2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[atsumiri]

Tarakanova is definitely much taller than last season. Her legs had quite pronounced muscles compared to her skinny body but now her legs are skinny too. Her head and shoulders are somewhat awkward at times and I hope she will improve. Other than that, I am glad she is healthy and continues to improve.

Is it just me or is Tarakanova tall? She comes across that way on the ice, and it gives her quite a bit of presence. Her long legs give her a great look as well.

last season she was 152 cm, now 154 cm. not a big difference.
And look at her pics with Anna from the Ceremony. Almost the same height. Anna 150 cm.
Her appearance makes her look taller than she is.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnHfGC6VAAAEOyO.jpg

 

[hippomoomin]

I really hope so. She is better than Tarusina in every aspect. Tarusina's jumps in particular, are so small and are similar to Sofia's.

So does this mean Nastya will get two assignments? Her score here is notably higher than Tarusina’s, but Nastya’s consistency cannot compare to Tarusina.

 

[Vandevska]

I was positively surprised by Tarakanova. I'm glad that she's back on track. I also liked this music change better

 

[Vilord]

I Hope that this will earn Tarakanova two spots. As far as we know there are three spots left for the 2nd finishers (Unless Vasilieva loses her spot for next week). The standings at present is as follows.
Kanysheva 2nd with 191.84,
Tarakanova 2nd with 190.69,
Tarusina 2nd with 186.68 (Here there was the problem with the invalidated spin, the approx 4pts for that would put her at similair scores to Kanysheva and Tarakanova.)
Sinitsyna 3rd with 187.91

 

[typeyournamehere]

second week in a row judges can't see a clearly rotated quad lutz.. should we buy glasses for them?

P.S. am i the only one who liked Nastya more than Anna? she seems to be in a really good shape :thumbsup: i would even say her jumps look better than in previous season (probably because they have simplified the entries/exits?)

 

[Vandevska]

second week in a row judges can't see a clearly rotated quad lutz.. should we buy glasses for them?

P.S. am i the only one who liked Nastya more than Anna? she seems to be in a really good shape [emoji106] i would even say her jumps look better than in previous season (probably because they have simplified the entries/exits?)

I agree with you. That lutz was clean. I also liked Tarakanova, and mainly because her jumps are much higher than Anna's it seems. But man, you gotta have respect for how fast Anna rotates.

 

[anonymoose_au]

I agree with you. That lutz was clean. I also liked Tarakanova, and mainly because her jumps are much higher than Anna's it seems. But man, you gotta have respect for how fast Anna rotates.

I noticed Nastya's jumps were much bigger than Anna S's and I liked them a lot Plus the Rock Moonlight Sonata was an interesting spin on the music. So I did enjoy her skate more than Anna's.

I wonder why the tech panel called her quad lutz under-rotated, they showed a slo-mo and it looked pretty good to me. Conspiracy!

 

[esteticlove]

I've read a lot of negative comments on Nastya's programs but I am happy to see that people here appreciate her. I enjoyed her SP and FP a lot. I don't know if she's grown that much but her proportions look better and the costumes suit her well, although they're not that spectacular. I liked her choreos too, she has very good SS, in my opinion she could be compared with Kostornaia in terms of SS. Also, I noticed a lot of improvements on her jumps, good height and great extenctions when leaving the jump. The only tinny problem I have is that in both programs there are some moves a la Pluschenko with being sexy and playful (where she moves her body and hips) which are not for her yet, she doesn't have the maturity yet to sell that kind of performance. It almost seems as if she's kind of shy/embarassed to do them which kind of interupts the otherwise good interpretation of the music.

 

[atsumiri]

Anna is just magical.
Her SP and FS are soooo good. They're both amazing and so different! Anna has one of the most beautiful SP in recent years. She looks like a fairy, music, jumps, choreo, transitions, everything is perfect and delicate. Anna's FS is a gorgeous program. It’s as graceful and expressive and elegant as her SP but much darker and intense. Totally different mood and atmosphere. I love it.
She's getting better and better every competition. More confident. Well done Anna!

 

[karina17]

It’s great that Nastya looked so pumped and proud of herself after her program, but I have to say this:

I can’t be the only one mourning the Believer FS, can I? Her new program isn’t bad at all, but I was really looking forward to see what the Believer program could become.

 

[anonymoose_au]

It’s great that Nastya looked so pumped and proud of herself after her program, but I have to say this:

I can’t be the only one mourning the Believer FS, can I? Her new program isn’t bad at all, but I was really looking forward to see what the Believer program could become.

Just about everyone was bummed to see no Believer! I wonder what happened to it. Do you think the Russian Fed didn't like it? That's the only thing I can think of. They made Mikhail Kolyada change one of his programs once, seems they've got a lot of power in that department!

 

[atsumiri]

Just about everyone was bummed to see no Believer! I wonder what happened to it. Do you think the Russian Fed didn't like it? That's the only thing I can think of. They made Mikhail Kolyada change one of his programs once, seems they've got a lot of power in that department!

What we have seen at the test skates .... it was really bad. I'm glad they changed it.

 

[typeyournamehere]

Just about everyone was bummed to see no Believer! I wonder what happened to it. Do you think the Russian Fed didn't like it? That's the only thing I can think of. They made Mikhail Kolyada change one of his programs once, seems they've got a lot of power in that department!

thats quite likely...

 

[anonymoose_au]

What we have seen at the test skates .... it was really bad. I'm glad they changed it.

It didn't look that good at the Test Skates I guess...but I remember seeing some footage of her practicing it before them and it looked really epic! Seems a shame to get rid of it so quickly.

Also, I seem to recall the audio on the YouTube videos of the test skates seemed rather poor, which I think also made it look bad. But then whoever recorded it didn't have professional equipment I don't think.

 

[TryMeLater]

With 3A, as quad-girls example shown, the judges give better PCS...

The judges reward PCS for skaters with consistent high TES.
Liza current layout will not give her high (enough) TES advantage.

 

[Tolstoj]

I don't know for me Imagine Dragons and figure skating are not exactly a great fit.

Regardless of the program she did well in Canada, she will have to get used to lower scores considering she is going for a simpler program compared to what she had last year in the free, and she's no longer one of Eteri's newest prodigies.

I've to say though, she looks a senior skater now, you can see more maturity especially in the short program

 

[plushyfan]

I've read a lot of negative comments on Nastya's programs but I am happy to see that people here appreciate her. I enjoyed her SP and FP a lot. I don't know if she's grown that much but her proportions look better and the costumes suit her well, although they're not that spectacular. I liked her choreos too, she has very good SS, in my opinion she could be compared with Kostornaia in terms of SS. Also, I noticed a lot of improvements on her jumps, good height and great extenctions when leaving the jump. The only tinny problem I have is that in both programs there are some moves a la Pluschenko with being sexy and playful (where she moves her body and hips) which are not for her yet, she doesn't have the maturity yet to sell that kind of performance. It almost seems as if she's kind of shy/embarassed to do them which kind of interupts the otherwise good interpretation of the music.

Agreed. I think Plush was the choreographer mainly and he taught how to move. I believe they have to find Nastya's own style and distinctive movements.

 

[plushyfan]

I noticed Nastya's jumps were much bigger than Anna S's and I liked them a lot Plus the Rock Moonlight Sonata was an interesting spin on the music. So I did enjoy her skate more than Anna's.

They are totally different type of skaters, Anna is a lyrical ( but the technic is there) Nastya is an energetic, fast, powerful, passionated skater ( who is like this ? ) . Depending on wich style is your favorite you will like more that skating.

 

[esteticlove]

Agreed. I think Plush was the choreographer mainly and he taught how to move. I believe they have to find Nastya's own style and distinctive movements.

Yes but it will takes some time. For a better performance she has to take more off-ice time with the dance choreographer, just like Tutberidze girls improve their overall movements thanks to Zheleznyakov's work. However, for Nastya No.1 priority right now is to keep her jumps and to return her stamina.

 

[andromache]

Shcherbakova has great musicality but she just hasn’t won me over. Something about her -Lo combos really bothers me - the takeoff on the 3Lo looks very odd in real time (I haven’t looked at a slowed down version though).

I definitely get what people see in her, but for me I think that, despite her great musicality, she comes off as “juniorish” in comparison to the more “mature” junior ladies like Tarakanova and Kostornaia.

I wasn’t much of a Tarakanova fan last season because I wasn’t feeling the straitjacket program (though she executed it well) but she’s impressed me here. Her speed is incredible. Her programs are simply gorgeously choreographed but a little too mature for her, but do at least give her something to skate up to and continue developing. It’s definitely a huge step away from the Eteri style and I appreciate that Plushenko isn’t just imitating that.

I would’ve liked to see Tarakanova win here, but her jumps had a few wonky landings that set her back I guess. Plus I think the Eteri girls have a reputation advantage.