2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating | Page 93 | Golden Skate

2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

I watched the broadcast of Fantasy on Ice last night and for the first time I am disappointed with the Russian ladies, all three of them. Compared to the other skaters in the show, they seemed less prepared. While Javi made a huge flamenco spectacle involving a singer and a dancer, Yuzu and Plushi gave 100% on the ice, Satoko and Rika showed their new and quite original programs, etc., etc, the Russian ladies looked as if they learned about the show two hours earlier and had to quickly think of something. I love Liza but I don't even know what she skated. There was mainly "hand choreography"; nothing special. Alina's version of Carmen seemed half baked. The live violin was amazing, but her performance seemed underrehearsed and not thought out well enough. Medvedeva probably performed best, but I really dislike the Ariana Grande program, the costume, the choreography, everything. She is a great artist, but even that doesn't save the choreo or the lack of it. Besides, she skated this program tens of times already in Canada and Korea, so she didn't have anything especially prepared for Japan.

I was very surprised, because at competitions it is quite the opposite - the Russian ladies have the most rehearsed performances, the most thought out costumes, hair, details, etc. Here I just had the feeling that they perceive the show as a vacation with some skating. That's ok, I know they need a break, but there was a huge audience, which probably bought expensive tickets and they deserved a little extra effort or something special. I don't watch figure skating for a long time, only for a year and I follow the ladies only, especially the Russian ladies. Yet, last night I enjoyed all the other performances but theirs.

I surprisingly enjoyed all the performances. Shows are mostly not my cup of tea, I prefer competitions, but since some of my favourites were taking part, I decided to give it a try.

As for the Russian ladies, I have to agree on some points.

I don‘t remember what Liza was skating to at all, only that it was live music. But I always enjoy her spirit. Her programs aren‘t the most memorable choreography wise because there‘s not a lot going on (same for her competition programs) but she always makes up for that with her energy. Her performance didn‘t particularly stand out for me but I didn‘t feel like it was bad either. Lackluster program but entertaining personality on the ice. For me, that‘s enough for a show. As long as she had fun and made the audience enjoy it, she doesn‘t need a masterpiece of program.

I was looking forward to seeing Alina‘s Carmen because I felt like she really loved the music but had never quite got to really perform it this season, both due to the insane choreography as well as the stress during competitions. Sadly, I wasn‘t too impressed. Alina is a lovely skater and there were some good moments in it but overall it wasn‘t my cup of tea at all, especially the bit in the beginning on the chair. It was just awkward. I was also hoping to at least get to see Bad Guy, now that they announced it so prominently. But Daniil did say we‘d see it in Japan (answered some instagram comments, I think) so I guess she might do it during the later shows. Maybe she needs some more time to prepare it, they only announced it after her holidays and she was probably told on short notice about the choice and had no time to practice it properly. It‘s the off-season after all. They do deserve a break.

Zhenya was pretty good. She‘s a great artist, like you said, and I think she can make the Ariana Grande program work. Maybe it’s not a masterpiece but it’s a fun program and something she loves. I’m no fan of the music but I really like the costume and Zhenya’s enthusiasm while skating to it. I always felt like I could feel that this was something she chose on her own, rather than something her choreographer told her would be a good idea. This really wasn‘t her best performance, though, she was a bit tense. I still enjoyed it. But she definitely was better in Canada where she seemed a bit more free and relaxed. I was hoping to see Experience or an entirely new program. Also, not to be that person but Zhenya really isn‘t known for having the same exhibition for a long time. Last off-season, she had like five different ones. It‘s very likely that she had something else planned but couldn’t do it in the end. That‘s why she chose to do Ariana Grande again. Still, I wish she could have done Experience. She hasn‘t done that one as often as the other ones. And in my opinion, it‘s the better program of the two. She also made some changes to it, so it‘s a different program than it was last year. But I guess if she debuted it last season at Fantasy on Ice, she couldn‘t do it again. (I don’t remember exactly where she first skated to it). So, One Million Roses (which is a pretty new ex btw) and Grande really were her only options.

However, in the end, it‘s only a show. The spectators bought the tickets and they got to see three beautiful ladies as well as other international stars. It‘s not like they had disaster skates. Maybe they weren‘t as perfect as we‘re used to but in the end they did their best and I‘m sure the audience still enjoyed it. Shows are mostly for fun and new experiences and I think everyone had that, skaters as well as audience.
 
I watched the broadcast of Fantasy on Ice last night and for the first time...

I second that. I had a feeling they did not take...

The greatest pleasure I got from Alina's performance, spoiled only by the presence of musicians in the background, it would be better if they were somewhere behind the scenes. During the rest of the performances, I struggled with sleep. Period.
 
The greatest pleasure I got from Alina's performance, spoiled only by the presence of musicians in the background, it would be better if they were somewhere behind the scenes. During the rest of the performances, I struggled with sleep. Period.

:rolleye:
 
The greatest pleasure I got from Alina's performance, spoiled only by the presence of musicians in the background, it would be better if they were somewhere behind the scenes. During the rest of the performances, I struggled with sleep. Period.

Yes, Alina was the highlight of the show among all ladies, magnificent performance. Zhenya's program after Alina looked even more unattractive with this terrible choreography and dress.
 
... spoiled only by the presence of musicians in the background, it would be better if they were somewhere behind the scenes.

what was cool about the violin player in the red dress was that she showed genuine passion in her performance, sawing away as if her life depended on it. :clap:

But seriously, I think that when they hire live musicians for these shows there is some contractual agreement that the band/singers get a certain amount of TV face time. (?)
 
.... I was also hoping to at least get to see Bad Guy, now that they announced it so prominently. But Daniil did say we‘d see it in Japan (answered some instagram comments, I think) so I guess she might do it during the later shows. Maybe she needs some more time to prepare it, they only announced it after her holidays and she was probably told on short notice about the choice and had no time to practice it properly. It‘s the off-season after all. They do deserve a break.

.....

Zhenya was pretty good. She‘s a great artist, like you said, and I think she can make the Ariana Grande program work..... It‘s very likely that she had something else planned but couldn’t do it in the end. That‘s why she chose to do Ariana Grande again.....

Announcing a new routine through an IG post is just not enough to be considered prominent anymore. Literally everyone does it. Announcing a routine at a press conference during a major international competition is what I consider prominent. I have a feeling Daniil is literally going to make us wait until the last possible minute to announce anything about Alina's new numbers. :(

Given that Evgenia had two brand new costumes made for FaOI surely she planned on performing these numbers at this show all along?
 
Announcing a new routine through an IG post is just not enough to be considered prominent anymore. Literally everyone does it. Announcing a routine at a press conference during a major international competition is what I consider prominent. I have a feeling Daniil is literally going to make us wait until the last possible minute to announce anything about Alina's new numbers. :(

Given that Evgenia had two brand new costumes made for FaOI surely she planned on performing these numbers at this show all along?

That is possible. It is also possible that she had intended to perform a new program, wearing also a new costume, in one of the later FOI shows.

Daniil has announced something about Alina's new numbers, right? He already announced her exhibition recently. I thought she was going to do it at FOI; has Daniil always announced her exhibitions program before her competitive programs? I don't know that I have seen other announcements of exhibition programs before. Nothing wrong with it, per se.

Regarding prominence of an announcement - in Evgenia's case, it would be prominent whether she does it in an interview or in her social media account because of the extent of her following.
 
That is possible. It is also possible that she had intended to perform a new program, wearing also a new costume, in one of the later FOI shows.

Daniil has announced something about Alina's new numbers, right? He already announced her exhibition recently. I thought she was going to do it at FOI; has Daniil always announced her exhibitions program before her competitive programs? I don't know that I have seen other announcements of exhibition programs before. Nothing wrong with it, per se.

Regarding prominence of an announcement - in Evgenia's case, it would be prominent whether she does it in an interview or in her social media account because of the extent of her following.

You are trying to say that Alina's announcement was prominent because she announced it through Evgenia's IG?

Daniil confirmed that Alina would be performing Bad Guy in Japan.
 
You are trying to say that Alina's announcement was prominent because she announced it through Evgenia's IG?

Daniil confirmed that Alina would be performing Bad Guy in Japan.

No - I was trying to make an analogy. An announcement is not per se "not prominent" because it is done through social media.

Great to hear! It should probably not be accompanied by a violinist, as some here seem to think (apparently), that it detracted from her performance.

I personally enjoyed Evgenia's performance. Great energy, she has great showmanship, her jumps were great. Obviously people may/will have a different opinion - of course! There's plenty choose from. Suit yourself, like what you want. That's great.

But what I do not get about certain posters, is the need to drag Evgenia's name when praising their favorite. Some can get downright nasty. Seriously. This is not a zero-sum game.
 
My dream would be that Evgenia shows her new SP during one of the shows. From Averbukh's account we know that she got the choreo back in April.

Alina will probably show her new EX on DOI :) my guess. Or maybe she will show it during one of the shows for FAOI.
 
Yes, you totally nailed it. Brennan is blatantly biased against the Russian skaters, especially the ladies. Definitely not an example of a professional journalist. You have to give a credit when it's due and when you don't, I don't care what barriers you broke down, you are not a professional! and you have to be called out for that.

If you recall Christine Brennan favorite Ashley Wagner roasted Alinas olympic programs in Christine Brennan style and Alina clapped back pretty strongly. For one active figure skater to do that to another during the olympics is a disgrace. I cant imagine any of the Russian girls doing that to any American skaters. Its not their style.
 
That is possible. It is also possible that she had intended to perform a new program, wearing also a new costume, in one of the later FOI shows.

Daniil has announced something about Alina's new numbers, right? He already announced her exhibition recently. I thought she was going to do it at FOI; has Daniil always announced her exhibitions program before her competitive programs? I don't know that I have seen other announcements of exhibition programs before. Nothing wrong with it, per se.

Regarding prominence of an announcement - in Evgenia's case, it would be prominent whether she does it in an interview or in her social media account because of the extent of her following.

Nope.

Not that I am aware of.
 
If you recall Christine Brennan favorite Ashley Wagner roasted Alinas olympic programs in Christine Brennan style and Alina clapped back pretty strongly. For one active figure skater to do that to another during the olympics is a disgrace. I cant imagine any of the Russian girls doing that to any American skaters. Its not their style.

I thought Alina handled that with great poise given that I don't think she was prepared for the question - "She's welcome to do the same and I won't have the same reaction." I was proud of her.

Honestly, that should be Alina's answer to everything. She needs to bring it back again when she gets asked annoying questions by journalists or harassed on social media.
 
You are trying to say that Alina's announcement was prominent because she announced it through Evgenia's IG?

Daniil confirmed that Alina would be performing Bad Guy in Japan.

I think she was trying to point out that no matter how Evgenia chose to announce her programs it would be prominent because of her fanbase. I won't argue with this statement. A certain segment of Evgenia's fanbase did more to promote awareness and draw attention (albeit negatively) to Daniil and Alina's announcement of her new exhibition program than either of the two of them could have imagined. Good job, I guess.
 
Zhenya’s fan base is no more or no less vociferous than Alina’s fan base. As I said earlier, no skater is “attacked” more than another, no skater is “bullied” more than another. Just no:noshake:

I would think given their following, an announcement on IG would be very prominent for either Zhenya or Alina.

When you have live music it will always take attention away from the skater, or at least it has in the programs I have seen. It has little to do with the merit of the musician or the skater, and of course, if you like the skater, that’s who you want to see, not the musician.

Zhenya’s costume was perfect for what she was trying to do. Is Ariana Grande my favorite singer and are her singing outfits my favorite? No, but I need to take the costume in context, and she did a great job channeling Ariana.

I just hope to Heaven no one wears that yellow sweatpants-whatever the heck it is. :laugh:
 
My dream would be that Evgenia shows her new SP during one of the shows. From Averbukh's account we know that she got the choreo back in April.

Alina will probably show her new EX on DOI :) my guess. Or maybe she will show it during one of the shows for FAOI.

omg I hope so too! The debut of new routines makes the off season fresh and interesting :). And helps to keep people's minds off of silly drama.
 
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