2017-18 State of Russian Ladies skating | Page 228 | Golden Skate

2017-18 State of Russian Ladies skating

Yes, Shcherbakova really did stand out. I spent ten years of my childhood in a dance studio and it was maddening when someone was just so much better! But it looks like Trusova has a healthy mindset, like okay, I'm weak here but not awful, what else can I do to get an upper edge? A quad! That's it! I am amazed at the depth of talent in Eteri's school. There are at least ten girls that are spot on for competitive success in the future. USA has who? Starr Andrews?

Yes, it comes naturally....:agree2:but don't forget there are 2 other key physical attributes, athleticism (strength, stamina, musculature...) and flexibility. You can still be an elite with these other two qualities. With all 3 you are special and destined for greatness!:drama:
 
ok - maybe no so visible to me ? what difference /

It's very subtle but difference is there, Alina's movements one into another is so much smoother, her entire body more controlled, she keeps her core, Med lost her posture several times, eg butt sticking out, leaning forward, movements more like "rag doll", even though this is hip hop and meant to be more disjointed.

I can't be certain but I think the choreographer is the guy in the black t-shirt next to Med. Watch ALL 3 together as the video runs, it is clear Alina synched much better with the choreographer in her movements, her posture, rhythm, all similar to his.

For one movement, Alina has her head looking up, which is correct for the dance, but the guy has his head straight at the mirror to watch the group.

Med looks like she is making an effort, Alina looks like she isn't! :laugh: Guess which is better?

If I were to pick a dancer I would pick Alina.

Don't get me wrong, Med is great, way above average, but Alina is better.

However, neither of them knows this dance routine well. :noshake:
 
It's very subtle but difference is there, Alina's movements one into another is so much smoother, her entire body more controlled, Med lost her posture several times, eg butt sticking out, movements more like "rag doll", even though this is hip hop and meant to be more disjointed.

I can't be certain but I think the choreographer is the guy in the black t-shirt next to Med. Watch ALL 3 together as the video runs, it is clear Alina synched much better with the choreographer in her movements.

For one movement, Alina has her head looking up, which is correct for the dance, but the guy has his head straight at the mirror to watch the group.

Med looks like she is making an effort, Alina looks like she isn't! :laugh: Guess which is better?

If I were to pick a dancer I would pick Alina.

Don't get me wrong, Med is great, way above average, but Alina is better.

However, neither of them knows this dance routine well. :noshake:

Ok - thanks for explanation. I also thinks that Alina has more control of movements and better posture but I am so high after her winning the GPF that i think I am starting to be very non objective
 
Ok - thanks for explanation. I also thinks that Alina has more control of movements and better posture but I am so high after her winning the GPF that i think I am starting to be very non objective

I don't know why Alina is snubbed but rest assured the qualities are there and judges see it. The criticisms sound more like personal preferences.

However, I don't think we will see extreme jumps sequence like DQ ever again, so enjoy it while you can!:laugh:

When i first saw it, my jaws just dropped....:shocked: it isn't even about backloading, but backloading in a way that makes all 7 jumps passes a continuous sequence, such high risk and crazy choreography, though it suits the music. Also crazy for me because that heavy body toll segment in DQ is normally shared by two dancers, pas de 2, then Basilio jumps and Kitri fouettes, it's like Alina doing double duty.
 
I don't know why Alina is snubbed but rest assured the qualities are there and judges see it. The criticisms sound more like personal preferences.

However, I don't think we will see extreme jumps sequence like DQ ever again, so enjoy it while you can!:laugh:

When i first saw it, my jaws just dropped....:shocked: it isn't even about backloading, but backloading in a way that makes all 7 jumps passes a continuous sequence, such high risk and crazy choreography, though it suits the music. Also crazy for me because that heavy body toll segment in DQ is normally shared by two dancers, pas de 2, then Basilio jumps and Kitri fouettes, it's like Alina doing double duty.

I can't agree more.... Alina has many qualities, and more important she's very charming and eye catching... I wonder with what she and her team will come next season... I suppose they'll not continue with ballet programs, at least next season.
 
I don't know why Alina is snubbed but rest assured the qualities are there and judges see it. The criticisms sound more like personal preferences.

Yeah, and i always laugh at those who say that Alina is basically cheating and backloading so many jumps shouldn't be rewarded or something like that. This is really hard, and even Alina admitted that at first she was exhausted just by doing those step sequences. If it would be so easy then everyone would try it to get more points, and all those posts like "well, they just don't want to, because it will not look as good as standard 2-5 layout" are hilarious. This is a sport and first of all everyone wants to win. Everyone tries to play to their strengths and Alina just does it better. From what i see right now - most of the top ladies aren't even able to perform much easier layouts clean. We've seen a plenty of backloaded programs this season, and for me they all built pretty good, music allows that. May be with the exception of Panenkova, but this is a different story because the program itself is not that good. In fact, Kostornaya's program is so good that i haven't seen even a single complaint about her backloading! It probably has something to do with the tempo, because her whole program has the same tempo, when Zagitova's program has two very different parts, and that's why it's more noticeable.
 
It's very subtle but difference is there, Alina's movements one into another is so much smoother, her entire body more controlled, she keeps her core, Med lost her posture several times, eg butt sticking out, leaning forward, movements more like "rag doll", even though this is hip hop and meant to be more disjointed.

I think Evgenia is doing exactly what they were supposed to do. She does a lot of modern dancing for fun and she seems much more natural in this style (at least, to such a laymen as I).

I can't be certain but I think the choreographer is the guy in the black t-shirt next to Med.

It's Moris Kvitelashvili. The choreographer is standing and filming them.
 
In fact, Kostornaya's program is so good that i haven't seen even a single complaint about her backloading! It probably has something to do with the tempo, because her whole program has the same tempo, when Zagitova's program has two very different parts, and that's why it's more noticeable.
That's it. Done properly, backloading can be a very beautiful format. Done poorly, it's not great - But other layouts done poorly aren't great either. Blaming backloading instead of just the poor choreo is wrong... It'd be a shame seeing fully backloaded programs disappears. Then everyone would just do 3-4 or 2-5 programs - Where'd the variety be?

Seems like in general, Kostornaya's programs are the most liked of the entire grand prix finals, senior ladies included. A very good thing for the future. It's not even many years since almost every junior program was completely empty and simply a collection of technical elements. They have managed to go so much further.
 
That's it. Done properly, backloading can be a very beautiful format. Done poorly, it's not great - But other layouts done poorly aren't great either. Blaming backloading instead of just the poor choreo is wrong... It'd be a shame seeing fully backloaded programs disappears. Then everyone would just do 3-4 or 2-5 programs - Where'd the variety be?

Seems like in general, Kostornaya's programs are the most liked of the entire grand prix finals, senior ladies included. A very good thing for the future. It's not even many years since almost every junior program was completely empty and simply a collection of technical elements. They have managed to go so much further.

Tbh I don't even think Aljonas programs themselves are so good (sorry Daniil!) - they're actually quite generic. But Aljona is just so good. Her spins are great, her general SS & polish are amazing, and she gives 100% throughout the whole program and for every element. That is why I couldn't care less "where" the jumps are. Everything is a highlight!

Compared to that, with Evgenia, in her senior debut, the all backloaded SP bothered me. The first half looked like she tried very hard to save energy, the 2nd half looked rushed. When I saw her last WC in Helsinki though, she had improved to a point where I thought the SP layout was fine too. More energy, detail and commitment in the first half, calmer throughout the jumps (and just generally improved in skating ofc). So just to point that out again - IMO, backloaded programs are fine, but you really need to be able to sell it.
(OTOH, I never got why people complained about the backloading in Evgenias LPs. It was always a 2-5. That's barely different to the standard 3-4 :shrug: )
 
Hey, try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdzxpAGprHQ

No miming - No triples, not even a 2A. 10 and half years old. Yet this should tell you everything. I don't think I've ever managed to get through that step sequence without tearing up.
My fave vid, what a little diva! That arms shake at 0:50! :laugh:

by the way 4S on this video with better quality looks like exactly 90 degrees, rather than 100-110 degrees like i thought before
Trusova's 4S at gala:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zK1BoP-J7E

Soon in the future we're going to see the grand prix final being the strongest international event in ladies' figure skating because that can have up to 6 Russian ladies while the world championships for instance can only have 3.
I doubt such circimstances will ever happen at senior level.
Japanese (and potentially Korean) ladies are getting stronger and stronger every year.
Look how many amazing talents do they have now. :drama:


Also, I'm quite surprised you consider Alina better off-ice dancer than Zhenya - I think exactly opposite: Zhenya moves better, more naturally during dancing, while Alina has more grace and natural fluidity during skating.
I prefer watching Alina's skates much more than Zhenya's, during dancing routines I can't take my eyes of Zhenya - she's superb!
 
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