Have you been to any good ice shows lately? | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Have you been to any good ice shows lately?

lauravvv

Medalist
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Country
Latvia
no, i cannot read anyone's mind. yes, i know it's a show and the skaters aren't required to concentrate like they're performing brain surgery, or counting revolutions during COP programs. but that's the impression i get sometimes, like the skater isn't entirely engaged in the performance-- maybe the skater was distracted by an ill-timed camera flash. maybe the skater thought he/she could take it easy and still entertain even though the skater was battling fatigue or an old nagging injury... or something like that...
But that's different - I too sometimes get a feel like a skater is not fully engaged in the performance, but that has nothing to do with jumps or even mistakes on them. It's rather about not putting themselves fully into the Performance itself, not into jumps. But it seems like let's talk really has a problem with the lack of difficult jumps and with mistakes.

i am weird, but i think a skater like lambiel should make a statement and just leave jumps out of a program. show us the rest of his skating unencumbered (or unenhanced, depending on your POV) by jumps. show us a program where he uses only non-jump elements to highlight the music. just speaking for myself, as an occasional attendee at shows like COI and SOI in the USA, i would love it if a skater i admired performed a program without any jumps at all. for years i wished katia gordeeva would just let me enjoy her grace and choreography without attempting jumps like the 2a or 3t (her nemeses as a single skater). but that's just me, i find her crossovers gorgeous.:p

i don't think i'll ever see a jump-less program from dai, but if i got to see one i would jump for joy.:love:
I don't think you're weird either. I too like to sometimes see beautifully choreographed programs without jumps. But in case of Lambiel, it would be even more interesting if he made a program without his trademark spins. Maybe he'll do that one day - he once promised to think about this idea in an interview :).
I don't completely agree with skfan, though. Yes, there are times when splats/falls spoil the impression of the performance. But not always - at least for me. If the skater gets up quickly and continues to skate with good mood, then I am not too bothered by it.
 

lauravvv

Medalist
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Country
Latvia
That's why they sell full houses unlike their NA colleagues.
I don't think that it's so simple. There are many more reasons to that than NA skaters not putting difficult technical content into their exhibition performances. Once there were great personalities in NA skating (and it was not all about jumps), but now they're mostly gone and so the interest has died down. The current system doesn't create great personalities. Plus, the traditions of figure skating (including show traditions) are older in North America, and it's difficult to keep people interested for such a long time with so many changes happening. I really hope that the interest about figure skating in Japan will be the same in 20 years or so.

I am not sure I follow. What does my comments about the current WC have anything to do with a retired WC like Lambiel? I am highly likely will see Kulik in October, and I don't expect any quad from him there. That's first. Second, I doubt that the show skills of Lambiel can be compared to Chan. But feel free to have another opinion. :cool:
I agree that in reality it can't be compared. What I actually wanted to say with my long post, is that there is so much more in show skating (and in figure skating as such) than just jumps and other difficult technical elements.

So, I'll write about the competitive skaters a bit more. Firstly, see what mikeko666 wrote. What would you say if Daisuke had made those mistakes in this show? Would you too write that he gave a "lousy" performance or didn't work hard enough? Or would you find some excuse for him?

Anyway, as for Chan's and Kostner's programs - they may not seem very difficult, but the 'Mannish Boy' program is a new style for Chan, so I imagine that a lot of work went into making it, and probably it's not so easy for him to perform it ether. Carolina's 'I's oh so quiet' program is not very usual for her either. I realize that it has little to do with the particular 'DOI' performances, I am just explaining that no difficult jumps in a program doesn't necessarily mean that the program is easy for a skater.

Also, skaters like Chan, Kostner, Suzuki, Hanya and, yes, Takahashi as well, had a longer competitive season than the junior skaters and the less famous skaters who had less competitive events. They are just coming out of their well deserved rest, and, yes, most likely they haven't trained a lot especially for this show. In the case of Chan, Kostner and Suzuki the tiredness from the long flight to Japan and time zone change is added to that.

You also have to take into consideration that, unlike those skaters, the junior skaters and less famous and titled skaters still have to prove themselves, more so than the already established skaters, and they have less opportunties to do that than those skaters. So, such a show is really an important event for them - I wouldn't be surprised if they spent more time preparing and training especially for this show than the skaters of Chan, Kostner and Takahashi rank.
 

doctor2014

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Chan and Kostner traveled all the way to Japan to perform at DOI and Suzuki just came back from Detroit. I won't blame them if they were feeling tired.
Yes, Patrick, Carolina, Hanyu, and Suzuki just travelled to Japan from NA and Europe, so they all had jet lags, but they still tried to entertain the audience. I think most of the audience understood this and still loved to see all of them skating. Btw, I think Patrick looks good in that kimono. :biggrin:
But - ehh, are you joking here? Those 'Uncles' are both famous and respected choreographers and also respectable people. They do their jobs well. Also, Kurt Browning is a legendary showman (and also artist) - probably the best among figure skaters. I think Hanya and his coach knew what to expect when they turned to him for choreography. Plus, at 17 (and to be 18 this year), Yuzuru is not such a child anymore. I don't think that sexy choreo for a guy of that age is something unacceptable. But a skater has to be a good performer to pull something like that off, because confidence and a sense of freedom is needed to make the public believe in that image too.
I’m a big fan of Kurt and think he’s one of the most talented skaters ever—jumpwise, skating skills-wise, and presentation-wise. But just because he’s awesome and we love him don’t mean all programs choreographed by him are automatically the best programs in the world. He choreographed Kozuka’s “Hello, Goodbye & Safety Dance” program, which was not that good, certainly not as good as Kozuka’s “Inner Urge” program choreographed by David Wilson, although the two programs had similar styles. You know, even the best choreographer could come up with mediocre programs sometimes, just like the best skater could miss his/her jumps sometimes.

Have you watched Hanyu’s new “Hello, I Love You” EX program choreographed by Kurt? If you have watched it, then you’ll understand why some people are disappointed. This program is too similar to Hanyu’s “Vertigo” program in 2010/11 season. Hanyu skated to that kind of sexy, retro, alternate rock style when he was only 15 y.o., and he already mastered that style quite well back then. Some people are disappointed because the choreography, music choice, and overall style of his new EX program choreographed by Kurt are astonishingly similar to the “Vertigo” program, except that the “Hello, I Love You” program has additional “stripping” part, which made a lot of the female audience crazy, so Hanyu pulled the sexy part off. In this aspect, I think the program is successful.

But this new “Hello, I Love You” program lacks the originality and creativity that some people were looking for. Even Hanyu’s former coach Nanami Abe was able to choreograph the “Vertigo” program by herself, and Abe is not even a famous choreographer in Japan. When people knew Kurt was working on the new EX, they were excited and had high expectation. Then when they saw “Hello, I Love You” program some of them became somewhat disappointed. Of course, many girls love it because they love the stripping part and think Hanyu looks hot in the tight shirt and black leather pants.

I can also understand let’s talk’s disppointment because s/he likes Hanyu’s programs choreographed by Bestemianova & Bobrin. Indeed, B&B created two mature and poignant programs that Abe alone could not have created—that’s why one goes to famous foreign choreographers for help, to get something your coach could not do by him/herself. B&B gave Hanyu very powerful yet elegant and poignant programs that are unique and different from other skaters’ programs.

Nowadays even the little kids, e.g., Shoma Uno and He Zhang are trying to do “sexy” programs. It’s not that difficult to skate in some form of sexy and cool style. But Hanyu’s B&B programs are the real deep and passionate programs that brought many audience members to tears and attracted new fans both online and in the real world. I can understand why some people want to see more programs like those.

People thought Kurt and Wilson would bring out a good new style, like what B&B did. While some are disappointed that the beginning is not as good and original as they expected, I still hope that the two new competitive programs will be good, creative, and something different. Well, this EX is just the beginning, and Kurt will have time to get to know Hanyu and get creative with his future program(s). But even if Kurt, at the worst, fails by the end and just never succeeds to choreograph any good programs for Hanyu, I would still love Kurt… just because I’ve been his fan for years. :p
 
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let`s talk

Match Penalty
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
but i think a skater like lambiel should make a statement and just leave jumps out of a program.
It's because he can afford it. He is good enough without jumps. But when someone who has no Lambiel skills at all, but who has splats all around, well... . It's not a show job.

But it seems like let's talk really has a problem with the lack of difficult jumps and with mistakes.
Fine! The current WC sholdn't jump but he should spin. That is what actually happened after all.
Did he do "The Crisis" in Dream on Ice?
I saw only one show and there he skated Tango. As far as I know he skated it in all DOI performances this time.
I am wondering Keiji Takana (the very right, back row) has grown a bit again??? :eek: He now apprears even taller and more muscular than Takahito Mura (the very left, back row).
Keiji indeed looked quite tall on the ice. He must be around the same height as Takahito now or slightly taller. But Mura is still the most muscular dude in the team imo. :cool:

Some pics from the show:

Dai:
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042489.jpg
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_sswa042487.jpg
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042486.jpg
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042485.jpg
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042483.jpg
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042418.jpg
Yuzuru:
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_sswa042473.jpg
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042471.jpg
Kozuka:
http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/16/55/86/44/aflo_s13.jpg
http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/16/55/86/44/aflo_s14.jpg
http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/16/55/86/44/20120611.jpg
Imai:
http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/16/55/86/44/20120614.jpg
Miki:
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042413.jpg
Patrick:
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042417.jpg
Mura:
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042407.jpg
Risa:
http://preview.aflo.com/0/6/aflo_SSWA042429.jpg
Tatsuki:
http://photo.sankei.jp.msn.com/essay/photo?gid=5BE6AA35-358E-4DF0-8CB9-97A3845C0A78
 
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let`s talk

Match Penalty
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Fuji TV aired Dreams on Ice last night, right before the TBS kicked the Euro-2012 Final. I almost forgot about that with setting the alarm-clock for 3:00am for Euro Final. But hey, my memory worked out in time, thanks god. They broadcasted the Saturday afternoon show, not the evening one that I visited. I haven't seen any detailed report in English of that particular show. Only in Russian that Ryuju Hino's father, who is Russian (Hino is half-Russian and half-Japanese), blogged on sports.ru. Fuji showed only: Narumi/Marvin; girls: Karo, Miki, Akiko, Kanako, Risa (Miki, Karo and Kanako skated another EX than in the evening, Karo- the same as at WTT, Kanako- the same that I saw at PIW) and boys: Dai, Kozuka, Chan, Hanyu, Uno. That's all, which disappointed me a lot. I realized why the aired Team Japan, WC and a charming representative of junior skater. But how they could kick out Machida, who got the second biggest ovation of the night, is a total mystery for me. Too much flood usually on general TV channels (unlike on sky tv JSport), like with that silly joke where Marvin tried to lift a TV girl. They could spend air time on showing sport actually than TV girls :disapp:. Dai had a slight mistake on 3A but nothing could possible spoil such a terrific performance. How can he even do that. Chan did his 2As and in a finale spinned with girls again, not jumped 3A with J-boys. Kanako hit her 3-3 and was much cleaner than I saw her later on the same day. Hanyu was a disaster. I was in fact very lucky that I saw him in the evening. The program is meh but at least he was clean. In the afternoon show he fell 3 times, twice on jumps, the first time- very heavily, the third fall was on steps. I doubt that fans would ever upload such a performance, I wouldn't, only anti-fans would probably do. He was so terribly embarrased with his performance that he did dogeza after that as a manner of feeling shame and begging paying customers for forgivness, and he did it in such a lovely way that the audience laughed and forgave him of course. I wonder if another skater would did dogeza every time after multiple falls, he would have already had troubles with his forehead bone. Later Yuzu smiled in the interview but in fact he looked like he wanted to cry. Cheer up, boy! :thumbsup:
Dai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2xcOIz0RIY
Dai (no commentators' rants)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnbsVQCK804
Kozuka:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk5wpADygLg
Hanyu'z dogeza in a news clip (at around 1:00 minute):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZvOqy9XspE
As I said they didn't broadcast Machida. But here on an April home video at a training rink you can see the program itself. It's barely cooked and it's like about 10% of what he showed in DOI, in both TES and especially in PCS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aCeEz3mQPI
 
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Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I actually like the program as exhibition very much though his body is kind of skinny and boyish for it. It's just one of those bad days and the bad skate got filmed. It would be nice to see one of the good performances he did give but filming was disallowed.
 

doctor2014

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
But he never has this kind of melt down last season; my guess is he's getting taller.
Yes, he has been growing taller. Hanyu was about the same height as Javier last November, but he looks taller than Javier in a picture taken about one month ago.
Gedevanishvili’s twitter: http://instagram.com/p/LonKmaMx1I/

Also, Nan Song has been training in Toronto this summer, and he said “Yuzuru is almost as tall as himself.”
yuzuru news tumblr: http://miwa31.tumblr.com/post/26270153491/yuzuru-news
 

deedee1

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 14, 2007

Let's talk, thanks a lot as usual for your swift report and all these links! :)

I finally watched DOI aired on Fuji TV.
But too much fluffs (as expected :scowl:) and they did not show as many skaters as possible.
This year's DOI was a bit of disappointment for me, too, except Akiko's Cherbourg and Dai's Piazzolla.

As for Yuzuru, don't worry you guys. I would rather take it he just had a bad day.
Watching him skate on TV's big screen, he hit so hard his right shoulder upon the scary fall on 3A :eek: (I actually cried out on that scene because I feared he could have dislocated his shoulder...and I was relieved he didn't!). He seemed in a pain throughout after that hard fall. It must have affected his overall performance. He will be just fine, I think.

BS Fuji is going to broadcast DOI for 2 hours without fluff vids on Sunday afternoon.
Am looking forward to seeing other skaters, especially Tatsuki Machida and Takahito Mura whom Let's talk previously reported for us that they were great. :yes:
 
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