2017-18 State of Russian Ladies skating | Page 229 | Golden Skate

2017-18 State of Russian Ladies skating

Li'Kitsu said:
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: )
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Why are you dragging the Germans into this...:laugh2:

Otherwise, I agree 100% with your views, and congrats on 4000th post!:gclap:

Isn't it a great post?:rock:
 
I think Med is pretty awesome too - she's on a winning streak like a thoroughbred off to the races.:agree:

She is polished and confident, and I think if she skates her usual standard at the Olys she will likely win over Alina.

Alina is a lot more reserved in contrast.

Alina's non-stop jump sequence though, is unique no matter where it's placed, front or back.

It is so high-risk, but gutsy of this tough cookie to go for it.

Without the bonus, I doubt if anyone will ever try it again.:drama:

I like Kostornaya's program - the key to backloading is (1) the program as a whole must be coherent, even enhanced, based on this structure and (2) the quality of the other elements, stsq, spins, chsq, must be excellent.

There's backloading where jumps are still conventionally spaced, and there's Alina's DQ where TES goes from teens to 80 in one minute...:drama: It's extreme, this crazy red ballerina.

Again, it's not meant to be oh-so-balanced, it's meant to give you a heart-attack!:devil:

I'll miss it when Pyeongchang is over...:sad21:
 
colormyworld240 said:
Alina did that too :) And crazy back Charlotte spiral into 3Lz without putting foot down
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I must have missed that but I admit I was distracted by the candle at center ice and was consumed with questions during her Ex. Was it a real fire or an artificial light!? Was the ice getting warm and melting under it...would she knock it over ....what is this awesome tribal dance....what is that candle doing and what does it represent??

I'm easily distracted :o:
 
Sam-Skwantch said:
I must have missed that but I admit I was distracted by the candle at center ice and was consumed with questions during her Ex. Was it a real fire or an artificial light!? Was the ice getting warm and melting under it...would she knock it over ....what is this awesome tribal dance....what is that candle doing and what does it represent??

I'm easily distracted :o:
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Haha no it's one of those battery operated lights that look like a candle, there's an on switch at the bottom. And it represents the fire in tribes because it's sacred and she's like the priestess of fire
 
russianfan said:
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.
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Kostornaya has such fluidity in the step sequence in her programme, much more so when compared to Zagitova. IMO it proves that 0-7 programme can be balanced and wonderful when the skaters has the SS that matches her jumping technique! God knows how much of a pain is it to watch Zagitova grinding her way through the first part of her programme. With Kostornaya I didn't even notice she was backloading.
 
Kostornaia was a discovery of this GP series for me. I look forward to seeing her skating in the future. This current crop of Russian jr ladies really make juniors worth watching.
 
pearly said:
Kostornaia was a discovery of this GP series for me. I look forward to seeing her skating in the future. This current crop of Russian jr ladies really make juniors worth watching.
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Yep. In fact, she's a lot more elegant than any of the other Eteri skaters who participated in the GP events here, and more subtle at least to me. Both of her programs are very re-watchable also, even though as programs they're not that crazy. It will be very interesting to see her with some stronger, more masterfully choreo'd programs that really take advantage of what she has to offer. One thing is that she really doesn't look like a junior skater, in a sense. Though she is a first year junior, the artistic capabilities are certainly far ahead of anyone else in the JGP finals. And also, her skating skills were quite impressive to me - I certainly would take them over Trusova's. I'm especially looking forward to the next season where she will hopefully get programs with a bit more interesting choreo and how she would be able to deliver on programs like that. Her vehicles aren't amazing this season but what she does with them is wonderful.

There is a lot of untapped potential in her at this point in time.
 
j00mla said:
I suspect that Kostornaya will still my heart from Alina's hands.
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You don't have to make a choice lol you can like both of them.
I personally like both of them and also Tarakanova and Trusova, for different reasons. But I root more Alina because she has more important wars to carry this season and I feel she needs more my support than the others.
 
pearly said:
Kostornaia was a discovery of this GP series for me. I look forward to seeing her skating in the future. This current crop of Russian jr ladies really make juniors worth watching.
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she was also my discovery at GPF - my impression was that despite her little statute, she already has developed quite a presence and polish over her skating in general, not just a proficiency in technical skill presented. What I felt seeing her, especially in SP, is that she has quite high control maintained already over both skating and performance (she felt a little nervous in FS at the beginning, but still managed to pull off quite a memorable performance). Her movement and appearance seems all very elegant and sophisticated, really like her soft musicality and the impression made of her performances that are quite 'organic' and not so 'in-your-face'. The way she performs capture for me the essence of the skill difficulty, but at the same time helps me to enjoy her skating altogether. And - like probably all Russian ladies, even the younger ones - she's very pretty:)
 
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