In a world of very short men and tiny little women, it is refreshing to see someone like Polina. While many skaters exhibit sharp, angular, almost aggressive arm movements, hers are reminiscent of a "prima ballerina".
Polina Edmunds had the highest technical score at the Ladies Free Skate save for Anna Pogorilaya, yet her component scores lagged far behind the other elite skaters. How could this be? It isn't as though she did nothing other than those impressive jumps and spins. They were fully integrated into an almost perfectly executed program of stunning artistry. Why then weren't her component scores much higher?
I think sgsmozart has touched upon the essential reason, that Polina simply skates in way that is different from other skaters. For example, in conventional figure skating, the arms are employed for balance and thrust. There can be many variations to their movements, and some can and are used to reflect the music being skated to, but their essential function means that they will necessarily be sharp and angular. The cost is that they will provide a relatively limited vocabulary to translate music into movement.
Polina is a figure skater who uses her arms as other skaters do, or else she would not be able to execute those jumps and spins. She is a dancer as well, however, who also uses her arms and hands as a dancer would, giving expression to feelings and thought through gesture. Consider her Grieg program. A hand to the breast in remembrance, hands and arms drawn past the face in anguish and despair or thrown upwards in yearning, or the arms in movement as the wings of a bird: that is, as the heart is given flight. In this way she illuminated the music and transcended mere athleticism for something deeper and more meaningful.
It is something new and as yet the judges have not recognized or rewarded it appropriately. They understood the driven, often strident quality of the other performances, yet the romantic lyricism of Polina's program seemed to elude them. I've noticed the same perspective in comments to this forum, that she wasn't "fast" enough or that there was something about her that they just didn't get. I would hope, however, that judges and fans alike will come to understand that, if this is not what figure skating has been, it is what it should become. At the very least, it is something which should be appreciated for offering new artistic possibilities.
The challenge for Polina and the excellent people around her is to appeal to aspects of figure skating as it is without compromising this special gift she has for the dance, and for its revelation of the human heart.
Polina just made a surprise appearance on Portland's Star on Ice. It was so unexpected. She was not even announced in the beginning of the show and then all of a sudden she entered the ice and delivered two very clean and energetic performances. It was such a nice bonus!
I assume that one of the programs was 'Uptown Girl', what was the second?
Would just like to wish a Happy Birthday to Polina!! I think she has a bright future ahead of her; and can't wait to watch where she goes over the next quad!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FsTyQsoTCA&feature=youtu.be
Polina new LP , I love the program and her skating