Grace Gold - too princessy?

Sam-Skwantch · May 12, 2014

I think if we're excepting the term princessy as a word then you can say pageanty. My spellcheck disapproves of both but in defensive of these fine literary exceptions...the word flutz also gets flagged as needing a correction

I don't think calling her on ice persona as having a base in pageantry too far off though. I noticed at the end of her performances at US nationals she became quite flustered as if totally surprised she just skated so well. It was very similar to when Miss America wins and becomes overwhelmed and seems so shocked to have been picked. It's not an insult in anyway but it's just something I noticed.

CanadianSkaterGuy · May 12, 2014

noskates said:
I just met Gracie yesterday at the San Jose SOI and she was warm, friendly, and not at all diva'ish or princessy or pageanty (is that a word) Don't confuse someone's persona on the ice or when being interviewed as what that person is truly like. It was also interesting to see her palling around with Mirai and Ashley during warm ups. The girls came off as being friends and enjoying each other's company.

I think oftentimes people who work the internet day in and day out bring their own reality to it rather than what's really occurring.

I actually really like her demeanour in interviews and the like. On the ice, she has a different persona, but I wouldn't think she's a "diva" off-ice.

skatedreamer · May 12, 2014

plushyfan said:
GG has a great future. I also think he was a little bit underscored in the team event.

You meant "she," right? As in, Gracie may or may not be many things but she's definitely a "she!"

(I guess there are other remote possibilities but those probably shouldn't be discussed on a PG-13 website... :biggrin:

)

Seriously, re: the "pageant" thing mentioned upthread, I understand it, although it doesn't seem as obvious to me as it does to others. My thought is that there would be a big change if Gracie changed her hair & makeup even if everything else stayed pretty much the same. IMO, the bun on top of her head and the bright red lipstick make her look much too old. For her "Let It Go" exhibition piece, she wore her hair loose and the difference seemed huge to me -- younger & freer and altogether more appealing.

Someone else talked about Frank Carroll's/Lori Nichol's 1950's style, which may be valid. The funny thing is that Michelle Kwan was with FC for many years but I never got a "princess" vibe from her. For Michelle's first big senior competition (1995 IIRC) it was quite clear from her makeup & costume that they were trying to emphasize that she was now one of the big girls. She definitely looked a lot more sophisticated but not in a princess-y way, so not sure what happened w/ Gracie.

BlackPack · May 12, 2014

skatedreamer said:
You meant "she," right? As in, Gracie may or may not be many things but she's definitely a "she!" (I guess there are other remote possibilities but those probably shouldn't be discussed on a PG-13 website... )

Honestly, I can understand when people complain about certain skaters (cough, cough, Abbott, Chan, I&K, etc), because there are usually valid reasons. When it comes to Gracie, however, I'm completely clueless as to why she gets so much criticism. Some of her criticisms just go over my head. I don't get it. I just see a very fine and complete skater who has good guidance for her coach and choreographer.

For all I know, the next criticism for Gracie is that skates like a tranny :rolleye:

Is it jealousy? Because she is a blonde "princess" with a bright future?

I don't know. I should know better than to throw the jealous card but hey... :slink:

skatedreamer · May 12, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
I think if we're excepting the term princessy as a word then you can say pageanty. My spellcheck disapproves of both but in defensive of these fine literary exceptions...the word flutz also gets flagged as needing a correction

Spellcheck can go flutz itself (hope that doesn't get me in trouble w/ the mods... :eek:

) It doesn't like creativity and/or colloquialisms and generally isn't any fun at all, kind of like my sophomore English teacher from high school. It also doesn't flag words that are spelled correctly but not used properly, e.g. "there" instead of "their." Sadly, I found that out the hard way after sending out something important w/ a glaring error. Still haven't gotten over the embarrassment... :slink:

EDIT: Just to be clear, no criticisms here for anyone/anything except Spellcheck. :biggrin:

Scovies · May 12, 2014

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
As much as I think Gracie should play to her strengths, it would be nice to see some greater range of programs than the typical, classical programs.

You know, I don't think the princess-y programs actually play to her strengths at all. It plays to her looks, but not her performance ability. I found her far more compelling and likable in her Chicago-themed exhibition than her competitive programs.

desertskates · May 12, 2014

skatedreamer said:
Seriously, re: the "pageant" thing mentioned upthread, I understand it, although it doesn't seem as obvious to me as it does to others. My thought is that there would be a big change if Gracie changed her hair & makeup even if everything else stayed pretty much the same. IMO, the bun on top of her head and the bright red lipstick make her look much too old. For her "Let It Go" exhibition piece, she wore her hair loose and the difference seemed huge to me -- younger & freer and altogether more appealing.

Nail on the head with hair and lipstick. I was thinking it makes her appear uptight. Though glad to hear that in person she was quite friendly at SOI

Bring in a back of the head bun and some more natural looking lips and it would be like night and day. I don't like the harsh red on any of the skaters with lighter hair and skin tone, thought I do get the whole stage makeup thing.

Tompson · May 12, 2014

No it suited for her well 'at least now'. She is young.

papa · May 12, 2014

volk said:
VirMo said:

Gracie had a more complex and dramatic LP than Lipnitskaia.

Click to expand...

skatedreamer · May 12, 2014

desertskates said:
Nail on the head with hair and lipstick. I was thinking it makes here appear uptight. Though glad to hear that in person she was quite friendly at SOI Bring in a back of the head bun an some more natural looking lips and it would be like night and day. I don't like the harsh red on any of the skaters with lighter hair and skin tone, thought I do get the whole stage makeup thing.

For purposes of full disclosure, that was some other lucky duck who saw SOI, not moi.

The exhibition I saw was on TV, maybe shortly after Worlds. Re: "uptight," could we all be talking about the same thing, just using different words (pageant-y, princess-y, old, 1950's etc.)?

Danged if that red lipstick didn't work just fine on Grace Kelly, though -- a beautiful blond princess from the '50s! :laugh:

Ven · May 12, 2014

noskates said:
I just met Gracie yesterday at the San Jose SOI and she was warm, friendly, and not at all diva'ish or princessy or pageanty (is that a word) Don't confuse someone's persona on the ice or when being interviewed as what that person is truly like. It was also interesting to see her palling around with Mirai and Ashley during warm ups. The girls came off as being friends and enjoying each other's company.

I think oftentimes people who work the internet day in and day out bring their own reality to it rather than what's really occurring.

That's exactly what we said. Off the ice she looks nice. I think she's attractive and stylish in fact. But in the competitions, she looks like a tacky beauty pageant contestant, a bizarre cross between a little girl and an old woman. Reminds me of a young girl who hasn't figured out how to do her makeup yet, and decided to imitate her grandmother. The only thing missing is gaudy jewelry.

Not saying this to be mean btw...hopefully she will grow into her own natural look.

Sam-Skwantch · May 12, 2014

http://cs540109.vk.me/c540105/v540105179/f9ad/7yjHYdXtMx4.jpg

Whether or not you like Yulia it's hard to deny her cute puppy!! Feel free to take a break from Gracie's princessy-ness to check out a super cute puppy!! Someone bought it for her the other day. Awe puppies :love:

http://instagram.com/p/n5ZljXELfp/

Alright back to Gracie's princessivity

Mathman · May 12, 2014

Here's Gracie's dog. He likes Miracle Whip. Whose dog is more princess-y, Julia's or Gracie's?

https://vine.co/v/h2h7rJ3eKLL

skatedreamer · May 12, 2014

Saw the word "puppy" & couldn't click fast enough! That little critter is beyond adorable -- looks like it could be a Pomeranian? I'm a sucker for just about anything that barks or meows.

Re: "princessivity," SS, are you trying to blow up your spellcheck?

karne · May 12, 2014

BlackPack said:
I don't know about "range" - truth is few people do a variety of genres well. Very few. When people do branch out and try new styles, they're not as well-received, the quality of their programs suffer, or the judges knock off their PCS. Why not do something that you know for sure you'll do well even if it is safe and traditional? People are always going to complain anyway.

brb, sending this to Max Aaron.

Sandpiper · May 12, 2014

I think Skatedreamer is on to something with the hair and makeup. I think changing the bun-and-bright-red-lipstick situation can do wonders to tone down the pageant vibes. It's all... too much. Then maybe some programs with a little more grit, and now we're talking.

To put it in storytelling terms: I think, right now, Gracie is an archetype. She'll need to develop a bit before I buy her as an actual character.

CanadianSkaterGuy · May 12, 2014

karne said:
brb, sending this to Max Aaron.

Max Aaron's Tron program was very well-received, and put him on the map (along with his consistency that season). I think the costume even got into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Just goes to show that even in one season, the right music/theme/costume can propel a skater who takes that risk. This season, he goes to Carmen (yawn), and unsurprisingly (given he didn't exactly push his level of interpretation enough, IMO) the reception was rather lukewarm.

Heck, I didn't really know much about Kim Lucine until his Mario program, and certainly Riverdance by Jason Brown propelled him into stardom whereas a typical classical piece probably wouldn't have been as well-received.

Gracie's prim and prop programs are fine for now, but she needs to eventually expand herself to become more memorable.

skatedreamer · May 12, 2014

Mathman said:
Here's Gracie's dog. He likes Miracle Whip. Whose dog is more princess-y, Julia's or Gracie's?

https://vine.co/v/h2h7rJ3eKLL

My sources indicate that he likes Reddi-Whip, not Miracle Whip. :biggrin:

The real question, though, is: which one can feel a pea through 40+ mattresses? I mean, isn't that the only way to tell a real princess?

cooper · May 12, 2014

what gracie needs is dance macabre like sp of yuna and bells of moscow like lp of mao..

she's an athlete.. maybe they should try to explore her strength more.. try something dynamic but not so juniorish programs..

karne · May 12, 2014

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Max Aaron's Tron program was very well-received, and put him on the map (along with his consistency that season). I think the costume even got into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Just goes to show that even in one season, the right music/theme/costume can propel a skater who takes that risk. This season, he goes to Carmen (yawn), and unsurprisingly (given he didn't exactly push his level of interpretation enough, IMO) the reception was rather lukewarm.

Shall I correct you? More like, while his Tron program was enormous fun and a great program, snobby skating fans all over the internet were having a meltdown and claiming Max's win was the worst thing to happen to skating ever (especially when the video of his program went viral among the Tron fandom), and the USFSA were busy browbeating Max to try and skate more like their precious Abbott. Max loved Carmen since he was 8 but made the huge mistake of going to Lori Nichol, who busily tried to turn him into someone he wasn't.

The next result: Max's actual own style was more like Tron, but too many people hated it. He went out of the comfort zone to try and make the haters happy, and now they hate him even more. Sigh.

Grace Gold - too princessy?

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

CanadianSkaterGuy

skatedreamer

BlackPack

skatedreamer

Scovies

desertskates

Tompson

papa

Match Penalty

skatedreamer

Ven

Match Penalty

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

Mathman

skatedreamer

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

Sandpiper

CanadianSkaterGuy

skatedreamer

cooper

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

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