2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating

[truthbooth]

Not really "US" Ladies anymore...but,

Apparently Alexia Paganini has been released to compete for Switzerland. She is attempting to qualify for Nebelhorn Trophy (presumably, to try to nab an Olympic berth). Can't say I saw this coming but it makes sense why she is not on the US ISP. Best of luck to her!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Not really "US" Ladies anymore...but,

Apparently Alexia Paganini has been released to compete for Switzerland. She is attempting to qualify for Nebelhorn Trophy (presumably, to try to nab an Olympic berth). Can't say I saw this coming but it makes sense why she is not on the US ISP. Best of luck to her!

Is it no longer required for skaters to have to sit out a year to do this?

 

[chameleon]

Is it no longer required for skaters to have to sit out a year to do this?

Her last international competition was JGP St. Gervais, which took place at the End of August last year, so she'll be able to compete at Nebelhorn last month(assuming she wins the qualifier of course). I don't know if she would be able to compete at the Olympics this season, but she has a much higher chance for international competitions in general.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Her last international competition was JGP St. Gervais, which took place at the End of August last year, so she'll be able to compete at Nebelhorn last month(assuming she wins the qualifier of course). I don't know if she would be able to compete at the Olympics this season, but she has a much higher chance for international competitions in general.

Wow, had no idea! Where did u get the info on alexia??

 

[Tolstoj]

Just saw Karen and Polina's performances from Glacier Falls (a little late i know):

Karen Chen -> she is definitely in good form, probably the best in US among the ladies right now.
Steps sequence (and arguagbly skating skills) is clearly her weakness: it is barely level 3 and she should use the edges more.
Jumps -> still struggling with URs but she fought for everything, that's good.
Programs -> this is where i may sound shady, i don't like both of them. Tango roxanne and Carmen are so overused in figure skating: i actually don't mind it because this is the Olympic season so you might expect classical pieces but the programs has to be perfect and this is not the case here: the music cuts are bad, the choreography nothing impressive.
I prefer Kanako's Tango roxanne and Rika's Carmen over these two versions.

Polina Edmunds -> good to see her back on ice though she is out of shape (coming back from an injury is hard).
Transitions are still lacking in general, though i saw improvements, for example the twizzles into the camel spin or the illusion into the layback, but the long preparation before any jump (especially the opening lutz-toe) is still there and i bet it is going to stay.
Jumps -> still a work in progress, we didn't see any lutz and flip.
Programs -> I do like her style, i'm glad she didn't pick overused pieces and the music cuts are good here. the choreographies aren't memorable, but i can see the potential.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Just saw Karen and Polina's performances from Glacier Falls (a little late i know):

Karen Chen -> she is definitely in good form, probably the best in US among the ladies right now.
Steps sequence (and arguagbly skating skills) is clearly her weakness: it is barely level 3 and she should use the edges more.
Jumps -> still struggling with URs but she fought for everything, that's good.
Programs -> this is where i may sound shady, i don't like both of them. Tango roxanne and Carmen are so overused in figure skating: i actually don't mind it because this is the Olympic season so you might expect classical pieces but the programs has to be perfect and this is not the case here: the music cuts are bad, the choreography nothing impressive.
I prefer Kanako's Tango roxanne and Rika's Carmen over these two versions.

Polina Edmunds -> good to see her back on ice though she is out of shape (coming back from an injury is hard).
Transitions are still lacking in general, though i saw improvements, for example the twizzles into the camel spin or the illusion into the layback, but the long preparation before any jump (especially the opening lutz-toe) is still there and i bet it is going to stay.
Jumps -> still a work in progress, we didn't see any lutz and flip.
Programs -> I do like her style, i'm glad she didn't pick overused pieces and the music cuts are good here. the choreographies aren't memorable, but i can see the potential.

I agree.
About polina's jumps.....yeah, she's still stalking, I don't know what else to say about them. I hope she competes again soon, are there any competitions this weekend?

Also......has anyone heard news about Tyler Pierce or Mariah bell competing soon?

 

[shmay]

The other day I realized that I like Polina's FS, which was obviously a difficult thing to face. But after some soul searching, I came to the following conclusion:

Polina's FS music is kind of low culture

Polina's skating is kind of low culture

Together they kind of lift each other up and somehow work

 

[Barb]

The other day I realized that I like Polina's FS, which was obviously a difficult thing to face. But after some soul searching, I came to the following conclusion:

Polina's FS music is kind of low culture

Polina's skating is kind of low culture

Together they kind of lift each other up and somehow work

What do you mean with low culture?

 

[macy]

was Mariah bell competing somewhere this weekend? saw on her instagram story a snippet of her performing one of her programs. she looked to be on competition ice.

 

[ice coverage]

was Mariah bell competing somewhere this weekend? saw on her instagram story a snippet of her performing one of her programs. she looked to be on competition ice.

I do not claim to know for sure, but I think both Mariah and Adam competed over the weekend in Yorba Linda?

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?53028-Mariah-Bell&p=1759762&viewfull=1#post1759762​

---

ETA (on Aug 15):

Confirmed that both Mariah and Adam did compete at the Orange County event.
http://goldenskate.com/forum/showth...8-State-of-U-S-Men-s-Figure-Skating&p=1760191​

 

[andromache]

What do you mean with low culture?

Going to take a stab in the dark at this.

"Low" or "high" culture are typically two opposing types of rankings of a cultural work or artifact. Like, lowbrow or highbrow. Conventionally high culture examples: ballet, classical music, stuff you see at mainstream art museums, or even somewhat avant garde art museums, reading The New Yorker. Conventionally low culture examples: YouTube, comic books, hip hop, pop music.

If it has mass appeal - low culture. If it appeals to the higher classes and/or those with a higher than average level of education - high culture.

I don't know enough about Polina's LP music to say for sure, but it's definitely not highly-rated classical music. Pop meets opera or something like that, according to Wikipedia? It cold definitely be deemed "low culture."

I'm not sure how exactly Polina's skating is low culture, but I can see how her lack of speed, how she stalks her jumps, etc. are considered less than ideal. The masses who are uneducated about figure skating might think Polina Edmunds looks as good as a potential OGM winner. But if you're an educated fan with more knowledge, and therefore, more taste, you're not going to be as impressed.

Again, just a stab in the dark as to what the user actually meant, lol.

(FWIW, I think Ashley Wagner is the queen of low culture skating, and I mean that in the best way possible. The acting, the drama, the sheer emotion she brings and the connection she has with her music are wonderful to see for mass audiences. Combine it with her lack of skating skills, transitions, and sketchy rotations - "low culture" on ice.)

 

[Gullygirl84]

Someone wished Gracie Gold luck "at the Onyx competition next weekend" on Twitter, which made me wonder if Gracie is competing in this (http://comp.entryeeze.com/Home.aspx?cid=431). The person's twitter page (looks like a young skater) says she's with the Detroit skating club.

 

[Moxiejan]

FWIW, I think Ashley Wagner is the queen of low culture skating, and I mean that in the best way possible. The acting, the drama, the sheer emotion she brings and the connection she has with her music are wonderful to see for mass audiences. Combine it with her lack of skating skills, transitions, and sketchy rotations - "low culture" on ice.

How could this ever be seen as "in the best way possible"?:
"Combine it with her lack of skating skills, transitions, and sketchy rotations -'low culture' on ice."

 

[andromache]

How could this ever be seen as "in the best way possible"?:
"Combine it with her lack of skating skills, transitions, and sketchy rotations -'low culture' on ice."

I love Ashley, but she's not without her flaws. Skating-wise, she's weak than many of the other top ladies in the world.

"Low culture" can often have a negative connotation, but I think that's unfair. Having those qualities which appeal to mass audiences isn't an easy thing. Sure, some types of low culture are meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator (trashy reality tv, beer commercials), but that's not Ashley. In theater terms, she's Broadway. As a movie analogy, she's a hit rom-com. But her skating might be less appealing to audiences who focus more on blade-to-ice work.

 

[frida80]

Someone wished Gracie Gold luck "at the Onyx competition next weekend" on Twitter, which made me wonder if Gracie is competing in this (http://comp.entryeeze.com/Home.aspx?cid=431). The person's twitter page (looks like a young skater) says she's with the Detroit skating club.

Gracie is on the schedule competing in the short program. Odd timing since Champ Camp is the same weekend.

 

[Arriba627]

Pardon the OT considering what's being discussed. Just wanted to mention I enjoyed seeing Pooja Kalyan skate for the first time today. She was working with Alex Ouriashev. https://pic.twitter.com/7Jhzzca14k

 

[Globetrotter]

I love Ashley, but she's not without her flaws. Skating-wise, she's weak than many of the other top ladies in the world....... Having those qualities which appeal to mass audiences isn't an easy thing........But her skating might be less appealing to audiences who focus more on blade-to-ice work.

You have just perfectly summed up why I can never quite warm up to Wagner and to a lesser extent, the Russian tsarinas. They may be gritty competitors and great performers but since I am the SS uber, the lack of deep edges and quiet blade work can be extremely jarring. I never like Gracie's performance but her SS are possibly the most solid right now, possibly only matched by Satoko Miyahara's. Since Mao retired and CaroK is still half in and out, there has been too few ladies with SS I enjoy. Even among the men, you have the greats like PChan and Yuzu but neither the great performances of Javi (whom I gasp) or jumping bean qualities of Nat Chen / Jin could fire me up like the basic blade work of a PChan.

We need more Scott Moir, Guillaume Cizeron and Meryl Davis and Yuka Sato.

 

[Barb]

(FWIW, I think Ashley Wagner is the queen of low culture skating, and I mean that in the best way possible. The acting, the drama, the sheer emotion she brings and the connection she has with her music are wonderful to see for mass audiences. Combine it with her lack of skating skills, transitions, and sketchy rotations - "low culture" on ice.)

And who is high culture in figure skating? If there is anyone

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Pardon the OT considering what's being discussed. Just wanted to mention I enjoyed seeing Pooja Kalyan skate for the first time today. She was working with Alex Ouriashev. https://pic.twitter.com/7Jhzzca14k

Pooja is awesome! She competed as part of one of the teams (Dolensky's Dynamos) during the Aerial Challenge back in June as well as competing in the Jr Ladies at Broadmoor Open.

 

[Arriba627]

Pooja is awesome! She competed as part of one of the teams (Dolensky's Dynamos) during the Aerial Challenge back in June as well as competing in the Jr Ladies at Broadmoor Open.

I had heard of her, but if I have seen her skate, I forgot about it. She was amazing. She was doing a lot of work on her 3F. She really looks like she is the complete package, and I love the big, powerful Alex-style jumps! Can't wait to see more of her in the future.