2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[MiraiFan]

Now Maria sometimes takes her students to her home for 5 days and helps them to lose weight. She proves them that they can lose weight (they say about not eat at home and gain weight)

Yeah, great approach (and totally doesn't work since the body burns fewer calories when it's starved of nutrients).

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Well that's my opinion as yours is yours, the thing is she just choose music that is dramatic and which tells a story, . Anyone who k ow game of thrones knows that. As I said I hope she surprises me but at the moment I just can not see her as daenerys nor is the music connecting to her in my thoughts. And I say my thoughts! Not yours or anyone else's.!

Gotcha...I’m not gonna fret much until I see it. I remember being disappointed that Alena took RnJ because as I’ve pointed out I think she struggles to create a character in her programs and RnJ needs it. Or so I had thought. I knew she’d be able to move well to the emotional music but I was worried she couldn’t give it personality. Keep in mind Anastasiia Gubanova just skated this program in the prior season and set the bar of both character and musical connection very high. Probably one of my favorite performances ever! I was afraid alena couldn’t match it. I still prefer Anastasiia’s performance better but Alena’s RnJ wound up growing on me and I was wrong to be worried I wouldn’t like it. It’s not super emotional or anything but still very enjoyable like the rest of her programs.

 

[theharleyquinn]

I just don’t understand this criticism of Sasha. People praise Alena to the high heavens (rightfully so) but TBH I can’t think of more than a couple distinctive moments in any of her programs that portray character. She moves to the music very well (maybe even one of the best at it) but I see absolutely no distinctive character from one program to the next...which is totally fine by the way. She’s a musical creature who you could literally switch the music and she could skate the same program to it without a hiccup. She’s that good yes but she doesn’t really have signature movements in her programs that when you see them (in practice) you would know what program it is from based on a charactistic movement.

Sasha on the other hand adds loads of character in her performances.

I’m not sure if you’ve seen 5th element or not but she does an amazing job of recreating Leeloo’s movements and bringing that character to figure skating. During big spender she has sass and spunk and even hams it up a bit. She’s very dynamic compared to many other top level skaters from around the globe. Sure she’s got room to improve but to suggest she doesn’t listen to the music or add character to her programs is just inaccurate IMO. I wouldn’t even say Sasha is deficient in her performance ability and TBH would likely never score Alena more than a point or two higher in PCS when both bring their best. I think that says a lot of good about both skaters actually!

Feels like you're moving the goalpost a bit. Sometimes a portrayal of a distinctive character in a program can be a one-note portrayal and not dynamic/interesting (see: most Carmen programs), and I'm not sure if that's necessarily better.

 

[Scott512]

An interesting article about Maria and her family, (great looking family!), I'm hoping someone will translate, especially the end which has something to do about weight? (Possibly she is saying that she didn't eat anything for five days?)I can't make sense of it because google translate is so bad.

https://www.womanhit.ru/stars/inter...shou-umenja-neslozhilos-muzh-prishel-ivygnal/

Thank you for this incredible article.

I like her so much 20 years ago and to know that she's growing into this incredible woman is wonderful to see.

 

[Fluture]

I just don’t understand this criticism of Sasha. People praise Alena to the high heavens (rightfully so) but TBH I can’t think of more than a couple distinctive moments in any of her programs that portray character. She moves to the music very well (maybe even one of the best at it) but I see absolutely no distinctive character from one program to the next...which is totally fine by the way. She’s a musical creature who you could literally switch the music and she could skate the same program to it without a hiccup. She’s that good yes but she doesn’t really have signature movements in her programs that when you see them (in practice) you would know what program it is from based on a charactistic movement.

Sasha on the other hand adds loads of character in her performances.

I’m not sure if you’ve seen 5th element or not but she does an amazing job of recreating Leeloo’s movements and bringing that character to figure skating. During big spender she has sass and spunk and even hams it up a bit. She’s very dynamic compared to many other top level skaters from around the globe. Sure she’s got room to improve but to suggest she doesn’t listen to the music or add character to her programs is just inaccurate IMO. I wouldn’t even say Sasha is deficient in her performance ability and TBH would likely never score Alena more than a point or two higher in PCS when both bring their best. I think that says a lot of good about both skaters actually!

Well, I have to disagree here.

About Alena: I do not think she is perfect, she is actually still only 15. But for her age she is definitely one of the best at portraying distinct characters that I have seen in a skater for a while. To me it is very obvious that she is not restricted to one style, she can skate to many types of programs - etheral, light, soft but also be strong and fierce like in her SP last season or her Vampire exhibiton this season. What Alena can improve in, is showing more facial expressions, at the moment, she is mostly expressing the music through her body and movements. I don't see where she isn't portraying a character, though? It's very clear to me that she is Juliet in her FS and an angel in the SP. Even without music, this is very clear, the Juliet part probably more so than the angel one, since the latter is a pretty abstract concept. So, for me, she does both. Interpreting the music and portraying a character. She can't change the choreography she is being given. She can improve but for now it's obvious that she's above most of her peers in that aspect.

I like Sasha's personality, I think she's brave and cute and strong. But skating wise, I just do not see any kind of interpreting the music from her whatsoever. She neither expresses it with her body, nor her face and that's exactly the problem for me. She is doing the choreography she is being given and she does it well but that's it. I am really not good at explaining this but if you watch Alena (or Anna for that matter) you can see that they are moving their limbs beyond simple choreography, every fibre of their body matches the music, moves to it, down to the very tips of their fingers. Sasha does nothing like this, her whole body is stiff, besides the movements she was told to do, there is nothing that indicates that she actually feels anything of the music she is skating to. Her face in the beginning, when she is punching the judges, is blank. Where is the character? I see a young girl with amazing technical abilities who does her jumps to the music and a few choreographic moves and insane transitions in between. That's okay, it can still be enjoyable to watch but it should not warrant high scores in the performance and interpretation bit of the PCS mark, at least in my opinion.

That's why I feel what Sasha needs is either a tremendous improvement from her side, or programs that hide this. Her SP this season was good at this, it highlighted her strengths well. There wasn't a lot of portrayal of a character either but her power and the wow-effect of the 3Lz-3Lo matched to the music were enough to make it a pretty enjoyable program. Her FS however required her to show expressions, in order to bring a character from a movie many might not have seen to life. I did not see that. I have watched a few snippets of the fifth element out of curiosity. It was clear that Daniil watched the movie. His choreography matched some of the scenes. But Sasha? Again, she did what she was told to do. But I did not see a special connection neither to the character nor her music. I'm not going to say much about Big Spender because I do hope you're not suggesting she actually understood what she was skating to. It was a fun program and she was smiling but she had rightfully and thankfully no clue what the music was about.


As for PCS... In my opinion, the difference at JGPF of about 5 points between Alena and Sasha was about right, imo. I'm very well aware of the fact that this won't happen again, given that Sasha made multiple mistakes. So, yeah, your 1-2 points difference is likely what will happen. I do not agree with this. I think Alena is miles above Sasha in everything other than transitions. But that's how it's going to be.

I don't think it's that bad to criticize Sasha's artistry since this is the only thing she's really lacking in anyway. And she won't face any troubles whatsoever with the judges, her PCS will follow TES. So, I think we'll see her on top of most of the podiums next season as long as she keeps performing like she did this year. For me artistry and musicality are actually two of the most important aspects of figure skating and that's why I'm probably never going to enjoy Sasha's performances as much as those of some other skaters. But with the technical abilities she has shown so far, she should be more than fine anyway. And of course everyone is free to enjoy and like what he or she likes.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Feels like you're moving the goalpost a bit. Sometimes a portrayal of a distinctive character in a program can be a one-note portrayal and not dynamic/interesting (see: most Carmen programs), and I'm not sure if that's necessarily better.

Certainly agree but in the case of a Leeloo it was very cool and very well done IMO. I still stand by my main gripe....Sasha does give us character. It’s different than with someone like Alena but it’s there.

It’s probably smart on Sasha’s team to give her these fresh characters to play. She can grow slowly as a performer and still play to her strengths of literal character portrayal. I’d like to see her do a Bolero though. It’s a perfect fit!!

 

[fabienne1996]

Well, I have to disagree here.

About Alena: I do not think she is perfect, she is actually still only 15. But for her age she is definitely one of the best at portraying distinct characters that I have seen in a skater for a while. To me it is very obvious that she is not restricted to one style, she can skate to many types of programs - etheral, light, soft but also be strong and fierce like in her SP last season or her Vampire exhibiton this season. What Alena can improve in, is showing more facial expressions, at the moment, she is mostly expressing the music through her body and movements. I don't see where she isn't portraying a character, though? It's very clear to me that she is Juliet in her FS and an angel in the SP. Even without music, this is very clear, the Juliet part probably more so than the angel one, since the latter is a pretty abstract concept. So, for me, she does both. Interpreting the music and portraying a character. She can't change the choreography she is being given. She can improve but for now it's obvious that she's above most of her peers in that aspect.

I like Sasha's personality, I think she's brave and cute and strong. But skating wise, I just do not see any kind of interpreting the music from her whatsoever. She neither expresses it with her body, nor her face and that's exactly the problem for me. She is doing the choreography she is being given and she does it well but that's it. I am really not good at explaining this but if you watch Alena (or Anna for that matter) you can see that they are moving their limbs beyond simple choreography, every fibre of their body matches the music, moves to it, down to the very tips of their fingers. Sasha does nothing like this, her whole body is stiff, besides the movements she was told to do, there is nothing that indicates that she actually feels anything of the music she is skating to. Her face in the beginning, when she is punching the judges, is blank. Where is the character? I see a young girl with amazing technical abilities who does her jumps to the music and a few choreographic moves and insane transitions in between. That's okay, it can still be enjoyable to watch but it should not warrant high scores in the performance and interpretation bit of the PCS mark, at least in my opinion.

That's why I feel what Sasha needs is either a tremendous improvement from her side, or programs that hide this. Her SP this season was good at this, it highlighted her strengths well. There wasn't a lot of portrayal of a character either but her power and the wow-effect of the 3Lz-3Lo matched to the music were enough to make it a pretty enjoyable program. Her FS however required her to show expressions, in order to bring a character from a movie many might not have seen to life. I did not see that. I have watched a few snippets of the fifth element out of curiosity. It was clear that Daniil watched the movie. His choreography matched some of the scenes. But Sasha? Again, she did what she was told to do. But I did not see a special connection neither to the character nor her music. I'm not going to say much about Big Spender because I do hope you're not suggesting she actually understood what she was skating to. It was a fun program and she was smiling but she had rightfully and thankfully no clue what the music was about.


As for PCS... In my opinion, the difference at JGPF of about 5 points between Alena and Sasha was about right, imo. I'm very well aware of the fact that this won't happen again, given that Sasha made multiple mistakes. So, yeah, your 1-2 points difference is likely what will happen. I do not agree with this. I think Alena is miles above Sasha in everything other than transitions. But that's how it's going to be.

I don't think it's that bad to criticize Sasha's artistry since this is the only thing she's really lacking in anyway. And she won't face any troubles whatsoever with the judges, her PCS will follow TES. So, I think we'll see her on top of most of the podiums next season as long as she keeps performing like she did this year. For me artistry and musicality are actually two of the most important aspects of figure skating and that's why I'm probably never going to enjoy Sasha's performances as much as those of some other skaters. But with the technical abilities she has shown so far, she should be more than fine anyway. And of course everyone is free to enjoy and like what he or she likes.

I definetly feel the same about this, so I understand what you mean. It is the same I see and feel when watching Sasha skate. That's why I hope she does learn it cause with this fee programm next season she has to show and portray a character , a character which is known by many people who watch game if thrones. And as I said before the music is so emotional and powerful so for me to enjoy her fs programm to this music and character, she needs to show it

 

[laybackrelaxspinfast]

I think for the type of skater and person Sasha is and the music cuts she chose it would have made more sense for her to portray Arya Stark. She is young, powerful, strong, determined and less whimsical and soft. I think this would make more sense and allow her a lot of wiggle room in regards to interpretation. The blank face wouldn’t be too much of a problem, neither would the stiff body movements. More warrior than queen.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

. Sasha does nothing like this, her whole body is stiff, besides the movements she was told to do, there is nothing that indicates that she actually feels anything of the music she is skating to. Her face in the beginning, when she is punching the judges, is blank. Where is the character?

Dude

https://youtube.com/watch?v=npfVp_VrpAE

Look at LeeLoo’s face though.

I wish I had time to discuss this further today but I’m traveling/working and living my best life all at the same time. I appreciate your opinion but no one is going to change my mind that people undervalue the quality of what Sasha actually does. I think she is a very enjoyable performer and I love her skating skills and transitions. She doesn’t “become the music” but I’m fine with that. Her use of athletics and trickery on ice is very fun and point worthy in its own way.

My 3A favorite list and score out of 100

Sasha : 94
Alena: 92
Anna: 91 1/2

That should clear things up

 

[fabienne1996]

I think for the type of skater and person Sasha is and the music cuts she chose it would have made more sense for her to portray Arya Stark. She is young, powerful, strong, determined and less whimsical and soft. I think this would make more sense and allow her a lot of wiggle room in regards to interpretation. The blank face wouldn’t be too much of a problem, neither would the stiff body movements. More warrior than queen.

Yep my toughts exactly, I think the character Arya stark would suit her much better.

 

[SkateSkates]

Yep my toughts exactly, I think the character Arya stark would suit her much better.

Agree! Daenerys would work well for Alina IMO. Sansa for Anna, and maybe Margery (spelling?) or little finger for Alena

 

[MalAssada]

Haha, I immediately thought of Sansa for Alena (a program starting from vulnerable girl to Queen in the North, her icy stares would work very well there) and Margaery for Anna. You know, looking all gentle and kind, and then bang, quads! (She does come from the "tell Cersei it was me" family, after all, and I bet she was in the know).

I'm eagerly waiting for Sasha's programs.

 

[Scott512]

A refresher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuo6PVBCQNs

Baby Liza Nugumanova and Petr Gumennik doing sbs 2A, and baby Sofia being impressed by that =)
cute!

Today‘s May 1st, so we should get an Alina SP reveal from Daniil, right? Given that we‘ve already found out about Sasha‘s choice, I think it‘s more than likely that the whole team is already working on the programs. I‘m hoping for something modern for Alina. Let‘s see what it will be.

As for Sasha, I like the Game of Thrones music, even though I‘m probably one of the few who hasn‘t watched a single episode yet. I would not immediately have associated this music with Sasha but maybe it will help her grow artistically. Now I‘m waiting to find out about the choices of Alena and Anna. Given that we already know Sasha and will likely find out Alina‘s today... I‘m hoping we‘ll get to know them soon, too.

I haven't watched an episode of game of thrones either. Nor will I. I hear it's really stupid and violent.

On a side note it's nice to see Alina back in her hometown receiving a very nice welcome home. but doesn't her family live in the city of Kazan now?

 

[Edwin]

I haven't watched an episode of game of thrones either. Nor will I. I hear it's really stupid and violent.

Don't judge a book by its cover, or however one would like to translate that saying into a TV show.

GoT contains certainly lots of adult only material but isn't the big hit it is for nothing. It is a mirror to our own society in all its complexity and variation.
Elaborately crafted series like this command lots of professional attention and the best composers in the genre get invited.

It is mostly the music that draws dancers, figure skaters to GoT and any other movie or TV series soundtrack, for the tunes are dramatic and recognised by audiences all over the world. Most characters probably have key moments and scenes that are not rated too violent or restricted to adult only audiences.

Is HBO legally available on cable in Russia? Or do Russian viewers have to rely on discs, bootlegged or not??

 

[fabienne1996]

I haven't watched an episode of game of thrones either. Nor will I. I hear it's really stupid and violent.

Its not stupid, yes many character die, but it is an amazing tv show. The thing is when you begin to watch either you hate it and stop watching or you are hooked until the very end. Not to mention the total amazing cgi with he direwolfs and dragons, and yes I am one of the ones who got hooked since watching the first episodes 3 years ago, I basically Bing watched 5 season in I think one week or 2 weeks? Before that I had no idea what this show even was about and now I am so hooked to it.,

 

[Fluture]

Dude

I think she is a very enjoyable performer and I love her skating skills and transitions. She doesn’t “become the music” but I’m fine with that. Her use of athletics and trickery on ice is very fun and point worthy in its own way.

That should clear things up

Well, yes, that's totally fine, "but use of athletics and trickery on ice" is not = presentation and interpretation. So, yes, it is point worthy - in the transitions and technical part of the score. Nobody said Sasha is a bad skater because she certainly is not. Just that she could use some serious improvement in some aspects and that I would like to see those flaws traslate into her scores. Nobody is perfect and Sasha is just naturally not as musically gifted as others. That doesn't mean she can't skate exceptional programs or make history. In fact, she does both regularly, so I see no harm. She has found a way to compensate her weaknesses (hello, quads anyone?) and works hard on improving every day. I do admire her for that and I think she deserves respect and applause in every way. What I was saying, was basically just that I would like to see a balance in her scores for what she puts out there and that she'll get programs next season that highlight her strengths.

It's cool if you enjoy Sasha, she is a fun and brave young girl and skater after all, and I think a lot of people do the same. We are all different and that's good. I will keep enjoying Sasha as the person she is, even if I might not like watching her programs as much as I do with other skaters.

I haven't watched an episode of game of thrones either. Nor will I. I hear it's really stupid and violent.

On a side note it's nice to see Alina back in her hometown receiving a very nice welcome home. but doesn't her family live in the city of Kazan now?

Oh, from what I've heard it's not stupid at all. Violent, though, yes, and that's one of the reasons why I was reluctant to watch it before. I just don't like drawn-out torture scenes and things like that. But I heard that the characters are really well done, very realistic. If I had more time, I'd certainly either read the books or start watching the series, probably muted during some scenes.

Off-topic, so back to Russian ladies: I'm still hoping for an announcement from Daniil. Even if Alina isn't currently in Moscow, he can still present their choice! Dude, don't break a tradition like that. But he still has time. May 1st still has a few more hours... Alina seems to be having a great time. She learns to drive, as of her instagram story, probably finally using the car she got for winning the Olympics.

 

[Elucidus]

Maria Pavlova (coach Urmanov) moved to pair skating and now she is searching for a partner.

 

[Autumn Leaves]

Now Maria sometimes takes her students to her home for 5 days and helps them to lose weight. She proves them that they can lose weight (they say about not eat at home and gain weight)

But she said „losing weight with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.“

 

[Jontor]

I was looking at the scoresheet at Worlds and was thinking - what would have happened if Kihira had landed all of her three 3A's? Kihira would probably have gotten +12-13 points in TES maybe 14. That would not have been enough to beat Alina. But with really good +GOEs on all three jumps she probably would have won, but it would have been really close.
Conclusion - it's hard to beat a clean Alina, even with three 3A's.

 

[sx98423]

But she said „losing weight with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.“

does this mean she's showing her skaters that they can lose weight while still eating all their meals? or is she saying that she helps them not eat in order to lose weight?