2025 Skate America Men's Free Skate

[discodisco]

10. Mikhail SHAIDOROV KAZ
FS: "Confessa - The Diva Dance" by Dimash, Eric Serra; "The Diva Dance" (from the Fifth Element soundtrack) by Eric Serra; choreo by Ivan Righini


3A+1Eu+4S
4Lzq
4F< (hard fall)
FCSp3
ChSq1
3F
CCoSp3
4T< (fall)
3Lz+2A+SEQ
4T<+2T
StSq2
CSSp4

SP: 89.67 (3rd)
FS: 161.42 (1st)
TOT: 251.09 (1st)
he's lucky this event has been a disaster so far, but he needs to have Kevin/Kazuki make mistakes and needs Kazuki to not win if he wants to have a shot at the Final

A really tough fall off the start of the program and it sort of spiraled from there. This program is also kind of unserious for me, but I think it's supposed to be intentionally campy. I like it for Misha, it feels like a good fit for him, but this was not its best outing. It still needs a lot of time to grow, he's very jump-focused for the moment and it falls really flat when the jumps aren't working well for him. He's also bleeding a lot of points with his spin levels/GOEs and on the ChSq, he gets barely +1 when the top skaters are getting +3/4 consistently on those elements. I know it's hard to commit to everything when the jumps fail but that's the sort of thing that will affect his GP Final chances, he kind of phoned it in at the end of the program.

Totally agree about phoning it in, although I have to say I'm not a fan of the program. I think it's terrible, but I guess he does need something unique and suited to his skill set, or rather, lack of skating skill set- ie if you need something quirky and weird and almost needs music that is annoying and distracts from the atrociousness of a lot of the program. I will say normally he sells things a bit better but he looked absolutely exhausted about 2/3 of the way into the program to the end

 

[discodisco]

Mikhail. Nice outfit and a good program. Great 3Aeuler4S was fantastic. Good skate.

Ummm... what? What about that qualified not as a good skate? Genuinely interested, because I didn't see anything about that that made it a good skate....

 

[DancingCactus]

First of all I'm so happy for Kevin! If skated well this is my favourite men's free skate program this season. This wasn't perfect but the grand finale from when he starts running to the scaring the judges pose is just epic.

Can't say I like Jason's free, as someone else said, it's just boiler plate. Of course boiler plate Jason is still ten times the skater than most other guys and Grassl and Shaidorov really made the difference plain to see for everyone.

I'm not religious so Grassl's program doesn't bother me in this regard - but when I think of the pope and the conclave I think of some very old men doing shady politicking. It's not sexy or artistic, it's kind of yucky and uncomfortable?

Shaidorov....the music is so over the top that I think a skater who is good at drama and flair could actually rock it (minus the one scream, that's just too much). And there's some interesting choreo in the second half. The problem is that Shaidorov looked absolutely dead on the inside. No interpretation whatsoever and also bad spins and skating skills.

I can't say the event was good, but it was interesting.

 

[Arigato]

Ummm... what? Genuinely interested, because I didn't see anything about that that made it a good skate....

I think she was just being socially agreeable. Now for reality - that was perhaps the worst skate I have seen him have and I genuinely felt bad for the guy which is why I was shouting at my computer screen, "Shake it off, keep going!" He's a good kid and I hated seeing him falter like that. Having said that, the program music blows - the screaming vocalist needs to go.

 

[TontoK]

if you landed something, you shouldn't be in this thread. LOL

Olympic years are indeed sometimes weird... Some skaters are prepared too early and do not do well at the Games, I know a few things about that one... and some skaters do take a bit of extra time to rest during the off-season (sometimes to take care of injuries) as they know they will not peak twice in the season. Usually, skaters will aim to have a good GP season, then rest, then a good Worlds. Now, some of them though they will take part in the GP series, are only aiming to peak for February. There is not a lot of time from GP to Olympics to have another rest period to peak twice, so some will decide to start slower... This being said, what we saw yesterday is worse than what I have observed in other GPs and in other Olympic seasons.

Some will get better. I am sure skaters will be more in shape and jumps will be better. But some programs are also very ill-conceived and that will not improve

I have been pretty upfront that I consider nearly every program this season as not being "Olympics worthy," so I can certainly see your point.

But I also want to give the skaters some room for grace... my open mind, prepared to be changed.

Case in point: last season, I thought Alysa Liu's Donna Summers free skate was a bizarre choice. It seemed dated in terms of music, presentation, all of it. Not modern and hip like I wanted it to be. At Worlds, I thought it was amazing.

Because by Worlds, she had mileage on the program and time to reflect on what went wrong (and right) throughout the season with a mind towards adjustment. With that came confidence, and that extra swagger made all the difference in presentation.

So, a program that I might see as mediocre now might grow into something else. Fingers crossed, because if this is all there is... then yikes.

 

[SmileHappy34]

Ummm... what? What about that qualified not as a good skate? Genuinely interested, because I didn't see anything about that that made it a good

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Ummm... what? What about that qualified not as a good skate? Genuinely interested, because I didn't see anything about that that made it a good skate....

I think she was just being socially agreeable. Now for reality - that was perhaps the worst skate I have seen him have and I genuinely felt bad for the guy which is why I was shouting at my computer screen, "Shake it off, keep going!" He's a good kid and I hated seeing him falter like that. Having said that, the program music blows - the screaming vocalist needs to go.

Jeanie is always very positive, no matter what - that's why we love her

 

[Heather T]

even the costume reveal wasn't easy

I don’t like this gimmick. It doesnt add anything to his skate, IMO.