Leaping Beauty: Balletic Chen Soars

[skylark]

I saw so much musicality and artistry in Nathan's SP the first time I watched it, with or without this article. If others can't see it or refuse to see it, it's their loss. And talk about beating a dead horse. The haters are becoming so embarrassingly predictable. No one was even comparing his artistic achievements to Nureyev, whose name was only even brought up because Chen and Zoueva studied his dancing to La Corsaire carefully when choreographing Chen's SP. The article also made no mention of whether his PCS or deserved or not, and focused mostly on his balletic background and how that translated into his skating. But if it makes them feel better to vilify or exaggerate any comments made by any person that has anything complimentary to say about Chen which they don't agree with, carry on.

All of the above. :agree:

 

[WeakAnkles]

I think he has nice lines and good performance ability. His programs emphasize his strengths and hide his weaknesses well. He is not yet as gifted a skater as Patrick or Hanyu, so I hope that at least the SS score reflects that difference in the upcoming events.

Yes but Hanyu skated like a limp noodle when he moved up to seniors. It took a few years for him to improve that (and yes, you Hanyu fans, he has). Nathan already has much better carriage than Yuzu had at a comparable point in their careers. And it's his first year in Seniors. Give him time. Anyone who has ever watched dance can see his carriage, his musicality. And Chen is spot on about what is the biggest issue in men's right now: sacrificing artistry in order to push the technical. I think he'll strike a better balance between the technical demands and the artistry as he matures.

 

[Matilda]

Calm down, folks! That Nathan has beautiful body lines and musicality is evident without this article. Saying so takes nothing away from Yuzu or Shoma or any other skater people like (and those three are my current favorites--the Worlds will be a nail-biter!).

 

[topaz emerald]

I just assumed the article would be about Karen Chen, so was thinking while she is very expressive and uses her body beautifully, but rather a little powerhouse, not a balletic type. However, it is about Nathan.

I had no doubt it was about Nathan, that's why I clicked on the thread, lol. I just do not see balletic in Karen. She's more like a little fireball. Anyway, it all makes sense now....he was so good in his short program, sharp crisp balletic movements, nice carriage. Before reading the article, I had no clue about his background. The article is informative. Really rooting for him! My favorite men skaters so far are Nathan and Nam Nguyen. Also I just became a big fan of Vincent Zhou, who skated so magnificently beautiful in his long program at junior worlds

 

[Ice Dance]

I had no doubt it was about Nathan, that's why I clicked on the thread, lol. I just do not see balletic in Karen. She's more like a little fireball.

She's really an extraordinary performer in a different way. That exhibition of hers--with the scarved sleeves--this season is incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUHQBVavigk
The visual watching it in the arena was truly stunning.

And she did the one with the butterfly fans previously. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_nH1dPb_90

As well as a previous one when she was just the novice champion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Y-bzrkJlU

You see a lot of people use props in exhibition, but very few are used to such effect. Really gorgeous.

 

[Mathman]

Was the title of this thread the original title of the article?

If so, I see Icenetwork has changed it to the more pedestrian "Dance background helps to enhance Chen's skating."

Boooo. "Leaping Beauty" was beyond cool!

 

[ice coverage]

Here is Phil's tweet introducing the article:

https://twitter.com/olyphil/status/845661652318064640

He says, literally: Nathan as Nureyev. You don't have to read between the lines to find it. ...

No, you misrepresented what Phil tweeted.

He posed the question (emphasis added): ".@nathanwchen as Nureyev? ..."

In the context of this thread's discussion, the question mark that Phil included -- but that you left out -- makes a significant difference.

---

My best wishes to Nathan at Worlds :dance2:.

 

[back2black]

ahhh there's a thread about this article

i can't stop chuckling when i read it on IN the other day, thinking, is chen winning a lot Russian granny fans with his current programs meanwhile Jin is gaining popularity among Japanese grannies who see him as adorable as their grandson

doing balletic skating is one of the most hardest thing, Chen's SP has shown he can rise up to the task. It's just in LP he priorities jumping passes for competition's sake. Plus, for a male skater, doing balletic is even harder to get the crowd going, after all, how many of you go to watch balletic dance often? i haven't, like ever, because i don't like it, at all. so, it's fairly easy to miss the subtleties Chen puts in his program and what he is trying to show from the POV of general audiences.

also to compare him with Jin in terms of artistic potential, chen has it, Jin hasn't, at least for now

 

[Tavi...]

No, you misrepresented what Phil tweeted.

He posed the question (emphasis added): ".@nathanwchen as Nureyev? ..."

In the context of this thread's discussion, the question mark that Phil included -- but that you left out -- makes a significant difference.

---

My best wishes to Nathan at Worlds :dance2:.

Could you please stop? Thank you.

 

[ice coverage]

Could you please stop? Thank you.

I have a question for you that I will convey by PM.

 

[begin]

Real talk - are we still going to dismiss any form of criticism/complain about Nathans scores/the hype around him as just coming from Hanyu ubers? How convenient but probably annoying for those people who actually dare to have an opinion without being Hanyu fans. Yes, they exist. If you'd care to see them, you would.

Ever consider that some of this 'criticism' isn't merited? What was written in this thread that deserved levels of sarcasm? I don't even think half of the 'criticism' here are actual observations about Nathan's faults (which he has, ofc).

And where did I say that only Hanyu fans don't like Nathan? Like, this is what I'm talking about. People are just looking to be outraged by anyone on the other side of a discussion. I'm not dismissing anyone as an uber but mentioning his fans specifically bc a)I'm a Yuzu fan, b)no one in figure skating has a bigger following, and c)no other collective group of fans have as many people as eager to find fault in Nathan (which is what some fans are doing, let us not pretend). It's basically an echo chamber everywhere bc Yuzu has so many fans who'll agree/thumbs up/like anything negative about the kid. The fact that Chen and Hanyu are almost polar opposites as skaters kinda compounds on the problem. These people aren't willing to see the good parts of their fave's rival and it's so petty.

And seriously, why is this only a big bad conspiracy to boost or justify PCS when Nathan is the subject? Are we really going to pretend like there hasn't been a ton of fawning, over-the-top media surrounding Yuzuru? Or that his hype and reputation hasn't contributed to his overscoring?

And Yuzu ff? In my old teenage internet speech past ff stood for fanfiction. Now, if Yuzu fanfictions would start to vomit all over themselves, I'd take that up with the writers and not this article too.

ff = fanfest

Literally, I saw Yuzu fans on my tlist 'vomiting' over this article and it was nagl.

 

[topaz emerald]

Ever consider that some of this 'criticism' isn't merited? What was written in this thread that deserved levels of sarcasm? I don't even think half of the 'criticism' here are actual observations about Nathan's faults (which he has, ofc).

And where did I say that only Hanyu fans don't like Nathan? Like, this is what I'm talking about. People are just looking to be outraged by anyone on the other side of a discussion. I'm not dismissing anyone as an uber but mentioning his fans specifically bc a)I'm a Yuzu fan, b)no one in figure skating has a bigger following, and c)no other collective group of fans have as many people as eager to find fault in Nathan (which is what some fans are doing, let us not pretend). It's basically an echo chamber everywhere bc Yuzu has so many fans who'll agree/thumbs up/like anything negative about the kid. The fact that Chen and Hanyu are almost polar opposites as skaters kinda compounds on the problem. These people aren't willing to see the good parts of their fave's rival and it's so petty.

And seriously, why is this only a big bad conspiracy to boost or justify PCS when Nathan is the subject? Are we really going to pretend like there hasn't been a ton of fawning, over-the-top media surrounding Yuzuru? Or that his hype and reputation hasn't contributed to his overscoring?



ff = fanfest

Literally, I saw Yuzu fans on my tlist 'vomiting' over this article and it was nagl.

You are totally right. They are completely different skaters. Hanyu is a smooth skater, well not as smooth as Patrick Chan, but Nathan is more sharp, crisp, and dare I say it, BALLETIC in the way he moves his upper body and even leaps like one too =>>>>> look at this program.... I mean, how can anyone say he has no artistry at all? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IWrJOhUVl0 I just saw this performance of his which I read he choreographed himself! The boy has talent and USFS recognizes that...hopefully he has sponsors? Hanyu skates more like a Yuna Kim in terms of body movement. Totally different styles.

And yeah, I'm all for hyping up someone who's as good as him right now. I remember seeing him not too long ago as a junior skating to Michael Jackson, and BOY has he come a long way in what seems like only a short time, my goodness, all those quads and improvement in artistry....d*mn right the USFS better hype him up, lol. Only less than a year to go and he may bring home a gold for the US and they know it...

eta: and I agree with Tara in that video..."he's modern...he's 2017." and that leap he did at the 2:28- 2:30 mark was beautiful, balletic. I hope he incorporates it more.

 

[Ice Dance]

I think ballet is Marina's specialty. She does a lot of programs, but she really knows how to bring ballet to life. Davis & White's Giselle, the Shibs' Coppelia, and Sinitsina & Katsalapov's Swan Lake were all very successful programs for those teams.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Exactly. People this is a sport. Nathan is one of the best athletes competing at the moment and aims to be the best. He is working at upping his artistic content and doing so with greater success. I studied dance (ballet and afro) for a decade and I see plenty of evidence in Nathan's programs that illustrate his dedication to incorporating his dance training. Marina has had plenty to work with and it shows. There are other skaters who cannot pull if off no matter how hard they try; they look awkward. He does not. Let's see what happens at Worlds and next year before coming down hard on a 17 year old.

People also seem to forget this is his first season. Seems like they ignore the technical part of the sport and are upset with him upsetting the faves even if he doesn't have their level of artistic quality. To them it doesn't matter if you have 5 quads, but obviously to Nathan who is trying to win instead of wait for judges to gradually give him better PCS that is the approach that is working for him.

 

[Puchi]

Could you please stop? Thank you.

Am I missing something? Was there a previous exchange that got deleted?

 

[4everchan]

Was the title of this thread the original title of the article?

If so, I see Icenetwork has changed it to the more pedestrian "Dance background helps to enhance Chen's skating."

Boooo. "Leaping Beauty" was beyond cool!

well leaping beauty is what made me think of Karen

(the rest has nothing to do with your post MM... just my 2 cents )


now, FWIW : i think Nathan has definite qualities shining through from his ballet training. When he does 5 quads, well the focus is on the jumps... there is not enough time once the jump has been prepared with simple moves to acquire the necessary speed for the jumps and to have lots of interesting choreo...
his SP is much much better in terms of showing his skills.

what puzzles me is all the criticism sent Nathan's way. He is a kid learning. Do you guys really expect he is done developing his style at this point in time? Even a guy like Patrick who has been on the circuit for almost 10 years is still evolving both technically and artistically.

Give Nathan a break.

 

[Tahuu]

Could you please stop? Thank you.

That's an interesting demand. Somebody who has been constantly using twisted "facts" to argue her points against Nathan or anyone she perceives as threatening to her horsey daisy is asking a truth teller to stop!

I admire ice coverage’s principle to stand up for all skaters, not only her fav. She always makes her points with references, facts and truth. I wish I have her patience.

 

[TontoK]

This discussion is starting to remind me of those times when some fans of Davis/White and Virture/Moir could find NOTHING praiseworthy in the other team's abilities or programs, and a lot of that was grounded in perceived threats to personal favorites.

Or... the all-time perfect example for this sort of thing... the nastiness between Mao and Yuna fans.

Please... let's not go there in this battle between Nathan and the lesser skaters.

 

[skatinggold]

People are just mad cuz their favorite skaters are not winning and Nathan is beating them. Nathan is beautiful!!! I just hope his boot issues are resolved and he wins the world championship!

 

[4everchan]

This discussion is starting to remind me of those times when some fans of Davis/White and Virture/Moir could find NOTHING praiseworthy in the other team's abilities or programs, and a lot of that was grounded in perceived threats to personal favorites.

Or... the all-time perfect example for this sort of thing... the nastiness between Mao and Yuna fans.

Please... let's not go there in this battle between Nathan and the lesser skaters.

you almost had a perfect post there...