V/M looked almost ridiculous but maybe is because it was the first time I watched the program and what with the costume, what tried they to do?
They are taking it to the next level... very avant garde in approach consider this is figure skating under COP, and it is 'Carmen'. Loooove it!
Respect!
I don't think 'playing yourself' is necessarily an easy thing to do. Many old Hollywood stars were said of to have just played themselves in all of their screen roles. This was very different from the method actors that came later who immersed themselves in their characters. However, I don't think one style is better than the other. It's just a matter of preference. It takes a degree of willingness to open yourself to the audience to play yourself on the screen. Therefore, it requires some authenticity on the part of the performer. I think Mao's Swan Lake is not contrived because she lets her own personality shine through in her performance, instead of sticking strictly to the original Swan interpretation. Mao is the type of skater who works best when she is allowed to be herself and that's probably why many viewers responded favorably to this program. One can criticize her for not going out of her comfort zone but it isn't true to say she doesn't display honesty in her performances. On a last note, I enjoyed both Swan Lake and V/M's Carmen.
I agree with your first point if this is an exhibition or a play, but this is also a sport where musicality and artistry is suppose be an integral part of the competition where there are even categories in marking devoted to them. Where the theme and music need to be identified and interpreted with clarity and distinction, variance. Music and themes are not just eye and ear candy that act as background noises which the performer can do what ever they like do with it. Otherwise they might all just skate to the same music or wear the same clothes and doing the exact same routine.
Unfortunately I think Mao is now doing what other people expect of her (which is not much other than being the same 'lovely' Mao that always seems well received), and I think it is a big mistake when people inside her circles stop advising her to do research into her material and make distinction of what she is trying to express with her choreography with meaning and purpose. To able to make the distinction of the notation in the music, different parts of the choreography, instead of just focus on the mechanics of a strong step sequence (which i think is her only strength right now) and big jump elements and manage to stand on her feet. Since the UR rule changes, she has the luxury of having her errors disguised and still rewarded under the UR rule change. Have anyone calculated what she would have scored before the 70% UR rule?
I hate the fact people give her far too little credit for capable of pushing the artistry aspect of her skating, so at some point she must have stop trying and that really limit her legacy as a top class skater fully capable of delivering fantastic multilayered memorable programs (Grandbell of Moscow 2010 WC I'd rate as one of the most stunning FS achievements in COP era) that last beyond this life time, and beyond her fan circle. (Which admittedly is probably somewhere between 50-70% of skating crowd that has her as one of the sentimental favourite, by nature of who she is, her potential, and what she went through in her long career.)
Her swan lake music edit, and the title of her FS indicate her program is suppose to do a mixture of White Swan (innocent and graceful - which Mao naturally do well), and black swan (darkly sensual, vengeful, wild, free spirited, moody, primal) in which the later music cut refers to. Tat's extraordinary step sequences obviously showcased the Black Swan including the music cuts in the background, but watching the program, can you honestly able to distinct which is which? You are making an argument that it doesn't really matter as long she is just being honest to herself, and that it is her 'style'. but sorry this sound like more like Idol worship talk than critical thinking. To me, this is clearly a swan with an identity crisis where here we have a happy and smiley black swan doing a happy dance, a cautious and emotionless white swan who just want to get her big jumps out of the way. Where's the important transcendence? Certainly the most important part of Swan lake. And actually, I have no problem with this if this is the intention of the team to challenge the perception of the material like Virtue/Moir's Carmen, but her performance was so murky, confusing and all over the place, I wonder if Mao think black + white = grey, so her Swan lake is full of grey swans. At least that would make more sense then the performances she has given, and her interpretation of this classic material which makes virtually no distinction to the story or the characteristics of theme at all.
Akiko and can't believe I forgot to mention her at first for my dream podium.
