- Joined
- Oct 20, 2010
I think the two hands are less awkard looking than the one hand tano... which seems to just wave wildly above the head.
I think it depends a lot on who is doing it, how they're doing it, and what they're trying to convey with it. All the little novice/junior girls who stick their arms up in the air on every. single. jump. because it's an easy way to get +GOE are painful.
With elite skaters, though, I think a 'tano done well can look very balletic and elegant - it is a classical ballet arm position, after all. Or even very masculine and sharp, depending on how the arm is held, something that could be appropriate in a male Carmen program or something flamenco. Obviously, it comes down to execution.
There are programs where the double-fist could work artistically, too; it's not innately bad. I just don't think those are programs Rippon is likely to be skating. It's the jarring mismatch that bugs me, not necessarily the move itself. Of course, if he started doing the variation with his hands not clasped, sort of ballet-style, like some ladies do laybacks, that would look wonderful! I suspect that would be even harder, though, both in terms of keeping the arms upright in a good position, and making it harder to draw in and rotate. I think the arm position he uses now probably helps to compensate a little bit. An open one would probably be even more difficult.