I'm "Carmened" Out

[Ladskater]

Well no disrepect to George Bizet, but if I never hear refrains from Carmen playing it won't be too soon, unless I plan to attend the actual Opera production that is. Maybe that would be refreshing. I just don't think opera lends itself well to figure skating programs. How does one really convey the drama that goes on in an opera the scale of Carmen? I think Virtue and Moir made a huge error this season making Carmen their theme. I did not like the program from the beginning. I don't think the judges got it either and did not reward Virtue and Moir for their effort, that's what Tracy Wilson said after the Worlds concluded. She may be right. I think they would have won with a different program. It also did not help that another dance team used the same theme and even Kaetlyn Osmond skated to Carmen. Enough Carmen!! Let's hope next season will bring some new music and themes. Can we send a petition: NO CARMEN!!!

 

[karne]

You know, Carmen is actually a piece of music that I wouldn't mind skating to. (But then, my list of program music is longer than I'll probably EVER need...)

But I do think it's rare for someone to be able to convey the storyline or characters of the opera well.

 

[Icey]

Just wait till the Olympics. There may be another battle of the Carmens!!!! lmao

 

[layman]

...Enough Carmen!! Let's hope next season will bring some new music and themes. Can we send a petition: NO CARMEN!!!

I started a thread on this topic at the beginning of the season.

I agree with you completely.

We almost had two teams in the top three in Ice Dance skating to Carmen. Only a single point prevented this momentous event!

Carmen is obviously just too tempting for skaters to ignore. Either the ISU should institute a mandatory 10-point deduction to discourage it's (over) use or just give up and make Carmen the mandatory compulsory music for all skate routines...all Carmen, all the time.

 

[chuckm]

I think Virtue and Moir made a huge error this season making Carmen their theme. I did not like the program from the beginning. I don't think the judges got it either and did not reward Virtue and Moir for their effort, that's what Tracy Wilson said after the Worlds concluded. She may be right. I think they would have won with a different program.

V/M's version of Carmen with suggestive moves and gestures may not have appealed to judges who are mostly in their 50s. The program was also overly difficult and V/M struggled to perform it without mistakes. They were finally able to do so at Worlds, but they also skated quite a bit slower than they had earlier in the season, so as to avoid another episode of cramping. They may or may not have won with a different program; that's something we'll never know. It isn't as if D/W were eminently beatable--their margin of victory wasn't slim.

I've seen the opera Carmen many times, and I like the music in that context. But I have always passionately hated skaters' using Carmen in figure skating. Top skaters think they can capture the essence of the story, but in reality no one ever does, including V/M, Katarina Witt and Debbie Thomas. Lesser skaters shouldn't even try.

 

[layman]

V/M's version of Carmen with suggestive moves and gestures may not have appealed to judges who are mostly in their 50s.

Did you notice that Capellini and Lanotte added suggestive moves and gestures to their Carmen for the World Championships that were not seen in previous outings of the program?

I cringed (with both teams versions). I found the gestures vulgar. They did not add anything artistically to the dances.

The judges did not seem too hard on Carmen though, giving one Carmen second and the other fourth...while teams with more adventurous and daring music (the French, Shibs...) were dumped.

 

[chuckm]

Rolling Stones adventurous and daring? Maybe in the Stones' heyday, but today, as ice dance music---not so much.

Sibutanis' Memoirs of a Geisha is another oft-used piece of music. Sit through any ladies competition anywhere and you'll hear it at least once, if not more.

 

[layman]

Still...no other teams chose the Rolling Stones or Memoirs this season... that's original (as far as skaters are concerned).

Now if we had had two Memoirs or 3 Rolling Stones...that would have been the (Carmen) status quo. I also found it odd that the two Carmen dances ended up copying each other so much.

 

[blue_idealist]

I didn't mind any of the Carmen programs at this Worlds, but I am tired of the music. I don't know why skaters keep choosing it over and over.

 

[noskates]

One thing I really liked about Michelle Kwan (one of MANY) in her last years of competition was she always found fresh music to skate to. The same could be said with Charlie and Meryl's Notre Dame de Paris. How difficult should it be for world-class skaters or teams to find music that is not old and hackneyed. Are the choreographers getting lazy? I liked Carmen 100 years ago. I disliked it tremendously when Evan skated to it - only making it worse with a snake around his neck. I agree that V&M kind of shot themselves in the foot with that music. I'm also REALLY REALLY tired of any version of Swan Lake. Any version! There is so much music out there to choose from. Two of my favorite pieces are East of Eden and Legends of the Fall (not for ice dance, however) and I always hope neither is done to death. Denney and Coughlin skated to East of Eden last year. Now let it rest for another 5 years please. Let's hope the next round of competitions will show some creativity when it comes to music!

 

[zschultz1986]

I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be able to skate to Carmen unless you've had some sexy time and are able to smoke and drink. I find a teenager portraying Carmen hilarious, in the same vein that I think those pageant kids with the ***** makeups and skimpy outfits hilarious. Disturbing, but hilarious contrived and not convincing at all. There's a difference between a girl and a woman. Honestly, I bet Yu-Na could probably give us a good Carmen.

 

[KwanIsALegend]

Carmen and Swan Lake. Both can go far far away. Way overdone.

 

[Icey]

V and M toned down their suggestive movements at the beginning---no rubbing of her upper thigh. Too many think Carmen is easy to interpret, but she is a complex character and most think showing the blatant side is all that is necessary. It does come off as hilarious zschultz, especially with young women, but often with the older ladies too. Just as hilarious (my friends and I burst into laughter) were Kostner's attempts at acting in her short program. What in the.....? Looked like she was going into an epileptic seizure.

 

[chuckm]

For that matter, Chan's La Boheme is yet another chestnut. And why did he pick the arias done by the female characters Musetta (the Waltz at the beginning) and Mimi? There are several tenor arias that are just as moving.

 

[bramweld]

Why don't we start a new thread about what we'd like them, the dancers, to use next year? Can't wait to dream...

 

[noskates]

Oh Chuck - I SO agree about La Boheme. I was shocked when I heard Patrick was skating to that. I didn't think the music was powerful enough for a skater with his speed and strength. I had never heard of a man skating to those particular passages before.

And another piece of music that's overdone is Les Miserables and Phantom of the OPera. Both have beautiful, beautiful selections but should only be skated to by a person with considerable skill and maturity. I do not want to see a junior or a novice skating to either.

 

[chuckm]

Jeremy Abbott skated to "Bring Him Home" from Les Miz, and it was beautiful and touching. Chan skated to Phantom in a previous season.

 

[Eislauf]

Someone in another thread suggested that a pairs or dance team skate a Carmen parody in the exhibition portion. Now THAT would be entertaining!

And. No. More. Swans. Ever. (Black OR White!)

 

[noskates]

Jeremy Abbott skated to "Bring Him Home" from Les Miz, and it was beautiful and touching. Chan skated to Phantom in a previous season.

Exactly - skaters with considerable skill and maturity!!!

But I've heard both pieces in the novice and junior ranks at Nationals!!!

 

[Scrufflet]

Someone in another thread suggested that a pairs or dance team skate a Carmen parody in the exhibition portion. Now THAT would be entertaining!

And. No. More. Swans. Ever. (Black OR White!)

That would be great! Totally agree on both carmen and swans. Someone mentioned possible operatic choices and for some reason I instantly pictured a Wagnerian one, complete with Valkyrie helmets and horns! Aaagghhh!