2013 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic: Sep 11-15 [Salt Lake City, Utah]

ice coverage · Sep 16, 2013

Video of Max Aaron's FS in SLC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLxg-DAclw (5:26 in length)

Thanks to dardar1126 :bow:

for posting the link on FSU.
And thanks to YouTuber mimoza525 :bow:

.

For her/his additional three vids below, see:

http://www.youtube.com/user/mimoza525?feature=watch

- Grant Hochstein SP
- Joshua Farris FS
- Gracie Gold FS

Quick first impressions re Max Aaron's FS:
Bummer of course that his quads were not reliable, esp. after his practices and warm-up apparently had been very promising. Must have been very frustrating for him, and no doubt that he'll be all the more determined to land them at Skate America.
The good news: Very exciting to see him really embracing his choreo and his music. For me, he accomplished his goal of looking virtually unrecognizable (in a good way) compared to his West Side Story FS.
And as Max promised, the first half of his Carmen music was unfamiliar to me.

BTW, nice to see photos of Max among the skaters enjoying Saturday night's Utes game, as A.H. Black (IIRC) had predicted very early in this thread.
The skaters must have had a really good time. They're still tweeting about it amongst themselves today.

SkateOn said:
... i like your pic of max.

Many thanks for your entire post, SkateOn. Any friend of Max is a friend of mine. :yay:

aftertherain · Sep 16, 2013

golden411 said:
Video of Max Aaron's FS in SLC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLxg-DAclw (5:26 in length)

Quick first impressions re Max Aaron's FS:
Bummer of course that his quads were not reliable, esp. after his practices and warm-up apparently had been very promising. Must have been very frustrating for him, and no doubt that he'll be all the more determined to land them at Skate America.
The good news: Very exciting to see him really embracing his choreo and his music. For me, he accomplished his goal of looking virtually unrecognizable (in a good way) compared to his West Side Story FS.
And as Max promised, the first half of his Carmen music was unfamiliar to me.

Thanks! I agree, he's done good work with Camerlengo. It seems like he's starting to find his own style of skating. Also, that ending pose was done right on the music and was a big exclamation point. Well done!

I could not stop looking at his quad(ricep)s!

ice coverage · Sep 16, 2013

aftertherain said:
Thanks! I agree, he's done good work with Camerlengo. It seems like he's starting to find his own style of skating. Also, that ending pose was done right on the music and was a big exclamation point. Well done!

I could not stop looking at his quad(ricep)s!

FYI, Max's FS choreo this year is from Lori Nichol. His SP choreo is from Camerlengo.
Compliments to all.

aftertherain · Sep 16, 2013

golden411 said:
FYI, Max's FS choreo this year is from Lori Nichol. His SP choreo is from Camerlengo.
Compliments to all.

Lol, I know. But to me, it seems like his work with Camerlengo is influencing his overall style of skating.

Or perhaps I was fooled by that one Instagram/Vine video ...

ice coverage · Sep 16, 2013

aftertherain said:
Lol, I know. But to me, it seems like his work with Camerlengo is influencing his overall style of skating.

Or perhaps I was fooled by that one Instagram/Vine video ...

Oh, sorry for my misunderstanding, ATR.
You could be right about Camerlengo's pervasive influence (for the good).
Maybe I am imagining things myself, but I have a hunch that Max and Camerlengo like each other a lot as people, and it must be nice as well for Max to feel that personal support.

Little aside re Max's (temporary) SP costume:
I finally saw long after the fact that TSL had tweeted that Max did not allow coach Tom Z to see the costume in advance.
Maybe TSL was joking, but I don't think so. It was interesting to me that Max retains some independence from TZ.

karne · Sep 16, 2013

a;lealnbaed VIDEOS!

Thoughts on Max:

I love it! It's fun! It's energetic! It's bright and fresh for him! He throws himself into it! Okay so the jumps weren't quite there. But the program still is even when the jumps aren't. And that's huge and a big step for him. I liked that I didn't recognise it as Carmen until the second half. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have guessed (probably helped by his black bodysuit not really being a traditional Carmen costume, either).

Thoughts on Josh:

Oh my goodness. My heart is in tiny little pieces all over the floor. This is absolutely stunning. He is really feeling that music and the choreography is just gorgeous. I love the long slow part - normally I wouldn't go for music that slow, it doesn't always work, but this was just so hauntingly beautiful and every single step and movement seemed to work. Sure, the jumps weren't there, and nor were the spins, but he's got plenty of time to sort that out, and this program WILL draw a good second mark.

But Josh, please. That costume. No.

mskater93 · Sep 17, 2013

aftertherain said:
Lol, I know. But to me, it seems like his work with Camerlengo is influencing his overall style of skating.

Or perhaps I was fooled by that one Instagram/Vine video ...

It could very well be the work with Chris Dean...

ice coverage · Sep 17, 2013

mskater93 said:
It could very well be the work with Chris Dean...

:agree: Good point. With the combination of Camerlengo and Dean, Max has quite a dream team behind him. If the singles skating thing does not work out for Max

, ice dance could be his next calling.

http://web.icenetwork.com/photos/gallery.jsp?content_id=54705002&image_id=3
(see photo #3 in this gallery; Poirier was absent b/c of his injury)

karne said:
.... I liked that I didn't recognise it as Carmen until the second half. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have guessed ...

:agree: I too meant it as something positive (hope my comment did not sound otherwise).

SaraM · Sep 17, 2013

Karne soo agree about joshua! That program was georgeous... step sequence to die for. If he could get his quads he will be up there with the the top guys

Bea · Sep 17, 2013

I don't remember that there would have been a link posted to Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje's short dance yet. Here it is now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo9nUW0VqAk&feature=youtu.be

merrywidow · Sep 17, 2013

The Carmen music used in the beginning is from the death scene at the end of the opera where Don Jose (whoops! I almost wrote Brian Boitano) stabs Carmen (Katarina Witt). I like what I've seen so far of Max's program. His quads weren't that consistent in 2012 but kept improving each time he competed throughout the summer & autumn. I have faith in him.

ice coverage · Sep 18, 2013

merrywidow said:
The Carmen music used in the beginning is from the death scene at the end of the opera where Don Jose (whoops! I almost wrote Brian Boitano) stabs Carmen (Katarina Witt). I like what I've seen so far of Max's program. His quads weren't that consistent in 2012 but kept improving each time he competed throughout the summer & autumn. I have faith in him.

Thx for identifying the music passage, merrywidow. Keeping the faith right along with you. :yes:

aftertherain said:
I could not stop looking at his quad(ricep)s!

LOL, forgot to reply to this comment earlier. Know what you mean

... but was pleasantly surprised that Max's arms were getting a lot of my attention.

A.H.Black · Sep 19, 2013

Dates have been set for next year's Salt Lake Classic - September 10-14, 2014.

Icey · Sep 20, 2013

Mrs. P said:
Okay, let's be reminded that she also did poorly in several competitions last season too... and ended up in the top 6 in the World... so...one competition, especially and early-season one, isn't necessary an indicator of how the entire year will go. There's still a lot of this season left.

Maybe next year they can assign her to a different Senior B.

Are you saying what she in going through now with her coaching situation is not difficult and won't affect her skating?

Mrs. P · Sep 20, 2013

Icey said:
Are you saying what she in going through now with her coaching situation is not difficult and won't affect her skating?

A coaching change isn't easy and certain could potentially be a distraction to her skating. However my point in the quote you cited is that ONE competition early in the season isn't an indicator of how things will go for the rest of the season.

However, not everybody melts down in difficulty or a challenge.
People have overcome much bigger huddles to success.

Icey · Sep 20, 2013

aftertherain said:
Seriously though, can we talk about Courtney Hicks for a sec?

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Courtney+Hicks/International+Figure+Skating+Classic/z7uonUAc4ye

Beautiful dress, good makeup, neat hair.

Indecisive tights. :disapp:

Either stuff them in your boots or put 'em all the way over!

I know everyone wants to stand out, but this is not in a good way.

Look like orthopedic hose. Of course, some skaters might really need them.

I guess it is me, but everything I have watched so far smacks of an irritating freneticism. Is the word out that that is what the judges are looking for this Olympic year?:scowl:

Wonder whose idea it was for Max to wear gloves?

ice coverage · Sep 21, 2013

A longer version of Max Aaron's FS (thanks again to dardar1126 for posting the link on FSU).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiB3K8hHcog (8:55 in length)

Includes slo-mo of his second quad salchow + his reaction in the kiss and cry. As he awaits the scores, his dissatisfaction with his skate already is clear. :eek:

hwell:

Thanks also to YouTuber uzd fs.

Icey said:
Wonder whose idea it was for Max to wear gloves?

I also have wondered. Seems that Max has tended to wear gloves for several of his past programs -- not only from last season, but also going further back.

OTOH (no pun intended

), Max's Tron gloves were faithful to the movie's costumes, and his half-gloves (fingerless gloves, or whatever they are called) looked right for the West Side Story gang aesthetic.

That said, I'm glad that Max skated his new SP without gloves, for a nice little change.

Tonichelle · Sep 21, 2013

Icey said:
Wonder whose idea it was for Max to wear gloves?

I hate gloves on guys when they're skating, it makes their arms "too long" looking... Evan especially.

ordinary person · Sep 22, 2013

islandpaddler said:
Courtney Hicks' too-dark tights half off, half on her boots was a big distraction for me. It's more of a sporty look, I think. I worked okay for the ice dance couple where she was wearing a black dress with black tights. However, Courtney had on a more sophisticated dress that called out for lighter color tights and either in or out of her boots. Not halfway. I didn't care much for Max's hair either but it wasn't nearly as distracting as Courtney's boots. I thought she was much improved over last season, so let's get the whole package in place.

Ummm,...i don't see any dark tights other than the flesh colored ones which is just meh :eek:

hwell:

SkateFan66 · Sep 23, 2013

A.H.Black said:
Dates have been set for next year's Salt Lake Classic - September 10-14, 2014.

Thank you for the information. I have added the date to my calendar.

2013 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic: Sep 11-15 [Salt Lake City, Utah]

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aftertherain

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