Slow vs. Upbeat music

[Joesitz]

Gladiator or Otonal? that is the question.

I'll take either. Much depends on the skater for me.

Joe

[FrenchLady]

I voted "In Between". My real answer is that I don't care that much what music skaters are skating to as long as they are interpreting it well, using every phrasing, every nuance, etc. When I watch a program, I always try to see if the skater enhances the music, or if instead it's more the music enhancing the skater. I'm particularily careful when the music is very beautiful (for me) or "grandiose" with big crecendos for example. Of course, beautiful music with beautiful choreography and great interpretation/performance/ is the ideal . Nevertheless I will admire as much a program with not so beautiful music (for me) but great choreo and interpretation/performance.

I have to say too that one of the qualities I love the most in a skater/team is versatility. I mean by that the capacity to create different moods and emotions on the ice and the capacity to skate DIFFERENTLY to different rhythms and styles of music. Because it means I think a larger skating vocabulary (good expression??..) , variety in the elements and/or the way they do the preparation for them, variety in steps, variety in the way they use their edges, variety in carriage, upper body movement, arm movements, etc...

[Dee4707]

I voted for in between, but I think alot depends on the skater.

Dee

[anya_angie]

Really for me it's not about the tempo, but rather the mood that's important. The orchestration of the piece is as important as the tempo. Example, look at Gladiator. Lovely main theme, mixed with frantic action music that is awesome in its own right, but compare it to Braveheart (rated #1 on filmtracks.com). I'd love to see more skaters use Braveheart. Alexander Abt didn't use enough of it IMHO. :D