2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[FelineFairy]

Agreed, her movements look disconnected to the music and artificial, what is a shame if you recall her choreography classes with Zheleznyakov, where she beautifully interpreted the music. "Girl On The Ball" was much better as well, there was less moving and ornaments, so the program had time to 'breathe' and sink in the viewers minds.

"The Girl on the Ball" was unique. It was a successful attempt of the choreographer to embody a painting on the ice by means of movements on the background of a matching musical piece. Visual effects were the highlight, and they were perfectly implemented by Kamila. Maybe the success of this unusual attempt made Gleichengauz repeat this approach in "Bolero". He stresses the visual component again, choosing a snake's movements to be depicted on the ice. The music itself is not the main thing, it is a background again.
But there are some aspects that make "Bolero" less successful for me: 1) the part from Velasquez's soundtrack chosen for Kamila's fabulous SP is matching, it can be interpreted in the way the choreographer did, although the context of the soundtrack is very different, it is tragic death and funeral music. But it doesn't prevent the spectator from understanding the chosen part in a different mood; while Ravel's music is so well known and interpreted so many times in ballet and figure skating that the interpretation suggested might be questionable for the spectator.
2) "The girl on the Ball" is a picture and a story simultaneously. Kamila understands the story and tells it. This "Bolero" is a dynamic picture and not a story. Kamila understands the meaning of the movements, but she can't tell a story. That is why it seems to me, and not only me, that the movements seem sometimes artificial and don't always match the music.
3) As a personal impression, I would probably appreciate this kind of "Bolero" more if it was a short programme, a picture, a sketch, as a long programme it lacks a plot and development.

 

[melsh]

When will the Russian Cup Final take place? thanks

 

[Baron Vladimir]

It's not my opinion. Vladimir is factually wrong to say "people only dislike Kamila's program because it's avante-garde and not soft enough for their tastes."

I'm not that person who is trying to present subjective opinion as a factual truth here. And quotation is used when you quote someone's words from the beginning to the end, not when you interpret them This is what i said literally: I think that may be 'too avantgarde' for some people who prefer more soft 'old school movements'

 

[Skatesocs]

I'm actually curious what @Blades of Passion's own interpretation of Bolero is though. Why would he say "that's not what Bolero is", but not say what he thinks it is? I am curious why he thinks it's not monotony

 

[brakes]

When will the Russian Cup Final take place? thanks

23-27 Feb

 

[Tonight's the Night]

I'm a little late to the party, having been delayed in watching the LP today and getting up to date on this thread, but I wanted to add a few reflections on Junior Nationals.

i. I realized that Sofia Samodelkina must have been even more sad about her result, given that she probably wouldn't have been satisfied with anything less than first place. Let's not forget that she had the highest score of anyone in all five Cup of Russia events this year, and also that she beat Akatieva in the Cup of Russia final a year ago. It just wasn't her time to shine, I guess. Too many mistakes.

ii. Maybe this is naive, but I haven't seen it mentioned in the thread, so I'm going to go for it: I had some faith in the impartiality of judging restored (some faith) when Muravieva skated so well in the SP, and Barton was really impressed -- and then lo and behold her scores were really quite good. I'd be curious if others agree or disagree.

iii. I'm very happy about Adeliya, who I will not hide is one of my favorites. Can we turn her post-LP celebration into a meme? Instead of "dropping the mic" when you've just done something amazing, can we now say "slamming the ice"? I do agree that the axis on her jumps was troubling. Every time, I said to myself "she's going to fall" -- but then she didn't. I think she might have some kind of sixth sense for landing on her feet, like a stuntman, or a cat. I submit to the jury Exhibit A, this amazing save on a 3F from her first Cup of Russia appearance:



How did she not fall?

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

ii. Maybe this is naive, but I haven't seen it mentioned in the thread, so I'm going to go for it: I had some faith in the impartiality of judging restored (some faith) when Muravieva skated so well in the SP, and Barton was really impressed -- and then lo and behold her scores were really quite good. I'd be curious if others agree or disagree.

I whole-heartedly agree and couldn't have put it better!

 

[nussnacker]

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www.1tv.ru

Morning news section: 1TV says skaters will be allowed to wear those protective gel/foam pads during the jump competition.

 

[Tolstoj]

To me the odd one was Berestovskaya. What happened there.

She changed LP for the worse it seems, Kalinka was absolutely great for her age and she always skated it well, not only that but she also got rid of the quads she needed in order to be on the podium.

Maybe Davydov took a bad advice from someone else (like when Moskvina was asked to tell Kavaguti/Smirnov to ditch the throw quad sal at the 2010 Olympics, despite they really needed it to medal) although he's not new to these weird moves, i remember him doing this for Tarusina too at one point.

 

[Novalis]

To me the odd one was Berestovskaya. What happened there.

She changed LP for the worse it seems, Kalinka was absolutely great for her age and she always skated it well, not only that but she also got rid of the quads she needed in order to be on the podium.

Maybe Davydov took a bad advice from someone else (like when Moskvina was asked to tell Kavaguti/Smirnov to ditch the throw quad sal at the 2010 Olympics, despite they really needed it to medal) although he's not new to these weird moves, i remember him doing this for Tarusina too at one point.

1. Liza was slightly injured here. That's why they took out the quads.

2. Davydov said earlier in the season that they were planning a new FP for Liza. Also mentioned that Kalinka is now too immature for her.

 

[Tolstoj]

2. Davydov said earlier in the season that they were planning a new FP for Liza. Also mentioned that Kalinka is now too immature for her.

And you change it right before Russian Nationals, the most important competition of the season? That seems risky as hell.

I disagree with him, Kalinka was way more polished and interesting, it's the right music for a junior, it's okay to be immature in Juniors, this instead looked like it could have been any music with lyrics, almost like the choreography was done before picking the music. The result was very forgettable.

 

[Novalis]

23-27 Feb

So it was moved to Moscow. The dates were slightly moved also Feb 26 to March 2

Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию пройдет в Москве с 26 февраля по 2 марта (РБК)

Финал Кубка России по фигурному катанию сезона-2020/21 должен пройти в Москве с 26 февраля по 2 марта.

m.sports.ru

Unless this was now old news. I might not have kept up.

Article is from Jan 20

 

[Tonight's the Night]

I find this new Berestovskaia program very scattered, disjointed. Maybe even beyond the point at which Liza could unify it with her performing ability.

Maybe they'll make changes to it.

 

[Azikin]

I find this new Berestovskaia program very scattered, disjointed. Maybe even beyond the point at which Liza could unify it with her performing ability.

I didn't dislike the new one but abandoning the cutest program ever just before the most important event of the year seemed like a bad choice to me, indeed.

 

[Novalis]

I find this new Berestovskaia program very scattered, disjointed. Maybe even beyond the point at which Liza could unify it with her performing ability.

Maybe they'll make changes to it.

I also think that people are hasty here. They will get feedback. We'll see what happens with it.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Morning news section: 1TV says skaters will be allowed to wear those protective gel/foam pads during the jump competition.

I'm not sure that fills me with confidence, like... What are they planning for here?!

Also Fuji TV bought exclusive rights to the jump competition! Even the Russians will have to wait until tomorrow to see the result. Fuji TV must have paid a lot for that arrangement!

 

[Shayuki]

Obviously Alyona.
But besides Alyona I would say Kseniia Sinitsyna is up there as well.
I think Nugumanova has good flow and edge control but I do wish she had a bit more speed and use of acceleration/decleration.
Oh yes and Gubanova has good skating skills as well.
Back in the day I think Maria Sotskova was a bit underrated for her SS, she had really deep edges and very good use of the upper body. She just lacked a bit of speed.

But honestly I don't want to say that this is the ultimate opinion. Again, I'm just learning about the different turns and I'm no seasoned fan. Sorry if I make things sound super concrete. The fact that Anna and Sasha don't have good SS though is one I'm sure about because I have seen people who do understand what they're talking about discuss it. But I do want to learn more about skating skills because I do think it's one of the most important parts of figure skating and the basis of artistry.

I mean. Saying Gubanova has better skating skills than Trusova or Shcherbakova is fine, she probably has the best skating skills out of all the Russian senior ladies currently. She also tends to include great feats of skating in her programs.

Nugumanova on the other hand is a slow, empty skater with next to no difficult steps outside of step sequences, no entries and a severe lack of 1-foot skating, and the step sequence's not great either. Of course it's easy to have good flow if you have nothing but crossovers for 90% of the duration. I think Shcherbakova this season has shown much stronger skating skills than Nugumanova, she's actually fixed some of her bigger issues, and at least she's not slow. I don't get how you can look at Nugumanova's step sequence and see her skating as more effortless, for example.

So just using both of these skaters as examples makes it seem, not very coherent, right?

Sinitsyna's of course are good. Snow Leopards in general tend to have good skating skills, as was with Tarakanova, even Kanysheva. And Maria Sotskova to an extent, though I don't remember the exact level that well.

You say that you know Trusova and Shcherbakova have bad skating skills because people "who know what they're talking about" say they do. Well, it even is a bit of a meme how bad skating skills they have, I'd say, that people just keep parroting. Since they really aren't that bad. They're not top of the line by any means, but according to my understanding of the word "average", they still are well above average. Some of these comparisons are just downright insulting, such as Nugumanova.

And Snow Leopards don't represent "average" skating skills. It's the top Russian group in skating skills. And the average Russian skater is quite a bit better than most other countries, perhaps only Japan is up there.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Also Fuji TV bought exclusive rights to the jump competition! Even the Russians will have to wait until tomorrow to see the result. Fuji TV must have paid a lot for that arrangement!

What fresh hell is this?

 

[SXTN]

Shcherbakova and Valieva the safest of the 3 senior national medalists this season for Olympic spots next year because they are doing the difficult content and they are consistent, like you said "if one of them bombs next season which is like a 1 in a million chance of happening." I think Shcherbakova and Valieva being so consistent could be what helps Trusova for the Olympic team, because if they have 2 'safe bets' with Shcherbakova and Valieva then the third spot can be gamble pick on someone who isn't consistent.

Kamila is 14 and Anna is 16. Nothing is safe when it comes to spots next year because both have to deal with body changes and both don't have the best jumping technique

 

[Tolstoj]

I mean. Saying Gubanova has better skating skills than Trusova or Shcherbakova is fine, she probably has the best skating skills out of all the Russian senior ladies currently. She also tends to include great feats of skating in her programs.

Nugumanova on the other hand is a slow, empty skater with next to no difficult steps outside of step sequences, no entries and a severe lack of 1-foot skating, and the step sequence's not great either. Of course it's easy to have good flow if you have nothing but crossovers for 90% of the duration. I think Shcherbakova this season has shown much stronger skating skills than Nugumanova, she's actually fixed some of her bigger issues, and at least she's not slow. I don't get how you can look at Nugumanova's step sequence and see her skating as more effortless, for example.

So just using both of these skaters as examples makes it seem, not very coherent, right?

Sinitsyna's of course are good. Snow Leopards in general tend to have good skating skills, as was with Tarakanova, even Kanysheva. And Maria Sotskova to an extent, though I don't remember the exact level that well.

You say that you know Trusova and Shcherbakova have bad skating skills because people "who know what they're talking about" say they do. Well, it even is a bit of a meme how bad skating skills they have, I'd say, that people just keep parroting. Since they really aren't that bad. They're not top of the line by any means, but according to my understanding of the word "average", they still are well above average. Some of these comparisons are just downright insulting, such as Nugumanova.

What i like about Nugumanova is the posture, body carriage, the actual balletic positions, the smile and the musicality. She has better twizzles than Shcherbakova, she could have better edges too. Also she could hold these spirals longer.

They did watered down the contents in her programs in the past few years to make her more consistent and fix the jumps, which she got better this season, so yeah it's easier to keep the flow when there is less content, but i think that's also a criticism on the other side: when you add too much, it doesn't fit the music and it looks rushed and janky too.

I don't like her long program this season, but the short is exquisite, one of my favourites this season.