I vote for Lucindah Ruh,too.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Manhattan, Ice Theatre of New York offered another 1970s wonder: Ms. Tharp's "After All" (to Tomaso Albinoni). This ice "dance" dates from 1976, when it was created for the great figure-skating champion John Curry. "After All" was revived here by the skating troupe for the first time since Curry, who died in 1994, stopped doing it. When Curry first performed the three-movement, solo work, it was a beacon of hope for the art of skating. The ever-scrupulous Ms. Tharp had arranged a work of real choreographic finesse that honors the integrity for skating's fine-edge schooling. It was something quite beyond what Curry used to call the "bunny suit" acts of "Ice Capades."
Curry's impassioned work with ice theater helped turn the tide, but seeing "After All" in this current, welcome reappearance on a program where nothing else even barely compared to its depth and coherence proved that much remains to be done. The raised standards that were set on ice during the same decade that gave ballet the 1970s works that ABT recently brought back to glory have yet to be consistently met or respected.
John Curry.
The great ballet writer and critic Robert Greskovic wrote yesterday in the Wall Street Journal,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119491610355990696.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Then, Maya Usova, Janet Lynn, Shizuka Arakawa, Susanna Poykio, Ekaterina Gordeeva, and Johnny Weir. And I have high hopes for Patrick Chan.
I think it would be quite tricky to compose a satisfactory program with no jumps.
For instance, I left both Michelle Kwan (my favorite lady) and Johnny Weir (my favorite guy) off my list because their use of selected jump elements greatly enhances the choreography of their programs.
In the 2006 COI tour Michelle did the best she could with a jump-free program (doctor's orders). It was lovely, etc., etc., and the audience was full of compassion for her.
Still, there were obvious moments when the music and the choreography called for highlight elements, and they weren't there.
Same for Johnny. To me, part of what makes his elegant skating so enjoyable to watch is the smoothness and grace of his jumps. Unfortunately for Johnny's medal ambitions, this is more apparent in exhibitions than in his competitive programs, IMHO. But even a masterpiece like Fallen Angles would be lessened if he scaled back on the athleticism.
Caroline Zhang, on the other hand -- well, it's too early really form an opinion, but right now I would say that her non-jump elements are to die for, but her jumps can sometimes be a distraction from the quality of the rest of the program, instead of an enhancement.
I think it would be quite tricky to compose a satisfactory program with no jumps.
I think it would be quite tricky to compose a satisfactory program with no jumps.
For instance, I left both Michelle Kwan (my favorite lady) and Johnny Weir (my favorite guy) off my list because their use of selected jump elements greatly enhances the choreography of their programs.
In the 2006 COI tour Michelle did the best she could with a jump-free program (doctor's orders). It was lovely, etc., etc., and the audience was full of compassion for her.
Still, there were obvious moments when the music and the choreography called for highlight elements, and they weren't there.
Same for Johnny. To me, part of what makes his elegant skating so enjoyable to watch is the smoothness and grace of his jumps. Unfortunately for Johnny's medal ambitions, this is more apparent in exhibitions than in his competitive programs, IMHO. But even a masterpiece like Fallen Angles would be lessened if he scaled back on the athleticism.
Caroline Zhang, on the other hand -- well, it's too early really to form an opinion, but right now I would say that her non-jump elements are to die for, but her jumps can sometimes be a distraction from the quality of the rest of the program, instead of an enhancement.