2021-22 Russian Women's Figure Skating | Page 107 | Golden Skate

2021-22 Russian Women's Figure Skating

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I know it’s just Test Skates, but I’m underwhelmed and I don’t like any of these programs :(

Daria had a nice skate, but I hate her music.

I like Anna’s music and the idea of her program but the “oriental hands” and the way they’re choreographed throughout the entire program are really sloppy and cut off her lines and draw attention to her bent leg and unpointed toes.

Maiia and Aliona skating to the same artist and style of music is very grating and seems lazy to me. Aliona’s music is way too much for her, and to the listener, at the end. I do love the opening moment and how she’s giving face at the beginning.

Sasha, I enjoy her more each time I see her, but yeah, this SP is nothing special. I do love the all red though.

Kamila’s doing Storm but to different music, even the dress is similar. I never connected with her skating, except a few times when she skated to Storm, but this is very clearly just a lesser version of that program.

Everyone seems to be in similar shape that they were in at the end of last season.

I don’t have the energy to discuss the others. I’m hoping for some better music selections and choreography in the free.
 
Fluture said:
So… that was underwhelming. Well, some thoughts nevertheless (TL;DR at the end):

Anna: Love the music, love the concept and idea, love her portrayal. But the choreography is just…. non-existant, really? There‘s a few vaguely "oriental" hand movements (that could have been copied straight out of Zagitova‘s Cleopatra) and the standard "Shcherbakova-transitions" that Gleikhengauz makes her use in every program. But it will be a good Olympic program, mainly because Anna is one heck of a performer. Even at this point of the season, the intensity is all there. She SOLD this program to me, despite my disappointment about the choreo and her own technical mistakes. I don‘t think there‘s anyone else among the current women who manages to not let mistakes affect the performance in any way. Only her. Jumps? Never been a fan of her technique, never mattered much anyway. She tends to underwhelm at test skates, so… we‘ll see what happens throughout the season.
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Music is nice, but not up to Olympic standards, choreo is average, but it's Anna. She will transform it into half-masterpiece.
Deserves better though.
 
brakes said:
Music is nice, but not up to Olympic standards, choreo is average, but it's Anna. She will transform it into half-masterpiece.
Deserves better though.
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They all deserve better. I think only Sasha and Maiia had good, Olympic worthy programs (and Maiia‘s program‘s a repeat…). Kamila and Daria skate their last year's program with minimal changes to different music, Anna has her standard transitions + some arm movements that are supposed to be oriental, Aliona‘s program has a good starting and ending pose but is empty in between with bad music. And I don‘t think this can be excused by it being early in the season. The choreography’s quality has been lacking for two seasons at minimum and it‘s not the girls' fault.

Paulipau said:
All these girls desperately need some Averbukh, Mikhailov or even Rozanov.

Please recykling is a great practise when it comes to plastic but not when it comes to figure skating programs.
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Rozanov? From what I‘ve seen he just copied Gleikhengauz. And a bad copy of an already mediocre original isn‘t going to be exactly outstanding either.
 
I was overwhelmed by the beautiful skating of the Russian women. I am sure they worked really hard to be so well prepared at the beginning of the season. Of course, they will improve through the season.
Here I have some thought about each one of them:
Maiia: I liked the interpretation of the music. She definitely improved from last year.
Dasha: She still need to get into the music. However, it is still the beginning of the season and I am sure she will improve a lot.
Liza N: She looked nervous and felt the pressure. I hope she can deal with that. I like her program though. I am glad she got rid of the FP form last season.
Ksenia: I liked her program I also hope she can deal with the pressure at the GP. I hope she can deliver some quads tomorrow. She is a great performer.
Sofia: The program was not the best. Specially, the music selection. Unfortunately, she has no GP assignments and probably we will just see her at some Challengers. I hope she enjoys her programs and gives the best of herself.
Anya: I liked her music and the choreography. I am sorry for the lost combo but I am sure this made her more aware and she will not let happen it again. I was surprised for the rain of teddy bears she received. She is really appreciated.
Sasha: This girl was on fire. I am sure the dress is just a test skates' one. She will for sure get a better one for Skate America. I see she has improved in interpretation a lot and I liked the Latin music on her. She did her best. I hope the 3A gets better. Someone said she regressed from last year and I strongly disagree. The girl has been working a lot.
Liza T: She was great and the 3A as well. I hope she optimizes her layout for tomorrow. The dress, however, needs more elegance.
Aliona: I don't like her music but I am sure she will sell it so well as she did with the Twilight program. I am looking forward to her Vivaldi program. I hope she has the 3A back as well.
Kami: I was hoping she keeps her Storm program instead but she is mesmerizing and I am sure this program will grow on me through the season. I hope there will be some changes in her Bolero though.
Looking forward to the FP. I hope none gets injured through the season and also hat the Olympics take place.
 
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Joining some others here. I enjoyed the SP performances, but not the music for the most part. Kamila's and Kseniia's music was really nice and original but a bit snoozy, as was Anna's (which reminded me a bit of Rika K's FSs in its mood, but also in being not too memorable, at least at the moment). Daria's and Maiia's was really well-portrayed and not bad to listen to (not my cup of tea but good enough), but a tad overused. Aliona's music was awful to my ears, though her performance matched it well (not in being awful, that's not what I mean). Liza T was good, as was Liza N - nice music, nice skates, though nothing groundbreaking in Liza's case. I haven't yet warmed up to Frida music for Alexandra, or to her hear-to-toe red look.
Overall I wish Eteri team had picked something with stronger tunes but not overused for the Olympic season.
The only one who I can say I didn't like was Sofia. Her makeup and hair is nicer than last year, but that's the only improvement I see. Her skating was Ok but I am just not feeling her in modern dancey music. She looks too reserved and a bit stiff to sell it for me. I would like to see another program like Burlesque from her; that one was great.
 
Danill G on Alexandra Cruella program "First I just showed Sasha the trailer with the words “You had the same hairstyle when you skated the exhibition program”. And even before I went to the cinema, she found a pirated version on the Internet and watched the movie."
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The idea of Alexandra searching through illegal streaming websites to look for a pirated Cruella movie is just hilarious. She's just as bad as us mere mortals. :biggrin:
 
I watch the ladies test skate and here is what I think about it :

Maïa : I love the program, great idea to recycle this program because it suit her so much !

Daria : My favorite music and interpretation. If only this girl have the triple axel ... she need that jump because everything about her skating and interpretation is beautiful A+ for her PCS she is the best in this area.

Alena : Great attempt on the triple axel ! I don't like the music for her. She sell any music and any program that Daniil give her, but I think that she deserve better music and packaging. Something is off for me with this music especially in the step sequence with all the screaming voice of the woman who sing. Not the best music for her but she sell the program even if the music is not that great.

Anna : I love the music, love the choreography. I think with the costume it will be a great program. Don't know how to think about it but something was off for me in the program, don't know if it is the music cut or the choreography but Anna didn't bring to me the "it factor" or "wow factor" something is missing in this program and I don't know why ...

Alexandra : I love it, and love the energy and super power in her jump. Don't know what to think about the red hair colour but It surrely making her look fierce and on fire ! Maybe that's the image that she want to look. I'm ok about that but I love her natural hair colour more.

Kamila : I love more her picasso program. Everything in the new program was perfect on the technical element. But I don't have any special moment in the program that I like The program look to generic. I wish to see a special moment in the program and I don't see it, except the perfect technical element. Don't know what to think about the program maybe it will growing up in me as the season progress.
 
I do think Sasha has improved a lot, but you can definitely still see that she sometimes just does Choreography because she's told to, there isn't conviction in her movements.
I think the red is a lot, but I don't think this is the final costume
 
So, I finally had time to sit down and rewatch all the programs! My thoughts:

MAIIA: I think keeping the short was a really smart choice for her. She's grown into it a lot since last year and she obviously really enjoys it! I actually think her short is one of Daniil's better works, it's really nicely choreographed. Her jumps still stress me out though.

LIZA N: I really enjoy her skating and I like this program, but the technical content just isn't there. It's too bad, because she's such a lovely performer. I hope she'll be able to do a Challenger or two, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

DARIA: She was actually one of my favorites today, I thought she was beautiful. I do love The Greatest Showman soundtrack so I may be biased, but I think this music works well for her! Once she grows into the program more I think it'll be a stunner.

SOFIA: I appreciate the different music choice, but sadly, lots of technical issues for her. Some of the choreography was a little too gimmicky for me as well. That being said, I do think it'll be a fun program once she starts performing a little more.

KSENIIA: Oh, how I've missed her. She was another one of my favorites today, she was exquisite! I remember being very surprised that she received two Grand Prix assignments, but now I cannot wait to see her compete more. I wouldn't change the dress either, I think it's beautiful and perfect for the program.

ANNA: I actually liked this program a lot, I think it's really cool! Her past two short programs were very similar in style and concept so I like that she's trying something new as well. I'm really interested to see what her dress will look like!

ALENA: Love her, but this program just felt generic to me. She picked the music, so she obviously likes it and that's great, but it just doesn't feel like an Olympic program. But, I'm sure I'll grow to like it, like I do with most of her programs. Not a bad 3A attempt either!

SASHA: The program's nice and she does a nice job with it, but I don't think I'll specifically seek it out to rewatch it, if that makes sense. But that 3A attempt though! SO good. She'll land it in competition consistently very soon, I'm sure!

LIZA T: This is very much a classic Liza program: very dramatic with lots of arms. But, it does work for her. And my word, that 3A was stunning. I'm excited to see if she'll be in the mix at all this season!

KAMILA: I'm conflicted on this one. I think the music is beautiful and Kamila performs the program so well. But, as most others have said, it's obvious that this program is just a worse version of Storm. And I absolutely love Storm! It was my favorite program from last season and I think it's one of the best programs that Daniil has ever created. I just wish Kamila could've gotten something different from that this year. Still loved her today though.

Can't wait for the free skates!
 
I was overall impressed by test skates, for the most part the ladies were putting noticeable effort to sell their choreography when sometimes at test skates it looks like they are still trying to remember this goes here, that goes there, etc.

Though - am I the only 1 or did anyone else feel like there were a good number of knee slides going on today?
  • Khormykh - She looked great today, very confident but she should, this is a repeat program for her vs. the other skaters showing brand new programs.
  • Usacheva - it was a lovely skate, I saw on a Instagram post that she got injured and had to stop working on the triple axel for a bit so curious to see if she will be able to get it consistent. Not sure if this is a dress for test skates or her actual competition dress, if it is the competition dress it's pretty blah.
  • Nugumanova - nice skate, nothing spectacular that said ready to slip in unexpectedly if the skaters doing the quads/triple axels falter though.
  • Samodurova - sigh, the music is dreadful and the program came off as more appropriate for a fun exhibition than something a skater would put out to try and make an attempt at the Olympic team with...but maybe she's resigned herself that she doesn't have the elements to get on the team and would rather go skate to music she likes? But at the same time, and while I generally discount at test skates the conviction and performance a bit; she didn't look like she was having fun or trying to sell the choreography
  • Sinitsnya - nice skate, I like the program, its a nice break from the transition heavy programs we get from the typical frontrunners from Russian ladies. Costume - not a fan of the arms, and don't particularly care for white costumes, on the ice, skaters tend to get washed out.
  • Shcherbakova - some issues on the triple lutz and wasn't able to get off the second jump for the combo (though I think she didn't stress out for the combo given its test skates, if this had been a competition, she likely could have/would have tacked on something to not miss the combo) but it seemed like she was making an effort for a better outside edge on it in slow-motion. I liked the program, she noticeably (to me) feels the music and expresses the music, she did this well emoting it today by Nationals where she's going to be fighting for the Olympics it will likely be dynamite.
  • Kostornaia - I like the blues music for her but the screeching in the music they picked just kills the mood of the music to me; good she went for the triple axel even though she didn't hit the jump - clearly the rumor that she wasn't in shape was either false or someone's wishful thinking. The dress is nice, nothing special or dreadful about it - it looks like she put inserts in her Edeas though of purple glitter.
  • Trusova - she still seems to overshoot her jumps, which to my eye makes her falls look dangerous like she's going to snap an ankle. I liked this SP, she seemed to make an effort on the choreography than what she's done in the past but she did this on the SP last year as well the 'going through the motions' happened in the FS. Costume - too much red between her bright red hair and the bright red dress, 1 of them should be changed.
  • Tuktamysheva - programs not my cup of tea and pretty forgettable, triple axel looked better than it did last season
  • Valieva - wow she looks ready to fight. Costume - please don't let this be her competition dress, I'm not sure why she goes with these dresses that are very long and they look fine off the ice, but in motion on the ice they just swallow her up.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed all the skates. Yes all the Eteri Group programs were typical DG programs but I thought the ladies did a fantastic job with them.

Special mention to Kamila who was perfect and exquisite. I think her commitment to choreography has improved and I think it is very hard to have an appropriately expressive face to soft floaty music but she's managed it.

Love the way her jumps are landed, like a butterfly hovering on a flower.
 
KAMILA is one of a kind. Someone that elevates herself among the other queens in the realm must be one special skater. This early this SP already looks like a shining diamond. Even with zero credentials in the senior's, I'd put her as the top Russian over Anna.

KSENIA is a Queen. As usual a very beautiful and elegant skater. Best armographer among the ladies.

DARIA is the most Medvedevesque of all the current skaters. This is my favorite style and Daria does it as well as the original. It's a shame she's limited by her jump arsenal.

SASHA may not be a delicate butterfly but she is one dynamite of a skater. Most charismatic skater and a crowd favorite. My unbias pick for the third spot at OG. A visionary and a pioneer that change ladies skating forever.

ANNA is 90% lock for her OG spot but she cannot stand on her laurel's and expect it to be given to her on a platter. This SP is not good enough.

ALËNA needs to go back to her money makers, her lyrical programs. It's crazy how unpolished she looks compared to her old self. This trashy music is a far cry from the elegance of Adios Nonino, the delicate skating of Stella's Theme and Departure.
 
Maïa about her 3A: “It’s almost there. It’s close, yes. We’re expecting it this season.”
Tomorrow she plans to do 2 quads: Sal and Toe. Says, her 4T became more consistent. Her 4S isn’t as consistent, but she’s still going to attempt it.

Aliona about her 3A: there were good attempts during shows last season, even the one, which was filmed, despite being with a step out, was rotated. After her 2-3 week vacation, she had to start all over again. At the moment, she’s still in the process of recovering it after vacation.

Sasha says she has a US visa, so she’s not worried about it. I believe Daria did not comment on hers, so it looks like there are still problems with entry in the US.
 
eterialskating said:
ANNA is 90% lock for her OG spot but she cannot stand on her laurel's and expect it to be given to her on a platter. This SP is not good enough.

ALËNA needs to go back to her money makers, her lyrical programs. It's crazy how unpolished she looks compared to her old self. This trashy music is a far cry from the elegance of Adios Nonino, the delicate skating of Stella's Theme and Departure.
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These programs probably aren’t changing. These skaters have been working hard. And everyone makes mistakes.
 
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