I don't think that beauty fades; it merely changes. If you look at someone like Georgia O'Keeffe in her late years, you see what I mean. (And she was as weathered as they get, living in the sun in New Mexico for decades doing those magnificent paintings.) We have the perfection of each age of Katia's beauty on YouTube and in photographs, and this is just another stage. Heaven forbid Katia goes in for that awful girlish embalming that many people do. Cher would have aged magnificently, with that aquiline bone structure, and she's frozen herself, as has Peggy Fleming. Maybe they have to for their professions, but Katia doesn't.
And how wonderful that she's kept up her meticulous skating technique. Her jumps haven't been strong for a long time (since before her solo career started), but they're as good as she can keep them, and all the other aspects are lovely, from the footwork to the spins. She respects her audience and doesn't phone in her performance. Remember that amazing James Bond duo she did with Valeri Bure a few years ago, where she let him lift her so precariously and just went for it. Yeah, hockey players are strong, but he could have lost his balance, and she seemed ready for the challenge--plus they must have trained like demons for hours--both aspects evidence of her commitment to a program.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiQaBbs30Js
And how wonderful that she's kept up her meticulous skating technique. Her jumps haven't been strong for a long time (since before her solo career started), but they're as good as she can keep them, and all the other aspects are lovely, from the footwork to the spins. She respects her audience and doesn't phone in her performance. Remember that amazing James Bond duo she did with Valeri Bure a few years ago, where she let him lift her so precariously and just went for it. Yeah, hockey players are strong, but he could have lost his balance, and she seemed ready for the challenge--plus they must have trained like demons for hours--both aspects evidence of her commitment to a program.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiQaBbs30Js