2013-2014 Programs by Discipline

ISU updated some skaters' bios:

Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin(CHN)
SP:Meditation(from Thais) by Julies Massenet
FShantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Mackenzie Bent/Garrett MacKeen(CAN)
SD:Let's Start Tomorrow Night(Quickstep) by Marc Shaiman/Movin' the Line by Marc Shaiman(Foxtrot)/Let's Be Bad by Marc Shaiman(Quickstep)
FD:Yesterday Once More by Carpenters/Fun Fun Fun by Carpenters/End of the World by Carpenters/Hard Jive by Sha Na Na

Madeline Edwards/Zhao Kai Pang(CAN)
FS:Les Miserables

Shoma Uno(JPN)
SP:The Blessed Spirits
FS:Steps by Secret Garden

Ryuju Hino(JPN)
SP:TaTaKu(best of Kodo) by Tetsuro Naitmo, Mutofumi Yamaguchi
FS:Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev

Boyang Jin(CHN)
SP:La Bayadere by Leon Minkus
FS:Charlie Chaplin Medley

Rika Hongo(JPN)
SPon Quixote by Leon Minkus
FS:Miss Saigon by Claude Michel Shoneberg

Alaine Chartrand(CAN)
SP:Torn-Resolve Compilation by Nathan Lanier
FSocter Zhivago(soundtrack) by Maurice Jarre

Nam Nguyen(CAN)
SP:Selection of Music by Paddy Milner
FS:Air on the G String by J. S. Bach/Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor by J.S. Bach

Updates on Korean skaters:

Hae-Jin Kim
SP:Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Itzhak Perlman
FS:Selections from the 'Black Swan' soundtrack/Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky

Hwi Choi
SP:The Road
FS:Giselle by Adam

Da-Bin Choi
SP:Little Snowball
FS:Coppelia by Leo Delibes

Na-Hyun Kim
SP:Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona
FS:'Sabrina' soundtrack

So-Youn Park
SP:'The Swan' from 'Carnival of Animals' by Saint-Saens

Jin-Seo Kim
SP:The Mask by Randy Edelman(choreo. by David Wilson)
FS:Legends of the Fall by James Horner(choreo. by David Wilson)

June-Hyeong Lee
SP:For You
FS:The Planets Op.32-VI.Uranus

Gang-Chan Gam
SP:Tango de Los Exilados by Vanessa Mae

Rebeka Kim/Kirill Minov
SD:Selections from the 'Burlesque' soundtrack
FD:Scheherazade

Sophie-Anna said:

Alexei Genya FS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w7u-uONFsg

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Oblivion and Requiem for a Dream. I heart this kid. It seems he listens to the music or at least tries to!!!

DobrinFan said:

Oblivion and Requiem for a Dream. I heart this kid. It seems he listens to the music or at least tries to!!!

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Thank you

Willemijn said:

Well, did Chan choose Vivaldi's Winter winking at Yagudin? I think he should get some lessons with Yagudin, to get the sparkle in his performance.

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I realize this is early in the season but Chan will have to modify his program to reflect the change of mood/tempo of the music.

LeCygne said:

I really liked Christina's LP. It's intense and dark at the beginning but becomes lyrical toward the middle and really opens up by the end. It's elegantly choreographed and is more emotionally complex than something like Gracie's Sleeping Beauty. I wonder how they came up with the idea for this music too.. it actually suits her well I think, better than the tango she had before, which always looked like she was trying too hard to play a character. It seems like she was concentrating on choreography rather than the jumps this time out, but nice 3T-3T at the beginning! And her 2a has really improved as well. If she can get the 3F-3T back in her programs, she'll be all set technically. I can see this program becoming something quite special by Nationals time.

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ITA. People who don't like the music need to remember that Christina's job this seaosn is to make the judges finally take notice of her. Pwetty pwincess ain't gonna cut it. The music is very different and varied and I think it fits her very well. It allows her to be both dramatic and lyrical at the same time. It's a nice contrast that will help her stand out next to the standard warhorses/generic crap we'll see this season.

It's the best US senior ladies FS I've seen so far. I think it has massive potential; tons more than the FSs we've seen from Gracie, Mirai and Courtney. It's unique and her whole style of movement is different. She's using her entire body and I think that will help her in the PCS category (or at least it should). She's much more expressive, her movements are bigger and project outward better than last season. I love the program and it will continue to get better as she grows more comfortable with it. Hopefully the jumps will come (it's obvious that wasn't her focus here) b/c this choreography with her level of performance and jumps to boot...she could make some magic this season.

not sure they've been already linked, but these are Kovtun's programs (sp and part of the fs)
sp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voyls_drm9Y
fs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5fJEw5nIr4

I found the sp pretty interesting

Maxim is super cute, I must say.

kwanatic said:

ITA. People who don't like the music need to remember that Christina's job this seaosn is to make the judges finally take notice of her. Pwetty pwincess ain't gonna cut it. The music is very different and varied and I think it fits her very well. It allows her to be both dramatic and lyrical at the same time. It's a nice contrast that will help her stand out next to the standard warhorses/generic crap we'll see this season.

It's the best US senior ladies FS I've seen so far. I think it has massive potential; tons more than the FSs we've seen from Gracie, Mirai and Courtney. It's unique and her whole style of movement is different. She's using her entire body and I think that will help her in the PCS category (or at least it should). She's much more expressive, her movements are bigger and project outward better than last season. I love the program and it will continue to get better as she grows more comfortable with it. Hopefully the jumps will come (it's obvious that wasn't her focus here) b/c this choreography with her level of performance and jumps to boot...she could make some magic this season.

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You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. I personally don't feel that this music provides the best vehicle for Christina to "wow" the US judges and stake her claim on an Olympic spot -- and we haven't yet seen programs from Ashley, Agnes, Gracie's SP, whatever Alissa ends up bringing, etc. It doesn't help that Christina received a VERY difficult GP at Skate Canada and a moderately challenging one at TEB. If she's going to make her mark starting in the fall, she needs to stand out from the get-go ... and, while I'll refrain from making too-early judgments based on what we saw at the Cranberry Open, Christina hasn't historically been a dramatic skater. I think the lyrical bits of her FS suit her just fine, but the variation in style feels frantic.

And, of course, I have to contend with the claim that Gracie and Courtney's respective FSs have less potential. Scoring-wise, they're definitely leading the field right now. Artistically, they have room to grow, but that's what makes them exciting. Gracie travels to Canton every month to refine with Zoueva, and being on the same ice as D/W and V/M can't hurt her presentation. As for Mirai, I think she'll show improvement throughout the season, because both of her programs really are lovely and highlight her natural musicality.

kwanatic said:

ITA. People who don't like the music need to remember that Christina's job this seaosn is to make the judges finally take notice of her. Pwetty pwincess ain't gonna cut it. The music is very different and varied and I think it fits her very well. It allows her to be both dramatic and lyrical at the same time. It's a nice contrast that will help her stand out next to the standard warhorses/generic crap we'll see this season.

It's the best US senior ladies FS I've seen so far. I think it has massive potential; tons more than the FSs we've seen from Gracie, Mirai and Courtney. It's unique and her whole style of movement is different.

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Definitely agree with all this. As I watched the program, my reaction was: The international judges are going to like this. A LOT. We know they appreciate Christina's style generally, more so than U.S. judges, and I think this program will just increase that. Yes, she needed something dramatic and intense this year to help her stand out. This program fits the bill. To me, it's looking quite polished already, and of course it will only get better as the season goes on.

ForeverFish said:

It doesn't help that Christina received a VERY difficult GP at Skate Canada and a moderately challenging one at TEB. If she's going to make her mark starting in the fall, she needs to stand out from the get-go ... and, while I'll refrain from making too-early judgments based on what we saw at the Cranberry Open, Christina hasn't historically been a dramatic skater. I think the lyrical bits of her FS suit her just fine, but the variation in style feels frantic.

And, of course, I have to contend with the claim that Gracie and Courtney's respective FSs have less potential. Scoring-wise, they're definitely leading the field right now. Artistically, they have room to grow, but that's what makes them exciting. Gracie travels to Canton every month to refine with Zoueva, and being on the same ice as D/W and V/M can't hurt her presentation. As for Mirai, I think she'll show improvement throughout the season, because both of her programs really are lovely and highlight her natural musicality.

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We'll agree to disagree, as is the way on a forum. I do agree that Christina has tough assignments this year but I doubt if she's laboring under the delusion that she'll end up winning any of these events. Her goal on the GP this season is to deliver strong performances and improve her scores from last season. That will help her heading into nationals. I think Christina's main goal (in addition to the standard "skate my best" goal) is to make the Sochi team. Delivering solidly through the GP should help her there.

I think Christina does quite well delivering dramatic/emotional music. Her SP last season was the first time I really saw her expressing the music with her body and it was wonderful. I think she's captured a lot of that with her FS this year. The reason I like the program is b/c of the contrast; sharper more forceful movements as well as softer more lyrical movements. I don't think she looks frantic. I think she illustrates the drama of the music well. Could it be cleaner? Sure and it probably will be with two more months of practice. The program needs a little refinement but I think her FS is much farther along in terms of polish than any of the other US senior ladies we've seen so far.

Of course I contend with the claim that Gracie and Courtney are the ones capable of putting up the scores. Flash and bang is rewarded more than subtlety in this system. Gracie and Courtney are weak when it comes to expressing the music, bringing drama, or illustrating a theme...but they can jump to the ceiling. In this system that's what really matters especially if the judges want you to succeed. They'll overlook the lack of artistry if they can point to big jumps and lots of speed b/c, for less established skaters, that's what gets them the scores to contend.

Christina has a long road ahead of her. I think she has a great vehicle to grab the attention of the judges but if she can't back it up with some more content, consistently, she will likely be passed up (yet again) for younger skaters with big jumps.

kwanatic said:

Of course I contend with the claim that Gracie and Courtney are the ones capable of putting up the scores. Flash and bang is rewarded more than subtlety in this system. Gracie and Courtney are weak when it comes to expressing the music, bringing drama, or illustrating a theme...but they can jump to the ceiling. In this system that's what really matters especially if the judges want you to succeed. They'll overlook the lack of artistry if they can point to big jumps and lots of speed b/c, for less established skaters, that's what gets them the scores to contend.

Christina has a long road ahead of her. I think she has a great vehicle to grab the attention of the judges but if she can't back it up with some more content, consistently, she will likely be passed up (yet again) for younger skaters with big jumps.

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Of course Christina has better programs than Gracie and Courtney. That doesn't say much.
I still think Christina's programs aren't good enough to make people notice. They feel generic.

I disagree about subtlety. Carolina's past programs from 2011 and 2012 were subtle and well received. The problem with subtlety is it has to be amazing. If it's just subtle, and average, then it's boring.

Btw, the Japanese girls all skate to soft and subtle music this year (Mao, Akiko, Satoko) I really like Mao's SP, it feels mature, and elegant. Akiko's program is intricate and pretty. Satoko's Poeta is just genius. Christina just doesn't have the chop to pull off something like any of these ladies when it comes to skating subtle music.

I think she's in trouble.

FlattFan said:

Of course Christina has better programs than Gracie and Courtney. That doesn't say much.
I still think Christina's programs aren't good enough to make people notice. They feel generic.

I disagree about subtlety. Carolina's past programs from 2011 and 2012 were subtle and well received. The problem with subtlety is it has to be amazing. If it's just subtle, and average, then it's boring.

Btw, the Japanese girls all skate to soft and subtle music this year (Mao, Akiko, Satoko) I really like Mao's SP, it feels mature, and elegant. Akiko's program is intricate and pretty. Satoko's Poeta is just genius. Christina just doesn't have the chop to pull off something like any of these ladies when it comes to skating subtle music.

I think she's in trouble.

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It's unfair to compare Christina to skaters like Carolina, Mao, Akiko, etc. These are skaters in a much higher echelon than her who have the reputation points, seniority and backing that she doesn't. And Satoko's program is lovely (no arguments here) but we have yet to see how she'll be received, though my thought is she is the heir apparent once Mao, Akiko and Kanako exit next year so the clout behind her (the projected #1 Japanese lady) is already 3 times more than poor Christina (5th four years running) will probably ever have.

I think this program is different and unique for Christina. I disagree with it being generic simply b/c I've never seen Christina skate to anything like this before. Generic overall? Possibly. Generic in relation to Christina? No.

I believe a good technical performance of this program will be well received by the judges. That's not to say hallelujah!, all her problems are solved and the judges will score her well! but hopefully she'll be able to leave some kind of impression instead of fading into the background like she did with her FS last season. She has tough assignments this year so her job is just to keep her head above water, skate as cleanly and with as much inspiration as she can, and carry all of that into nationals next year.

karne said:

I'm now convinced he doesn't have an original bone in his body.

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I am also convinced that you have so much originality that your whinges are hardly repetitive.

karne said:

There's a happy medium somewhere between doing what Lysacek did (watering down the tech content so much just to go clean) and then going ridiculous (by loading the program so heavy that it's impossible to skate clean). Chan hasn't found it yet. He leans too much to too much content. He just throws the kitchen sink at it and hopes something sticks.

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Sounds you know skating very well. I think you will make a great coach and judge some day.

Ugh. Enough with the Tangos.

SkateFan66 said:

If Lysacek 'watered down' his technical content 'so much' like you claim, then how did he beat Plushenko in the technical mark at the Olympics?

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Watered down the JUMP content maybe, but those programs were jam-packed otherwise in terms of the spins, step sequences, choreography, and transitions. In that sense, Lysacek's programs were similar to Chan's. And honestly I don't think Chan is taking on too much, choreographically or what not, I think it would be useful if he slowed down and little and maybe did not hit such deep edges throughout the entire program so that he's less at risk of falling/tripping at any given moment. That and maybe more focus (am I the only one who feels he sometimes looks a little spacey out there?) would probably help him stay on his feet.

spikydurian said:

I am also convinced that you have so much originality that your whinges are hardly repetitive.
Sounds you know skating very well. I think you will make a great coach and judge some day.

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Yawn, the Chanfans' insults are getting less creative too.

You water down on jumps to just to triples and then focus on the GOE you would get from successful triples. Also you backload the triples with the 3/5 layout so you water down by going without a quad and if you are up against someone with a stupid program with a quad triple for someone reason in a 5/3 layout not only do you beat them in tech you also come within a point of beating them on jumps. Lysacek almost won jumps because his program wasn't stupid in its structure. Plushenko with his stupid program allowed watered down to beat him because watered didn't mean less value. Watered down meant more value! Everyone understood this! This is why you had most of the men in Vancouver not doing quads. Especially not the short program. Because they weren't stupid about what got most points.

karne said:

Yawn, the Chanfans' insults are getting less creative too.

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Who's talking?

eyria said:

Definitely agree with all this. As I watched the program, my reaction was: The international judges are going to like this. A LOT. We know they appreciate Christina's style generally, more so than U.S. judges, and I think this program will just increase that. Yes, she needed something dramatic and intense this year to help her stand out. This program fits the bill. To me, it's looking quite polished already, and of course it will only get better as the season goes on.

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Agree that it's a sophisticated choice of music and also challenging to skate to. Perhaps too much so? I thought there were so many changes in keys and rhythms so it was hard to 'find' a strong melodic or rhythmic pattern. I sort of had the feeling that Christine was also fighting to find the 'groove' of the music. In fact, I was listening so hard to the music that it distracted me a bit from her skating. That being said - she certainly brings a glamorous, sophisticated, international-level style to the ice. And how stunning does she look in that exquisite dress? If i were her coaches, I'd have her take an acting class in order to heighten her on-ice presence.

karne said:

I'm now convinced he doesn't have an original bone in his body.

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It's a tribute to his old coach which I think is really touching, but the cynical will probably considered it an excuse. The music cut and choreography are all different anyways. I don't really have a problem with skaters going back to music they have already used as long as they do it well and it has developed in some way. Like Shizuka Arakawa with Turandot or Sasha Cohen with Romeo & Juliet. Four Seasons is busy music so if you can move across the ice like Patrick Chan, might as well utilize it fully. That is, I don't think watering it down to go clean is the way to go. I personally love it and think it has great potential once it's fully trained. It's pretty obvious Patrick isn't conditioned for it yet. I'm probably in the vast minority but I never really cared much for Yagudin's Winter. I'll have to take another look at Stephane Lambiel's version. I don't remember much about it, maybe because the zebra/tiger costume was distracting me. I do think Patrick's artistry is largely under appreciated. It probably comes across better live although I've never had the fortune of seeing him live. In any case, people's artistic sensitivities differ so there will always be differing opinions. Some people can appreciate subtle nuances while others need to be hit over the head to be moved.