- Joined
- Dec 28, 2003
Back from Lurking...
Hi all!
After a brief stint as an active poster, which at the time abruptly ended when I was insulted by a poster (one not worth mentioning by name, though I haven't forgotten) who took my reading of commentator bias to mean that I don't understand English (my sole language of education, mind you, and truly my native tongue--sorry, I had to register that gripe before rejoining all you noninsulting posters
), I went back to lurking, having decided that it wasn't worth the feeling of insulted indignation when I couldn't have it out with this guy and explain that my mastery of the language of Shakespeare had ceased to be an issue, oh, a good 20 years ago:\ at any rate, to get back on topic, this was definitely the post that was to draw me back into the forum, even though I have been avidly and excitedly following the skating season and keeping up to date on all the goings-on through your posts--thanks, by the way, for all the informative and entertaining posts!
Onto the subject of dance sensibility in skaters, it's interesting that one of you mentioned Sasha not quite capable of performing with that "abandon"; it's an impression I've often shared, with the exception of her Olympic SP (sentimental waltz, i believe?)--at least that's the last time in recent memory (though, to be honest, I hadn't seen anything else from her before SLC 2002) that I saw a connected, free flowing program, rather than a succession of admittedly impressive moves. My question is, WHY is that? We're all familiar with what is perceived as Sasha's intense obsession with winning, the one that sabotages her very efforts to do, or so the theory goes...I'm not speaking to offend any particular "camp" of people committed to lauding her every step or those who'd rather tear her down; rather, I'm wondering what it is that has happened in her skating that makes it seem, to me, at least, IMHO, disjointed at times, like she's going through many, very impressive motions rather than going with one expressive idea and yielding to it, come what may. Also, I'm fascinated with skaters who possess that natural, innate lyrical quality without obviously having had to work at it, those who, to borrow a term from RGirl (one of my favorite posters!--and one whose input in response to my 2 cents on Sasha I'd love to hear) WERE "wired" that way, so I thought I'd list a few of my own:
Sarah M's list of "naturals" in the dance sensibility & MUSICALITY dept. (oops--forgot to mention; I'm a musician and an amateur Afro-Cuban/Brazilian dancer--loads of dances of the non-European variety to consider when discussing dance, btw--, so in watching skating, I tend to prefer a cohesive musical idea expressed in one fluid, extended motion, so to speak (take Oksana's Swan Lake, Lulu's Butterfly Lovers or Rach, or M&D's Rach at the 94 Olympics), by the skater, which is why choice of music particularly sways me one way or the other regarding a particular program--take Fumie Suguri's SP, for example; I adored the music and felt she rendered it very well, even though she hasn't been my favorite skater)--but I digress, OFTEN;-) anyway, my list:
1. Lu Chen & Oksana Baiul (breathtaking musicality and dance sensibility)
2. Artur Dmitriev & Natalia Mishkutenok/Elena Berezhnaia & Anton Sikharulidze (ditto--the flow and majesty of the choreography of both pairs, also Anton w/ Kazakova later on, their ability to break the mold of your standard, dull as dishwater pairs routine consisting of a laundry list of elements and little or no creative ways to relate to each other)
I have more, I'm just obsessed with these skaters at the moment, as you can tell! Oh, Shen and Zhao's Nutcracker was another gem! I'm DYING to see Yukina Ota, from all I've heard on the posts; unfortunately those 12 hour videos of the LP's from Japanese Nats are gone---if ANYONE has any idea how I can go about getting footage of Ms. Ota, PLEASE HELP!
Hope this excessively long post ensures me a warm welcome back into the fold
Sarah M.
Hi all!
After a brief stint as an active poster, which at the time abruptly ended when I was insulted by a poster (one not worth mentioning by name, though I haven't forgotten) who took my reading of commentator bias to mean that I don't understand English (my sole language of education, mind you, and truly my native tongue--sorry, I had to register that gripe before rejoining all you noninsulting posters
), I went back to lurking, having decided that it wasn't worth the feeling of insulted indignation when I couldn't have it out with this guy and explain that my mastery of the language of Shakespeare had ceased to be an issue, oh, a good 20 years ago:\ at any rate, to get back on topic, this was definitely the post that was to draw me back into the forum, even though I have been avidly and excitedly following the skating season and keeping up to date on all the goings-on through your posts--thanks, by the way, for all the informative and entertaining posts!Onto the subject of dance sensibility in skaters, it's interesting that one of you mentioned Sasha not quite capable of performing with that "abandon"; it's an impression I've often shared, with the exception of her Olympic SP (sentimental waltz, i believe?)--at least that's the last time in recent memory (though, to be honest, I hadn't seen anything else from her before SLC 2002) that I saw a connected, free flowing program, rather than a succession of admittedly impressive moves. My question is, WHY is that? We're all familiar with what is perceived as Sasha's intense obsession with winning, the one that sabotages her very efforts to do, or so the theory goes...I'm not speaking to offend any particular "camp" of people committed to lauding her every step or those who'd rather tear her down; rather, I'm wondering what it is that has happened in her skating that makes it seem, to me, at least, IMHO, disjointed at times, like she's going through many, very impressive motions rather than going with one expressive idea and yielding to it, come what may. Also, I'm fascinated with skaters who possess that natural, innate lyrical quality without obviously having had to work at it, those who, to borrow a term from RGirl (one of my favorite posters!--and one whose input in response to my 2 cents on Sasha I'd love to hear) WERE "wired" that way, so I thought I'd list a few of my own:
Sarah M's list of "naturals" in the dance sensibility & MUSICALITY dept. (oops--forgot to mention; I'm a musician and an amateur Afro-Cuban/Brazilian dancer--loads of dances of the non-European variety to consider when discussing dance, btw--, so in watching skating, I tend to prefer a cohesive musical idea expressed in one fluid, extended motion, so to speak (take Oksana's Swan Lake, Lulu's Butterfly Lovers or Rach, or M&D's Rach at the 94 Olympics), by the skater, which is why choice of music particularly sways me one way or the other regarding a particular program--take Fumie Suguri's SP, for example; I adored the music and felt she rendered it very well, even though she hasn't been my favorite skater)--but I digress, OFTEN;-) anyway, my list:
1. Lu Chen & Oksana Baiul (breathtaking musicality and dance sensibility)
2. Artur Dmitriev & Natalia Mishkutenok/Elena Berezhnaia & Anton Sikharulidze (ditto--the flow and majesty of the choreography of both pairs, also Anton w/ Kazakova later on, their ability to break the mold of your standard, dull as dishwater pairs routine consisting of a laundry list of elements and little or no creative ways to relate to each other)
I have more, I'm just obsessed with these skaters at the moment, as you can tell! Oh, Shen and Zhao's Nutcracker was another gem! I'm DYING to see Yukina Ota, from all I've heard on the posts; unfortunately those 12 hour videos of the LP's from Japanese Nats are gone---if ANYONE has any idea how I can go about getting footage of Ms. Ota, PLEASE HELP!
Hope this excessively long post ensures me a warm welcome back into the fold
Sarah M.
