Yuna Kim to Compete at Golden Spin of Zagreb, Croatia, Dec 5-8 | Page 17 | Golden Skate

Yuna Kim to Compete at Golden Spin of Zagreb, Croatia, Dec 5-8

Ven

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
I think these are the slight changes I would hope for in the SP if I could make three wishes.

1. I wish Yuna would exit her first spin faster and/or come running out quicker with more energy. Basically more of a remembrance of her same move from the middle of Gershwin.

2. I wish after her layback, when the music picks up and she begins her choreo or steps or whatever, that she could add something like just a single jump or positional jump. I see her brief outside edge spiral and I can't help but think of it as the recreation of when she accomplished it for the first time in younger days, and would love to see something as trivial as a single added to the sequence. I also think it would make the pace from that point forward just that much better.

I'm just in love with the idea of her traveling down memory lane, progressing from her novice skater days to who she is now (even if the earlier parts come towards the end of the program).

3. I wish Yuna would be healthy and happy and feel the music. Just become the emotion at the proper time.

Now that I've just seen the LP, will give my thoughts on it here in a minute.
 

Ven

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
I feel like I had the same impression last year as well, though, when she was at the NRW Trophy. I found her Les Miz program quite lackluster at that competition, and look what it became by the time we got to Worlds. I do hope she attends Four Continents because it'll be good to air out the program again at a big event, but considering this was her first outing I'm not terribly concerned. Interviews also mentioned that the rink was small and the ice softer than she was used to, which I think means she had to hold herself back with some of those jumps as she really goes flying across when she has a mind to.

Yes I have faith she will do better (we're talking about going from 8 or 9 out of 10 to 11 out of 10). It's just the first competition and now she can improve. Keep the good and fix what needs to be fixed. She's a professional and I have confidence she will get it done.

Still, it has to happen. Until then I will be nervous. :)
 

Ophelia

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
The LP itself is great, but I didn't see any of the passion or fire for the program in Yuna's skating today. Her performance was lackluster and she seemed tired/disconnected throughout the program. I got the feeling that she wasn't really enjoying skating. =( I get that she had a month to fully practice her programs, and that she's testing out the waters at Zagreb, but I really hope she participates in at least one more competition because she has some way to go before maximizing the potential of her programs. I REALLY want to see her dazzle at the Olympics.
 

cheerio2

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
I didn't like Yuna's LP as I saw it today :(. I thought the music was kind of bleh, with no real low points or high points to it. It didn't have that "epic" feeling of Les Miz or Homage to Korea. But maybe she was deliberately going for something different.
 

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
If anything, last year should've taught us to not judge Yuna's performances from a silly B competition. That said, I think her LP seems a bit aimless in its choreography and the music seemed to be just there. Maybe she would've performed it better if she hit the 3-3, though. Her SP is better but (people will hate me for saying this) it reminds me a bit of Miki Ando's 2011 SP - beautiful, pleasing to the ears and eyes, but the music is a bit shapeless and you could do any kind of movement and it would probably still be "beautiful". I was holding out hope that out of Caro/Mao/herself, she would be the confident one ready to take big risks in her programs and skate with freedom instead of just looking focused on getting the points. The music is a risk but this weekend I don't think she pulled it off.

Again, these are my first impressions. No doubt Yuna will change my opinion on both at Sochi by skating the programs better.
 

jatale

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 24, 2011
Considering that Yuna's training schedule was interrupted by a disturbing injury and the emotional distress that must have caused, I think Yuna showed two programs at Golden Spin that with some polish and renewed energy can be "Epic" at the Olympics. I sure hope so because when Yuna skates to her full potential she lights up the ice like no other skater I've ever seen.
 

Ven

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
My thoughts on Yuna's LP:

As enthusiastic as I am about the SP, unfortunately I'm a bit worried that her LP might be too somber. Already lots of wistfulness and goodbye present in "Send in the Clowns", I guess I feel like the LP should have more fire -- more triumph. "This is who I am, a beautiful grown woman moving into the next phase of my life, leaving on my own terms. Thank you for supporting me over the years, we will always be with each other in our hearts."

One of the things I admire about Yuna's beauty is the way she handles herself ... her humility, class, and grace. She can portray sexy without resorting to the base level that most other women try. Still, I left this LP feeling like there should be more seduction, more fire, more tango. I know it's not the typical tango and was written as an elegy, and that's why the program choice has me worried, but I do hope to see something more powerful. The trick could lie in proper emphasis throughout different parts of the program, I'm not sure. The thought I keep coming back to is -- goodbye, yes -- but triumph and celebration even more.

For today, I did not sense that kind of thematic unity, and the performance felt a bit disjointed. I think this is even besides Yuna's fatigue issue and technical mistakes. I think there is a wandering, searching in progress still with this program from a presentation point of view. Still, though Yuna's "Adios Nonino" is more raw than "Send in the Clowns" at this time, I think I can start to see a possible light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that in the next two months the program will be refined, the vision will become more clear, and Yuna will approach the program with confidence and conviction to perform at her very best level of all time.
 

Ven

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Oh yeah, the dress is sexy too. If some slight alterations are made then that's OK, but overall I think it's a nice dress. I like how her dress, makeup, and hair this year really bring out her lips, they looked very beautiful today.
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Never thought I'd see the day that Yuna would be accused of lacking "killer instinct." My, oh my. Then again, people tend to exaggerate when it comes to either her or Mao anyway.
 

parma

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Give Yuna some time to recover. She is just getting out of her two-month long injury. Hats off to her for still making a great effort all the same. She will freshen up again in the next two months for the big one.
 

PftJump

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Her Jump mistakes(2A in short, 3Lz in free) are due to overturn, and I don't worry about that.

And Free components' levels...maybe these are about stamina.

It's a very tight program, and she already said her stamina is not the best. (Can just perform FP, there's no room for stamina yet.)

Just one month from injury, it's more than 2 months to Olympics.

Increase stamina, components' level check, and Adoption for small rink(Sochi stadium is also small)...

That's that. Enough time for her.
 

jatale

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 24, 2011
(Sochi stadium is also small)...

I've heard that somewhere else also, but isn't the stadium brand new? How can it be small, especially for the Olympics, wouldn't that be a disqualifying thing for an Olympic venue?
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I've heard that somewhere else also, but isn't the stadium brand new? How can it be small, especially for the Olympics, wouldn't that be a disqualifying thing for an Olympic venue?

I wonder if that means the stadium including seating or the skating surface. I don't believe they would make the rink itself smaller than Olympic size.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
Thinking of it now, one thing I did not like is that Wilson uses the same old moves, especially her hand and head positions which by the way, half juniors girls are copying the last couple years. Something risky like Shostakovich Program of Costner, or her Bolero would have been something I d like Yuna to try.
 

PftJump

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
I've heard that somewhere else also, but isn't the stadium brand new? How can it be small, especially for the Olympics, wouldn't that be a disqualifying thing for an Olympic venue?

Not about area, it's ratio of length and breadth.

That affects Yuna's Huge 3-3.
 

bebevia

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Thinking of it now, one thing I did not like is that Wilson uses the same old moves, especially her hand and head positions which by the way, half juniors girls are copying the last couple years. Something risky like Shostakovich Program of Costner, or her Bolero would have been something I d like Yuna to try.
While I still think Wilson is very talented and his works are still very well-made, I just feel that he's lacking versatility post-Vancouver - perhaps due to busy schedule and mass produced choreographies burning out inspiration.

When seeing Yuna and Mao, I wish they'd swap their choreographers for a change; I always wanted Tarasova for Yuna - she can easily fire up the Russian intensity -, and Mao should try Wilson to accentuate her assets. At the moment, Yuna's programs - not Yuna's execution or ability - are falling under mannerism, only exciting by her expressiveness, and Mao is dragged by her TT programs instead of owning it.
 

CarneAsada

Medalist
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
On a non-Yuna note, I'd just like to say congratulations to Miki - she improved her scores at this competition and is no longer in danger of having her combined score beaten by Yuna's LP. :)
 
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