- Joined
- Feb 16, 2014
Not "indisputably" the strongest at all. Artistry is always subjective. By the way, the Russians are all different just as the Japanese girls are, so can we not get into stereotypes, please?
2015-16 Russian Test skates
- Thread starter Watermelondrea
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Not "indisputably" the strongest at all. Artistry is always subjective. By the way, the Russians are all different just as the Japanese girls are, so can we not get into stereotypes, please?
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
Ah Snow is much more aware of inter-Russian skating politics, so it's always good to get that perspective. I can only go by the programs themselves.
As I said, I think it will be an uphill battle to medal for any of the teams this year.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2014
I prefer Satoko's programmes SP to any of the SPs in this thread as of now. It was more polished, but also more musical and interesting choreographically to my eyes. Maybe that will change after any adjustments made from the fed critique... Will see.
What are you talking about? Liza did not fall at all and she singled a grand total of ONE jump.What with the plethora of sloppy skates and very small amount of landed, fully rotated triples here, I'm a bit concerned. Even jump queen Liza had some falls and singled jumps, and I think Elena was the only one to land a clean 3-3 (her and possibly Evgenia). Yulia doubled a ton, Anna had a large number of falls, Liza singled some things, and so did Adelina (as well as falling a lot). I'm honestly scared.
And a lot of the programs (Liza's short, Anna's free, Elena's short and both of Adelina's were alright) were either slightly unsatisfactory or just plain bad..
Mao couldn't have picked a better year to come back than this. And Adelina is a very lucky girl...her improved artistry and polish from her DWTS season might be her saving grace in this field.
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2014
Exactly. All I'm saying is that her programs suit her amazingly well, and that's something all skaters should strive to do when choosing programs. She is able to interpret the artistic side so well because her programs fit her, and anyone could do that given the right choreographer.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2014
I understand why people directly connected to teams would favour their teams, but why would the fed? Surely, they want the best skaters so that they have the chance to win at Worlds? So, why prop up some couples to the detriment of others, when fair evaluation will get the best going out to Boston? Confused at fed shenanigans...
Given that they have only two spots at Worlds this season, only the first two teams matter for Worlds. Which are most likely Bobrova/Soloviev and Ilinykh/Zhiganshin. They have to think only about Europeans when choosing between Stepanova/Bukin and Yanovskaya/Mozgov (and Sinitsina/Katsalapov if they skate). But Bobrova/Soloviev and Ilinykh/Zhiganshin will place high enough there to get three spots, so the third team won't matter anyway. So the Fed will probably just go with the more established and experienced team which is Stepanova/Bukin. Yanovskaya/Mozgov have to be much better than S/B at Nationals, and get better results also internationally (like Snow63 said) to have a real chance.I understand why people directly connected to teams would favour their teams, but why would the fed? Surely, they want the best skaters so that they have the chance to win at Worlds? So, why prop up some couples to the detriment of others, when fair evaluation will get the best going out to Boston? Confused at fed shenanigans...
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The reason I am leaving Sinitsina/Katsalapov out of the discussion for now is that if he does indeed have to be off the ice for six weeks, they'll probably have to skip the GP season entirely, which would put them at a severe disadvantage going into Nationals. If it turns out he can come back on the ice in a week or two, they can probably still make SA, at which point I'll reasses.
I really don't see Y/M making the podium this season at Nationals. They're clearly talented, but their programs were easily the simplest. Because of that they had fewer rough spots, but in three months time the programs of the other teams will have grown much more than Y/M's. I think they'll have a better chance making the team next season.
Before this weekend I thought S/B would at least be going to Euros, but they skated the slowest and farthest apart in the SD, and their SD was only more sophisticated than Y/M's, everyone else's was more difficult. But more than that, their FD didn't work. It's not just that I don't like it, there are programs I don't like and still feel work. But there's no clear theme or storyline present, I waited for the first half for the program to get started, and spent the second half waiting for it to fall apart. They'll be going up against Y/M at TEB, so they may want to make adjustments before then.
M/K had a nice SD and what I think is a nice FD, though I'd like to see a clean version. But the choreography looked sophisticated, they looked smooth and confident, I'd put them as #3 at the moment.
I/Z and B/S were the top two for me. Who wins nationals is a little unclear, it depends on how fast each team develops, but I think I/Z will be the top team at Worlds, barring mistakes. B/S had nice programs that worked for them, I'm glad to see them back. I/Z had the most ambitious programs, definitely ca step up in complexity from last year's programs. They need to work on their partial step sequence in the SD and their transitions out of their lifts in the FD, but once they get more comfortable I expect they'll greatly improve their speed and power.
I really don't see Y/M making the podium this season at Nationals. They're clearly talented, but their programs were easily the simplest. Because of that they had fewer rough spots, but in three months time the programs of the other teams will have grown much more than Y/M's. I think they'll have a better chance making the team next season.
Before this weekend I thought S/B would at least be going to Euros, but they skated the slowest and farthest apart in the SD, and their SD was only more sophisticated than Y/M's, everyone else's was more difficult. But more than that, their FD didn't work. It's not just that I don't like it, there are programs I don't like and still feel work. But there's no clear theme or storyline present, I waited for the first half for the program to get started, and spent the second half waiting for it to fall apart. They'll be going up against Y/M at TEB, so they may want to make adjustments before then.
M/K had a nice SD and what I think is a nice FD, though I'd like to see a clean version. But the choreography looked sophisticated, they looked smooth and confident, I'd put them as #3 at the moment.
I/Z and B/S were the top two for me. Who wins nationals is a little unclear, it depends on how fast each team develops, but I think I/Z will be the top team at Worlds, barring mistakes. B/S had nice programs that worked for them, I'm glad to see them back. I/Z had the most ambitious programs, definitely ca step up in complexity from last year's programs. They need to work on their partial step sequence in the SD and their transitions out of their lifts in the FD, but once they get more comfortable I expect they'll greatly improve their speed and power.
I'm late to the party here, but just had to say, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Additionally, I'm not sure why people are so convinced that S/B will be politicked to Euros. They have a Euros bronze, yes, but that was the only occasion last season that they weren't the third Russian team when they competed against the others- at CoR, Nationals, and Worlds they were the third team.
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2012
I don't think Adelina would be the best person to complain about judges' favoritisms
S&B and Y&M are at TEB together this season, so there will be at least one international score comparison between these two teams before Nationals. I haven't watched the programs yet. (I just prefer to see them competition-ready and on a camera that can take in the facial expressions). My gut says that both teams have poor choices of music, and when that is the case, the more experienced team wins. S&B's weaker program last season was to the Beatles, and I don't see Queen as a giant sign of improvement. Y&M are skating to S&P and A&P's signature waltz music, which is beautiful, but doesn't exactly send the message that their coach is treating them like real contenders this season. (Who in their right mind wants to have their waltz compared to A&P? Only someone so young the audience won't even bother comparing). And that Great Gatsby program decimated Hubbell & Donahue last year. I wanted them to scrap it the first time I saw it. Instead, we got tinkering, more tinkering, and more tinkering. They lost to G&P and the entire Russian team at Worlds. I cannot comprehend why another team would see this as a good idea. And I can't see the program getting a great reception at Skate America. They are young. Almost anything non-bombastic would get a positive reception. Why pick something that will be immediately identified with a top American team?
Bobrova/Soloviev and Ilinykh/Zhiganshin must be in worlds team just because of their skating quality. They can take three spots back easily. Monko/Khaliavin is my pick for third team. First time ever they have OK programs, usually they were too dramatic. Free dance performance was a disaster but their techical elements are cleanest of all russian teams. That means high GOE. I like how effortless they did combo lift and spin and twizzles looked amazing in SD. Their step sequences of course ten times better than Stepanova/Bukin. In my mind, top three is clear: B/S, I/Z, M/K in this order... Others will depend to politicks I think.
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- Joined
- Sep 14, 2014
Oh no. I'm starting to regret that they repeat the FS. Totally changed music cuts, which sound really unpleasant to my ears, they are behind the music and the choreo changes are chaotic. Oh my.
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2013
What with the plethora of sloppy skates and very small amount of landed, fully rotated triples here, I'm a bit concerned. Even jump queen Liza had some falls and singled jumps, and I think Elena was the only one to land a clean 3-3 (her and possibly Evgenia). Yulia doubled a ton, Anna had a large number of falls, Liza singled some things, and so did Adelina (as well as falling a lot). I'm honestly scared.
And a lot of the programs (Liza's short, Anna's free, Elena's short and both of Adelina's were alright) were either slightly unsatisfactory or just plain bad.
Mao couldn't have picked a better year to come back than this. And Adelina is a very lucky girl...her improved artistry and polish from her DWTS season might be her saving grace in this field.
As you become a more experienced skating fan, you will learn when it is time to panic and when it is not time to panic.
The Russian test skates are not time to panic.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
In all honesty, the random and frequent arm movement is no different than what she has ALWAYS done in pretty much everyone of her programs. Watching her I've always felt like there's an internal rythm that she follows and skates to regardless of the specific phrasing or dynamics of the music, and it just never changes. I think most people were just too wowed by her spins and flexibility, and overlooked it.
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- Joined
- Jul 29, 2015
very true about when to and not to panic. It's so early, everyone should be in shape by the time their competition comes around if they aren't already.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2013
I guess it depends on how someone views things. I consider what you describe to be someone creating something very unique that is not similar to things we've seen before. A fresh take if you will with a character all of it's own unlike many other skaters who, if I were to equally simplify things in reverse, do something well that has been seen many times before. A more easily coached and trained skater that mirrors patterns and movements that are quite familiar. In my mind both have extremely appealing aspects if you don't over simplify them. I guess what exactly is being overlooked here is also a matter of perspective.
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- Joined
- Jan 28, 2014
Out of all the ladies, Adelina was the more enjoyable to watch and frankly, the only enjoyable to watch in the test skates. She actually does feel the music this time. And her SS has improved. DWTS helped her a lot. And yay for her costume in the SP. Leaps and bounds better than her previous SP costume during 2013-2014 season.
Apart from that, only Liza's 3T in her combo had a wow factor among her elements. I'm not a fan of her jazz hands and noodle arms. I wish she would straighten/extend her arms a bit during take off. Her jumps are beautiful but her arms look lazy.
Yulia has the best music choice in LP. The program wasn't the best. I'm interested to see how it would evolve into something good during the season.
I don't know what happened to the step sequence of the ladies (except Adelina) and why they all look so rushed and disconnected to the music somehow. They look and feel almost the same to me. But I know this is just the test skates and they will improve over the weeks to come.
Apart from that, only Liza's 3T in her combo had a wow factor among her elements. I'm not a fan of her jazz hands and noodle arms. I wish she would straighten/extend her arms a bit during take off. Her jumps are beautiful but her arms look lazy.
Yulia has the best music choice in LP. The program wasn't the best. I'm interested to see how it would evolve into something good during the season.
I don't know what happened to the step sequence of the ladies (except Adelina) and why they all look so rushed and disconnected to the music somehow. They look and feel almost the same to me. But I know this is just the test skates and they will improve over the weeks to come.
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