The reason why Mirai shows artistry when she performs exhibitions is that the exhibitions have a limited number of jumps and spins and they are not judged. Mirai can concentrate on performing, since she does not have to focus on rotating the jumps and completing the correct number of turns and positions in the spins.
When she competes, she is so completely focused on the technical aspects of her performance that her connection with the music is totally lost and she looks like a skating robot. It seems that over the past quadrennial, since her body has changed, she has been unable to combine the technical and the artistry the way most elite skaters do. It may be because she hasn't had a coach and her training habits haven't been sufficient to build muscle memory so that she doesn't need to focus so hard on the technical.
As for her weight, she sure doesn't need to lose 15 lbs, and if she did it would be disastrous. Mirai is no longer the skinny little girl she was at 14. She is a tall girl for a skater (nearly 5'5") with a strong skeletal frame and the muscle to support it. She is a skater, not a model, and she needs that muscle to perform the tasks skating demands.
IMO, she needs a coach who will help her develop strong work habits and that will keep her well-toned and she will build the stamina she needs to get through her programs without having to focus so much on the technical. I just hope it is not Tom Z, who is not the most supportive coach when things go awry. If Mirai felt uncomfortable under Frank Carroll's glare when she didn't perform well, it is nothing to the treatment she'd get from Tom Z under similar conditions. He can be MEAN when one of his students underperforms.
When she competes, she is so completely focused on the technical aspects of her performance that her connection with the music is totally lost and she looks like a skating robot. It seems that over the past quadrennial, since her body has changed, she has been unable to combine the technical and the artistry the way most elite skaters do. It may be because she hasn't had a coach and her training habits haven't been sufficient to build muscle memory so that she doesn't need to focus so hard on the technical.
As for her weight, she sure doesn't need to lose 15 lbs, and if she did it would be disastrous. Mirai is no longer the skinny little girl she was at 14. She is a tall girl for a skater (nearly 5'5") with a strong skeletal frame and the muscle to support it. She is a skater, not a model, and she needs that muscle to perform the tasks skating demands.
IMO, she needs a coach who will help her develop strong work habits and that will keep her well-toned and she will build the stamina she needs to get through her programs without having to focus so much on the technical. I just hope it is not Tom Z, who is not the most supportive coach when things go awry. If Mirai felt uncomfortable under Frank Carroll's glare when she didn't perform well, it is nothing to the treatment she'd get from Tom Z under similar conditions. He can be MEAN when one of his students underperforms.