- Joined
- Jan 26, 2013
Polina.
She has the technical score and most consistent. She will build on PCS this season!
She has the technical score and most consistent. She will build on PCS this season!
State of US Ladies in skating III: 2014-15 Season
- Thread starter R.D.
- Start date
I've wondered if this is the reason. However, as this year's LP music has proven, she is incapable of any facial expression that isn't a beauty pageant smile. Choosing a wistful, sad song with lyrics about death just highlights the disconnect between her expression and her program's theme. Same thing as two years ago when she skated to "Life is Beautiful" with a toothy grin. Yep, a soundtrack from a movie about the Holocaust is usually full of sunshine.
They need to go with Gershwin, Broadway medleys (Chicago was good choice for her - but happy Broadway, not Miss Saigon or Cabaret), Big Band, Ethel Merman, etc. Something where a big ol' smile during the entire program makes sense and that is uptempo to showcase her speed. Happy, uptempo, jaunty types of programs would be a good natural fit for her one facial expression and limited presentation skills.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
It would be an interesting experiment for NBC to try. They could tell the TV audience, it's obvious that the USA has no good skaters these days, but tune in anyway and watch the Russians and other international stars. You'll be glad you did!
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2012
I did not see the NBC coverage, but I believe your post refers to Gracie Gold.
If so, the answer is that everyone under the sun has said -- early and often -- that she was the "it" girl.
I wish I had a nickel for every post on GS alone that has called Gracie the "it" girl. The total could probably pay for an IN subscription.
Countless numbers of both Gracie's fans and non-fans have described her that way.
Although I did not see the NBC coverage, I do know that Gracie has readily acknowledged in previous interviews that the spotlight has been both a blessing and a curse.
I was very slow to start warming up to Gracie's personality, but she gradually has been winning me over. At the same time, I remain a fan of Nagasu and Wagner.
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2010
That's my problem with her too. At one point, I think she smiled the hardest at "Wishing I could hear your voice again, knowing that I never would" and that really creeped me out.
I'm sure Gracie is perfectly nice, but there are some things and actions she has done in the past that make me more reluctant than normal to warm up to her.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2011
Seriously, can we retire the word "princess" unless we're talking about Beatrice of York or Anne or another actual princess (women who are nothing like any figure skater, ever, for the record). Unless one of these young women is skating to a Disney song or channeling Grace Kelly, they are not being a "princess". And the notion that it is bad or objectionable for them to look feminine in a particular way is dangerously close to misogyny.
Gracie may be a bit fiercer off the ice, but she also seems to be a girly-girl who likes make-up and sparkle. She is allowed to be that on or off the ice.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
The term "pretty princess" refers strictly to the choreography (and maybe the costume) but not the skater. Everyone is saying she isn't a "pretty princess" and that's why these types of programs are frustrating. Personally I think the most appropriate type of program would her portraying a robot, since that's how she moves, but I don't think it would go over well with the judges.
All kidding aside, what is annoying is that we have a good skater like Sam who performs beautifully but gets virtually no attention or backing because the USFSA is fully behind Gracie. Sam should be well ahead of Gracie at least on the performance and interpretation parts of PCS.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
It hasn't been for six years.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2011
It is okay to be pretty and there is nothing "princess" in any connotation of the word about anyone's skating. What makes the choreo princess like? The answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing. If you mean that the choreo is classical or balletic or operatic, say that. Don't use a term in a way that is intended to slam.
It is, on all the skating boards, a slam directed at young women who appear too feminine for posters' tastes on the ice. If it isn't misogynistic, it is on the edge of the line. Or standing on it with one foot over. Particularly when the criticism is accompanied by a critique of a girl for being "pretty".
It is turning me into a Gracie fan.
I normally don't like Weir's commentary but he said something during today's broadcast (during Gold's skate, actually) that was spot on: Gold's performance does not come across as authentic. She's trying to be someone she's not. She needs something bigger and more powerful.
Gold has become too PP for me. I wonder when (or if) she will try something different...
More important than that, though, are her jumps. I'd rather her work on that because she still has a LOT of work to do before she can challenge the Russians...once she gets the jumps, the music almost doesn't matter any more.
Gold has become too PP for me. I wonder when (or if) she will try something different...
More important than that, though, are her jumps. I'd rather her work on that because she still has a LOT of work to do before she can challenge the Russians...once she gets the jumps, the music almost doesn't matter any more.
Over PC much? What is misogynistic about the term "pretty princess"?
Gracie's packaging is definitely Disney princess. She is being shoved into this Disney, cotton candy, spun sugar mold of femininity, which comes off as artificial. Most posters aren't complaining about her being too feminine, but too feminine in a fake manner.
