Exhibition: 2/2 4-6PM, NBC

[jsteam4501s]

In my earlier post I said I enjoyed Vise&Trent's program. With all due respect to that couple, I was really referring to Taylor&White's program to "Beyond the Sea", etc. Melissa Taylor is - WOW! - just darling, a classic beauty.

And since nobody else has mentioned her, I'd like to say a word about Miss Oberstar, the "host" skater who led off the telecast: WOWEEE! Just gorgeous, all 5 ft. 8 of her! And such a sweet, lovely skater, too!

I may be 66, but I still love the beautiful ladies of figure skating - :agree:

 

[gold12345]

I loved Caroline and Mirai's programs. Rachael bores me to tears, she skated so slow. The rest was a little blah for me. :frown2:

 

[feraina]

I hate how it takes as long to download a video from icenetwork as it does to watch it, which means a 3-hour broadcast takes that long to download! Ergh. So far, neither my computer nor I have had the patience to download the whole exhibition.

I really liked Caroline's exhibition, she smiled even more than usual. I like the little hand gestures and transitions she's added to this program. It's better every time. And I especially love the stunning COE spiral! I say "phoo!" to all those who complain about her spiral speed or edge quality! Nobody has done such breath-taking spirals since Michelle or Sasha. Although it was kinda funny how she nearly tripped herself on some simple footwork -- good thing it only made her laugh and put her in a more cheerful mood.

I miss her red dress from the GPF exhibition though, that was SOOOOOO cute! She should definitely swap her aqua dress back for the red one. It was really adorable! Glad she kept her new ponytail look, though. It looks great on her.

I'm so glad that she got a pewter medal, so that we all get to enjoy this program once more. I look forward to see its final rendition at Junior Worlds.

 

[discoduck]

Johnny's Ave Maria is just breathtaking. I could watch it again and again.

Adam Rippon is very talented but I thought his exhibtion was a little over the top. I'll just blame Morozov for that one.

Marai is adorable and I love her Queen number!

Don't get me started on I/B skating to Come What May. This comes with a disclaimer. No I don't think people own music....this is a personal preference and was intended to be tongue in cheek hence the wink. Actually I have a feeling that a couple of people will completely get the joke which is for whom it was intended.

 

[dorispulaski]

A better I&B joke is what they skated their LP to: Wagner's Flying Dutchman, in which an old, tattered, not to mention cursed-by-Satan captain is saved by the sacrifice of a nice young girl..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Dutchman_(opera)

If your sense of humor runs that way.

No, they don't think they're Shen & Zhao--they think they're Woodstock & Snoopy.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-elliott2feb02,1,7207844.column?ctrack=3&cset=true

Shen & Zhao have skated to so many piece of music, because they have been in the public eye so long, it's not surprising if other teams use a few of them.

 

[Medusa]

Didn't like Johnny's number either. It's the same ol' thing I've seen 4 or 5 times, but to a different music. It's sad.

Well, you are of course right that Johnny's skating style and his movements are part of every performance and exhibition he does. But in my opinion that is true for lots of skaters out there.
But I think he was even more expressive than normally in that exhibition - the arm movements, so artistic. I am really stunned.

So I think you are right, but honestly - I couldn't care less. Because just watching him, the flow, the expression...
That's not some action movie or a 100m sprint or the semi-final of a soccer World-Championship. It's art.
I can listen to that Violin Concerto of Tschaikovsky (or Beethoven's fifth or Dvorak's ninth or Mozart's Clarinet Concerto) a hundred times - and it never bores me. It is the same with some Ballet dancers, who's performances I can watch over and over again. Or some skaters, most notably Lambiel and, well - Johnny Weir.

 

[Sylvia]

In my earlier post I said I enjoyed Vise&Trent's program. With all due respect to that couple, I was really referring to Taylor&White's program to "Beyond the Sea", etc. Melissa Taylor is - WOW! - just darling, a classic beauty.

Charlie White's dance partner is named Meryl Davis (not Melissa Taylor).
"Beyond the Sea" was definitely one of my exhibition highlights!

And since nobody else has mentioned her, I'd like to say a word about Miss Oberstar, the "host" skater who led off the telecast: WOWEEE! Just gorgeous, all 5 ft. 8 of her! And such a sweet, lovely skater, too!

I'm glad Molly got some extra air time during the exhibitions -- she was a good choice to represent the Minnesota skaters at Nationals. Here's the link to a well-written local article about Oberstar that was published before Nationals: http://www.startribune.com/sports/12338976.html

 

[feraina]

I was really upset with the icenetwork camera work. What's up with all the super close-up, blurry shots which completely killed the full beauty of spins and spirals, and had skaters' body parts cut off?! Arrgh!

 

[Tonichelle]

feraina - it's a new group, and the camera guys I saw early in the week looked my age, they're probably college interns (and the guy I was watching during novice looked bored to tears...)

 

[emma]

Just in case somebody else wants to watch Weir's exhbition again... here it is:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...=20&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

I think buttle's is still my fav Ave Maria among men --- but I really, really like Johnny's version alot too! I can't quite explain what it is about it - but it moves me a tremendously and I feel sad when it is over.

 

[ManyCairns]

I turned on the TV, and on my NBC station, they were showing bull riding. Anybody else have theirs preempted? Or should I have watched longer, maybe they eventually went to the skating?

 

[jsteam4501s]

Charlie White's dance partner is named Meryl Davis (not Melissa Taylor).
"Beyond the Sea" was definitely one of my exhibition highlights!

Thanks, Sylvia - (thinking to myself: Now, where did I get the name Melissa Taylor from?)

Whenever I watch the latest Nationals exhibitions, I get a little melancholy thinking about the skaters I miss: Angela Nikodinov.............Jenny Kirk.............Tiffany&Johnny Stiegler............Amber Corwin...........Erin Pearl.
..........and many others. Skaters who weren't huge successes, but who left sweet impressions and memories.

 

[feraina]

feraina - it's a new group, and the camera guys I saw early in the week looked my age, they're probably college interns (and the guy I was watching during novice looked bored to tears...)

OMG, that would explain it! I was so upset with some of the close-ups, you couldn't even see the skater, just bits of his/her clothing or body parts, it was so upsetting.

 

[efreedman]

He lacks a quad and maybe a 3A and posters will come down on him for that. His beautiful skating wont even come into the picture.

Joe

Per Adam directly to me: He has a triple axel. He and Morosov decided not to put it in at Nationals. He is working on a quad. Let's see what happens at Junior Worlds.

 

[feraina]

youtube crackdown

So, the crackdown has already started. Youtube has started taking down National's videos. If you don't have a subscription to icenetwork, then you better go and try to catch some videos before they're all gone.

 

[Sylvia]

Per Adam directly to me: He has a triple axel. He and Morosov decided not to put it in at Nationals. He is working on a quad. Let's see what happens at Junior Worlds.

Adam Rippon practiced a few triple axels at Nationals and he landed at least one two-footed one and fell on two more that I saw at one practice. In an article published at Skate Today in December 2007, he mentioned that he is "working on a quad toe loop for next year."

 

[Tinymavy15]

I am very dissiponted that only Johnny, Evan and Adam were on youtube. As some of you already know i am not a wier fan, but I thought Ave Maria was beautiful and I am glad that he skated to it instead of Evan. (athough johnny has some nerve stealing evan's music). Evan was very good, entertaining... the fall out of the lutz broke the spell a little though. But wow he sure can twizzle!

 

[dorispulaski]

Evan has no particular ownership of Ave Maria. It isn't like it was composed expressly for him.

Ave Maria is in the common domain, and has been a standard piece of music for skaters since Peggy Fleming--probably before.

If I were Johnny, the one piece of music that I would think Evan would not use again was one he had used 2 years running.

Anyway, and as a fan, I'd rather hear 2 Ave Marias than 3 Sexy Backs.

 

[Tonichelle]

as Doris said, and I said earlier - Evan does not own the copyright to any version of Ave Maria...

Evan's used music that other skaters have used (Carmen, Tosca, Zorro... need I go on?)

Skaters are allowed to skate their own programs to the same music

now if Johnny had skated the exact same PROGRAM (steps and everything) then maybe I'd complain


(this coming from the girl who pouted when Keana and Rockne skated to Funky Music - which is a song Kurt skated to)

 

[merrywidow]

Rudy Galindo had a beautiful exhibition number to "Ave Maria" as well. So long as a skater believes he can skate to a piece of music as well as or better than someone else than they should go for it.