2021 Finlandia Trophy: Men's Free Skate

[yume]

The step sequence has been noted and commented on:




I am afraid to say I don't follow Misha closely enough to notice, but if Mishin is recycling, that's a shame. Misha K. is talented and deserves better.

Yes, noted but you won't see waves even here about it.

Mishin is the type of coaches who cearly thinks that choreo is just a background that has to serve the technical content. It has to be easy enough to allow his skaters to concentrate on jumps (the armography of tuktamysheva and Samodurova). Even if it means recycling whole step sequences or changing music but keeping the same choreo (Tuktamysheva's 2019-20 SP).
It's a waste since he send his skaters to choreographers like Lambiel and Bourne. Others don't have those opportunities.

 

[NoNameFace]

@NoNameFace I hope you will share your thoughts both here, or maybe in the appropriate Fan Fests, if you have time.

I am so so so so glad you decided to go and that you saw Donovan, Jason and others live and in person. I hope it was worth the trip.

Yesterday I was dog tired after getting to Helsinki after travel perturbations and had some doubts, but today...I can say it was worth every penny to brave it out & go. The sheer experience of seeing some of those skaters/programs live is unparalleled for me. Plus I am kinda glad I took few crowns with me because sometimes my luck is not crappy, but this story I will maybe reserve for Jason's FF. All I can say is that Jason for me evokes multitude of things by slightest gesture, a nuance and particularity in his skating - seeing both his programs, these two programs, in person made me realize how much his skating impacted my view of skating in general.
I am honestly happy right now. And I haven't been for a long time.

 

[ice coverage]

Congratulations to Jason , Misha , and Dima .

---

... I just looked up Jason on Rink Results and his previous golds internationally have been Golden Spin in 2018 and 2019. He did have a silver at Worlds in 2018 I think. This is not to disparage his skating which I love. To be clear, I’m saying he doesn’t win as much as I believe he should. Of course unless one’s favorite skater happens to be Nathan Chen that’s true of most fans I bet

Off topic, but Nathan, Vincent, and Max Aaron were the U.S. men at 2018 Worlds.
(When Adam decided not to use his spot, Jason as first alternate was next in line, but Jason declined to go.)

Other senior international golds for Jason: 2014 Nebelhorn, 2015 Nepela, 2016 U.S. Classic.

 

[Bookseller]

No, the last time was a plain grey long-sleeved shirt. Might be the same pants tho.

ETA: Sorry I saw other people answered this, haha costume discourse!

The pants are new also. They are a different color and they fit better.

 

[Bookseller]

Yesterday I was dog tired after getting to Helsinki after travel perturbations and had some doubts, but today...I can say it was worth every penny to brave it out & go. The sheer experience of seeing some of those skaters/programs live is unparalleled for me. Plus I am kinda glad I took few crowns with me because sometimes my luck is not crappy, but this story I will maybe reserve for Jason's FF. All I can say is that Jason for me evokes multitude of things by slightest gesture, a nuance and particularity in his skating - seeing both his programs, these two programs, in person made me realize how much his skating impacted my view of skating in general.
I am honestly happy right now. And I haven't been for a long time.

This post makes me happy! So glad you were there. I am still reeling from this FS! Jason is amazing!

 

[RoundedBackCamel]

Some of these comments seem passive-aggressive toward Kolyada. I didn’t think this was a JB fan thread, but please. Some of us waited for TEN YEARS for Jason to have a clean quad. A LOT thought it was ridiculous that Evan won an OGM without one so many years ago. I don’t want a fan war but this whole narrative of Kolyada being cold Russian and Jason being darling is getting old. The sport should evolve. Period.

 

[el henry]

Some of these comments seem passive-aggressive toward Kolyada. I didn’t think this was a JB fan thread, but please. Some of us waited for TEN YEARS for Jason to have a clean quad. A LOT thought it was ridiculous that Evan won an OGM without one so many years ago. I don’t want a fan war but this whole narrative of Kolyada being cold Russian and Jason being darling is getting old. The sport should evolve. Period.

Excuse me?

The sport evolves when it recognizes the athletic craft that Jason Brown brings to his performances. Any sport called figure skating that evolves only through rotations in the air, for me, is no sport at all.

and although a certified Jason fangirl, not once have I ever called Misha K. "cold".

We can all love different skaters for different reasons. Folks praising and loving Jason's performance, as imperfect as it was, does not mean Jason is a "darling" (although he is) or that Misha K. is cold. ETA: And. although I have not chimed in until now, Mishin would be well advised to rethink Schindler as a vehicle for Misha K. He does not look comfortable in it, and it does not play to his strengths, IMO.

 

[Tavi...]

Some of these comments seem passive-aggressive toward Kolyada. I didn’t think this was a JB fan thread, but please. Some of us waited for TEN YEARS for Jason to have a clean quad. A LOT thought it was ridiculous that Evan won an OGM without one so many years ago. I don’t want a fan war but this whole narrative of Kolyada being cold Russian and Jason being darling is getting old. The sport should evolve. Period.

As I’m sure you know, I’m a Jason fan. I like Misha very much. He has lovely posture and SS and gorgeous jumps. I don’t think he’s cold and (as a half Russian American) I don’t think Russians in general are cold.

It seems to me most people here are just saying that Misha’s SL program in its current iteration isn’t the best showcase for his talents.

I personally loved his free skate last year.

I don’t think there’s any need to diss Jason’s tech.

 

[skylark]

Well said. I'd add that the Puritan types are often quite vocal about things that upset them.

True. Those who shout the loudest do sometimes think that's a good way to change people's minds! Tho' it doesn't often work with me.

 

[skylark]

A LOT thought it was ridiculous that Evan won an OGM without one so many years ago.

And a LOT didn't. Evan skated high quality elements, and Lori Nichol choreographed programs for Evan that would maximize his scores by relying on his high GOEs, his step sequences, and difficult transitions. She strategically placed elements where Evan could garner lots of points.

Hunh. Kind of like what Tutberidze and co. have also capitalized on.

Off Topic. Oh, how I miss that cute little icon and its partner, 'Thread Hijacked.'

 

[labgoat]

Off Topic. Oh, how I miss that cute little icon and its partner, 'Thread Hijacked.'

Me too!

 

[Dogo]

The step sequence has been noted and commented on:




I am afraid to say I don't follow Misha closely enough to notice, but if Mishin is recycling, that's a shame. Misha K. is talented and deserves better.

Hmmm...and is interesting to see that he does it with the same interpretation/dancing style (with the tiny exception of the final hand movement at the end of the entire sequence). I don't have an issue with the fact that he is recycling it, but rather that he is making it obvious that he is a bit too one-dimensional and interprets different skating sequences in the same exact way. They are literally interchangeable

 

[Dogo]

Some of these comments seem passive-aggressive toward Kolyada. I didn’t think this was a JB fan thread, but please. Some of us waited for TEN YEARS for Jason to have a clean quad. A LOT thought it was ridiculous that Evan won an OGM without one so many years ago. I don’t want a fan war but this whole narrative of Kolyada being cold Russian and Jason being darling is getting old. The sport should evolve. Period.

Kolyada is very much loved for what he brings to the table. His lines, and his dedication to what he does is remarkable. If not, just go to youtube and see how much he is loved there by Russian and Western comments. I have seen though tons of homophobic comments left on Jason's Finlandia LP program that never get old, unfortunately.

I believe Kolyada's current program is a mismatch and doesn't show all his strengths as Nureyev, very strategically and beautifully, did.

 

[Ichatdelune]

So my body gave out on me, catching up with what I have recorded plus Youtube videos. Thoughts incoming.

- Wow this was a crazy event
- We should all love Christopher Caluza
- Donovan landed a quad combo!!
- With some mileage I think I'm going to love Signor Matteo's program, and to think that he went from 16th in the short to 1st in the free
- We need to catch this bear that keeps on eating half of costumes
- Semenenko managed the costume change this time, and well was it really worth it...
- I'm considering elevating Arlet Levandi to second favourite Estonian man
- Signor Frangipani still has my support solely based on his Peaky Blinders program
- Oh Camden, what should I do with you (deep, deep sigh)
- I really wish Dima would stop going for that 4Lz but well he did land it this time... Anyway, I think I'm going to love this program from now on, I mean come on Dima and And The Waltz Goes On really I cannot not love it
- Can Nikolaj Majorov ever have two clean skates in a row
- Bring. Back. Nureyev.
- Even when less than perfect Jason is still beautiful to watch
- Keegan Messing needs new costumes and to stop falling randomly

 

[ladyjane]

Matteo did a 'Nathan'. Nathan was 17th after the SP at the OG 2018 and won the FS (made him 5th overall). Matteo was 19th after the SP and won the FS (made him 6th overall). Good for you Matteo! I was so pleased to see him skate well today.

Good to see that not only Matteo but Donovan also had a bit of a redemption skate. Yay, wanted to dance.
Sorry about Nikolaj and Keegan (at very different levels).
Nice to see an Estonian end rather high.

Happy that Dmitri and Mikhail had decent outings and medalled.

And really, really pleased that Jason won. Not a perfect outing for him but he remains such a joy to watch. Got crying again, because his interpretation of SL is so moving. It's kinda totally him. X

 

[yume]

So my body gave out on me, catching up with what I have recorded plus Youtube videos. Thoughts incoming.


- Donovan landed a quad combo!!

4S-euler-3S is such a cool combo! Even if his euler looks like a step-out. That's a big improvement. Not so long ago he wasn't even landing 3A.
He has the jumping and the performance skills to go far.

 

[Bookseller]

Really, none of the men skated two really clean programs. They all made mistakes. And clearly Jason's program was designed not to have the top technical content. I am sure that his team felt that he wouldn't need it for this competition and they were right. This is a long game for all the top skaters. Their goal is to get to the Olympics and do well there. Being in peak condition was not the strategy for an early October competition. They all tried to skate the best that they could at this point in the season. And I think they did. But none of them were perfect. There is still a lot of work to be done and competitions to skate before the Olympic teams are chosen. They all skated the best they could right now. And they will all skate better as the season progresses.

 

[Corwin]

Just ridiculous scores.

 

[Bookseller]

Just ridiculous scores.

Actually, I think they were pretty fair scores.

 

[moonvine]

Congratulations to Jason , Misha , and Dima .

---

Off topic, but Nathan, Vincent, and Max Aaron were the U.S. men at 2018 Worlds.
(When Adam decided not to use his spot, Jason as first alternate was next in line, but Jason declined to go.)

Other senior international golds for Jason: 2014 Nebelhorn, 2015 Nepela, 2016 U.S. Classic.

Yes. I can’t read rink results when I’m staring right at it. Sometimes I think I should give up.