Do you think figure skating is a campy sport?

[Bluebonnet]

Yes, probably...But generally that skater, who is unquestionable artistry skaters in every FS fan's eyes, are gay. Johnny, Jeremy, John Curry etc.

You don't know about Jeremy. He has never said anything about it. Your stereotypical approach is irritating. The skater who has been crowned as the most artistic skater in the current competitive skating field is Daisuke Takahashi. And I'm sure his fans will defend him to death.

 

[plushyfan]

Perhaps it's Assisai...
(BTW, since I can never prevent myself from going on and on about his Tango Roxanne, actually I've personally always seen quite a bit that's somewhat gender-bending, or more precisely fluid, in it (which is not to say that it isn't "masculine" in a different sense), yet it was certainly not "drag", and to my own mind, it was absolutely not campy...)

Asissai?? That is really funny is not campy!!! He acts girl and boy in one program..fantastic! Tango de Roxanne: I agree with Morozov:" The skating, which Plushenko shows, is a real man’s skating. He has a charisma.. I was simply shocked from his performance. How much masculine power he has!"

 

[plushyfan]

You don't know about Jeremy. He has never said anything about it.

Yes, he didn't tell me, so I don't know. But I read something like this. And I also don't know about Lambiel. Don't get me wrong, it isn't problem for me, so I finish this theme.

 

[Olympia]

In this forum I read a lot of strange and false things on Plushy but , this is the most ridiculous. Some people say he isn't an artistry skater, after you say, he is a campy skater..I have never seen inartistic gay skater. OMG! For me he is one of the most masculine skater today. Can you tell me wich programs were campy? The Godfather? Tango de Roxanne in last year??, Or I don't know what is the campy? What does that mean? campy=poofy? or is there another meaning?

Plushyfan, I'm never sure what people mean by "camp," but it seems to me that there's a slightly different connotation of the word in England and the U.S. In England, I think it does always connote a gay subtext, whereas in America, it refers to general flamboyance and artificiality. But I could be wrong about that.

It's always "over the top," as we say here. Liberace, for example, would be considered camp by any definition.

I think that skating has a lot of glitz, as ballroom dancing has, but there are certainly aspects of skating that have nothing to do with camp or glitz or anything artificial. For example, "Missing," skated by the Duchesnays and choreographed by Christopher Dean. Simply being theatrical or intensely emotional doesn't mean that something is campy.

 

[gkelly]

Actually, I think, gliding itself in figure skating level is artistic already, unlike the gliding in ice hockey and speed skating.

Depends what you mean by "artistic."

I try to glide with good form, and I try to put interesting, appropriate moves connected to the music and theme into my programs.

But I think if you were watching me, as an adult bronze skater, stroke around the rink, compared to a high-level speedskater or hockey player without all the pads, the latter would be more aesthetically appealing.

 

[plushyfan]

Plushyfan, I'm never sure what people mean by "camp," but it seems to me that there's a slightly different connotation of the word in England and the U.S. In England, I think it does always connote a gay subtext, whereas in America, it refers to general flamboyance and artificiality. But I could be wrong about that.

It's always "over the top," as we say here. Liberace, for example, would be considered camp by any definition.

I think that skating has a lot of glitz, as ballroom dancing has, but there are certainly aspects of skating that have nothing to do with camp or glitz or anything artificial. For example, "Missing," skated by the Duchesnays and choreographed by Christopher Dean. Simply being theatrical or intensely emotional doesn't mean that something is campy.

Thank you Olympia! You helped me a lot!

 

[Bluebonnet]

Asissai?? That is really funny is not campy!!! He acts girl and boy in one program..fantastic! Tango de Roxanne: I agree with Morozov:" The skating, which Plushenko shows, is a real man’s skating. He has a charisma.. I was simply shocked from his performance. How much masculine power he has!"

The skater who truly has the masculine power of artistry was Alexei Yagudin. Plushenko's biellmann spin was very ugly.

 

[sather]

There is a misunderstanding because camp is different from the concept of being modern or avant-garde or kitsch. We use the word 'camp taste'. In other words, it is based on subjective tastes you have to consider something as camp. If you have a camp taste, you would think that a certain works of art are over the top ,but at the same time interesting and enjoyable. People without camp taste would only find them inferior and ridiculous. So calling something campy would mean that the lover of camp finds them amusing.

I thought Sexbomb is a camp but it's not like there is a specific list of conditions to be camp. What I want to point out is you don't necessarily need to feel offended for your favorite programs/skaters/costumes being called camp. (but in case when competitive programs are called camp and when it's not supposed to be funny at all, maybe it wouldn't be pleasant from the skater's point of view I suppose...)

This is one of my favorite part of Notes on "camp"

Camp taste is a kind of love, love for human nature. It relishes, rather than judges, the little triumphs and awkward intensities of "character." . . . Camp taste identifies with what it is enjoying. People who share this sensibility are not laughing at the thing they label as "a camp," they're enjoying it. Camp is a tender feeling.

 

[plushyfan]

The skater who truly has the masculine power of artistry was Alexei Yagudin. Plushenko's biellmann spin was very ugly.

Maybe was ugly, it's matter of taste. But was unique, and the only one in that time. And I wont argue with you about Yagudin, again. That is also matter of taste.

 

[Mathman]

"Masculine power artistry" was Elvis Stojko. Or was that camp?

 

[Bluebonnet]

"Masculine power artistry" was Elvis Stojko. Or was that camp?

Hmmm, I forgot Elvis Stojko, as I often do.

I don't think he was camp - if I understand the word "camp" a little bit from reading this thread. But his kind of masculine power artistry had little charm on me. It was just martial art on ice. The reason was probably because I've never liked martial art.

 

[Mathman]

OK, here's another one. Was Rudy Galindo's YMCA camp? Or was it just wonderfully entertaining? Everyone loved it from little kids to the grey-haired grandmothers who took them to Champions on Ice to see the acrobats and the hula-hoop girl.

 

[sather]

OK, here's another one. Was Rudy Galindo's YMCA camp? Or was it just wonderfully entertaining? Everyone loved it from little kids to the grey-haired grandmothers who took them to Champions on Ice to see the acrobats and the hula-hoop girl.

It depends. Most people might say it is supposed to be funny and there's nothing campy about it while I say it was a bit too much
To give some examples, I think Lambiel's red cat is campy. Also to help explanation, what I presented as camp in my paper was Korean idol groups which are similar to boybands like Backstreet boys. So I would say BSB's Larger than life MV would be a good example for camp.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Here is the comparison

Campy:

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

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

Masculine beauty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kb3bkj3w-g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HihZ7L2MSE8

 

[ice coverage]

This thread clearly shows that "campy" and "camp" are in the eye of the beholder. :yes:

So happens that Slate has a three-part serious discussion of "campy" vs. "camp" -- posted yesterday and today.
(Disclaimer: I have read only the three headlines below, not the full text at the links. Am not saying that I agree or disagree with the Slate writer about anything.)

Postcards From Camp
- Entry 1: Camp is not dead. It’s alive, well, and here to stay.

By J. Bryan Lowder
Posted Monday, April 1, 2013, at 5:36 AM
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...013/postcards_from_camp/camp_is_not_dead.html
​

Postcards From Camp
- Entry 2: There’s a big difference between camp and campy.

By J. Bryan Lowder
Posted Monday, April 1, 2013, at 5:37 AM
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/.../camp_and_campy_there_s_a_big_difference.html
​

Postcards From Camp
- Entry 3: The delight is in the details.

By J. Bryan Lowder
Posted Tuesday, April 2, 2013, at 10:13 AM
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...mp/camp_roland_barthes_we_need_your_help.html​

 

[leoncorazon]

I love how upset people can get on this forum...so campy...and for anyone who doesn't think figures skating is camp please consult a non-golden skate casual skating viewer...because figure skating has gotta be the epitome of camp...maybe rythmic gymnastics comes close but no other sport is even in the ballpark...enjoy it, it's fun!

 

[dorispulaski]

Nonsense. Synchronized swimming comes close probably closer than rhythmic gymnastics, which can be just beautiful...well except for the club routines

 

[Mathman]

Here is the comparison

Campy:

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

Is it camp or is it hoke? Or is it someone suffering from a terrible neurological disorder.

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

What's campy about this one. This is a great performance. He could win a worlds medal with that!

 

[Olympia]

I love how upset people can get on this forum...so campy...and for anyone who doesn't think figures skating is camp please consult a non-golden skate casual skating viewer...because figure skating has gotta be the epitome of camp...maybe rythmic gymnastics comes close but no other sport is even in the ballpark...enjoy it, it's fun!

But think about what non-ballet fans think about ballet, especially guys dancing ballet. They think it's way over the top. And is that the true essence of ballet? Of course not. It's not the casual fan or the non-fan who gets to describe skating. It's the fans like us who look forward to watching Bartek's YouTube videos of every triple-triple Mao or Shizuka ever did, or who sigh over Kurt or Yagudin or Plushy. I'm sure there's some campy stuff in skating. But that's not all of it by any means. I'm not upset at the discussion. I just don't agree.

I agree about rhythmic gymnastics. Man, those ribbon routines!

 

[skateluvr]

short answer totally campy compared to the sport before the nineties. biggest "campers" rudy, weir now reynolds. my question...is this one of the reasons for demise of fs? what should be direction/rules/leadership for skating? besides tech requirements it seems not to matter...how to market this sport? campiness seems to sell better than say purity of a janet lynn skate. Wow, how things have changed. supersexy costumes and lots of illusion fabric-and thats just the men.