- Joined
- Sep 10, 2005
Russian skating, especially pairs, has ceased to be artistic and become boring. T/M were not artistic. Artistry is about risk-taking. They were tentative to the point of being slow, and some of their positions were outright ugly (their spiral in particular should have been slammed hard. It was unattractice and not even overly difficult.) The Chinese, on the other hand, especially Z/Z, took risks and were INNOVATIVE. They had different positions, especially on lifts, while it's sadly obvious T/M are still too scared to do anything with the lifts. And unlike Moskvina's pairs, they didn't even look particularly graceful doing it. Totminanina in particular has no expression--she's just punching a clock. It's sad, but the Russians keep trying to be G & G, and it's just not going to happen.
As for the "Russian pairs is so balletic", don't make me laugh. If ballet were as stagnant as their recent pairs, it wouldn't have changed since Diaghilev was promoting Nijinsky (who was great because, again, he pushed the envelope.) Ballet is not about robotic repetition of elements, either, or getting muscled into positions just because.
As for the "Russian pairs is so balletic", don't make me laugh. If ballet were as stagnant as their recent pairs, it wouldn't have changed since Diaghilev was promoting Nijinsky (who was great because, again, he pushed the envelope.) Ballet is not about robotic repetition of elements, either, or getting muscled into positions just because.