- Joined
- Dec 16, 2006
Unlike most sports, skating is one where the face doesn't/shouldn't betray the athletic effort the competitors exert. For some, the face is used to express, while for others, the face remains blank, relying on their body to express the music.
Yuna Kim has been praised and criticized for using facial expressions. Katia Gordeeva and Elena Berezhnaya use a blank face and are praised for artistry, while Tania Totmianina and Maria Petrova are called passionless for not having much facial expression.
Are facial expressions necessary in skating? Early in the 20th century, dance experienced a shift. For years dancers expressed with their face. Then Nijinsky came along and expressed not with his face but his body.
Perhaps its cultural. When watching Kavaguti and Smirnoff, his facial expression differs greatly from hers.
Yuna Kim has been praised and criticized for using facial expressions. Katia Gordeeva and Elena Berezhnaya use a blank face and are praised for artistry, while Tania Totmianina and Maria Petrova are called passionless for not having much facial expression.
Are facial expressions necessary in skating? Early in the 20th century, dance experienced a shift. For years dancers expressed with their face. Then Nijinsky came along and expressed not with his face but his body.
Perhaps its cultural. When watching Kavaguti and Smirnoff, his facial expression differs greatly from hers.