2015-16 Russian Test skates | Page 37 | Golden Skate

2015-16 Russian Test skates

I had great expectations for Julia's FS but then... Generic, generic, generic :bang: The middle part especially was absolutely empty, jump-skating-jump without emotions, without any fire or rage after mistakes, she looked as if she already knew that she wasn't going to sell it anyway... as last year. The program is nothing special, the jumping issues are still there: frankly, I don't see any improvement since last season :shrug: I really hope these impression will be proved absolutely wrong!!

P.S.: I'm absolutely in favor of tacky beginnings/finales :cool:
 
It's not black that's Liza's problem, but that those costumes are just black and nothing else. Or purple and nothing else. They look a bit cheap. Adelina's black costume is a lot more sophisticated. But again, I think Liza's jumps are so great that nothing else matters. Can't say I'm a fan of Pogo's SP costume though. Adelina wins the best dressed award here.
 
tbh, i'm not a big fan of Adelina's black costume. But her purple SP one is absolutely amazing <3
Btw, what about pogo FS costume? That blue <3
Well, too early for the best dressed awards for now as many skaters don't have their costumes still.
 
It's not black that's Liza's problem, but that those costumes are just black and nothing else. Or purple and nothing else. They look a bit cheap. Adelina's black costume is a lot more sophisticated. But again, I think Liza's jumps are so great that nothing else matters. Can't say I'm a fan of Pogo's SP costume though. Adelina wins the best dressed award here.
I don't think Liza's costume is cheap. I think it's just over and over again and yes it lacks sophistication. I mean she will look much more fresh and beautiful with some fresh ideas for her costumes.
As a fan I hope that she will have more beautiful costumes. But of course it's her choice. I can't do anything.
 
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I still cannot get over Liza's programs... Like I don't understand how it was arranged, three separate pieces of music combined to make that? But who know, maybe it takes a proper audience and a competition to bring out the best of this program.

Honestly though, if that still doesn't work my guess is that she'll begin to realize that she needs better music and hopefully will switch back to last years programs. Her SP is passable...

Although I do have 1 question. The Russian synchronized swimming team always picks AMAZING music, so my question is why can't the same people pick musics for some skaters? Like if their coaches wanted to of course. Any thoughts?
 
P.S.: I'm absolutely in favor of tacky beginnings/finales :cool:

Count me into the no-taste-in-end-poses crew...:laugh2:

I actually think that, with the abundance of Romeo & Juliets this season, it would be highly appropriate for the ISU to punish perpetrators of the Seasonal Epidemic Warhorse by making them end their programs by fake-"dying" at the end. Like, splayed-out-on-the-ice-dramatically "dying." :laugh2:
 
Overemoting at it's worst. It veers into campy territory. Good god at that ending (and beginning) pose. I'd do an automatic 10 point deduction.

My thoughts exactly. The beginning and ending at the boards is so overwrought and cheesy that I feel embarrassed for Adelina when I watch it.

I much prefer the "Je Suis Malade" show program she did in the summer of 2014.
 
There's a discussion in the U.S. men's thread about WGWG music (White Guys With Guitars, or alternately Whiny Guys With Guitars). After watching some of the test skates, can we add OWBs (Overwrought Wailing Ballads) to our lexicon?

I haven't watched everyone yet, but I really enjoyed the SPs of Julia, Adelina (she is so much more polished out there; Dancing With the Stars seems to have done great things for her), and Pogo. I didn't really care for any of the ladies' LPs :slink:.
 
I watched all the FSes except Leonova's, so now I will commentate!

Adelina: I actually love this program...I am a total sucker for JSM so of course I did, LOL. Her jumps weren't on, but it has potential. I am also shamelessly obsessed with her weird ending :laugh2:

Yulia: oh, Yulia, I used to love you so much...I thought this would be similar to the SL program we all fell in love with at the Olympics, but it is NOTHING like it. It feels like it's trying to be SL and falling pitifully short. But the StSq was great, I have to give it that. Sadly, her spins aren't as fast as they used to be, and she was having a lot of jump issues. And I really wanted to love this :no: but I couldn't. She needs to get a new program.

Evgenia/Zhenya/Janny (what she calls herself in all her Instagram posts): She's a nice skater, but she skates like a hybrid of Anna (jumps, lacking emotion) and Elena (arm flailing). Program was boring as tar. She has nice jumps and spins, but she really doesn't excite me. I hate to say it, because Evgenia seems like a great kid, but I don't see anything great about this program. However, she has all the tech, so hopefully the artistic side will come. (Also, she has the Satoko curse of being so tiny that her Edea skates look horrifically bulky on her...not exactly controllable-some people are just reaaaaally spindly-but it doesn't make for very good lines.)

Elena: not as bad as I was made to believe, but still not quite satisfactory. You can see some of her joy and warmth in that footwork section, but most of it is kind of meh. It feels like a girl being forced to play a woman when she isn't one. They need to give her things that play up her youthful spunk and joy, because that's what I think her main appeal is. It's not smart to give her programs that try to make her more mature than she is to mask "weaknesses" because they end up masking her strengths in the process. This was a really shaky performance, anyways.

Anna: It's a big step up from last year, but still kind of boring. I think Scheherazade is better for her than what she's had in the past, but she will probably never be the most engaging skater. That's okay, as it really doesn't seem she can be a performer, but it'll probably keep her from being a fan favorite (or the judges' favorite). She ain't going down in history, that's for sure.

Liza: oh, gosh...if Liza's short was a step up from last year, this was FIFTY STEPS BACKWARDS! Gaaaaaaaaargh! I thought I might actually like her after seeing her marked improvement in the short, but this completely erased that hope. Bad, bad cuts, horribly unsuitable, and most importantly, this girl needs to fire her choreographer. I would seriously consider flying to Russia and doing it for her! If she wants to beat Mao, she needs to step up her PCS game, and this was not the way to do it. On a positive note, her costume was okay.
 
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I think one fun game for dance fans is to see how many teams rip off parts of P/C's choreography last season for their own programs this season. I will start:

B/S's final rotational spin in their FD.

Yes, kids, you can play along at home!

:)

ETA: Yes, I realize that they're both out there emoting their little hearts out, and the final few seconds of the program work, but really, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I am SO disappointed. And I don't think it's B/S's fault. That music is a tasteful dirge.
 
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If I were Y/M, I would totally scrap the entire final music cut and choreography of their FD. I understand what they're doing, and yes it's very difficult to find an innovative style you can call your own, but the choreography is dreadful and that music cut isn't much better. YMMV of course.
 
I think one fun game for dance fans is to see how many teams rip off parts of P/C's choreography last season for their own programs this season. I will start:

B/S's final rotational spin in their FD.

Yes, kids, you can play along at home!

:)

Well, Hubbell&Donohue were not kidding either. Typical DL choreo. I loved P&C FD last season. Absolutely gorgeous but they didn't invent nothing new.
 
I've finally watched all SP's and SD's, but haven't had time to watch the FS's and FD's yet. It's interesting to watch this fancams, since factors such as speed, SS and ice coverage become more evident and you can really tell the difference between each skater or pair.

I really enjoyed Y/M, B/S and I/Z.
Really looking forward to seeing how Y/M will do in their senior debut. They look so confident and strong! I love their SD.
B/S are very classical. I'm not their biggest fan but this was good, except for the twizzles.
I find I/Z's SD very interesting, not to talk about their qualities which are obvious when watching them live. Good speed, edge control and tons of personality. They really know how to sell a program...this has A LOT of potential!

As for pairs, K/S are a joy to watch, so elegant and soft, I love their program.
Very impressed by T/M skating: their twist and throws are huge! And they are so light and airy, I love them and also this SP.
S/K are super super fast but I'm a little worried about their technical content. Their twists and throws are not as good in terms of quality to compensate the lack of difficulty. Let's see what happens. Interesting program, anyway.
Finally, V/T have an obvious star quality despite a certain campiness in the program. Honestly, if they can hold it together I think they can win comfortably even without doing quads or more difficult stuff like D/R are doing. The quality of their elements when they are on is exceptional, they have great SS, and have a magnificent presence on the ice. And I've never been their biggest fan, but I can see them easily getting +2 or +3 for twists and throws as well as enormous PCS if they can sell this program (and they are really selling it even this early in the season).

Not impressed by men except Adian. He's looking great, much better then last season. He looks very fast too, at least judging from the video.

Finally, ladies.
Liza's program is powerful and dramatic, but I'm not really impressed by it. A little predictable and not very different to what she's been doing IMO. But she sells it, no doubt she knows what she's best on. She's a diva on ice and has a special presence. She can score big with this!
Lena is a lovely skater, fast and powerful, but her programs are a little messy and don't really show her actual potential. I'm impressed by her speed and flow, though.
Cannot say the same about Evgenia, a skater I've never enjoyed as much as others have. Her program is nice, but a little boring. As for her skating, she's quite slow and her program lacks flow, something which is very noticeable when watching her live. Spins are great, jumps not so much. Let's see how she evolves. She's an elegant skater, she just needs to improve her SS and overall speed.
Pogo needs more consistency and confidence. Her jumps are huge but she lacks refinement. I don't see much improvement compared to last season.
Yulia, on the other hand, has improved dramatically. This SP is great and she's looking much more mature and her interpretation is better. It looks like she's moving faster and her jumps are bigger. Can't wait to see her comeback in the GP series!

That's all! Did I write too much? :laugh::agree:
 
Count me into the no-taste-in-end-poses crew...:laugh2:

I actually think that, with the abundance of Romeo & Juliets this season, it would be highly appropriate for the ISU to punish perpetrators of the Seasonal Epidemic Warhorse by making them end their programs by fake-"dying" at the end. Like, splayed-out-on-the-ice-dramatically "dying." :laugh2:

Alas this was banned in Ice Dancing in the wake of Torvil and Dean's Bolero free dance, where it seemed like every other couple was flopping DrahMAtically to the ice in some weird final death throes. Perhaps Pairs will allow it. :)
 
Alas this was banned in Ice Dancing in the wake of Torvil and Dean's Bolero free dance, where it seemed like every other couple was flopping DrahMAtically to the ice in some weird final death throes. Perhaps Pairs will allow it. :)

What about the ladies? They're repeat offenders of R&J as well.
 
My philosophy is always that if you are going to "die" on the ice, MAKE IT AS DRAMATIC AND OVERWROUGHT AS POSSIBLE. Die properly.
 
To me, by any means Yulia has the worst SS. Liza moves slower and covers less ice than Yulia. Among the senior ladies who competed in the GPF last season (not taking Medvedeva into account, because she was competing as a junior) I would say that Liza has the worst SS. Lena is the fastest but her edge control is not that good. Adelina has the best SS I think (I saw her two years ago but I think she is better now). As for Yulia, I found her faster than I expected...and her SS are not as bad as some people claim. Finally, if we account for Zhenya too, I would say that she is the slowest (more than Liza) and the one with the worst ice coverage. Not hating on her, just pointing out what I noticed ;-)
 
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