Okay, to stray a little bit from the article (bc I can’t answer book’s question) I thought I’d weigh in on the Jason SP exercise. Not that I have anything profound to say, but I did, after all, post them. With mistakes in the links and without Juke, all of which has now been corrected.
Anyway. I had two overarching thoughts. First, after all these years, I still love the choreography for Prince-I kinda feel like it’s second only to Sinnerman as a program-but he’s much more mature now and so much a better skater that watching Prince doesn’t have the same impact on me that it used to. Second, umm, I have gained a new appreciation for Juke as a work of choreography
, for all the reasons el Henry has touted over the years. But I still don’t like it much as a vehicle for Jason bc he just wasn’t mature enough for it. IMO. (On the other hand, Rohene could do it justice.)
Overall, one of the most striking things about watching these programs in close succession was seeing how his presence has matured and his presentation has sharpened over the years.
In Prince, there are hints of sensuality in how he uses his body, but if you watch his face, he’s still just a goofy kid having a lot of fun out there. His movements are fluid but not very precise. I actually think it would be fun to see how he’d handle this program now.
I’ve already mentioned Juke. But I’ll add that I kind of see Juke, Gatsby, and Hamilton as a group, in that for me none of them were totally successful because he just wasn’t mature enough for them - he kind of fell back on cuteness a little too much. I also kind of see all of them - and Gatsby in particular- as precursors to Sinnerman. All three attempt some more or less complex dance-like choreography, but he couldn’t really handle the Gatsby choreography back then. The absence of goofy smiles in Sinnerman and how well he handles the complex movements really shows how far he’s come.
I think Sinnerman also has its roots in Writing’s on the Wall and the other two Toronto SPs. In Writing (and Piano), which I think he worked on with Frank, he was starting to show the kind of maturity and precise movements that Tracy and Brian have honed in him these past few years. I love all three of the Toronto SPs, but Sinnerman kind of shows evidence of all those lock down dance sessions, and it’s such a pleasure to see what he’s done with it already. That said, scary though it may be to us as fans, I can see why he wants to add the 4S. The judges seem to take what he does including that gorgeous 3F just a tiny bit for granted. He needs to take that next step.
I have to say when I watch his beautiful performances at Worlds 2017, which seemed to promise so much, it kind of shocks me how quickly and how far he fell. I think he’s in a much better place now than he was back then, but I will probably still be keeping my fingers crossed this season that he stays happy and is able to reach his goals.
Well, I could probably blather on some more but I think I will stop.
I really have nothing to say about Appassionata other than “it’s boring.”
But for my money, you left the highest praise out:
Although that lukewarm reception by the Canadian commentators. Yes, we all love Han Yan's 3A, but sheesh. The way they said "Well, the judges love him". Very enlightening.
