2014-2015 Program Report, What worked, What didn't, How to improve

[Blades of Passion]

The season is over, so let's discuss the best programs of the season, the worst programs of the season, what elements/ideas of programs were particularly good/interesting, and what could have been done to improve these programs.

The first set of programs I want to talk about are those of Mae Berenice Meite. She has continued to improve and I hope to see more and more growth. The funny thing with her programs this season was that they are reversed in terms of which music should have been used for the two programs. In the Short Program (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNx-ImpVWrI) we have lyrics put to good use, starting with a solemn church choir, and then climaxing in the end with Aretha Franklin's Think (Freedom). The concept of the program is a good one, it's like a journey through oppression that then breaks through with joyous liberation, but the middle section of music is ineffective and there isn't enough time for the concept of the program to grow. This would have worked better as a Long Program.

The first section of her program is HOSANNA, by Soweto Gospel Choir and for a long program I would use the first 1:17 of this song. After that first section we should become more upbeat but still have a serious tone. The very best selection of music I can think of for this purpose would be "Freedom" from Django Unchained. It's an immediately engaging song that has a good rhythm for skating to and fits perfectly into the character of this whole program (particularly because of the female vocal), creating a bridge between the pleading first section and the entirely upbeat final Aretha Franklin section. The first 1:23 of this Django Unchained song should be used, which would leave us with between 1:25-1:29 left in program (the exact time depends on the musical transitions used) for the Aretha Franklin song. The current program used a modified version of the song, not The Original Version of Aretha Franklin's Think (Freedom), seemingly to emphasize the "Freedom" lyric almost exclusively. While there's nothing wrong with using some modified vocals from the original, more of the other lyrics would need to be included. Just stay away from the "think about what you're trying to do to me" part, as that reduces the scope and doesn't quite fit into the theme being portrayed here.

Now then, in Mae Berenice's actual Long Program from the season (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjF209dNCHQ), which should become a Short Program, we have an intriguing mix of Woodkid music. It has quite an esoteric feeling to it and a very forward driving tempo. The problem in using this for a Long Program is that there are too many sections which become repetitive or uselessly "filler" and take away from the momentum. I would use the first 46 seconds from Conquest of Spaces (with the extra modified beat at the start, as in the current program), then 0:58 through 1:38 from Shadows, and then finally 0:52 through 1:27 and 2:47 through 3:29 from Run Boy Run.

I like how mysterious the music is and how that one small section with lyric - "tomorrow is another day, and you won't have to hide away, but for now it's time to run, it's time to run" - sets a program up so well for a climactic footwork sequence. It's a shame that this isn't given any real emphasis in the current program. For a Short Program, with the music cuts I gave, you'd want to structure the technical elements of the program as Jump, Jump, Spin, Jump, Spin, Footwork, Spin. The last jump of the program would come at the end of the "Shadows" section of music and then you'd be spinning as the lyrics come in (flying camel would be ideal there), with the spin concluding and then having enough time to move to the rink barrier and begin the footwork right after the lyrics have concluded.

That's all from me for now, discuss/analyze any programs from the season in this thread!

 

[karne]

Worked: Joshua Farris keeping Schindler's list. That was breathtakingly beautiful, and finally got (some of) the recognition it deserved.

Didn't work: I know what the concept was behind Max Aaron's Footloose, but the minute a two-year-old on sugar did the music cut, it was doomed.

 

[aromaticchicken]

Too much truth on max Aarons sp. And his lp was also well intentioned, but somehow didn't feel right either.

Gracie is an easy answer. I loved her sp last year, but if she was gonna repeat it she needed to have a captivating lp. Oops.

Love mirai, but didn't really like her programs this year either. Looking forward to the modern music she has lined up.

I lovedddddd both of julias programs this year. I listen to the SP music all the time, and the edits of romeo and Juliet for the LP are beautiful, especially the piano timed with the spins at the end. I'm sad she wasn't able to deliver on it

 

[samm22]

I think Satoko's long program really worked for her introverted and graceful line and skating style. I loved everything about the choreography and her interpretation. I feel like the lyrics she used were nice and produced a wonderful tone change in the middle leading to the gorgeous climactic spiral, final jump combo and spin. I also feel that her short program worked for her too. It was youthful, playful, and fun. I enjoyed the choreography and detail that was put into the program, and I liked how she smiled through it. Besides the dress for the short, she was packaged really well (and appropriately for where her skating is currently) this season. I am exited to see what she will do next!

 

[actualrealliveanna]

I lovedddddd both of julias programs this year. I listen to the SP music all the time, and the edits of romeo and Juliet for the LP are beautiful, especially the piano timed with the spins at the end. I'm sad she wasn't able to deliver on it

I was a bit uneasy about Julia's choice of music for the LP but in the end, I loved it. One of the best music choices this season and it suited her perfectly. I'm very sad as well, it was such a great program

Ashley Wagner's LP music was suited to her as well. Smart choice to keep it going into next season.

 

[Interspectator]

My favorite head-case Brezina had 2 well-suited programs last season and 2 gorgeous costumes. A pity he was never able to put it all together.
Will married life improve his nerves? I hope so!

 

[dress]

Gracie gold lp was a snoozefest
Tukt lp was a nice fit for her
Pogorilaya's firebird was not a good choice
P/C fd was great
G/P Fd was a good fit for them

 

[Seren]

Ashley Wagners LP worked great for her, I think it showcases her strengths very well and she is probably wise to keep it.

Tuk's LP also suited her. The music was almost tacky but she sold it.

Jason Brown's LP was also well thought out.

I did not like Gracie's LP, it just didn't suit her. I also found Radionova's SP too jarring. The music distracted from her skating.

 

[StitchMonkey]

I really like Alena Leonova's SP this year.

It struck a really great balance between refreshing change, but not weird in the look at me for being weird sort of way. It was different, but not unfamiliar. The costume was both character appropriate and flattering in a feminine way; it was on point and looked great!

We often see a lot of shall we say similarities in the women's programs, I think this was a great example of being able to be a bit different, portray a character, have some fun, but not seem out of place.

 

[3T3T]

My programme of the year was K/S and their Manfred Symphony LP. One of the best programmes in recent years.

I also enjoyed Tuk's LP, P/C Free Dance, D10 LP, Joshua Farris LP, T/M free to hello, M/H malaguena S/P

I didn't enjoy the short programmes of Radionova and Aaron.

 

[leoncorazon]

I agree 3T3T...K/S's Manfred Symphony is wonderful...too bad they never really skated it to the fullest of potential.

 

[moriel]

For me, a LP season: K/S, Tuks and Ashley <3

 

[Blades of Passion]

A skater who was very under the radar this season was Ross Miner. After a disappointing run of programs from 2012-2014 (I thought we were going to see a lot better from him after his wonderful 2011 Senior debut), he showed up at 2015 Nationals with a great SP and a muddled LP.

Skating to "The Way We Were" for his SP, Ross had used a version of this program the previous season but refined into something so much better for 2015. His opening footwork sequence is beautifully delicate and following it up with a nice Triple Flip out of footwork is choreographically more effective than winding up into a shaky Quad Salchow attempt. The smooth forward lunge into the camel spin is a nice detail and it additionally made the spin better since it counts as a level feature this season and he doesn't need to change edge on the layover position, which usually results in a less pleasing body line. Unfortunately he still does the useless catch-foot position at the end since the rules dictate it for the level increase, but it's at least a clean position.

The placement of the combination jump is perfect with the music and I love the double butterfly on the flying sit. I can't think of any other skater who has done that in competition for long, long time. It doesn't give a level increase on the spin so of course people ignore it, but is beautifully nuanced to the music here and deserves to boost several of the PCS categories up a notch. This is difficulty used for purpose, not just thrown in. I wish the actual sit position he does could just have a nice extended free leg and straight back (and then one change of position for flavor), but unfortunately the rules don't label that as being difficult enough for credit...even though it is. The worse part is that holding a great sit position like that for the 8 revolutions doesn't even get you that level credit anymore either with the current rules. Sigh. Ross does the best he can here given the constraints of the rules and judges who fail to understand these details and score the programs appropriately.

On the combination spin Ross does run into a problem and it's not the fault of the rules this time. The "butt" spin. Unless you are doing this position with a fully forward extended body, as Stephane Lambiel did it, you should not be doing this spin. Even if you can do it well, it may not necessarily have anything to do with the music; it certainly doesn't here. A better approach here (to get max level on the spin) would be for Ross to do a change of edge on the camel position. A cleaner, simpler line is necessary here with the music. Ideally the hop Ross does in the second part of the spin should also come earlier to hit that crescendo in the music. He would need to start the spin a couple seconds earlier to do that, in order to include the variations of position on the first foot. OR, what would probably be best, is if he would quickly go into a layover position after the start of his camel, which would save him from needing to include an extra position on that first foot (the layover position he does in the camel-change-camel earlier in the program would instead become a change of edge).

The program ends with a series of spread eagles and leaps, which work wonderfully with the music and provide so much more breathing room than if the program had ended with a spin. The wistful quality of the music calls for something that doesn't provide complete closure or feel entirely triumphant, which is generally the feeling created by ending with a fast spin. The ending pose could be a little more striking, it's a bit too "gentleman asking a lady to the ball."

-----

Skating to Andrea Bocelli music for the LP, Ross opens with a Quad Salchow attempt that was perhaps judged too harshly by the tech panel with a double downgrade. His entrance on the jump looks less pre-rotated than it used to be, but it seems the powers that be were perfectly content with killing him on it since he is not someone they were looking to put on the world team. Anyway, back to the program, I'm rather confused about the first section here. The music sounds like it belongs in a murder mystery/suspense. Ross pays attention to it throughout but the movement doesn't confer much purpose to me and this section of music is totally detached from the music in the rest of the program.

Technically, the structure of this program is what I like to call "the boring Lysacek blueprint". 3 jump elements to open (in descending order of difficulty), then your most difficult footwork sequence, then a spin, then a Triple Axel right after the halfway point, then 4 more jump elements, and then spin, footwoork, spin. If such a thing is what best suits the music then, okay, it's what works best. More often, however, this structure is simply the easiest way to get all of the technical elements into the program at max value. That is the case here. None of the elements have any particularly special relationship with the music; the 3Lutz-half loop-3Sal comes the closest but even that is a little behind the music. It's clear that Ross is trying to perform the the music and he is following the general structure of it, but there is a disconnect. It's like when pairs skaters are a half second off from each other throughout a side-by-side spin. The intent is there and on their own the spin may look fine, but when taken as a whole it fails.

Although in this case it can't even really be said that the individual parts are great either, since there is a thematic disconnect in the music that I talked about and the choreography itself has no amazing moments and very little sense of everything being apart of a whole. The concept of the program as a whole and the choreography is very flawed. There's an arm gesture here, a transition there, but none of it has much relevance. Notice how the spins in his SP mostly feel like they are there because the music dictates it and here they just sit atop the music. In the first footwork sequence listen to how the music crescendos and all that happens in the program is a vanilla forward edge hold. The grandeur of the moment is not met. That would have actually been a great place for his first spin, which comes 8 seconds later, as the big flying entrance would meet the crescendo and then the music pulling back slightly and then almost crescendoing again would be well matched by the hold of the first position in the spin and then the jump into the second position. Instead the program is too busy forcing more turns in the footwork and then just throws the spin in at the end because there's no time for it anywhere else.

The whole last section of the program really shows all those flaws off at every turn. When the music is undulating before he goes into the double axel, he just holds still and does a generic, gentle outward arm movement. When the music hits a crescendo a little bit after the double axel he's just doing a generic back camel position. Strangely, this spin exactly as it is could have worked well with the music if it had come 12 seconds earlier. The undulating vocal that starts at 3:50 would have worked with a camel that changes position, the lull in the vocal would have been interpreted by the change to a back camel, the descending lower piano notes would have then been interpreted by going down into sit position, and the increase in tempo afterward would then be interpreted by going into that upright position. Then if he worked quick after the spin he could put the double axel in right after the heightened vocal has come back into the music. Everything is just off. Like in the choreography sequence at the end when the lyric goes "Gia la sento" and then pauses, the Ross had already paused his movement a second beforehand and then starts moving again when the pause happens. It's unfortunate because, again, Ross really is trying to relate the feeling of the music and trying to perform, but the timing and planning of the movements are just not right. The effectiveness of it all in the end is kind of like throwing your heart out there to someone who doesn't feel the same way. It's like "yeah, I appreciate the sentiment, but...."

 

[JQSkate]

Love mirai, but didn't really like her programs this year either. Looking forward to the modern music she has lined up.

I may be behind here - did Mirai announce her music/music styles for next season's programs?

 

[ice coverage]

I may be behind here - did Mirai announce her music/music styles for next season's programs?

"Announce" isn't the right word .
Mirai competed last month at a comp in Santa Fe -- so she already has performed her programs in public. Her music selections were posted in the Programs thread.

 

[dorispulaski]

BoP, I am so glad someone else noticed that Ross's SP at Nationals was of note! I was there, and it was very effective and enjoyable. You may not have liked Ross's 2014 LP, but as a program and a choreographic achievement, it was amazing. However, it was aimed not at a national audience, but very narrowly at a Boston audience, and those members of the audience who had closely followed the Boston marathon bombings. It was effective and cathartic. For full impact, you had to be able to watch the program from the moment Ross entered the ice to Neil Simon's "Sweet Caroline," music Ross chose to use himself, to recall the Red Sox opening game that preceeded the bombings. "Sweet Caroline" is the Red Sox seventh inning stretch song, and the fans always join in with local embellishments. And in fact, Boston folk at 2014 Nationals joined in. It was one of the cleverest things I have seen choreographically. What Boston area folks are apt to do on Patriots Day, which is a local holiday, is attend the ball game (or watch it on TV) and then stroll over to the finish line of the Boston Maratho to join in the festivities and see their friends straggle in at the middle to end of the race. That's exactly when the bombs went off. Russ was not in physical shape, due to injury, to skate it well, but it still brought the intended part of the audience to tears, and to their feet applauding.

 

[el henry]

BoP, I am so glad someone else noticed that Ross's SP at Nationals was of note! I was there, and it was very effective and enjoyable. You may not have liked Ross's 2014 LP, but as a program and a choreographic achievement, it was amazing. However, it was aimed not at a national audience, but very narrowly at a Boston audience, and those members of the audience who had closely followed the Boston marathon bombings. It was effective and cathartic. For full impact, you had to be able to watch the program from the moment Ross entered the ice to Neil Simon's "Sweet Adeline," music Ross chose to use himself, to recall the Red Sox opening game that preceeded the bombings. "Sweet Adeline" is the Red Sox seventh inning stretch song, and the fans always join in with local embellishments. And in fact, Boston folk at 2014 Nationals joined in. It was one of the cleverest things I have seen choreographically. What Boston area folks are apt to do on Patriots Day, which is a local holiday, is attend the ball game (or watch it on TV) and then stroll over to the finish line of the Boston Maratho to join in the festivities and see their friends straggle in at the middle to end of the race. That's exactly when the bombs went off. Russ was not in physical shape, due to injury, to skate it well, but it still brought the intended part of the audience to tears, and to their feet applauding.

thanks so much, Doris! I love hearing about these "hidden moments" that touch the audience. I think, however, that the song may be Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"?

 

[Blades of Passion]

BoP, I am so glad someone else noticed that Ross's SP at Nationals was of note! I was there, and it was very effective and enjoyable. You may not have liked Ross's 2014 LP, but as a program and a choreographic achievement, it was amazing. However, it was aimed not at a national audience, but very narrowly at a Boston audience, and those members of the audience who had closely followed the Boston marathon bombings. It was effective and cathartic. For full impact, you had to be able to watch the program from the moment Ross entered the ice to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," music Ross chose to use himself, to recall the Red Sox opening game that preceeded the bombings. "Sweet Caroline" is the Red Sox seventh inning stretch song, and the fans always join in with local embellishments. And in fact, Boston folk at 2014 Nationals joined in. It was one of the cleverest things I have seen choreographically.

I'm sorry but that is nothing more than an irrelevant gimmick. The music a skater is using in their warm-up has nothing to do with the program itself. Just looking at his 2014 LP on its own, the movement and music is cliche to me for trying to portray the day of the bombing and tell a story of the city coming together and becoming stronger. It's understandable that some people in Boston may have gotten something out of it but, eh.

 

[dorispulaski]

thanks so much, Doris! I love hearing about these "hidden moments" that touch the audience. I think, however, that the song may be Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"?

}

Absolutely right. posting while half asleep never a good idea

BoP, I just do not agree.I was there, and It was the most emotionally moving performance of the night for me. Jason's Riverdance was better figure skating, and I love it to pieces, but Ross hit me where I live, as a piece of performance art. And a huge part of the crowd felt the same.

But people will not always agree with each other about performance.

 

[karne]

BoP, I think you are a little mistaken. I'm very sure that holding a position for 8 revolutions is still counted as a feature and contributes towards the level. You can only use it once now, though.