Gracie Gold's "Infamous" Gershwin routine

[Bluediamonds09]

I rewatched gracie's 2013 sp to gershwin's Three Preludes. And you know what? I enjoyed her performance. Here's what I have to say about that:
People slam Gracie because she isn't a natural performer. Often she is focused and blank faced during a routine. But while watching her 2013 skate canada skate....... Man, she seemed ALIVE. She seemed to love, love, love her music. It was happy, fast-paced music, which meant she could smile without looking ridiculous.
Screech violins aside, I want to see more of this kind of happy performance from Gracie. Happy joyful lively

 

[lyndichee]

I think a lot of fans want to see an authentic Gracie on ice and agree that she is not a natural performer.

I also liked her "Life is Beautiful" LP that season. She was having fun with the program and her jumps were bigger then. I hope she has more energetic music choices for Olympic season because I am not that optimistic for this season.

 

[kallirroe]

After that season , it was the Olympic season in which Gracie Gold became popular the the vast majority of the fans around the world ( as it happens with every Olympics IMO) . So in 2012-2013 didnt had all that pressure from either the US fans or the US federation upon her. I mean , as i saw in an interview , they are trying to make gracie either a princess or a fierce woman. They are trying to portrait a role in her personality. They dont let her show her personality with all these things . We want Gracie. Not a princess , not a firebird , not a sexy woman with a tango. If all these is Gracie , then ok , she must just overcome that pressure and dont give a **** for all this negative critic she is getting after a failure from US fans and critics. Yesterday , i saw gracies fs from 4CC last year and Tara pissed me off !!!! How can she say after Mirais win over her that Gracie must think of herself lucky for mirai not to compete at worlds ? ( What a coincidence , she did , though !!! ). I mean , such an unfair pressure. Such a shame. And such a lovely girl with a personality that IMO we have never seen fully in a programm , except maybe in that Gerscwin programm ( lovely composer too) and Life is beautiful.

 

[Seruleane]

I agree- the Gershwin program that year is actually my favorite performance by Gracie Gold. I'm sorry she hasn't really been able to recapture that feeling of pure joy in her subsequent programs. I feel her team is trying too hard to make her over into a Michelle Kwan. She needs to work with different choreographers.

 

[LeCygne]

I've said this in the past as well. Loved that program, and they could have easily replaced the violin version with the piano version to make it less screechy sounding instead of scrapping the whole thing. I agree that she needs to get away from Lori Nichol.

 

[mrrice]

I've said this in the past as well. Loved that program, and they could have easily replaced the violin version with the piano version to make it less screechy sounding instead of scrapping the whole thing. I agree that she needs to get away from Lori Nichol.

When people talk about Gracie leaving Lori I'm always torn. Lori has done such great work with so many skaters that I don't think Gracie needs to get away from her. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. I think Gracie and Lori need to go on a girl's get away weekend. Here's why. I've been watching Gracie since she was a Junior. I loved her jumps but, that was it. However, it wasn't until I started watching her interviews that I really started investing my time in following her career. I think Gracie is a deeper person than some people realize and though Frank and Lori are close, I think Gracie has another level that is yet to be discovered. After seeing her SP, I don't think the change will happen this season and IMO, she and Lori should say goodbye to each other if this season is unsuccessful.

Is Sandra still doing choreography? I wonder if they might work well together? I don't know but, Gracie is too young and too talented to stop trying to be World Champion.

 

[jenaj]

When people talk about Gracie leaving Lori I'm always torn. Lori has done such great work with so many skaters that I don't think Gracie needs to get away from her. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. I think Gracie and Lori need to go on a girl's get away weekend. Here's why. I've been watching Gracie since she was a Junior. I loved her jumps but, that was it. However, it wasn't until I started watching her interviews that I really started investing my time in following her career. I think Gracie is a deeper person than some people realize and though Frank and Lori are close, I think Gracie has another level that is yet to be discovered. After seeing her SP, I don't think the change will happen this and IMO, she and Lori should say goodbye to each other if this season is unsuccessful.

Is Sandra still doing choreography? I wonder if they might work well together? I don't know but, Gracie is too young and too talented to stop trying to be World Champion.

I really don't think Lori is the problem. Grace has all of the talent to be World Champion. But her nerves, not her choreography, are what's holding her back. She could actually learn a little bit, I think, by watching some videos of Michelle Kwan's competitive skates to see her determination and focus (remember her sang-froid when that streaker was on the ice with her?). She should try to emulate that.

 

[skateluvr]

When people talk about Gracie leaving Lori I'm always torn. Lori has done such great work with so many skaters that I don't think Gracie needs to get away from her. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. I think Gracie and Lori need to go on a girl's get away weekend. Here's why. I've been watching Gracie since she was a Junior. I loved her jumps but, that was it. However, it wasn't until I started watching her interviews that I really started investing my time in following her career. I think Gracie is a deeper person than some people realize and though Frank and Lori are close, I think Gracie has another level that is yet to be discovered. After seeing her SP, I don't think the change will happen this and IMO, she and Lori should say goodbye to each other if this season is unsuccessful.

Is Sandra still doing choreography? I wonder if they might work well together? I don't know but, Gracie is too young and too talented to stop trying to be World Champion.

Sandra doesn't do cop.

 

[KatGrace1925]

I've said this in the past as well. Loved that program, and they could have easily replaced the violin version with the piano version to make it less screechy sounding instead of scrapping the whole thing. I agree that she needs to get away from Lori Nichol.

It's not Lori's fault though, Lori has coreographed some amazing programs for Gracie. I think it's the pressure that gets to Gracie. The US program has been placed on her shoulders, hopefully Ashley's rise can sort of split the pressure. She said last year she loved her programs and I really believe she did.

 

[apons575]

Look, Lori has done ok with Gracie, but not amazing. I REALLY HATE her short program this year, and Lori would be smart to do a new one before the GP begins. Sloppy work...a copy-and-paste program from last year's El Choclo....

 

[Warwick360]

Look, Lori has done ok with Gracie, but not amazing. I REALLY HATE her short program this year, and Lori would be smart to do a new one before the GP begins. Sloppy work...a copy-and-paste program from last year's El Choclo....

Was thinking I was watching last year's repeat for the first few seconds. Was expecting her to do something different. hwell:

But what I really wish is to have Frank replace her Flip with the Loop in the SP. After all those precarious attempts, it's still a shame that they haven't replaced it.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Upon re-watching it, that SP wasn't as bad as I remembered. Maybe because we had a few seasons of more boring routines for her. However, the SP Gracie replaced Gershwin with is honestly the best competitive program Gold has ever done. Even Gracie cites it as one of her favorites if not her favorite routine. That program was what she personally connected to the most and it showed.

 

[andromache]

Why does everyone assume Gracie hates her programs and/or doesn't relate or connect to them? Why the insistence on blaming the choreography when Gracie blows it?

When Gracie doesn't connect with her program, it has nothing to do with the program and everything to do with the competitive nerves (well...except maybe for that awful POTO program lol). The nerves have increased over time as the pressure has. Less pressure as a youngster meant she could perform better - though her consistency still wasn't there.

That said, I do think various choreographers have different strengths, and a new choreographer could bring something new out of Gracie, regardless of the music he/she makes her skate to. A Shae-Lynne program would probably be a lot of fun! Or maybe Philip Mills or David Wilson, since they're well-known for playing large roles in their skaters' support systems.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

It's not Lori's fault though, Lori has coreographed some amazing programs for Gracie. I think it's the pressure that gets to Gracie. The US program has been placed on her shoulders, hopefully Ashley's rise can sort of split the pressure. She said last year she loved her programs and I really believe she did.

This. With the pressure and expectation Gracie puts on herself, I don't think she will be able to perform any program well. She had some very lively performances of Firebird last season but her worlds LP was lifeless when she was in a strong position to win. She isn't losing because of bad programs or the inability to bring excitement into her performance. It's all about skating tentatively when she is leading.

 

[noidont]

That program turned everyone off at the beginning of that season but a lot of people warmed up to it just before it was killed, myself included.

 

[mrrice]

This. With the pressure and expectation Gracie puts on herself, I don't think she will be able to perform any program well. She had some very lively performances of Firebird last season but her worlds LP was lifeless when she was in a strong position to win. She isn't losing because of bad programs or the inability to bring excitement into her performance. It's all about skating tentatively when she is leading.

I agree. She reminds me of Jamie Sale' before she went to a sports Psychologist. She and David were always close and when Jamie kept it together, they became World and Olympic Champions.

 

[TwinnerA]

Gracie has been competing for years now and I keep thinking the next competition is when she will finally put together two clean programs. I never saw her skate as a Junior skater, so I don't know if she was a nervous skater back then or did the nerves only hit when she became a Senior skater?

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Gracie has been competing for years now and I keep thinking the next competition is when she will finally put together two clean programs. I never saw her skate as a Junior skater, so I don't know if she was a nervous skater back then or did the nerves only hit when she became a Senior skater?

Her last season as a junior was strong, and some people even advocated putting her on the senior world team when she competed at junior nationals. She's been marketed as a gold medal contender even when she wasn't (i.e. Sochi) and so I think the pressure of expectation really weighs on her now that she is probably the single most talented jumper in the field.

 

[skylark]

Lori would be smart to do a new one before the GP begins.

But it isn't up to Lori to take that initiative or make that decision. If Gracie or Frank or her parents aren't happy with a program, they have to juggle everybody's schedule, work in another extended session with Lori, and pay her for her time and expertise.

Hey, come to think of it, this could be that blessing in disguise we're always hearing about. If this happened theoretically, and Lori was already fully booked, they might have to theoretically hire another choreographer to come up with something different, something fresh. Silver lining! This is theoretically late in the season for it, but there's that precedent when they replaced the Gerschwin with the Grieg piano, which I feel was one of Gracie's best programs ever.

 

[mrrice]

Her last season as a junior was strong, and some people even advocated putting her on the senior world team when she competed at junior nationals. She's been marketed as a gold medal contender even when she wasn't (i.e. Sochi) and so I think the pressure of expectation really weighs on her now that she is probably the single most talented jumper in the field.

I remember Gracie very well from her Junior days. Especially her last season. She was never a big "Smiler" IMO, Gracie doesn't need to smile in order to be effective. However, her problem is the look of fright that she has until her jumps are over. This is the program that brought Gracie to my attention. I remember saying at the time. "That girl needs a new Choreographer and better packaging because she has the talent to be World Champion. She then hired one of the most successful Coach/Choreographer teams in the World. When she skates two strong programs she wins. At this point in her career, it's time for Gracie to take full responsibility for her performances. If she needs a psychologist, she should definitely go and see one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC8_cAgdoE8