Just watched videos from 1998 Oly's

[purplecat]

I thought Tara was amazing at the 1998 Olympics. And I didn't think it was a controversial win until I finally got online over a year later and found fans disputing the outcome! (Now it's over seven years later! LOL!) I also had no idea that there were so many other people like me who loved watching skating so much until I first got online!

[chipso1]

Lyra is not “the Gold standard” or a masterpiece because it was not tailored to Michelle’s style of skating at all.

Praising Tara is not the same as bashing Michelle. Tara was a great skater for all the reasons soogar mentioned as well as many others. It is not absurd to say that Tara had better artistry in the LP.

"To this day, this program is known as the Gold Standard." (quote from the ESPN bio on Michelle.

And IMO, it IS absurd to say that Tara's lp was more artistic than Michelle's. More exuberant and energized yes, but not more beautiful. Oh well . . . . . .

[Mathman]

Lyra is not “the Gold standard” or a masterpiece because it was not tailored to Michelle’s style of skating at all. After Michelle had success with Salome in 96 and a rough year with Taj Mahal in 97, Frank and Lori felt the need to take a different direction with her skating for the Olympics, so they cooked up Lyra as an homage to Janet Lynn, who they both idolized. The problem was that Michelle’s personality and style were nothing like Janet Lynn,..

That is a very interesting take. At seventeen, Michelle really had no choice but to follow the direction of her teachers. Lori Nichol is a music expert. Her husband is a professional musician, she got her start in chorepography with John Curry's company, and her trademark is to think deeply about her music choices for her clients. Michelle, as far as I know, has never really studied music and since 2003 has just gone with tunes that she likes and feels inspired by.

It was indeed widely reported that Michelle was not enthusiastic about the Lyra Angelica score and had to be talked into it, after many hearings, by Lori. I also got the feeling that with the Red Violin, and especially with the Black Swan, Michelle was fighting the music.

So maybe, indeed, the Aranjuez/Tosca Nationals Michelle is the true Michelle. Just go out there and kick butt, while some music happens to be playing.

Mathman

[kyla2]

The National's perfomance of Lyra Angelica and Rach ARE the gold standard for figure skaters everywere. Her performance of Lyra at the Olympics was slow and tenuous at times. Because of that, it left the door open for Tara, who delivered a first rate performance, technically and artistically (joie de vivre comes to mind when I think of her performance). Even Frank Carroll acknowledged that. But Michelle's performance of Lyra at Nationals was one for the ages. To many people, it is simply the greatest single figure skating performance of all time. I agree.