2016 World Championships Ladies Free Skate

[moriel]

Just rewatched Ashley's program with the Russian commentary. How did Tarasova and team call it? I appreciated how they kept their talking to a minimum during the actual performance!

Well, they started calling her "dessert" =)
Both thought she was better than Gold in short.
After the skate, TAT said it was amazing, great program, womanly skating.

And yeah, TAT is mostly ok. Somethimes she screams and sometimes she talks ton on random stuff (but this usually happens during boring skates so not very disturbing)

 

[cl2]

Does anyone else think that Anna Pogorilya ought to work on softer knees? She seems so straight-legged on her jumps. This is OK when they are perfect (like last night), but when they are off a little, a softer knee would help her save some landings -- or at least, if she fell, she wouldn't fall so hard.

Yeah, Anna definitely wasn't pleased when they announced Ashley's score. On the other hand, Anna and Evgenia seem to be on friendly terms -- there was a shot in the waiting room with Anna resting her head on Evgenia's lap.

Speaking of falls, I think the reason that Gracie's was so bad is that she landed on her back. Then she had to turtle herself awkwardly upright -- no chance for a graceful ("Fall? What fall?") rebound.

Agreed. Her errors wouldn't have looked as jarring if she'd just fell a graceful Patrick-style fall and hopped right back up. She would have lost the same amount of points anyway, and it just letting the fall play out naturally might not rattle her as much as it did.

 

[icekiwi]

Very happy with the judging in this whole competition overall. Felt the skaters were all judged fairly.

Evgenia - totally deserved the Gold, poise and finise in everything!

Ashley - performed to every word, beat and phrasing of the music, I literally had chills just from watching on my computer screen. That was how moved I was. She was the character 'Satine' of Moulin Rouge from beginning to the end. Totally deserved the highest PCs for the evening and the Silver.

Anna - Well done Anna, skated to your full potential, great big jumps. Loved your dresses too!!

Gracie - That was still a strong and solid skate. Gracie has the 'biggest' triple-triple in the SP. Just wow! When every lady brought her A game in the final, any little mistake is costly. A 4th place in this deep field is not bad overall. Keep your head high.

Elena - Unfortunately skated through her music (no connection to the music today) and the judges rightfully noticed it and marked it appropriately. Need better choreography for next year.

Satoko - Tiny winy miniature jumps shouldn't medal in my opinion. Her tech marks are a bit high too. All the other ladies have big jumps, even Ashley had made her jumps a lot higher than in the past. Why does her dress look like a little girl's swimsuit (the ruffles on the back and the skirt length is way too short). It doesn't help when the other ladies wore elegant 'dresses' and appear more 'womanly'.

 

[Seruleane]

9. hOngo. Her posture is so bad. It makes it difficult to even watch her. She is a strong jumper but everything else is really lacking. Her skating is simply not pretty. I hope she works on it, because she has potentially be a top skater.

Really? I enjoyed Rika's performances, esp her FS greatly, and I think most would agree in the audience, as she received at least a partial standing ovation. I'm no dancer, but I think Rika has worked on her posture (Elena too). Plus, neither one of them really has a graceful ballerina body type a la Zijun Li or Evgenia Medvedeva. I also take issue with the idea that all skating has to be pretty and delicate. Skaters are built differently and I think Rika and Elena probably do better with programs that are more powerful and dynamic.

 

[winky97]

Well, they started calling her "dessert" =)
Both thought she was better than Gold in short.
After the skate, TAT said it was amazing, great program, womanly skating.

And yeah, TAT is mostly ok. Somethimes she screams and sometimes she talks ton on random stuff (but this usually happens during boring skates so not very disturbing)

I like TAT! She makes me want to learn Russian so I will know what she's talking about.

 

[rain]

Does anyone else think that Anna Pogorilya ought to work on softer knees? She seems so straight-legged on her jumps. This is OK when they are perfect (like last night), but when they are off a little, a softer knee would help her save some landings -- or at least, if she fell, she wouldn't fall so hard.

I was trying to figure out why all of her landings (perfect though they were) looked so heavy, and this is it. She also has an unfortunate habit of looking down at the ice when she lands (like her head bent forward).

 

[Mrs. P]

Really? I enjoyed Rika's performances, esp her FS greatly, and I think most would agree in the audience, as she received at least a partial standing ovation. I'm no dancer, but I think Rika has worked on her posture (Elena too). Plus, neither one of them really has a graceful ballerina body type a la Zijun Li or Evgenia Medvedeva. I also take issue with the idea that all skating has to be pretty and delicate. Skaters are built differently and I think Rika and Elena probably do better with programs that are more powerful and dynamic.

I loooove Rika. She's a model for Hapa girls everywhere! (Half British/Half Japanese).

In all seriousness, her Riverdance is great! She may not be a ballet dancer, but she performs her heart out!

 

[Mathman]

In all seriousness, her Riverdance is great! She may not be a ballet dancer, but she performs her heart out!

Johnny Weir made the exact comment on NBC. He said that the lively choreography and enthusiastic performance played to her strengths and won over the audience.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Well, they started calling her "dessert" =)
Both thought she was better than Gold in short.
After the skate, TAT said it was amazing, great program, womanly skating.

And yeah, TAT is mostly ok. Somethimes she screams and sometimes she talks ton on random stuff (but this usually happens during boring skates so not very disturbing)

Thank you for the translation. She strikes me as the Russian equivalent of our own cherished Uncle Dick Button.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Johnny Weir made the exact comment on NBC. He said that the lively choreography and enthusiastic performance played to her strengths and won over the audience.

Well I will give her credit for actually incorporating genuine Irish Dancing choreography into her choreography as an integral part of her program, unlike say Tarasova/Morozov's LP, which was almost insulting. It looks like she has found a style that works for her, and style is what separates the great from the good. I don't think she's great yet, but she's getting there.

 

[Itzme]

Just rewatched Ashley's program with the Russian commentary. How did Tarasova and team call it? I appreciated how they kept their talking to a minimum during the actual performance!

As someone already mentioned, TAT was very impressed by Ashley's skate, calling it a complete package of great jumps, spins, choreography, transitions, music and emotional depth. She praised Ashley for entrusting herself to a Russian coach to help her get to where she is now. At the end of the segment though, she brought up that Radionova's placement was unfair relative to Gold's.

 

[Icey]

Maybe Gracie should consider changing her coach.

I think she should have never left the one she had. The conflict between her nature as a skater and the skater Frank wants to mold her into creates problems more significant than might be imagined. I won't be surprised if Frank retires. His heart doesn't really seem to be in it any more imo.

 

[Itzme]

I'd like to say something about Satoko. It seems that often times gets dinged for her "small" jumps, while not getting enough credit for her strengths. While she may not be the most powerful jumper, she's able to interpret music exceptionally well, and classical music, no less. She has truly balletic posture and her every gesture and arm movement flow seamlessly with the music. I think that the majority of top skaters would benefit from having this skill perfected at Satoko's level. Her programs are never empty, they are full of meaning, they make you delve in, rather than just easily consume...perhaps a bit too refined compared to a typically expected selection.

 

[Tinymavy15]

I think she should have never left the one she had. The conflict between her nature as a skater and the skater Frank wants to mold her into creates problems more significant than might be imagined. I won't be surprised if Frank retires. His heart doesn't really seem to be in it any more imo.

I'm always surprised (and happy) when Frank starts another season in the kiss and cry. He said he was retiring years ago (before Evan's OGM) and then suggested he would after that but he's still going. He does have coaching assistants for the day to day but he's very old now. I don't think a coaching change is what Gracie needs. The pressure on her to be perfect was huge at this event, and she did the best she could. Hardly anyone would have skated clean with that kind of pressure. She's was clean under pressure at Nationals, she knows she can do it and has been skating well all season. Time to take a break, pat herself on the back for a good season and move on to 2016-17.

 

[andyjo24]

Okay, so I was at the arena in Club 141, so I had a very good view of everything in the event. Here are my opinions of the top women:

1) Evgenia: This girl is so darn solid that I almost want to go down to the ice and push her so that she will fall (Haha. I'm not being mean. I'm just trying to say how mentally strong she is). She's a freaking rock! :shocked: Her FS was very exquisite. I particularly loved her arm movements. The step sequence was absolutely right on the accents of the music. Her ice coverage and speed, although still not top top level, were better than in the SP. I can't see how she cannot win the World title. She deserved it, hands down. Not sure about the World Record part due to the wrong edge on the lutz (which was extremely obvious real-time), but oh well. I don't care... I guess the judges just got carried away?

2) Ashley: I used to be a fan of hers back when she was young (like 2010-2012; I loved her Black Swan FS), but I started disliking her due to her getting a little arrogant IMO and overconfident. I know that lots of posters on this forum love her diva attitude, but personally, for me, it turned me off. But dayum, that performance last night was so, so good! She held it all together under that kind of pressure, which deserves a lot of respect. I'm still not a fan of the literal interpretation and posing, which takes away from her SS, but she held it together when it mattered, and therefore deserved a medal. I don't think I agree with the silver medal finish though. I thought bronze was more appropriate due to her technical errors (Many of her jumps looked short, and some of her spins were slow). The performance also reminded me of the old, innocent Wagner when she was just out of the 2nd spot for the 2010 Olympics and was depressed over that. She has come a very long way to this point. She deserves praise. I hope she doesn't get too overconfident from this Worlds medal and remains humble, as there are many future opportunities to medal as well (Worlds and Olympics, etc).

3) Anna: YES, YES, YES, YES!!! She went clean. She is so fast, and her jumps were extremely spot-on. I was absolutely shocked that she didn't fall. :eeking: I was expecting her to do her iconic Pogo fall although I didn't want to see it. :hopelessness: I'm so happy she got through that program in that kind of pressure! I'm not a fan of her FS, unlike her SP, but the program was so solid, and her SS are solid as well, so I can't see how she can be off the podium. I actually thought that she was underscored relative to Evgenia and Ashley. Anna was clearly faster than both of them but oh well, she got a medal! I still think she should be the silver medalist, but the competition was held at Boston, so oh well. I was rooting so hard for her that this little girl in front of me was constantly staring at me. She probably was wondering why I was rooting for a Russian skater when I'm American. :dev2:

4) Gracie: Oh Gracie.... The first fall just drained everyone's energy... I can't say that I didn't expect it though. She did make a strong comeback after that fall... until the second lutz.... What I've noticed live is that her jumps are very low now. It's true that her jumps have gotten much smaller after going to Frank. I've seen in the other forum that Gracie stated in an interview that she is ashamed about her performance. SHE SHOULD NOT BE ASHAMED OR SORRY TO ANYONE! She did her very best at that moment in time, and it wasn't enough. That's it. There's many opportunities for her in the following years. She should not be talking like it's all over. Hang in there Gracie! You'll get it together one day! Btw, her score was just outrageous... (not Gracie's fault. The judges are just plain stupid...) She does not deserve a 134 for that kind of sloppy performance. The judges clearly set it up so that if Ashley faltered, Gracie would take the Bronze, so either way, the American drought would end. I'm glad that Ashley didn't falter, so that Gracie would win a controversial bronze. Phew.....

5) Satoko: I love her pristine skating style. She hit every note and nuance of the music. The audience was extremely quiet while watching her performance. She is very fast (faster than Mao, Evgenia, and Wagner), and her SS are solid. However, her jumps just don't do her any favors. They make me cringe (even when watching her live). However, I was absolutely shocked that her PCS was ONLY A 66!?!? Why!? That is just ridiculous. Gracie got almost a 70 for a flawed performance, and Satoko gave a clean performance and only gets a 66!? That was just disappointing..... :scowl: Personally, I thought Satoko should have been 4th instead of Gracie.

6) Elena: She made no major errors, but her skate was just... boring........ I see she changed her dress, which was good, but man, the music just is not good.... All her jumps were barely eeked out, which was hard to watch. She is fairly fast and emotes a lot, but the problem is, even with all that emoting, the audience was not captured by her performance. People were talking a lot during her performance, or even texting on their phone..., which was sad.... Elena really needs to work on her jumping abilities this summer. It's really keeping her from being competitive for a top 3 spot. It's sad to see her "struggling" like this even when clean...

7) Mao: Mao's performance was extremely mature! She has a very flow-y style that is lovely to watch. Like others mentioned, she was pretty slow. Clearly slower than even Elizabet Tursynbaeva who performed right after. Not a fan of the program, but she definitely showed her maturity. Too bad about the UR on her jumps. It's always been a problem for her, and I'm not sure whether she can fully fix them, but she is working hard, which is highly admirable.

8) Rika Hongo: Her Riverdance performance was so exciting to watch!! She definitely looked like she was having a lot of fun. But the problem was that the a lot of the audience was not enjoying it along with her. I'm not sure why (because I personally enjoyed it), but they just didn't? Maybe it's because of her shoulder posture? Rika really needs to work on that if she wants to take her skating to the next level. She also needs to fix her jumping technique.


If there are any other skaters you guys are curious about hearing, let me know! I'd be happy to post my opinions.

Ahh! I'm so sad that the event is over. I'm back in NYC and will be back at my boring corporate job tomorrow. Ugh...:disapp:

 

[Blades of Passion]

Whaa?? Come on now, new Ashley was doing at least 3 transitions for every 1 transition old Ashley did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-sfMJcJMs0

Simply not true. She added a small mini-leap in the "new version" of the program while building up for the first jump combo, a couple extra easy steps in the "slow section", and a couple extra steps during the buildup to the second 3Flip...and that's it, while losing the entrance to the first jump and the harder 3Loop entrances. That spread eagle into the second 3Loop in the old version of the program was such an important highlight too; the new choreography pushing the jump back and changing the entrance made it less effective.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

If there are any other skaters you guys are curious about hearing, let me know! I'd be happy to post my opinions.

Ahh! I'm so sad that the event is over. I'm back in NYC and will be back at my boring corporate job tomorrow. Ugh...:disapp:

Did you see Amy Lin's SP?

How about Nicole Rajicova?

 

[andyjo24]

Did you see Amy Lin's SP?

How about Nicole Rajicova?

YES I DID! I even saw them both in person after the Ladies FS in the club section. They were both hanging out together! They must be good friends.

Amy's SP was so exciting to watch! Her speed across the ice was absolutely mind-boggling. Her 3T-3T was solid too. Her step sequence was fast and exciting! Loved Jai Ho. Hahaha. The crowd gave her a standing O for the SP. It's too bad she couldn't hold it together in the FS. But man, she was really fast in the FS too. Her SS are pretty solid. She just needs to get all the jumps down consistently. I believe she doesn't have the loop or something? She needs to work on that too.

Nicole is a very, very solid girl. I wouldn't say that her speed and SS are top-level, but they are very stable and solid. Her jumps are really good too. She just needs a stable 3-3, and she can be pretty competitive going forward. She definitely deserved the 116 she got in her FS, despite her popped 3Lz. Btw, she does look like Carolina Kostner in person. Albeit a lot shorter.

 

[Mathman]

If there are any other skaters you guys are curious about hearing, let me know! I'd be happy to post my opinions.

Mirai?

 

[withwings]

Angelina Kuchvalska?