Flexibility??

[iloveaxel]

While searching for figure skating clips on youtube, I found this 'ballet' performance on youtube, you really have to watch this stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5lN96dgt_Y

Caroline Zhang's flexibility is nothing compared to this lady. This is truly scary. Will future pairs skating take this route??

:chorus:

If you read those comments, it's even scarier... Lots of wantable have been 'inspired' by this clip and vowed to work even harder to be more flexible.

 

[Antilles]

Yikes. It always amazes me what the human body can do. Some of it is quite nice, but some is a little scary looking.

 

[_Ladybug_]

Oh dear, that was beautiful. I do love flexibility (I'm also a gymnastics fan).
I LMAO at the thought of pair FS turning out like this in a few years. The new lifts!!!

 

[iloveaxel]

Oh dear, that was beautiful. I do love flexibility (I'm also a gymnastics fan).
I LMAO at the thought of pair FS turning out like this in a few years. The new lifts!!!

I think it's very very scary.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

If acrobatics is your cup of tea, then this video should be a very well brewed cup.

There is acrobatic dance, acrobatic skating, acrobatic gymnastics. flexibility is just one part of it.

Joe

 

[gio]

No, please! I don't want FS to become a contorsionist contest.

 

[feraina]

Thanks for sending on the youtube link. I think this pair came to the US to perform a couple of years ago (DC & NYC), and were featured in the NYTimes. I loved the control and the strength. The flexibility was a little over the top for me; I don't like the hyper-splits; to me, a perfect 180 is, well, perfect. But no, I don't think there's any danger of pairs FS turning out like this, although with the way ice dancing is going...

 

[CzarinaAnya]

That is jaw droppingly beautiful. Not only flexible but STRONG and BALANCED. Standing on his arm with only one tippy toe...and then the same on top of his head. Wow

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

That is jaw droppingly beautiful. Not only flexible but STRONG and BALANCED. Standing on his arm with only one tippy toe...and then the same on top of his head. Wow

Would you like to see that in Pairs?

 

[shine]

Wow, that was quite amazing. But I didn't find it stunningly beautiful.

 

[passion]

It is obvious that her flexibility is amazing, but what may not be so apparent is her incredible strength and balance. I found that to be even more impressive than her flexibility.

I do hope that skating does not become just a show of flexibility or become a contortionist sport. A lot will be lost in the art of figure skating. I think a skater needs to be flexible, but contortionism takes flexibility to a whole different level. I just feel that it is not healthy for the body in the long run, and contortionism takes away the beauty of the body. If your gut instinct is shiver or 'gasp', then it distracts from the skating. I am all for flexiblity, but there is a limit. Unfortunately, I think we are heading in that direction. Just as Sash Cohen has set a precedent for many skaters (and I think her level of flexibility is still okay), Caroline Zhang is the one to bring skating to a contortionist level and I'm not sure that is a good thing.

 

[Tinymavy15]

her balance was amazing... and her flexib;ity. howver, this is nothing new in the gymnastics and ballet worlds. Yes, most ballerinas don't have that amazing bendibilty, but if you watch the cirque de soliel iin Las Vegas... some of those performers can do really amazing positions. Figure skating is too emphazined on jumps to create that kind of flexiblity..... skaters like sasha and caroline are rare and very talented.

but anyway, the way she could do the pointwork on his shoudler like that was amazing. beyond befief. i agree that his strength and her balance were even more amazing than the flexiblity. stunning. It was so funny....that boy in the audince.

thanks you so much for sharing.