Aaron prepares for battle by returning to his roots | Golden Skate

Aaron prepares for battle by returning to his roots

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avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Aaron prepares for battle by returning to his roots
by Nick McCarvel

ETA, the subtitle of the article is:
2013 U.S. champ tries to bounce back after missing out on Olympic berth

At the Colorado Championships this weekend, Max will debut his two new programs:

SP Footloose -- with lyrics. Choreographed by Mark Pillay
FS Gladiator soundtrack -- with dialogue. Choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo.​

(I have added the music choices to the Programs thread.
The article confirms my suspicions that Max did not compete at the Vail Invitational, although his name had been on the rosters there.)

My favorite excerpt pertains to Mark Pillay's assessment of Max:
"Mark emailed me in January saying he had an idea for Max," said Tom Zakrajsek, Aaron's coach. "When we started working together, he said something to the fact that, 'Boy, this kid gets a bad rap when he's labeled as "not artistic."' Mark was thrilled to work with him, and I encouraged Max to just listen to Mark."

More:

The goal now is Pyeongchang, and an ever-improving Aaron taking steps, year by year, to get there.
"We already have our quadrennial plan in place," Zakrajsek explained. "We're working on Year One. We're thinking about not just this season but next year a tad, too. The years build on each other."
Aaron is close to landing a quad loop, which would add to his already-impressive jump repertoire. He'll keep two quads in his free skate and one in the short this season, although he and Zakrajsek promise that there is more armor in a back-up plan, should the need arise.

... " .... I want to start out fresh. I want to get back to being a consistent skater for the U.S. that can do it all, not just one trick."

... "Not just because of the setbacks I've had, but the places I've been and the things that I've endured, I feel like I now know better who I am," Aaron said. "It was really hard. Something I'm going to do from here on out is I'm going to enjoy the path...."
 

tommybuffano12

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Apr 2, 2014
Good luck to Max--really excited to see his programs this year as he continues to develop. It's all about the journey!
 

Marisha92

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Nov 3, 2013
Anyone planning on going to the CO Championships this weekend in Westminster? I plan on being there.
 

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avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Anyone planning on going to the CO Championships this weekend in Westminster? I plan on being there.

:cool: Lucky you. :yay:
And lucky Broadmoor skaters to have your continuing support. I'm sure that all of them will be happy to see you again. :yes:

Hope that you will share some observations at your convenience. Thanks, and have a great time!
 

SimplyAFan

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Jan 1, 2014
I'm looking forward to seeing Footloose. Thinking this could be a fun way to incorporate lyrics and some showmanship. I want to see what "dialogue" means regarding Gladiator. This could be a program where his muscular build is a good thing. If anyone goes to the competition, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be interested in a video or two!
 

LRK

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Nov 13, 2012
I'm looking forward to seeing Footloose. Thinking this could be a fun way to incorporate lyrics and some showmanship. I want to see what "dialogue" means regarding Gladiator. This could be a program where his muscular build is a good thing. If anyone goes to the competition, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be interested in a video or two!

"Are you not entertained?" ;)
 

GF2445

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Feb 7, 2012
This is interesting.
Its nice to see him use the 'non artistic' tag that he gets and turns it on its head a little.
 

GF2445

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Feb 7, 2012
On a side note about the power outage in detroit- wow.
Also, Jeremys new long choreographed by Sandra Bezic- :) im not sure but i never knew she choreographed competitive programs.
 

GF2445

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Feb 7, 2012
On a side note about the power outage in detroit- wow.
Also, Jeremys new long choreographed by Sandra Bezic- :) im not sure but i never knew she choreographed competitive programs (in recent years)
 

karne

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"Mark emailed me in January saying he had an idea for Max," said Tom Zakrajsek, Aaron's coach. "When we started working together, he said something to the fact that, 'Boy, this kid gets a bad rap when he's labeled as "not artistic."' Mark was thrilled to work with him, and I encouraged Max to just listen to Mark."

For once, Z, I agree with you.

Not artistic my rear end! :yay:


Aaron is close to landing a quad loop, which would add to his already-impressive jump repertoire. He'll keep two quads in his free skate and one in the short this season, although he and Zakrajsek promise that there is more armor in a back-up plan, should the need arise.

:yes:

Also I liked this quote even though it made me :cry:

"That was my biggest problem: I wanted to please so many people, but I should have just stuck to who I was. There are no regrets. Overall, I'll never turn back. I'm looking forward to these next years to come."

Anyone planning on going to the CO Championships this weekend in Westminster? I plan on being there.

Oh gosh I am so jealous! Please tell us all about it!
 

Jammers

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On a side note about the power outage in detroit- wow.
Also, Jeremys new long choreographed by Sandra Bezic- :) im not sure but i never knew she choreographed competitive programs (in recent years)
I think when the new scoring system came into effect Sandra basically retired. She didn't like the new system so if this is true and Sandra choreographed Jeremy's new LP this is big news. Wonder what made her change her mind?
 

Pepe Nero

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Dec 11, 2011
I have my skepticism about whether the IN article represents anything solemn in Aaron's agenda, or whether this is the usual "last-season-didn't-work-out-so-I'm-going-to-blame-external-factors" article. We've heard it all before from Rippon and Dornbush; they just got less attention because they weren't lucky enough to skate well in an Abbott-off-year.

What's most offensive about the article is the "Aaron prepares for battle" subtitle. No one ever describes the aspirations of vindication-seeking female figure skates this way. (Ask Czisny, who always "must recover from her fragility and nerves.") The gendering is laughable. I have to assume it is the doing of the editor, not the author, of the article.
 

karne

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I have my skepticism about whether the IN article represents anything solemn in Aaron's agenda, or whether this is the usual "last-season-didn't-work-out-so-I'm-going-to-blame-external-factors" article. We've heard it all before from Rippon and Dornbush; they just got less attention because they weren't lucky enough to skate well in an Abbott-off-year.

Sorry, but where in this article did Max (Max himself, not the author) blame anyone but himself?

What's most offensive about the article is the "Aaron prepares for battle" subtitle.

Because it's a TOTALLY inappropriate subtitle for a skater who is skating to GLADIATOR. :rolleye:
 

ManyCairns

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Mar 12, 2007
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More armor? Armor = defense. I think the writer meant artillery or firepower or something along those lines.

Anyway, i am interested to see what a Footloose program will look like.
 

karne

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More armor? Armor = defense. I think the writer meant artillery or firepower or something along those lines.

I don't know. There are plenty of people prepared to say that only his quads keep him in touch with people like Jason and Joshua and Jeremy. Maybe, in a way, the quads are a defense, and armour is appropriate.
 

jennyanydots

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Jul 1, 2013
On a side note about the power outage in detroit- wow.
Also, Jeremys new long choreographed by Sandra Bezic- :) im not sure but i never knew she choreographed competitive programs.

I think she once said that it was because she was working as a commentator and it would be a conflict of interest to do a competitive program. So does this mean she's not commentating anymore?
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
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... What's most offensive about the article is the "Aaron prepares for battle" subtitle. No one ever describes the aspirations of vindication-seeking female figure skates this way. (Ask Czisny, who always "must recover from her fragility and nerves.") The gendering is laughable. ...

Not so fast. Who are you calling "no one?" :laugh: :eek:
You must have missed the WSJ article about Gold, Wagner, and Edmunds before the ladies' individual competition in Sochi:

U.S. Skaters Regroup, Prepare for Battle

First paragraph: America’s blonde troika of figure skaters—Ashley Wagner, Gracie Gold and Polina Edmunds—regrouped in Sochi this weekend after a training stint in Austria. At a news conference on Saturday night, they took aim at the Russian favorite for the ladies’ singles gold, 15-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia.

And as karne already said, obviously the Gladiator soundtrack is the reason for the title of the Max Aaron article. :yes:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
^ I think that's a good point. There are lots of articles about fearless figure skating ladies striding into battle. I think it is more an individual thing. Some skaters are advertised, whether accurately or not, as warriors (Ashley Wagner = the new Thor :) ), while others are delicate flowers (Jeremy Abbott).

Here is Michelle Kwan in 2002. ;)

http://www.tias.com/stores/adateintime/pictures/20439a.jpg
 
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Sandpiper

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Apr 16, 2014
Good luck to Max next season. Even if he isn't traditionally "artistic," his skating is exciting. His speed is incredible, and he's technically far ahead of the rest of the American skaters.

@Mathman
:clap: Michelle might be "the nice girl," but I don't think I've heard anyone describe her as a delicate flower.
 
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