Michelle Kwan's 1998 Olympic Long Program

[miki88]

If Yu-Na used her 2007 programs at the Olympics it would be a different story. Those were 6.0 worthy. Unfortunately both the quality of her choreography and the emotion that came out in her performances dipped after that season.

Sadly, I agree with this assessment. Those two programs were my favorite of hers. It's a shame that she never skated "Lark" to its potential. I wouldn't mind if she brought that back.

 

[burntBREAD]

Sadly, I agree with this assessment. Those two programs were my favorite of hers. It's a shame that she never skated "Lark" to its potential. I wouldn't mind if she brought that back.

Tango and Lark were beautiful programs, and they really showed her breadth in terms of ability to express- unlike last year's programs, which, while enjoyable and obviously skated very well, seemed more flirty than anything,:/. Maybe Arirang could be a throwback to Lark?

 

[Krislite]

The 3Lutz-3Toe isn't so difficult that it puts a 5 Triple program on the same level as a 7 Triple program, come now.

SIX triples, not five. Yu-na's LP jump layout was:

3Lz+3T
3F
2A+2T+2L
2A+3T
3S
3Lz
2A

(Unless you were talking about Yamaguchi's Olympic LP?)

 

[prettykeys]

^ Yeah, BoP was talking about Kristi Yamaguchi. It's rather obvious, as her LP has been the subject of half of this thread.

 

[grnidgrl]

A bit off topic, but I don't think Martini & Underhill got the message that "On My Own" wasn't music to be skated to. I had the great good fortune of seeing this in person andhave never been forgotten. Actually made me buy tickets to see Les Mis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtZ0ghd7X00

 

[Olympia]

Thanks for finding that! I remember seeing it on TV, but the American broadcast had a commentator who talked all the way through it, and this Canadian broadcast let us just sink into the music. Lucky you for getting to see it in person. Underhill and Martini remain one of my favorite pairs for the flow and the emotional quality of their skating.

 

[prettykeys]

"It's...about a guy who's just had the worst day of his life."

A bit off topic, but I don't think Martini & Underhill got the message that "On My Own" wasn't music to be skated to. I had the great good fortune of seeing this in person andhave never been forgotten. Actually made me buy tickets to see Les Mis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtZ0ghd7X00

First of all, I am happy for anything that leads anyone to watch that masterpiece of a musical. Literary purists who love the masterpiece of a novel (or series of novels?) may scoff at the musical interpretation of the story and characters, too...I think they are both incredible and present many profound themes in slightly different ways.

I first saw Les Mis on Broadway when I was 17, on a high school history trip to New York. I'd lived a fairly sheltered life with not too many real-life struggles on top of the fact that my natural response to hardship is to "toughen up", so I have never cried due to being upset about something in my life (although I once cried as a 6 year old forced to give a blood sample, etc.) Anyway, with Les Mis, I was bawling for pretty much over the entire 3-4 hours or so--starting with the first Act where Jean Valjean interacts with the pastor (I won't spoil it beyond that! ) Everytime I'd thought I'd experienced catharsis and dried my eyes, two minutes later I was back at it. I loved all the characters, all their stories, all their dilemmas, the broader reflections about the human spirit and the capacity to find happiness through hardships...the capacity to love, to forgive and to change. Not to mention the stunning artistic achievement of the score.

My friends and I watched Rent a few nights afterwards--another critically acclaimed musical--and for me I found it completely trivial and forgettable in comparison to Les Mis.

Anyway, I just adore it. It's probably not surprising that "On My Own" was one of my favourite songs of the musical...but over the years I've gotten dismayed at various interpretations I do not feel hold up to it, so I've given up and decided on some others. "A Little Fall of Rain" (the most poignant line: "I'll sleep in your embrace...at last!"), and "I Dreamed a Dream" most recently made popular by Susan Boyle, and Glee ("And still I dream he'll come to me...")

Eponine is not a pretty princess character. She is unhappy, with a faint beauty that's been worn out over the years by a tough life. Her love of Marius is not just soft, dreamy, warm and glowing (that's only the fantasy)...it's also marked by desperation and need that she knows is and will always be unrequited. Anyone singing "On My Own" has to convey a deep love and hope as well as an undercurrent of despair with a touch of hard bitterness. Martini & Underhill didn't quite do it for me--their performance was too lovey-dovey and gently wistful. I think my requirements might be too high for a figure skating performance (as opposed to Broadway actors who can convey many of these things via body gestures, facial expressions and vocal modulations), so I just wanted to clarify that it's not that I think Michelle or M/U are inadequate skaters.

Today while I was flipping through old beloved songs of mine on YouTube, I chanced upon Kurt Browning skating to Live's Lightning Crashes. And I got apprehensive...oh no. That's one of my fav songs! As it turns out...it was incredible. I couldn't have imagined that song being skated to, but he did it, magnificently.

*Ahem* I'm just going to go ahead and quote myself from the 2nd page of this thread. "Lightning Crashes" is a song I wouldn't have thought could be skated to successfully. It's clear from the commentators that they do not know the context of this amazing song. Probably most figure skating fans wouldn't, as it's in the domain of rock and roll. (For that matter, rock and roll fans don't know all rock songs, either.) They said that Kurt's program was "about a guy who's just had the worst day of his life." It certainly appears that way - it starts with a guy in casual-business attire with his tie undone, looking down and gloomy.

What I do know is that this song was inspired and written in the memory of a young lady friend of the band who died in a car accident. She donated her organs, and one of them was given to a baby that night.

Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
Her placenta falls to the floor.
The angel opens her eyes
The confusion sets in,
before the doctor can even close the door.

Lightning crashes, an old mother dies
Her intentions fall to the floor.
The angel closes her eyes.
The confusion that was hers,
belongs now, to the baby down the hall.

All my feeling, comin' back again
Like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin' from the center of the Earth again
I can feel it.

Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
This moment she's been waiting for
The angel opens her eyes
Pale blue colored eyes,
presents the circle,
puts the glory up too high, high

All my feeling comin' back again
Like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin' fom the center of the Earth again
I can feel it,
I can feel it.

[bridge]

I can feel it, comin' back again
Like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin' from the center of the Earth again
I can feel it.
x3

Kurt presents us with a performance that isn't as heavy as the real background for this uplifting, beautiful song. And yet, he delivers it in the form of a broader, common theme.

Turmoil and Heartbreak.

The struggle to find oneself, or a purpose, again.
- Kurt's first jump is half-hearted that lands heavily on two feet

Regaining some strength or inspiration
- there's a surge of speed followed by a series of breathtaking leaps

And then the most beautiful part for me! I lack the skating terminology but he "runs", gets down and slides, and bolts up again with arms exhilaratingly thrown up...then graduates with a flowing spin that ends with a snap...

He takes off his outer shirt...a metaphor for shedding an old burden? his old life/self and ready to embrace what's next?

You can see how both the song and the performance progress...from defeat...to a renewed love of life, reignited passion.

This is not a display of Kurt's highest technical abilities, but I have not personally seen a figure skating performance as soulful as this. He's also known for being a bit of a clown, or sometimes doing a "cool guy" routine, but this aspect touches me the most.

So I'm not saying a performance has to literally interpret every detail of a song or story, but I look for an accurate reflection of some theme or idea.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A last thought comes to mind: is it rare for singles skaters to skate to vocals by the opposite sex? I wish some girls would skate to some awesome rock songs...but I'm afraid some of the best are sung by males.

 

[Olympia]

I understand your feeling that no skate could do justice to the epic emotion of Les Mis. Here is a section I often watch from the tenth anniversary concert version of the musical, with 17 Jean Valjeans from around the world taking turns singing lines from "Do You Hear the People Sing." And no, I can't imagine a skater doing justice to this song, either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPpkTgMbhRU&feature=related

Thanks so much for the video of Kurt skating to "Lightning Crashes," and the helpful (I almost said "enlightening") background information. I watched it in amazement. Lightning crashing, indeed! The reason you say you "lack the skating terminology" to describe what he's doing is that there are no words for the moves he uses. They're beyond the vocabulary of standard skating. This piece demonstrates why Kurt is my now-and-forever top favorite male skater. He's grounded in solid technique but ground-breaking in artistic expression. Can you imagine any CoP judge trying to grade this? Impossible! Yet it's completely riveting and spectacular. This is what skating can do, and it's why I hang around through thick and thin.

Your last thought is interesting. I don't know who could feel at home skating to some rock god at full strength. Rory Flack Burghardt could have done it! But the baby ballerinas of today? No one comes to mind.

 

[museksk8r]

*Ahem* I'm just going to go ahead and quote myself from the 2nd page of this thread. "Lightning Crashes" is a song I wouldn't have thought could be skated to successfully. It's clear from the commentators that they do not know the context of this amazing song. Probably most figure skating fans wouldn't, as it's in the domain of rock and roll. (For that matter, rock and roll fans don't know all rock songs, either.) They said that Kurt's program was "about a guy who's just had the worst day of his life." It certainly appears that way - it starts with a guy in casual-business attire with his tie undone, looking down and gloomy.

What I do know is that this song was inspired and written in the memory of a young lady friend of the band who died in a car accident. She donated her organs, and one of them was given to a baby that night.



Kurt presents us with a performance that isn't as heavy as the real background for this uplifting, beautiful song. And yet, he delivers it in the form of a broader, common theme.

Turmoil and Heartbreak.

The struggle to find oneself, or a purpose, again.
- Kurt's first jump is half-hearted that lands heavily on two feet

Regaining some strength or inspiration
- there's a surge of speed followed by a series of breathtaking leaps

And then the most beautiful part for me! I lack the skating terminology but he "runs", gets down and slides, and bolts up again with arms exhilaratingly thrown up...then graduates with a flowing spin that ends with a snap...

He takes off his outer shirt...a metaphor for shedding an old burden? his old life/self and ready to embrace what's next?

You can see how both the song and the performance progress...from defeat...to a renewed love of life, reignited passion.

This is not a display of Kurt's highest technical abilities, but I have not personally seen a figure skating performance as soulful as this. He's also known for being a bit of a clown, or sometimes doing a "cool guy" routine, but this aspect touches me the most.

So I'm not saying a performance has to literally interpret every detail of a song or story, but I look for an accurate reflection of some theme or idea.

Thank you so much for this stroll down memory lane! You described Kurt's performance and emotional feeling so articulately and wonderfully. This "Lightning Crashes" program stands as one of Browning's best programs ever, along with Casablanca. Perhaps part of my sentimental feelings for this performance could be that I'm a big Live fan, but I remember those 2 programs in particular with such vivid detail. Even just reading your descriptions, I could easily recall all the detailed images in my mind and the emotions I felt when I first saw that program. That's the level of performance that not only touches and stays in your mind, but your heart as well. That's the kind of program and performance every skater and skating fan dreams and hopes for!

 

[prettykeys]

I understand your feeling that no skate could do justice to the epic emotion of Les Mis. Here is a section I often watch from the tenth anniversary concert version of the musical, with 17 Jean Valjeans from around the world taking turns singing lines from "Do You Hear the People Sing."

Wow, thanks for sharing that! That was quite a spectacle to watch and to listen to. I bet being Jean Valjean at least once is a kind of dream for many male stage performers.

Thank you so much for this stroll down memory lane! You described Kurt's performance and emotional feeling so articulately and wonderfully. This "Lightning Crashes" program stands as one of Browning's best programs ever, along with Casablanca. Perhaps part of my sentimental feelings for this performance could be that I'm a big Live fan, but I remember those 2 programs in particular with such vivid detail. Even just reading your descriptions, I could easily recall all the detailed images in my mind and the emotions I felt when I first saw that program. That's the level of performance that not only touches and stays in your mind, but your heart as well. That's the kind of program and performance every skater and skating fan dreams and hopes for!

Well, it was a stroll down memory lane for you...and I only discovered it two weeks ago. I'm also a big Live fan too, so I was nervous watching it for the first time in case I'd be disappointed...but on the contrary, Kurt interpreted the song in a way that did homage to it. I'm glad you and Olympia both like it too.