What is "Russian" style?

I am American but I have been captivated by Russian-style artistic movement since Olga Korbut and Ludmilla Tourischeva in the 1972 Olympics when I was a child and then by Nureyev and Barishnikov and Godinov and  then by Russian skaters (notably G&G/B&S and Yagudin and Plushenko). I could not root for American herky-jerky style gymnastics (dynamo power and then cutesy pose) even when I was supposed to root for my country-women in the 1996 and 2012 Olympics when U.S. women gymnastics had strong teams. I am an artist and painter who pays a lot of attention to anatomy and I have traveled to Russian and have a Russian child. In my observations (admittedly amateur when it comes to figure skating), it is not just training and tradition in the arts and hardship (per Mishin) and plucking talented 3-year-olds under a governmental system demanding excellence for reasons of nationalistic pride; it is physicality and carriage and skeletal structure and posture, where the head on a long neck sits in alignment to the spine. At the risk of writing the poetry out of something by being too literal, could someone describe what "Russian style" is to me? I was reminded of it listening to Dick Button commentary (who was no Yagudin fan) saying about his Overcome Exhibition he was "so Russian, so dark." I think a particularly "Russian" move of Yagudin is during the hunched shoulders "unmasking" part in Man in Iron Mask routine as very "Russian." Is my sense correct?

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the Russian style is very showy, very exaggerated. One of the other common comments during the 6.0 era was "the classic Russian setup, with everything right in front of the judges". And I think it also suggests darkness, melancholia, things that are quite serious and sombre. When not dark, perhaps quirky or strange according to American humour.

When I look at nationality styles, I tend to refer to the technical elements. For example, almost all of the Russian men have very straight, very good jump quality. A lot of the Americans have tilted, angular jumps with the head tucked onto the shoulder. Of course, there are always exceptions.

To me it means the pure classical style.
Beautiful body position and lines, elegance, beauty, poetry, drama, romanticism, melancholia, darkness as karne mentioned above. All these elements put together. If we speak from an artistic POV.

If for men, then I think it's showy, powerful, dramatic and manly: http://youtu.be/9gMimBlGdPA

Meoima said:

If for men, then I think it's showy, powerful, dramatic and manly: http://youtu.be/9gMimBlGdPA

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Yep. I agree with that. Although if you think of Urmanov and Petrenko they were very classical. Kulik also I think of him as more classic and gentle.

Alba said:

Yep. I agree with that. Although if you think of Urmanov and Petrenko they were very classical. Kulik also I think of him as more classic and gentle.

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Kulik was very showy with his costumes, though. Urmanov's costumes were kinda dramatic to look at, too.

Meoima said:

Kulik was very showy with his costumes, though. Urmanov's costumes were kinda dramatic to look at, too.

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That's just because they had a bad taste, as most of the russian skaters.

Whats American style? Hiring a Russian coach

YLFan said:

Whats American style? Hiring a Russian coach

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YLFan said:

Whats American style? Hiring a Russian coach

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Well, Dance only.

Fluidity. I think that integrates effortlessness, musicality, extension, and precision.

There are little nuances that people overlook in "classically Russian" programs that must take an eternity to master like the way Yagudin's arms smoothly open to the audience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3epqHXQUeHY#t=228) or the way Lipnitskaia's hands roll down in her Ina Bauer here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH9pt4xWAbE#t=252).

Skaters can be "classically Russian" even if they are not Russian nor can all Russian skaters perform like this. Arakawa and Cohen have an ease in the way they move with the music that's just so fluid to watch. This season, I think Asada's SP was the most "Russian" out of all the programs. The way she performed her program was like she was tracing a figure on the ice. It just made sense with her music. Not a coincidence that all three of these were coached by a Russian at some point in their careers. I feel John Curry also had this Russian sense of style. When it all boils down to it though, I think ballet is the answer to this.

By the way, I love that you mentioned Tourischeva. I love her gymnastics.

Come to think of it, can anyone define the style that are not Russian? :think: Canadian style, American style... something like that?

Meoima said:

Come to think of it, can anyone define the style that are not Russian? :think: Canadian style, American style... something like that?

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Well, for the Canadian men at least, it's a type of program that will always get silver at the Olympics.

:yay:

That's very interesting karne because throughout the 2014 season, the Eurosport commentators frequently commented on Wagner and Gold's American style- one that is showy and full of pizzazz. I find the 'Russian style' to be very polarized. It's either very sombre or very flashy but never in between. I guess its the whole conceptual feel of it all. Between Slutskaya, Butyrskaya, Plushenko, Yagudin, Lipnitskaia and Radionova I guess it's pretty obvious.

gravy said:

Well, for the Canadian men at least, it's a type of program that will always get silver at the Olympics.
:yay:

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Yuna Kim has the Canadian Style from David Wilson and Brian Orser I suppose, she got the gold. Yuzuru also got the Canadian style from them, his PW short program is nothing like a Russian Style, he still got the gold. Maybe the Canadian Style only applies well for skaters that are not from Canada?

OH this thread title is tooo easy and tempting.... *MUST RESIST STATING THE OBVIOUS!*

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Everything has strength and weaknesses; the good, the bad and ugly. The bad Russian style of today unfortunately suggest exaggerated theatrics; bling bling costumes as if they are in the golden age of silent movie. Where everyone tries to do a Plushy without the necessary talent, charisma and skill for represent the legend! At least Plushy's bravado is hard earned through delivering results through years of blood sweat and tears, so it feels organic and natural, where as when you get someone like Artur G doing the same shtick over and over it just feels phony and artificial.

The bad Russian style of today typifies by too much MSG cooking (Morozov Seasoning Guideline). Over cooked, over seasoned manufactured stodge irrespective of modern pallet of today actually requires nutrition, delicate balance, refinement, quality and finesse more than exaggerated artificial flavours.

Given the Romans were supposed to have brought wine to Europe+rest of the worlds doesn't mean the Italians of today can claim they produces the best wine in the world and OWNS classic good taste. Had they been, they'd be a world wide laughing stock.... so how is it any different with the Russians? The last time I checked it is the Italians who created ballet not the Russians. So all this pride in good classic ballet style = good skating = Russian style is one big fallacy, false pride/marketing at best. Old world thinking, old world pride crumbling. Luckily we still have great artisans like Zueva who is Russian, the anti Morozov of today that demonstrate breaking boundaries with classic works like V/M's Carmen is still possible to showcase great arts in the making. Although to be fair, skating program is more of a collaboration effort than attribute to any particular individual.

Arts in true sense are not stationary, it has no national boarders, no passport, nor DNA. While one can train to be an artist, the moment you stuck on paths of repeated imitation, true arts dies, replaced by manufacture cheap counterfeits. It became an exercise of packaging, superficial rendering with little actual substance and genuine creativity. To paraphrase movie terms, the cliched Russian Style of today feels like watching a Baz Lurmann film. Mostly superficial, no substance. After you've seen 1, you've seen them all. Its success then rest entirely on if they can get the pantomime audience for it to be rated a success by the sheer woooohooos and ahhhs to confuse the judges.

os168 said:

Given the Romans was supposed to have brought the wine to Europe+rest of the worlds doesn't mean the Italians of today can claim they produces the best wine in the world and OWNS classic good taste.

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Oh but we do great wine.

Alba said:

Oh but we do great wine.

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I agree, I visit Tuscany region often especially the vineyards at Montepulciano for the Brunello Excellent classic wine.

os168 said:

I agree, I visit Tuscany region often especially the vineyards at Montepulciano for the Brunello Excellent classic wine.

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The Russian style, from what I observed, is an emphasis on lines, carriage, and a somewhat classical mode of performance... but with a dose of bombast. Alba and Karne already described it better than me.

Petrenko (who was Ukrainian), Urmanov, and Kulik are all classically Russian, though there were differences in their individual styles. Yagudin, despite not having the ideal figure for the style, nonetheless pulled it off with the quality of his movements and the drama of his programs. Plushenko bounces between classical and avant-garde, but he generally emphasizes the carriage and bombast of the Russian style.

The above seems to apply more to men though. I don't see Irina or Adelina's style as very "Russian" in that sense. Yulia's is, to some extent, in terms of dramatic storytelling and balletic moves.