- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Sadly, i don't really think it would help.
I hate to be a downer, but I think ISU skating is done in the U.S. as a spectator sport.
Free Dance
- Thread starter blue_idealist
- Start date
Sadly, i don't really think it would help.
I hate to be a downer, but I think ISU skating is done in the U.S. as a spectator sport.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2006
MM, that's really hard for me to accept particularly with regard to ice dance, seeing how big other kinds of dancing are these days. If the feds and the ISU would promote the big rivalry between two attractive teams who really have the goods, I think the audiences could grow. I'm not so sure about the ladies and pairs right now but men's, with a dominant star and all the quads-throwers who hope to challenge him, have another great story line.
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
Oh, this is a much grander conversation piece than this thread would allow, but some brief thoughts.
1. I actually think Funny Face is one of the strongest Hollywood musicals, and maybe even better than any of the legendary Astaire-Rogers collaborations. I'm more of a Sondheim man than Gershwin, admittedly, but what Donen does with light and sound is magnificent.
2. I definitely agree with you about the remembrance of the past and the dismissive attitude towards the present, but I don't think it's entirely unfair, with one or two caveats thrown in, of course.
3. Anything that can get Tessa to laugh as joyously as she did at the end of this dance.... well, far be it for me to question it. That stated, there are other old scores I would've prefered.
4. I don't think figure skating will exist outside it's niche, but I do think a far grander approach than the one the ISU envisions will allow the niche to thrive and perpetuate itself, which I'm fine with.
I understand that Virtue is an Audrey Hepburn fan, but as lovely as Hepburn was, no one would call her a dancer. Funny Face was IMO a totally forgettable movie musical (originally performed on Broadway with Astaire and his sister Adele in 1927), so I am somewhat amused by this sudden elevation of this movie (made in 1957) as if it were a Hollywood classic. It doesn't crack the top 25 of the American Film Institute's Greatest Movie Musicals. Even for Astaire who was at the end of his dancing days in the '50s, The Band Wagon and Silk Stockings with Cyd Charisse, and Royal Wedding (with singer/dancer Jane Powell 1951), where Astaire dances with a hat rack and "on top of the ceiling" was far more memorable. So comparing Virtue to Hepburn as a dancer sort of downgrades Virtue's talents, which are far superior to Hepburn's limited efforts in Funny Face.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2005
No, I didn't. D/W are both college students in addition to high level ice dancers. I don't see that they would choose to skate three events, especially not two back to back with no opportunity to tweak the programs between. V/M made a comment that there is a huge disincentive to agreeing to skate three events so I highly doubt that they will either. So next assertion, please, that they will meet at SC?
BTW, not that I am angry or upset, but for future reference, I am a she not a he, Doris.
V/M said they were disinclined to do 3 events because of the penalty for having to withdraw due to injury. With Tessa's past history of injury, that makes a lot of sense. I can also see that D/W's commitment to education also makes 3 events just one too many.
As for Funny Face, I saw it and it was far from one of the most compelling musicals of the 50s (it was one of the last). Hepburn was not known as a dancer, and she certainly isn't much of a singer, either. She was beautiful and charming, but obviously much too young for the near-60 Astaire of the time. It was a studio concoction, meant to be a box-office draw but it wasn't a huge success and shortly thereafter studios stopped making movie musicals altogether.
As for Funny Face, I saw it and it was far from one of the most compelling musicals of the 50s (it was one of the last). Hepburn was not known as a dancer, and she certainly isn't much of a singer, either. She was beautiful and charming, but obviously much too young for the near-60 Astaire of the time. It was a studio concoction, meant to be a box-office draw but it wasn't a huge success and shortly thereafter studios stopped making movie musicals altogether.
Well, it would help if the Red Sox actually qualifies for the post season to begin with and not hitting for less than 0.300 in September.
Sorry, I can't resist as a Yankee fan. 
Well, you are forgetting the proposed site for SC 2012 is Windsor, which is really a twin city to Detroit similar to Minneapolis/St-Paul. The only travel they need from Detroit is half hour drive at most, probably less when there is no traffic. They don't even need to skip any classes, no more than when they are in the Detroit area.
The 2011 World will always have an asterix because of Tessa's injury. Given that 2013 Worlds will be in Canada, they might as well get used to compete there. If they can beat V/M at Skate Canada, it would indeed send a strong message, and IMO, greater than their win at 2011 Worlds.
You are missing the point. The test balloon is asking what if D/W gets to meet V/M at the 2012 SC in Windsor? D/W have some recognition in the Detroit area so presumably, having SC there with both teams attending would be a big draw, similar to a Yankee-Red Sox showdown.
In other words, just because the character she portrayed on ice isn't/wasn't a good dancer in real life, it implies a poor choice on the part of Tessa Virtue?
And if we were to limit ourselves only to unequivocal dancers and top ranked classics, just how many choices are there? You might as well scratch the word Free from Free Dance. Frankly, what you said is not a consideration as far as a competitive program is concerned. Free Dance or Free Skating is meant as a personal interpretation of chosen music. Ryan Bradley's decision to portray Bethoven in a comical way is just as acceptable as another skater's classic interpretation. This is different to the principles of Original Dance - now Short Dance. The latter has a greater emphasis on reflecting the character of the prescribed rythm and correspondingly, IN given a bigger weight than other program component, hence the controversy at the 2010 Olympics when the Russian World Champions chose the aboriginal (Australian) music that portrayed them as uncivilized brute. You can't expect every single judge and official to know who is Audrey Hepburn. I have no idea who she was. It doesn't matter however, the important thing is how the skater portrayed it and what she did with her skates and her upper body. Audrey Hepburn could be an old lady in wheelchair and for all I know, Tessa Virtue was portraying a fairytale that the old lady grew a pair of wings & fly.Well, to me, David Freese was without a doubt the MVP of the World Series. Then I read several articles with people claiming that Carpenter really should have been the MVP. How do you argue with that?
Last edited:
The only thing that matters is it means something to the skater(s) and that they can relate it and convey it to the audience. Everything else is just subjective preference and you can't possibly please every single person.
The proposed event will take place in their backyard which they can drive themselves to in less than 30 minutes.
Nothing in this world is ever absolute. Oil sands used to make no sense economically 20 years ago. Nowadays, there simply isn't enough of it.
I have no opinion on whether it should or shouldn't. If it were up to me, I'd be in favor of paying an appearance fee.
If you re-read the 2011 World threads, you'll recall that I agree with D/W's win. That's not the question. It is the perception whether D/W would have won if V/M were healthy and competed in all of their planned events so that their FD could acquire the mileage it needed. The fact that they still lost to V/M in the SD at both 4CC and Worlds with many people here saying the margin there could have been greater is an evidence in support of such doubt because the lack of training and mileage would really show at the FD, not the SD where the latter is 40% CD. We know veteran skaters in the past who came back from injuries tend to do well in CD but struggled in FD due to lack of mileage so it stands to reason their FD results was at least in part affected by the lack of practice time and skating in front of a competitive environment. Hence, a clear victory at a hypothetical SC match up could send a much more convincing signal. With the upcoming GPF and 2013 Worlds both in Canada, it really isn't crazy to suggest them to get used to it. That's my $0.02
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
Sudden elevation? Dude, be fair, I can have an opinion outside the AFI list - which given what it includes, one might be wise to.
