Hello pairs fans,
I came across the above videos recently. I was thrilled to find the pairs lifts evolution video. Granted, it is not a complete documentation. But it's just great to have something like this to look at. I was happy to see that they really included most of the main, important pairs teams known for either innovating new moves or demonstrating strong pairs lift technique. This is really cool. We see the basic beginning of lifts as we know them in pairs from the days of Belousova/Protopopov, who revolutionized pairs skating, and the discipline followed in their blade steps. Oleg and Ludmila were older and not very fast (but I don't think many teams were particularly fast in those days). Still, they had gorgeous technique, and they took their inspiration and creativity directly from ballet, dance, theatre. We see Moskvina/Mishin following Ludmila/Oleg's lead, et al.
Thanks to floskate and to The Skating Lesson for this video compilation. The silent sections are apparently muted due to music rights. This video is definitely a good guide to the trajectory of lift advancement in pairs. Clearly, exhibition skating (which is included) played an important role in innovation, in addition to adagio skating (which isn't covered in this video). Pairs teams I don't see, but should be included: Urbanski/Marval of the U.S., and Woetzel/Steuer of Germany. As well, the video probably would have included recent pairs like Liu/O'Shea who were tremendous with their lifts. They burst on the scene last season with that fun sp to Taylor Swift, giving us that wowza lift with Chelsea's long legs hooked around Danny's neck and twirling with her body extended straight out and Danny's arms behind his back. In the pairs lift video, we see Brasseur/Eisler doing a similar lift in an exhibition program with Isabelle's legs around Lloyd's neck, but he is also holding on to her body and one of her hands for safety. It was still spectacular back then, but L/S were absolutely boffo with the exciting updated version they performed, likely with the input of their choreographers Sinead & John Kerr (Adam Rippon is credited for the sp choreography); Sinead & John worked on choreography for L/S's fp, but I'm sure they had input on the lifts for both programs.
The best lift innovators: The Protopopovs (Ludmila Belousova/Oleg P); Bechke/Petrov with Tamara Moskvina (plus Moskvina's work with Ina/Zimmerman); Brasseur/Eisler; Evora/Ladwig; James/Cipres; Lubov/Dylan; Dorota & Mariusz Siudek; Great practitioners who furthered the advancement of lifts via their expertise and adding onto previous innovation: Starbuck/Shelley; Martini/Underhill; Sale/Pelletier; Denney/Frazier; Urbanski/Marval; Babilonia/Gardner; Rodnina/Zaitsev; Gordeeva/Grinkov; Woetzel/Steuer; Meno/Sand; Calalang/Johnson; Savchenko/Massot. Pairs teams with outstanding lifts would include every team in the video, but again some teams who were very good aren't included, and some got included because they were fairly good lifters and they happened to be World champions too. Savchenko/Szolkowy (not included in the video) were good with lifts, but are better known for revolutionizing pairs with innovative moves, unusual program concepts, costumes, music, and choreography, under Steuer's tutelage.
It is clear that innovation and growth happen via skaters emulating each other and then adding new features here and there. Today lifts are more extended; skaters are stronger and faster; there are intricate entries and dismounts, with position changes and combinations, etc. In the lift video, it is great to see Sale/Pelletier and Brasseur/Eisler with voiceover by Scott Hamilton giving a tutorial. When Hamilton is commentating the 1992 Olympics fluff feature, and he mentions that Mishkutenok is "a big girl, while Gordeeva is smaller," ummm, that should have been worded differently. While the man must be very strong if his partner is tall or carries more weight, it is obviously much more about technique, fitness, and the female's ability to do her part in the lifting with a strong core, plus trusting in each other, synchronizing timing and rhythm. Artur Dmitriev had no trouble lifting Natalia, there was just something off with their timing, or with his footwork or the handholds, when they had the mishap in practices. They aced the lift in the competition.
There's a lot to see and to breakdown, if interested. The video by Coach Julia, on the history of pairs is brief. It echoes information in the recent book by James R. Hines, Figure skating in the formative years: singles, pairs, and the expanding role of women. As women entered the competitive side of the sport, pairs skating began to evolve from the earlier leisure class practice of engaging in combined skating, and hand-to-hand skating.
The History and Evolution of Pairs Figure Skating
Hello Skaters! For the month of February I am excited to be looking at figure skating as something you can do with a partner, With Valentines Day this month...
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I came across the above videos recently. I was thrilled to find the pairs lifts evolution video. Granted, it is not a complete documentation. But it's just great to have something like this to look at. I was happy to see that they really included most of the main, important pairs teams known for either innovating new moves or demonstrating strong pairs lift technique. This is really cool. We see the basic beginning of lifts as we know them in pairs from the days of Belousova/Protopopov, who revolutionized pairs skating, and the discipline followed in their blade steps. Oleg and Ludmila were older and not very fast (but I don't think many teams were particularly fast in those days). Still, they had gorgeous technique, and they took their inspiration and creativity directly from ballet, dance, theatre. We see Moskvina/Mishin following Ludmila/Oleg's lead, et al.
Thanks to floskate and to The Skating Lesson for this video compilation. The silent sections are apparently muted due to music rights. This video is definitely a good guide to the trajectory of lift advancement in pairs. Clearly, exhibition skating (which is included) played an important role in innovation, in addition to adagio skating (which isn't covered in this video). Pairs teams I don't see, but should be included: Urbanski/Marval of the U.S., and Woetzel/Steuer of Germany. As well, the video probably would have included recent pairs like Liu/O'Shea who were tremendous with their lifts. They burst on the scene last season with that fun sp to Taylor Swift, giving us that wowza lift with Chelsea's long legs hooked around Danny's neck and twirling with her body extended straight out and Danny's arms behind his back. In the pairs lift video, we see Brasseur/Eisler doing a similar lift in an exhibition program with Isabelle's legs around Lloyd's neck, but he is also holding on to her body and one of her hands for safety. It was still spectacular back then, but L/S were absolutely boffo with the exciting updated version they performed, likely with the input of their choreographers Sinead & John Kerr (Adam Rippon is credited for the sp choreography); Sinead & John worked on choreography for L/S's fp, but I'm sure they had input on the lifts for both programs.
The best lift innovators: The Protopopovs (Ludmila Belousova/Oleg P); Bechke/Petrov with Tamara Moskvina (plus Moskvina's work with Ina/Zimmerman); Brasseur/Eisler; Evora/Ladwig; James/Cipres; Lubov/Dylan; Dorota & Mariusz Siudek; Great practitioners who furthered the advancement of lifts via their expertise and adding onto previous innovation: Starbuck/Shelley; Martini/Underhill; Sale/Pelletier; Denney/Frazier; Urbanski/Marval; Babilonia/Gardner; Rodnina/Zaitsev; Gordeeva/Grinkov; Woetzel/Steuer; Meno/Sand; Calalang/Johnson; Savchenko/Massot. Pairs teams with outstanding lifts would include every team in the video, but again some teams who were very good aren't included, and some got included because they were fairly good lifters and they happened to be World champions too. Savchenko/Szolkowy (not included in the video) were good with lifts, but are better known for revolutionizing pairs with innovative moves, unusual program concepts, costumes, music, and choreography, under Steuer's tutelage.
It is clear that innovation and growth happen via skaters emulating each other and then adding new features here and there. Today lifts are more extended; skaters are stronger and faster; there are intricate entries and dismounts, with position changes and combinations, etc. In the lift video, it is great to see Sale/Pelletier and Brasseur/Eisler with voiceover by Scott Hamilton giving a tutorial. When Hamilton is commentating the 1992 Olympics fluff feature, and he mentions that Mishkutenok is "a big girl, while Gordeeva is smaller," ummm, that should have been worded differently. While the man must be very strong if his partner is tall or carries more weight, it is obviously much more about technique, fitness, and the female's ability to do her part in the lifting with a strong core, plus trusting in each other, synchronizing timing and rhythm. Artur Dmitriev had no trouble lifting Natalia, there was just something off with their timing, or with his footwork or the handholds, when they had the mishap in practices. They aced the lift in the competition.
There's a lot to see and to breakdown, if interested. The video by Coach Julia, on the history of pairs is brief. It echoes information in the recent book by James R. Hines, Figure skating in the formative years: singles, pairs, and the expanding role of women. As women entered the competitive side of the sport, pairs skating began to evolve from the earlier leisure class practice of engaging in combined skating, and hand-to-hand skating.
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