Boyang Jin | Page 36 | Golden Skate

Boyang Jin

I want to mention that I know people weren't crazy about the Star Wars FS, but I actually think that it endeared a lot of people to Boyang. I saw several tweets from folks praising Boyang for skating to a Star Wars medley that had the Catina theme and many loved his Galaxy shirt.
 
Mrs. P said:
I want to mention that I know people weren't crazy about the Star Wars FS, but I actually think that it endeared a lot of people to Boyang. I saw several tweets from folks praising Boyang for skating to a Star Wars medley that had the Catina theme and many loved his Galaxy shirt.
Click to expand...

I like his galaxy shirt, but I don't understand why they insist dressing him (or anyone) in a deep V. And then they add skin-coloured mesh. If you must have a deep-V at all, and with mesh, why not a different colour? Why not match the light-blue of his sleeves?

Of course, no deep-V at all, please. There's a reason no one actually wears them outside of FS.
 
From another thread, but under the orders of chopinskate, I thought I’d bring it over: a semi-serious 2022 prediction, though I actually think there’s something in here for Boyang and artistry. When chopin initially mentioned Boyang needing to take hip hop, I had a “Homer Simpson walking into the bushes” moment, for a variety of reasons, but on further consideration — I think it might just be key. He needs the understanding of how to use vertical space, create fluid movement even with “athletic” arms that are in coordination with his entire body, and a better understanding of how to make dynamic, high-impact shapes/poses, and as long as he isn’t just learning to xcopy western hip hop, I could see it working out. Some sample videos from Show Lo, a Mandopop artist known for his dance skills, to demonstrate my point.

(Semi-serious 2022 prediction: Boyang gets dance coaching from Show Lo, skates lights out to a remix of “Count on Me,” easily takes gold. Because Mandopop slays K-Pop, and Show isn’t “Asia’s Dance King” for nothing.)

I still love this routine (and having learned it, yes, it is freaking hard):
https://youtu.be/3WAgjt-cDQg

This is how you integrate western hip hop into an Asian track rather than just xpaste. (Also: kickboxing, step, some allusions to tap.)
https://youtu.be/ycA_lU5E4wg

Good use of vertical space, solid routine despite foot injury, one of my favorite singles:
https://youtu.be/ExT-8Z6_iSc

Not my favorite routine but with an edit, it choreographs itself for skating and oh dear god the lyrics need tissues:
https://youtu.be/YWZ2-WEMdDk

Thoughts?
 
Metis said:
From another thread, but under the orders of chopinskate, I thought I’d bring it over: a semi-serious 2022 prediction, though I actually think there’s something in here for Boyang and artistry. When chopin initially mentioned Boyang needing to take hip hop, I had a “Homer Simpson walking into the bushes” moment, for a variety of reasons, but on further consideration — I think it might just be key. He needs the understanding of how to use vertical space, create fluid movement even with “athletic” arms that are in coordination with his entire body, and a better understanding of how to make dynamic, high-impact shapes/poses, and as long as he isn’t just learning to xcopy western hip hop, I could see it working out. Some sample videos from Show Lo, a Mandopop artist known for his dance skills, to demonstrate my point.

(Semi-serious 2022 prediction: Boyang gets dance coaching from Show Lo, skates lights out to a remix of “Count on Me,” easily takes gold. Because Mandopop slays K-Pop, and Show isn’t “Asia’s Dance King” for nothing.)

I still love this routine (and having learned it, yes, it is freaking hard):
https://youtu.be/3WAgjt-cDQg

This is how you integrate western hip hop into an Asian track rather than just xpaste. (Also: kickboxing, step, some allusions to tap.)
https://youtu.be/ycA_lU5E4wg

Good use of vertical space, solid routine despite foot injury, one of my favorite singles:
https://youtu.be/ExT-8Z6_iSc

Not my favorite routine but with an edit, it choreographs itself for skating and oh dear god the lyrics need tissues:
https://youtu.be/YWZ2-WEMdDk

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Great, thanks!

Boyang's problem to me are his long programs: He has loads of personality off the ice, and in his short, but he can't seem to fully bring it into his LPs. The Cantina Band segment is great, but that's about the only place where he knows to perform.

Therefore, I mentioned Hip-Hop: there is a fun side to it, and then there's a dark side to it. He would absolutely flourish with it, IMO. And when you look at his SPs with Lori this season and the last, his style is athletic: something that jazz and hip-hop can improve. He needs more grit in his movement, a little more grounded-ness -- that's jazz. He needs to start adding more relation between his upper body and the music -- that's hip hop.

You mention shapes and poses -- I agree. And again, hip-hop and jazz. He just needs to be more dynamic. If you notice in the gala closing for the Olympics, he is doing the moves, gets as high as the others, but the others just have a snap (well, Yuzu and Shoma do)(and let's not count out Jun Hwan). Have a look at when they do a butterfly kick -- Boyang gets as high, if not higher than them, but he needs to learn how to make the kick at the apex the emphasis of the move.

Yes, martial arts would be great too. And those videos are great! Maybe they can get together some time.

I don't think he should aim to be balletic (though imagine him doing something emo like Nathan or Vincent Zhou :laugh:) -- that split jump he does in Spiderman isn't a grand jete, it's very much a straddle leap as found in jazz.
 
chopinskate said:
Boyang's problem to me are his long programs: He has loads of personality off the ice, and in his short, but he can't seem to fully bring it into his LPs. The Cantina Band segment is great, but that's about the only place where he knows to perform.
Click to expand...
Don’t make me... oh, fine: can I get an amen? Boyang and Nathan Chen are the two skaters I think of as being most vulnerable to being destroyed by poor music choices (and the free skate in general), as the music defines everything: the choreo, energy, expected artistry, whether or not the skater is going to command the music or be eaten alive by it. So Boyang and his team really need to look at what worked and what didn’t from his free, because while he executed it competently, they also didn’t give him much to execute. I felt like his SW program didn’t have an ultimate purpose; somebody needs to give Boyang a program anchored in a concept or emotion or straightforward story, but let’s not try to make him emote movie trilogies in four minutes and change.

Therefore, I mentioned Hip-Hop: there is a fun side to it, and then there's a dark side to it. He would absolutely flourish with it, IMO. And when you look at his SPs with Lori this season and the last, his style is athletic: something that jazz and hip-hop can improve. He needs more grit in his movement, a little more grounded-ness -- that's jazz. He needs to start adding more relation between his upper body and the music -- that's hip hop.
Click to expand...
I’d have him start with jazz, actually. One of the nice things about hip hop is that it borrows elements from every style (and disciplines like martial arts, kickboxing, etc.), which in some ways makes it easier to transition into than out of, or at least that was my experience. I made it to intermediate-ish level in tap, jazz, and ballet when I was young, then did hip hop as an adult (and when I was at my most athletic); depending on the routine, you could be doing floor transitions, pivot turns in rapid sequences, or Rockette-style kicks. But if you have a solid understanding of dance fundamentals — counting steps, grapevines, transitional footwork, connecting your arms and your legs, etc. — it makes picking up a given hip hop routine (or freestyling) much, much easier, as well freeing up space to focus on the complex sequences. That and I remember spending a good deal of jazz practice working on being able to move my ribs but without moving my hips, for example, so once you have that kind of control... hip hop is much easier.

And hip hop can definitely injure the unprepared. I remember my instructor demo-ing some advanced tech he was going to have us do at a much lower level, and I decided to follow along. Except I wound up getting way more height and hangtime on the jumps than anyone had ever seen outside our instructor and he had to abruptly halt to give me a crash course in landing gigantic aerials without breaking bones in my feet. >.< (I was stupidly athletic then! I got Matrix-esque jump time! And I was dumb and had no fear!) Boyang... look, I already want to put up signs at his eye level near the boards that say “No 4Lz Zone,” but he definitely needs a legit dance instructor or he’s going to inadvertently injure himself. The worst jazz did to me was a sprained wrist when I tripped and did what everyone does when they fall — make it worse by landing on their wrist.

You mention shapes and poses -- I agree. And again, hip-hop and jazz. He just needs to be more dynamic. If you notice in the gala closing for the Olympics, he is doing the moves, gets as high as the others, but the others just have a snap (well, Yuzu and Shoma do)(and let's not count out Jun Hwan). Have a look at when they do a butterfly kick -- Boyang gets as high, if not higher than them, but he needs to learn how to make the kick at the apex the emphasis of the move.
Click to expand...
That’s actually what stood out to me this Olympics: the sheer amount of innate power Boyang has, but not total mastery of it. (That being said, if you’d told me a few years ago I would be arguing that Boyang was undermarked in PCS, I would have died laughing, so he’s come a long way.) He should, at least, be done developing at this point; I wonder if he isn’t mistiming the butterfly kick due to subtle changes in height and weight, actually. Honestly, some dance training and fresh choreo, and a program he’s invested in (not just one he can execute) would go a long way. I just want him to take some of power and precision of his 4Lz into his non-jumping elements.

I don't think he should aim to be balletic (though imagine him doing something emo like Nathan or Vincent Zhou :laugh:) -- that split jump he does in Spiderman isn't a grand jete, it's very much a straddle leap as found in jazz.
Click to expand...
Yeah, no, and the idea of Boyang trying to emote to “Chasing Cars” just caused me to spittake in real life. This is not an insult: there is nothing balletic about Boyang. And that’s okay! It even makes him interesting to watch, as if he can master what he is good at and bring it onto the ice, that’s infinitely more exciting than another “go relearn your positions” clone.

Also, old video, but check the arms in the group choreography and Show’s hand around the two minute mark. I think these are reasonable bars for Boyang to hit, yes? Fluid, artistic, the gesture at around 2:00 is part of the story sequence (video itself is related to a TV series), but not overdone or beyond what Boyang can achieve:
https://youtu.be/8RX8LsYQp5A

If he can find his own artistry and keep the jumps, then all he needs to do is figure out what he wants to say in his free (even if it’s just “I’m awesome” — it’s a concept! It’s better than Star Wars!).
 
Great interview. Boyang is so fortunate to have coaches who have been with him for so long. It's also amazing that he has managed to pretty much stay injury free up until this season, given the challenging jumps that are in his arsenal. I wonder what Lori Nichol will have "up her sleeve" for him as far as new programs for next year.
 
What a great interview. Am also interested in seeing where he goes with his programs next season... CTHD was one of my favorite shorts this cycle, at least by the end.
 
I would assume that the Federation chooses his choreographers, and Lori seems to be their "go to" person.
 
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