It’s like
she paints the ice with her emotions when she skates. 100% from the heart. Thanks for sharing because I had been searching
The Girl in the Black Dress
The first time I watched Nastya's FS I noticed some gestures from R&J. The more I watched, the more R&J I saw. Eventually I concluded that her FS portrays Juliet's reaction to the death of Romeo, it is a continuation of last year's R&J.
part 1 In Juliet's tomb. Juliet awakens, looks at Romeo, then panics:
https://www.youtube.com/v/KLXupnfK-08?start=15&end=27 After a few seconds Nastya solemnly lowers her arm palm-out, like the lowering of a curtain:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=40&end=49 Romeo is dead. Two transition jumps, then we see the psychological aftershock. Juliet can't escape the maddening thought of Romeo's death hammering in her head:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=55&end=85 The music intensifies this narrative. Held bass notes suggest numbness, hypnotic repetitions of 4- and 3-notes go nowhere, the sound is metallic. She is trapped in a lifeless world stirred only by the incessant thought of death. Anyone who has lost a spouse or a career will recognize this mental numbness accompanied by a single, intolerable thought, it is temporary insanity. Part 1 is a powerful expression of bleakness, the first reaction to extreme loss.
choreo note: the falling arm(s) was the symbol for Romeo in R&J from last year:
https://www.youtube.com/v/ZIsRr57IXKA?start=92&end=97 Last year the arms fell from love, this year from death.
part 2 As bleakness breaks apart in the music, we see her signature three-step spin. On the other side of the spin is a gentle nostalgic melody and progressive harmony. Nastya's movement softens. We see gestures involving a falling arm, or a hand pulled to the heart:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=87&end=136 A cascade and a harp glissando lift her from earth, she soars with a perfect spiral amid plush musical textures:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=134&end=154 Juliet is with Romeo. Everything is under the spell of pure love. This is a radiantly beautiful portrayal of the second psychological stage after loss, remembrance.
choreo note: Hand pulled to heart, symbolizing Juliet's love for Romeo, was the other basic gesture in R&J. Compare the exquisite
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=116&end=122 from this year, to the equally exquisite
https://www.youtube.com/v/ZIsRr57IXKA?start=125&end=132 from last year.
part 3 A held low note interrupts her blissful reverie. Random sets of three notes leap upward, like questions without answers. Nastya's arm reaches out, she jumps and spins. Juliet floats aimlessly as if in an unknown place, searching for Romeo, calling out to him:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=160&end=191 The music becomes warmer, she skates purposefully forward. This sequence is the most revealing of the entire program. Compare this year:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=191&end=212 , to last year:
https://www.youtube.com/v/ZIsRr57IXKA?start=209&end=224 These identical sequences end in a salute to Romeo, they are the climax of both programs. Last year Juliet saluted him in love, this year in death. As she salutes Romeo we hear for the first time three emphatic falling notes. The three notes are varied and repeated for the rest of the program, they are Romeo in death. These three falling notes answer the rising three note questions we just heard; Juliet has found Romeo. Nastya interprets this heartfelt music with a touching depiction of the final psychological stage after loss, grief:
https://www.youtube.com/v/zEEzRhIBH_8?start=206&end=267 One more observation. The final gesture from the junior nationals performance was new:
https://www.youtube.com/v/KLXupnfK-08?start=235&end=241 This gesture summarizes the entire program about loss: arm across eyes (bleakness), outstretched arm (remembrance), then hand over mouth (grief). It is one example of how cleverly her program was constructed, there are dozens more.
In this program we watch the mind cope with severe loss. The death of Romeo is the unstated background event, as narrative it relies on R&J from last year. Any skater who can transform the emotional reactions to death into an admired work of art has my undying respect. Her virtuoso performance was sadly underappreciated and underscored. The question for her and her coaches is, can her complex worlds with four minute lifespans succeed in an ice rink? Of course it would help if judges were more attuned to the artistic genius that is right in front of their faces. She is an extraordinary skater with extraordinary coaches. She is very fortunate to be among kindred spirits. Together they do amazing things. I wish Nastya every success in feeling her way through the realities of competitive skating.
:hap57::dance::hap93:
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