Exhibition numbers. Each piece is astounding, interesting, unique and performed to the hilt every time Daisuke did them. The minimalism in his exhibition number is a nice counterpoint to his more ornamental competitive programs. Three glorious works of art.

Patrick Chan's Mannish Boy exhibition number. Dirty, gritty blues music to go with some very unusual choreography. Lots of shoulder moves that you don't see often from skaters. Patrick digs into the groove and stays there. It's the best program from him ever.

Takahiko Kozuka's Cello Song exhibition number. Effortlessly intricate blade work that wove with the music. Prompted me to download Nick Drake's discography.

Mao Asada's I Vow to Thee My Country exhibition number. Who'd thunk a British patriotic song sung by a boys choir would make for the perfect program for Mao Asada? From the stunning developpé spiral to kick things off, you know you're in for something special. The entire piece unfolds like a spiritual experience.

Honorable mentions:

Karen Chen's Butterly Fan Dance exhibition number. I have never seen a skater skate a program that complete and intricate while fully making use of props that large. I mean, those two fans are nearly as big as her! And she's twelve! She effortlessly goes through a triple lutz, triple flip (lipped, alas, the only triple jump she hasn't mastered yet), a double axel, her combination spin and footwork all while manipulating the fans. Did I mention she's just twelve? By the way, she already has a ratified 2axel/3toe combination jump.

Nathan Chen's Stereo Hearts exhibition number. I wish there was a good Youtube vid of it, since most people wouldn't have seen this. But you may just have to imagine: Another skater who is also just twelve, who does one of the most effective hip hop programs I have ever seen on ice. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Nathan brings that ever elusive swag to the number while executing the perfect choreography to the song.

Javier Fernandez's The Lazy Song exhibition number. Now I don't love the entire number, which is why it's only in the honorable section (why bring out a chair if you're not going to use it?). That said, the laid back, humorous pop-dancing style of the piece suits him better than any competitive program I've seen. And then there's one moment in the piece that is possibly the most impressive thing I've ever seen in a gala performance: Javier flops on the ice, fully prone, in a body slide, then gets right back up into a triple axel!

Ashley Wagner's On the Floor exhibition number. I can't tell you what a lifesaver this number has been. There were so many skating galas that got bogged down by bleak and serious numbers (usually sung by that funereal siren Adele), then Ashley pops in and makes things fun again with an energetic program. Sure, it's not particularly deep or intricate, but it is entertaining. And the club dancing she does in it is a damn sight better than what the actual JLo pulls off in the video to the song.

Conclusion:

If you notice there's a serious bias/preference towards gala numbers, it's not a coincidence. It is incredibly hard to put together something that's musically, artistically and choreographically coherent under the COP. Which is not to say that I don't enjoy many performances under the COP. But since this is a pick for best/worst programs, I'm looking at the choreography more than anything else. The only skater, I find, who consistently allows choreographers to create complete artistic statements under the COP is Daisuke Takahashi.

Best Programs

Carolina's programs
Yuzuru's LP
Volosozhar/Trankov's LP
Wagner's LP

Worst Programs

Bobrova/Soloviev Programs
Makarova's LP - wins the Award of the decade

Best:

Kiira's LP "just beautiful"
Carolina's SP & LP
V Helgesson's SP & LP
Alissa's SP
Ashley's SP & LP
Ksenia's SP
Mao's SP
Kanako's SP
M Berenice Meite SP
Pechalat/Bourzat FD
Zlobina/Sitnikov FD
Ilynyk/Katasalpov FD
Cappelini/Lanotte SD
Coomes/Buckland SD
Savchenko/Szolkowy LP "Pina" it grew on me
Volosozhar/Trankov LP
Kavaguti/Smirnov LP 'Pure class, best Lp of pairs"
Takahashi/Tran SP :Imagine" Beautiful
Javi's SP & LP
Peter Liebers LP
C Caluza LP
Misha Ge LP
Kozuka's LP
Abbott's SP & LP
S Contesti LP
A Gachinski LP
Y Hanyu SP

D Takahashi's SP and LP "BRILLIANT" "THE BEST"

Worst:

Well I would not say there were any disasters, I think in most aspects it is the music edit and choroegraphy that mars the music, a lot have said about Makarova's LP. I think the concept was correct and that a 'Marilyn" number is great for her BUT "the music choices were not that great"

The Awards:

Best Pairs SP Takahashi/Tran "Imagine"
Best Pairs LP Kavaguti/Smirnov "Clare De Lune" (Yes, i know this was there LP of 2011 too)

Best Short Dance Cappelini/Lanotte "Volveras"
Best Free Dance Pechalat/Bourzat "Mummy & Pharaoh"

Best Mens SP Dai's "Vas"
Best Men's LP Dai again "Blues for Klook"

Best Ladies SP K Markarova "Maria & Violins string"
Best Ladies LP V Helgesson "Sunset Boulevard"

Overall best program award: Dai's "Blues for klook"

Worst Awards: - well I am not that mean, it is not the skaters fault, down to the choroegraphers sorry!!

Best

Plushenko SP and LP
Takahashi SP and LP
Gachinski LP
Amodio LP
Joubert SP
Denis Ten SP and LP

I feel like making a list too

Best:

D/W FD
Ashley SP and especially LP
Alissa SP
Jeremy SP and LP
Plushenko LP (as skated at Euros)
Carolina SP and LP
Akiko LP

Honourable Mention:
Kim Lucine LP - I know there's people that hate it, but I really thought he was funny. I took a lot of pictures of him in Nice and his expressions are priceless in every single one of them! I love watching skaters have fun while they're competing.
V/T gala to 'Evanescence': I thought they were crazy picking that song, but they pulled it off!

Worst:

Gracie SP
Ksenia LP
Alissa LP (surprised not to see it pop up more often in these lists!)
Alena SP (though I see why people think it's fun)
Mirai LP (especially because of the way she performed it)

BEST PROGRAMS

Men's Short:
Takahashi - Into The Garden of Souls
Abbott - Swing Kids
Brian Joubert - Daft Punk

Men's Long:
Takahashi - Blues For Klook
Abbott - Exogenesis
Plushenko - Tango de Roxanne

Ladies Short:
Viktoria Helgesson - My Funny Valentine
Ksenia Makarova (can't remember the title)
Gracie Gold - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Ladies Long:
Akiko Suzuki - Die Fleidermaus
Ashley Wagner - Black Swan
Elene Gedevanishvili - POTO
Jenna McCorkell - Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

Pairs Short:
Duhamel/Radford - Aranjuez
Denney/Coughlin - East of Eden *ducks*
Marley/Brubaker - Singin' In The Rain
Kavaguti/Smirnov - You're Not Alone
Stolbova/Klimov - Bolero

Pairs Long:
Savchenko/Szolkowy - Pina
Hausch/Wende
Duhamel/Radford - Coldplay
Moore-Towers/Moscovitch - Henry V
Marley/Brubaker - Rachmaninoff
Kavaguti/Smirnov - Claire de Lune
Stolbova/Klimov - Polovetsian Dances

Short Dances:
Davis/White
Virtue/Moir
Hubbell/Donahue
Pechalat/Bourzat
Ilinykh/Katsalapov

Free Dances:
Pechalat/Bourzat - Mummy
Weaver/Poje - Je Suis Malade
Zhiganshina/Gaszi - Romeo & Juliet
Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schimitt - Walk The Line
Hubbell/Donahue - I Put A Spell On You
Coomes/Buckland - Viva Elvis Medley
Tobias/Stagniunas

WORST PROGRAMS

There aren't that many of these for me, but there were some I got sick of throughout the season.

Virtue/Moir's FD - Funny Face
Denney/Coughlin's LP - Nessun Dorma (the guitar was annoying)
Both of Berton/Hotarek's programs

Can't think of any more bad ones.. I actually didn't mind Makarova's LP.

Akiko Suzuki's SP and LP
Daisuke Takahashi's SP and LP (masterpieces!)
Ashley Wagner's LP
Carolina Kostner's SP and LP
Yevgeny Plushenko Europeans LP
Patrick Chan Canadian Nationals LP
Yuzuru Hanyu's SP and LP
Caroline Zhang's LP
Jeremy Abbott's SP and LP
Davis and White's SP and LP
Virtue and Moir's SP and LP
Pina by S&S
The Black Swan by V&T
Michal Brezina's SP

For me, the best program of the season was :

Ksenia Makarova SP "Maria & Violins string" (masterpiece)

coolboogie22 said:

For me, the best program of the season was :

Ksenia Makarova SP "Maria & Violins string" (masterpiece)

Click to expand...

that was such a BEAUTIFUL program! a huge contrast from marilyn monroe.

coolboogie22 said:

For me, the best program of the season was :

Ksenia Makarova SP "Maria & Violins string" (masterpiece)

Click to expand...

Agreed!

I think the other program (Diamonds) could've been pretty good, if they had 1. cut out the 20th Century Fox fanfare 2. Ksenia being far far sassier than she was.

I had a bit of spare time, so I tallied up all the responses in this thread.

According to the members of Goldenskate, the best overall program of the year across all disciplines is.....(drumroll): Daisuke Takahashi, Blues for Klook LP. (16 votes)

The best men's program not by someone named Daisuke Takahashi: Jeremy Abbott, Exogenesis: Symphony No. 3 LP (14 votes)

The best ladies program: Ashley Wagner, Black Swan LP (14 votes)

The best ice dance program: Meryl Davis/Charlie White, Die Fledermaus FD (12 votes)

The best pairs program: Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy, Pina LP (8 votes)

The best exhibition program overall: Mao Asada, Jupiter (4 votes)

The worst program overall: Ksenia Makarova, Marilyn Monroe LP (11 votes)



I am very glad to see that we here at Goldenskate have exquisite discernment in our choice of programs


*note: since this is a best program poll, I did not count the programs explicitly mentioned as 'honourable mentions'

Thanks for your work, Evangeline!

We do have pretty good taste, don't we? And we seem to have had a pretty good season after all, with some wonderful music choices and executions thereof. Serious Business, I especially love your descriptions, which will help me watch as I go back and review the programs. Your phrase for Adele, "that funereal siren," is a classic!

Evangeline, do you have the total number of short programs vs long programs voted for?

Hasn't the question been asked in the Voting Booth? So I went and checked it out: The programs that currently receive the most votes for the favorite men's programs of 2011-2012 are: Takahashi SP In the Garden of Souls, tied with Yuzuru Hanyu LP Kissing You.

ImaginaryPogue said:

Evangeline, do you have the total number of short programs vs long programs voted for?

Click to expand...

The majority of the programs nominated/voted for tended to be long programs, but I do have the totals for short programs as well.

The best overall short program across all disciplines was a tie between: Daisuke Takahashi, In the Garden of Souls SP and Carolina Kostner, Shostakovich SP (12 votes each)

The best pairs short program was a tie between: Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran, Imagine SP and Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker, Singing in the Rain SP (2 votes each)

The best ice dance short dance was: Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir, Hip hip chin chin/Temptation/Mujer Latina SD (3 votes)

The worst overall short program was a three-way tie between: Gracie Gold, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy SP, Florent Amodio, Tears of the Sun SP, and Alena Leonova, Pirates of the Caribbean SP (3 votes each)

Best:
Takahashi LP
Tomas Verner LP
Amodio LP (I'm the only one but I like it.)
DW FD
VM SD
WP FD
Tuktamesheva LP
PT SP

Worst

PB FD
Leonova SP (If I have to vote, this is my overall worst program. I want to laugh every time I see it. )
Sotnikova FS
Voronov FS
Asada SP
Gold SP
Overall most ladies' programs this year were eyesores.

Best--
Daisuke Takahashi SP and FS (Both were amazing, but I may like 'Blues for Klook' a little better)
Jeremy Abbott SP (Apparently a lot of people loved his FS, which was okay, not my favorite. I loved his SP)
Yuzuru Hanyu's Romeo and Juliet FS (When he skated it well like at Worlds, it gave me chills!)
Brian Joubert's SP
Tatiana and Maxim's FS
Mao Asada's Liebestraum FS
Ashley Wagner's Black Swan FS
Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje's FD
Meryl Davis and Charlie White's FD

Worst--
Artur Gachinski's 'Interview with the Vampire' FS...I don't know, it just didn't work for me. He doesn't make a very good vampire, I guess.
And I have to agree with Ksenia's FS, which is a shame because I like the whole Marilyn Monroe idea and I think it could have been really good! Parts of it were really cute, but she needed to skate it with more attitude. The other thing was just the edit of the music (I think we all could have done without the theme to 20th Century Fox).
Can't think of anything else that was really bad...


I actually liked both of Alena Leonova's programs, but they weren't good enough to put under 'best' for me. The Pirates thing was cool and clever, and I liked the music of the FS, the choreography just wasn't great. Also, not exactly a 'best program', but Tomas Verner skating to 'Sexy and I Know It' was pretty great LOL.