Andrew Torgashev | Page 25 | Golden Skate

Andrew Torgashev

@skatingfan4ever thank you for that thoughtful analysis.

I agree with you about Scheherezade. Although of course it is an Andrew program, so I love it, I do not feel the same awe that I have with his other programs. That may be deliberate, perhaps he wants a more thoughtful, slower program, where we are not waiting for the aha moment. Also, it could be he is surrendering some of that to concentrate mentally on jumps, which is an understandable name of the game, but makes me a wee bit sad.

That said, of course it's a lovely program. :)

I never thought about the GP de France nickname, you are right. Of course, I am old enough to remember when it was Trophée Lalique. No plastic stars then ;)
 
Come to think of it, I wasn't sold on Muse artistically until Nationals. L'Enfer had a nice first outing at Lombardia (4S!!!) but not-great video quality and I could tell it was early-season; Muse was okay but had the same issue, plus a boring white shirt. Interestingly, I was sold on L'Enfer from Skate America onwards. And we all know the jumps in the Skate America SP did NOT go well except a gorgeous 3A. As far as the Skate America LP, my overall impression was "good program but OH MY GOODNESS HE LANDED ALL HIS JUMPS!" And then at Nationals the LP jumps weren't there in the same way (injury, etc), but he found something there artistically, with that crowd, that was special. His fighting spirit gave him an extra something in that performance of Muse. At 4CC, he got the job done but seemed a bit tired, understandably, in both programs.

Which is to say, maybe Nationals will feel magical artistically once again, for Andrew's Scheherazade. American crowds have a lot of energy, particularly when someone is putting the effort in, like Andrew tends to do. To be honest, I don't know if any other performance of L'Enfer can possibly feel as magical for me as last Nationals (hasn't happened yet). The current version has a quad toe, but how will it go at Nationals, and how might the crowd play a part in the magic, like last time?

The first outing I saw of O Fortuna was that magical, clean Nationals skate, which thrills me no matter how many times I watch it. The next two outings didn't quite match it.

As I type this, I'm realizing how special Nationals tends to be every year. There's something about it that feels different to watch than other competitions. Even when Worlds are in the US, it still feels different than Nationals. I would be thrilled if Andrew made Boston Worlds and got to skate for a home crowd, but it would still feel different than Nationals.

All that said, Andrew has never looked this comfortable with his jumps in the LP in his entire career. Two weeks in a row, with quad toes in both programs!!! He did four programs in two weeks where he did not fall on or pop ANY jumps. :rock: If he can keep landing his jumps, I will take it. I've watched some truly boring Scheherazade programs (like Michelle Kwan's, and others I can't think of right now), and Andrew's is TOTALLY NOT boring. It has good stuff and Andrew is committed and presents himself well. I'm just greedy and want more out of it. :)

Scheherazade earned him a PB in the LP and overall, after all. That is wonderful news for his Olympic season. In "news that doesn't matter yet because it will change," after NHK, Andrew is 23rd in the World Standings and 15th on the Season's Best List. Top 24 in either category guarantees skaters one GP, and the higher a skater is on both lists, the better. Top 12 at Worlds guarantees skaters two GPs.
 
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skatingfan4ever said:
I'll start off with a crazy stat that tells us one of two things, or both. Andrew's 4th-place total score at NHK would have been enough to win IDF. In fact, it's exactly the same as what Adam got. This tells us (1) how well Andrew skated at NHK and/or (2) how mistake-ridden IDF was overall. ;) :eek:

Short Program Thoughts - No random fall this week, but a mistake on the combo (but he still got full BV for a second-half 3F+3T, then negative GOE, earning 9.47 points for it; BV was 10.45). The fact that he got 84 even with the mistake is so encouraging. The camerawork showed off the program so well, even its small details. I love how the replay showed the slide and his extension and exit on the last spin. I do miss the old placement of the footwork and slide, even though the program is still so good. The timing of the program is different, of necessity, so the choreography has changed and shifted ever so slightly. It hits a little differently with the changes. But that has nothing to do with Andrew's delivery of the choreography (still on point). It's just me being a detail-oriented fan who has watched this program enough times to notice such small changes in choreography in relation to the musical nuances. Should I run and hide in embarrassment, or wear this as a badge of honor? :laugh:

Free Skate Thoughts - A+ camerawork again. Andrew got URs on the 4T and the first 3A. But the fact that he's landing on his feet so much AND not popping is AWESOME!!! I admit, the backloaded combos always make me nervous for many of the skaters, but Andrew seems to be doing well with them. (I hope he doesn't miss them at Nationals, after I've complimented him like this, haha). I enjoy his Scheherazade a lot and it's good and memorable, but I still think he has more to give to it artistically. Or is it simply that he's working to get the jumps done? It's choreographed nicely, for sure, and he does the choreography well. But I don't sense the same passion as in Roxanne, O Fortuna, L'Enfer, or even Muse. But it could be that his Scheherazade doesn't ask for that kind of passion; it's more contemplative somehow. Nationals crowds tend to bring Andrew's artistry out the most. I look forward to that possibility.

General Thoughts - Andrew's reactions all throughout NHK were so heartwarming. I remember at 2023 Worlds he looked so nervous but this time in Japan he seemed like a different skater. I don't remember his K&Cs ever being so animated. I think having Brandon there instead of Raf or Dad may have contributed as they are peers and longtime friends. I loved hearing Brandon be so genuinely supportive and happy for Andrew. I will never forget Andrew's smile and celebration while staying in his Free Skate ending pose!!! :love: My heart soared to see him react like that. It was the first time since the 2023 Nationals Free Skate that he looked so genuinely, outwardly thrilled with a program. In the 2023 Nationals K&C he saw his score and burst into happy tears. At NHK, he said, "Wow. Woah. Wow," with the biggest grin on his face and Brandon's arm around him. What a moment! He didn't expect to skate here at all but he skated SO well. I can really see his training paying off. I wasn't sure how the quick turnaround would go. Who knew his jumps could look like this?! If he can stay uninjured all season, he might be a frontrunner for Worlds, and after Nebelhorn and scoring 63 in the SP, that was the furthest thing from my mind. We'll see what happens! 🤞

Rest well, Andrew! You have earned it! Thank you for sharing your fabulous skating with us! :cheer2:

Complete Side Note: I think the official name of the French GP is now "Grand Prix de France." But the problem with that is that the abbreviation becomes GPF, which has been used among skating forum fans for years as "Grand Prix Final." It was easier when Éric Bompard was the sponsor, making the abbreviation TEB. (And when I became a skating fan as a child, the event was Trophée Lalique). After TEB, for a short time the name was Internationaux de France (IDF), which is the abbreviation I still use to avoid confusion with Grand Prix Final. What about you all?

Thanks for reading my many thoughts. Believe it or not, I have more to bring to this thread, eventually. Real life can be rather inconvenient for my skating fandom. Until next time. :ghug:
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Thanks for the detailed texts! 😊
I also have some thoughts.

About Scheherazade...
By the way, this program earned Andrew а personal best PCS and a standing ovation from the Japanese audience. I suppose it's convenient for him and effective for getting score and impression. Also this music connects well to his flow 😍

But I have a question 😄
Does Andrew perform the sultan Schakhriar? He looks like Sinbad the Sailor from Schezerazade's tales.
Originally these pieces of music are from the first and fourth parts of the Rimsky-Korsakov's suite which are called "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship" and "The Ship Breaks against a Cliff".

But the main storyline is that the sultan doesn't believe in the fidelity of women and vows to kill every his wife, but spares Scheherazade after 1001 nights of storytelling.

So in my mind, he's Schakhriar listening to Schezerazade's tales and Sinbad sailing across the sea in these tales, too 😄
 
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Does anyone have recordings of Andrew's GP assignments from this season? My computer died before I could capture them for myself and I only just replaced my laptop with a new one. I'm so sad I can't see those programs again!
 
Tav said:
Does anyone have recordings of Andrew's GP assignments from this season? My computer died before I could capture them for myself and I only just replaced my laptop with a new one. I'm so sad I can't see those programs again!
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I do. If you don't mind waiting, I'll post them sometime after Nationals. I still need to extract them from the whole segment videos. I'm so sorry for the delay, but I'll get everything on here eventually.
 
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Andrew is at practice right now. He chose to play his FS music. Did 2As and some easy solo triples and the spins and most of the StSeq. Looked relaxed and nonchalant. Gracie Gold and Jean-Luc Baker talked about how calm Brandon Frazier is and mentioned how reserved Andrew is off the ice. They think Brandon is a calming influence for Andrew. I didn't hear this part, but according to people in the practice thread, Gracie also said it would be a real loss for USFS if Andrew isn't on the world team.

Nice to see him on the ice finally!

Interesting how Andrew seems reserved off the ice, but that's not how I'd describe him on the ice. It's different than Jason, but so passionate and detailed. The music comes on and Andrew flips on that performance switch (not at practice though, haha).
 
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Oh my goodness! Jumping around the practice stream and heard Gracie say Torg wants to put two 4Ts in the FS here. Gracie loves Torg's skating and commented how internationally this season he's right after Ilia, but Gracie thinks he's the forgotten skater among U.S. men nobody talks much about. She was at Champs Camp and he did a clean short and people were like, "Oh, that's nice" but focused on Ilia/Jason.

Getting off the internet now. Back to real life for a few hours.
 
I'm glad you explained what Gracie was talking about @skatingfan4ever because I was adjusting the practice replay trying to find Andrew of course :) and only heard part of the commentary. TBF I was more interested in seeing Andrew skate than listening.

If she is referring to Champs Camp, I'm not sure that it was unexpected commentary. Ilia won and Jason was fifth in the previous Worlds. I'm not sure which American men she expected people to discuss. I have been holding my breath waiting for Andrew to break out and do what he can do for over ten years now, but even my crystal ball wouldn't have see this season coming.

Now, well, it's another story. ;)

And he looked fine from what I could see. Worried about two quads, Better a lovely program with one, than less than pristine with two. :hap10:
 
I will be curious to see what actually happens with his layout. I didn't think anything about his runthrough jump choices because I knew he wasn't going full out, so I don't remember which jumps he did. To me the runthrough looked like, "I'm doing whatever jumps I feel like." But only Andrew knows. All I remember for sure in the runthrough is triples and double axels and the last spin. I was hoping he would do more for us fans, but oh well.

Sorry if my last two posts weren't super clear. No time to be analytical when you're trying to summarize immediately what you saw/heard. Mainly I'm glad he's on the ice.
 
I have to agree with Gracie: Torgie should be on the world team. She also objected to calling him a “dark horse” when she and Jean-Luc were asked to name dark horse skaters and he mentioned Torgashev. Although Ilia and Jason are more famous, she did not think it was appropriate to call the American #2 guy from GP 2024 and past Nationals medalist a dark horse, and I agree.

Heard that Brandon Frazier is again accompanying Torgashev at this competition. I really enjoyed watching their dynamic on the GP, so I think it is a good thing. Jean-Luc described Frazier as very calm and down to earth, but very fun. Says nothing fazes him. Sounds like a good friend to have at competition.
 
CLEAN SHORT FOR ANDREW!!!! :hap10: In second with 94. I will never get tired of watching this program. The StSeq always will be my favorite part. But really everything flows together so well that I can't look away for one second. He looked so calm and controlled. What stood out also was how secure his jumps were. Wow! He got 88 last Nationals without a quad, and 94 this year with a quad. His LP has gone so well this season.🤞 His count of landed 4Ts this season is impressive.

It was only two years ago that he was rebuilding his skating from scratch. He squeaked by at Sectionals (scoring 67 in the SP and 143 in the LP for 210 overall) and wanted top ten at Nationals but got third. Now he's landing 4Ts consistently in the best and healthiest season of his life. I truly hope he can hold on to second here.
 
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Men's SP Press Conference


Andrew talks about the importance of training and being consistent in the approach to daily training, so then you can be consistent no matter where you're skating in the world. The wisdom has come with the longer he's in the sport. "I'm almost grateful for all those injuries and setbacks for making me a smarter athlete and teaching me how to approach training and competition in the proper way." :love:

Favorite Line: Jimmy Ma saying Ilia and Andrew "inspire me to push my old body to its limits." :laugh: I loved the fun Jimmy brought to the ice and to the press conference.
 
skatingfan4ever said:
I do. If you don't mind waiting, I'll post them sometime after Nationals. I still need to extract them from the whole segment videos. I'm so sorry for the delay, but I'll get everything on here eventually.
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No problem and not in a hurry. Just grateful for you for sharing them!

Are you able to capture video of Nationals? Every time I try to screen record Peacock it goes black from encoding...
 
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Silevril Ilumire said:
I have to agree with Gracie: Torgie should be on the world team. She also objected to calling him a “dark horse” when she and Jean-Luc were asked to name dark horse skaters and he mentioned Torgashev. Although Ilia and Jason are more famous, she did not think it was appropriate to call the American #2 guy from GP 2024 and past Nationals medalist a dark horse, and I agree.
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I wonder if people aren't shouting for joy over Andrew's stellar GP season is because he outshined Jason for that portion of the season. People like the idea of someone being Number 3 in men's after Jason, but if it's not Jason as Number 2, then a lot of people frown on that.

I love Jason and am just happy he's still around, whatever that means. He doesn't have to be second best to Ilia for me to proud of and happy for him. He's always going to be an incredible performer no matter what. People just like who they like and can't be happy for the younger men who are coming into their own now. It's time for Andrew, Max, and Camden to start their physical peaks and grow into full grown men. Jimmy is closer to Jason's age, but if he can finally do that, too, then GREAT! lol

____

I just want to say I'm so happy Torgs did so well with his short program!! That was freaking perfection! I was jumping up and down for joy. Has he ever gotten a 94 in his Nationals short program before? I feel like he has not. It was so well-deserved. That program is magical and I hate that it's probably going away next season for the Olympics. Should he keep it a third season??
 
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Andrew :cheer2:

:party2::clap: etc.


Well, as (almost) everyone knows, I love Jason and I love Andrew. Knowing a lot of Jason fans, I don't see any who "resent" Andrew. Most Jason fans are just tickled to death Jason is still competing, however he finishes, and many like Andrew for the same reasons we like Jason.

But since this is Andrew's FF, back to our boy. I think the reason for some hesitation is that many have been so disappointed, so many times, that it is difficult to believe that this is finally it. This is the time when he puts talent, dedication, passion and performance together and shows the world.👏 I mean, of course I believe, I want to believe but deep down, way deep down, is some fear some there??? for others, it may take some time to get more fans on the Andrew train🚂

I love L'Enfer but I also loved Bloodstream. I think three years is too much, and I trust whatever he will bring next year.
 
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