least favorite winning performances

[Matt]

I don't like the premise of this thread, because I don't think it's fair to rain on someone's joy and happiness at winning like that by saying your programme wasn't really that good. That's cruel

But...

1. Anything Lipinski ever won with as an amateur. She had jumps; that was it, zero choreography, unless you count flailing your arms at every dynamic of the music. It's only as a pro that she's done anything good.

2. Eltsova & Bushkov at the 1996 Worlds. I never liked them (and neither did the judges after that, apparently , plus they made several mistakes, IIRC

3. Yags's "Tosca" at the 2000 Worlds. It was boring; the only reason he won was because Plushenko had a horrific meltdown

4. Grischuk & Platov's FP at the 1994 Olys. It was campy, they violated the "no more than 5 seconds apart rule" at the time, and how do you deny Torvill & Dean a medal and sleep with yourself at night?

5. Berezhnaya & Sikhuralidze SLC FP. I know people will hate me for this, but it just seemed like the same staid programme the Russians always do at the Olympics. It didn't have the same fire and relation to each other as S&P

6. S&P's Tristan und Isolde. They deserved to win a World title, but not with that, even though it was the best I saw that performance get, but come on...against B&S's Chaplin?

7. MK's Ariane. It was really a great programme, but it was at a time when MK was inconsistent, so it never developed artistically like it should have. The only clean skate of it I saw was at the 1999 World Pros (there's a clip of it at the Cruella de Kwan site)

 

[thvudragon]

TV,
http://ww2.isu.org/news/europe5.html

The above news clip from the ISU refers to the program as Turn, Turn, Turn.

The music is Turn, Turn, Turn by Pete Seeger, which was later covered by the Byrds.

The lyrics are Ecclesiastes, over 2000 years old, and have been variously rearranged and translated and are very familiar as they are used at about 50% of the weddings and funerals.

The artist is indeed Rita.

The name of the program is variously reported as A Time of Peace and To Everything Their Is a Season, depending on the website you select.

But in any case, the message is the same. There is a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die, a time for war, a time for peace.

I felt the taste in using these images in a country where in my county about 50% of the kids were experiencing lesser or greater traumatic stress symptoms, many seeing shrinks, and a moratorium on images on the TV, was in poor taste. But I don't mind your disagreeing.

What the heck? Why else discuss anything at all?

Thanks for clarifying, I now know what you mean.

Personally, as an American, I didn't feel the FD was offensive at all. It's not as if they were degrading the memory, it was an obvious tribute. I remember in an interview that Ilia said the message of the FD wasn't justifying death, but instead, was a reflection of what was happening in reality.

Either way though liked it or disliked it, you must admit that the FD is very effective in what it was trying to convey. They hectic harpsichord, everything just matched.

TV

 

[Donna ML]

Almost every gold winning performance at the 1994 Olympics.
The only saving grace was G & G .

 

[Ptichka]

Interesting how some things people have listed are some of my favorite performances (such as '88 B&B).

Anyway, my list (in no particular order):

• '02 Sarah. Yes, she did deserve to win, but it just wasn't a gold performance, IMHO.
• Petrova & Tikhonov winning Worlds. Yawn.
• Urmanov in '94. There can be a good argument for why he should have been the winner over Elvis, but his skating just did nothing for me.

 

[sarahmistral]

let's see...I'd have to go with Anissina & Peizirat's OLy FD--I have to agree with the poster who mentioned Romeo & Juliet...after that (one of my all time favorite dance performances)...nowhere to go but down. Also, though I came to love his skating later, in pros, particularly, Ilia's Rhapsody in Blue did nothing for me...pairs: don't hate you Matt; not at all, as you express your opinions respectfully and honestly, but I probably would have to say the exact opposite re: SLC. I thought Elena & Anton's Meditation was exquisite, bobble on the sal and all, a really intricately choreographed, mesmerizing program with the physical relationship of the skaters was drawn on the ice as only good ol' Moskvina knows how, whereas Love Story was in its third year of reruns; it couldn't help but have that relationship, and was too reliant on the cultural subtext, presuming Love Story is required viewing for people everywhere. ANother one: Julia Sebestyen at '04 Europeans: okay, okay, it was a great accomplishment, finally putting it together, at home, and I salute her, but I was never bowled over by it, nor by her skating, aside from those incredible jumps
On Sarah's night at SLC, whatever anyone may feel about her skating, and frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of her body line or posture or "look" on the ice, etc. etc., it was really her night, perhaps because everyone else was flat, but I think that X factor of competitive fire, sheer guts, and finding a way through those two things to rise to the occasion on the biggest night in skating, was what made her skate a worthwhile gold performance. Maybe the cheerleading...oops, I meant the commentating did give it an added bit of excitement, and they really set it up to be a monumental four minutes--this is not to take anything away from Sarah's combination of unprecedented technical achievement and extraordinary ability to put it all on the line when it's precisely hardest to do so, to master her nerves and emotions and skate with abandon--but I think, especially upon viewing it several times, Scott and Sandra really set you up for a heartwarming cliffhanger instead of letting you assess the performance value yourself.


Well, that's about all the nitpicking I can do for now

Sarah

 

[clairecloutier]

1. The Duchesnays' win at 1991 Worlds.
I honestly like the Duchesnays a lot, but their win in 1991 was obviously a political plum as opposed to an earned win. Their free dance was pretty much recycled from the previous year, and worse, very sloppily skated. They should not have been higher than third that year.

2. Oksana Baiul's win at 1994 Olympics.
This, of course, has been debated over and over, but to me remains one of the most egregious cases of bad judging. Oksana just shouldn't have won. In the long program, her technical content was significantly less than Nancy's and her artistry really wasn't much better. Too much posing and preening, not enough skating.

3. Eltsova & Bushkov's win at 1996 Worlds.
The mid-90s (post-Lillehammer) were a bad period for pairs generally, and 1996 was kind of the nadir. Eltsova & Bushkov won despite having a flat, uninspired performance in the free skate. They won mainly because they had the fewest mistakes.

4. Lobacheva & Averbukh's win at 2002 Worlds and near-win at 2002 Olympics.
I honestly can't understand the success these two had in the Olympic year. To me, their skating was ragged, their choreography unremarkable, and their presentation over the top. I can only assume it was a political thing.

5. Fusar-Poli & Margaglio's win at 2001 Worlds.
Again, I just didn't get this. I always thought these two were very overrated, and again, can only assume that politics were working in their favor.

 

[floskate]

ITA with what many here have said:

'92 Petrenko LP - just watched that tape a week ago for the first time in about 10 years and was shocked at the gap clearly displayed in his and the ultimately superior Wylie that night.

'91 Browning LP - Love the guy to death before you lynch me and he deserved to win etc, but WHAT was that program about???

'94 Urmanov- possibly the worst choreography I've ever seen in a mens LP

Almost every winning freedance post T&D - my faves are always mired between 8th and 12th!!!! gooo Kerrrs!!!!

'96 Eltsova/Bushkov - just awful program

Loads more but I'll have to think.....

 

[yelyoh]

My recollection of Tara's OGM FS. Thought her skating was the same as those skaters who get pegged as skating juniorish programs these days. Never impressed with her 3/3: fast rotations but with no height no ice coverage. Not that much else going on that special. Lot of arms movements this way and that. Very grinny.

Urmanov 1994. Yawn!!!

Anything by Chait and S?????????????y. They skate fast but it looks as though he is dragging her over the ice and she is hanging on for dear life. Though since I know nada about ice dance I will concede that maybe there is something going on that is too subtle for me to appreciate.

 

[hrmsk8ngnutt]

Mine has to be B&B of Russia - 1988 Olympics - ice Dance - that was the ugliest choreography I have ever seen. Rob Mc Call and Tracy Wilson had the best program - talk about being robbed.

Add me to the list who loved Wilson/McCall and is bewildered by the win of B&B. The only reason B&B won is that they were the 3-time and reigning World Champions going into Calgary. B&B's costumes were garish and the choreography at times made me think of all the Bugs Bunny cartoons that were set to classical music.

The inspiration behind 'Elite Syncopations' was Kenneth MacMillan's ballet 'Elite Syncopations'. I had the prvilege of seeing this ballet last year when the San Francisco Ballet performed it last season (and will see it again in a few weeks when they perform it again for this season). SFB is only one of a handful of companies that has performed this piece. I can see why Rob McCall was inspired to create their freedance - he and Wilson were definitely faithful to the music and spirit of the ballet, and their costumes are tame compared to the ones in the actual ballet.

Herm (sk8ngnutt)

 

[lulu]

Anything by Chait and S?????????????y. They skate fast but it looks as though he is dragging her over the ice and she is hanging on for dear life. Though since I know nada about ice dance I will concede that maybe there is something going on that is too subtle for me to appreciate.

But I don't believe C&S have ever won a major competiton. The closest they got was 3rd at 2002 Worlds. Unless you count Skate Israel Competition.

 

[Vicky458]

Katerina Will 1988 Carmen

Tara 1998 Olympic LP

Sarah Hughes 2002 Olympic SPand LP

 

[dorispulaski]

TV, I did actually feel that L&A were not performing a tribute.

They were miming the running terror, and the deaths of people whose bodies were not even cold, because the fires were not yet out, and when the wind was in the west, you could still smell the burning of the buildings and the bodies trapped within them. L&A were doing this program during the GP, within 2 months of 9/11. It took like 9 months to a year before the fires finally went out.

My dad was murdered. If someone had shown me a skating mime show of him being cut to pieces 2 months after his murder, running from his murderers, and eventually succumbing, and claiming it was art and a tribute, I would have gone after the skaters with a ball bat. Or I would have burst into tears, cried uncontrollably and tossed my cookies all over the people sitting in front of me. It could go either way.

Doing a tribute is what Sarah did, laying a wreath, or even Kwan's Fields of Gold which started as a 9/11 tribute performance about the sadness of life cut short and promise wasted.

What L&A's performance said was, hey, this is journalism, this is what it looked like, Run little rabbits run, it is your time to be turned into crispy little hasenpfeffers, there is a time for peace when you are dead.

 

[topaz]

I'm enjoying all the threads to his subject

Witt's Carmen: 1988. Last year, I watched " Bud Greenspan's Olympic Moments". The performance by Katarina is horrible. Katarina is a very good skater and this was one her worse performance. She didn't fall on any jumps, but the performance fell short of excitement.

Grichuk and Platov's 1998 FD was bad. It lacked speed, which was their biggest advantage of the field. It was unemotional and stale.

 

[Mathman]

I agree with Mateo about Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze's 2001 and 2002 programs. I thought Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest pairs programs of all time, while Meditation seemed, IMHO, kind of generic.

Mathman

 

[frozetoez]

G&P in 1994. Someone else posted that it was more like an exhibition number. I agree. I hated that fake-o "Look at how much fun I'm having!" look on Grishuk's face during that program. T&D were so robbed.

B&B in 1988. Melodramatic junk.

Yagudin 2002. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ :sheesh:

 

[Fossi]

Tara Lipinski. Now that you mention it, she did skate very much like a junior. No matter what competition. She did have fast rotation, but boring kid like programs.

For the record, I disagree with everyone about Sarah. But it's your opinion.

 

[show 42]

Grischuk & Platov's FP at the 1994 Olys. It was campy, they violated the "no more than 5 seconds apart rule" at the time, and how do you deny Torvill & Dean a medal and sleep with yourself at night?

Matt, I agree.........this gets my vote for the least favorite or deserving Oly performance.........Torville and Dean all the way...42

 

[thvudragon]

TV, I did actually feel that L&A were not performing a tribute.

They were miming the running terror, and the deaths of people whose bodies were not even cold, because the fires were not yet out, and when the wind was in the west, you could still smell the burning of the buildings and the bodies trapped within them. L&A were doing this program during the GP, within 2 months of 9/11. It took like 9 months to a year before the fires finally went out.

My dad was murdered. If someone had shown me a skating mime show of him being cut to pieces 2 months after his murder, running from his murderers, and eventually succumbing, and claiming it was art and a tribute, I would have gone after the skaters with a ball bat. Or I would have burst into tears, cried uncontrollably and tossed my cookies all over the people sitting in front of me. It could go either way.

Doing a tribute is what Sarah did, laying a wreath, or even Kwan's Fields of Gold which started as a 9/11 tribute performance about the sadness of life cut short and promise wasted.

What L&A's performance said was, hey, this is journalism, this is what it looked like, Run little rabbits run, it is your time to be turned into crispy little hasenpfeffers, there is a time for peace when you are dead.

But how could they not be skating a tribute when such words were uttered from their own mouths? They were showing the chaos with the underlying message of peace. I guess then though, it's personal opinion. I find nothing wrong with what they did, but you and others seem deeply offended. Even with your explanation, I don't understand. How is this different than any artists portraying tragedy? Goya's The Third of May 1808 leaps immediately into mind. He portrayed the French massacre of Spanish civilians and went as far as to place on victim in the pose of a crucifix. I find it odd that this work is considered one of the most riveting of the era (personally I hate Goya, but because of his style not his subject).

IIRC, L&A didn't compete in the GP that season, they first performed this FD at 2002 Euros.

TV

 

[berthes ghost]

That's a very good point and has made me stop and wonder. Tributes happen all the time in art and in skating in particular, so why did L&A's alone disgust me so? Maybe it was in part due to closeness with the subject (I was in NYC on 9/11), whereas I wasn't close to Sergei Grinkov or the skaters who died in 1961 plane crash. But somehow, I think it actually has to do with HOW they performed the tribute. Personally, as soon as I saw the fake WTC dust in Irina's overcoiffed hair, I was turned off.

I think that a tribute can be powerful and moving, without being heavy handed or overly literal in it's interpretation. To me, L&A's artestry or interpretation was just tacky. JMHO.

For the record, I think that about them in general. For example, their Rock-n-roll number the next year was also heavy handed and only captured the most surface pizzaz of rock, not it's true essence. IMHO. I also found their Jesus Christ Superstar FD of the previous year overly dramatic and surfacy. They didn't insult me the way the WTC program did, but in retrospect it doesn't surprise me that they did a tribute that I found shallow and blunt.

JMHO, All you fans can just brush it off as pearls before this swine.

 

[fanforlady2001]

Irina's Grand Prix win in 2002.