Fumie sounds happy with Morozov
- Thread starter Bennett
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- Aug 15, 2003
Chika is Fumie's sister.
Thanks for the link. I understand that Morozov would be very busy with many students. But isn't it rather late not to have a program choreographed in mid July yet? Does that explain her stumbles in her performances and her concern that she had in Oct about the timeline?
Well it probably is, but Fumie's been in the business for so long, I'm sure she picks things up quickly. I think she's been doing OK so far.
In this recent interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMLU8rXODHc
Nikolai mentioned that as a coach and choreographer he needs some time to learn the skaters good points, their weaknesses and their personality. I think it's very important. A program might look amazing in the choreographer's head, but if it doesn't bring out the skater's best points (or, even worse, requires a skater to do something which is not their speciality), it is very unlikely that the skater's performance of the program will be great. And there are very few skaters who do not have any weaknesses and are able to handle any choreography. Lack of speed, stamina issues, poor spins, not secure jumps, problems with injuries - all those things put a limit on what the skater is able to accomplish choreography-wise.
Speaking of Morozov, I liked this approach of his when he choreographed Nobunari's "Tosca". Nikolai's programs are most known for the footwork sequences and power, but Nobunari's EX was created to show his strongest points - jumps, spins and edgework/transitions. In contrast, Nobu's programs by Lori programs could be great - if skated by someone else. I watched Nobunari's practices live at KSM and on video taped by fans and I was just floored by the jumps, spins and supersonic speed. The competetive programs should take advantage of those qualities, but instead all the highlight seems to be put on intricate footwork sequences, which are not Nobu's strongest point (stamina!), at least right now. "Masquerade", in particular, would be a perfect program for Mao, which I find hilarious because Mao also chose this music.
So, I think it's definitely smart from Morozov to work on Fumie's technique and get to know her first. Her programs are on a simple side, but IMHO they work very well for Fumie, who is still in the process of improving her technique. I don't think she'd manage to skate to a program like Miki's "Scheherezade", or YuNa's "Danse Macabre". She does not have qualities to pull off a choreo like that, but she has other qualities that she can take advantage of.
Most importantly, in the interview Fumie seems happy with her programs. I think the small mistakes she made were caused by her technique not being steady yet. Last season at the GP series she made way more mistakes.
ETA: I just noticed that if I had as much enthusiasm for academic work as for writing about figure skating, my MA paper would have be done by now.
Thanks for your insights. I guess the program worked well for her to come back strong. I believe that Fumie is among the best at the performce-side and would be totally capable of much more choreographically complex programs. On the other hand, she is slower than her prime time. Perhaps the simplicity and front loading of the jumps worked well in terms of getting more speed, which may help her PCS much more than getting more complex choreos given that skating skills define other scores on PCS.
But if morozov is eager to study strengths and weaknesses of the skater, I would really hope that he would replace her current layback spin in SP with something more doable. I hate to say this, but it was one of the worst quality spins that I've ever seen from a top skater. Once mastered, spins tend to be pretty consistent and this would be especially true for a hardworker like Fumie. I would not think that it was the first time for her to be un-centered or have terrible positions in that spin, and wonder why he decided to put it and has kept it in the program if he has studied and followed her up well. She also lost the whole points for the last spin in LP because she repeated it. This was a very costly strategic error that could have been preventable with reasonable preparation and checking by the coach. These make me feel concerned that Morozov has not had enough time for Fumie. He was not there at the SC, either.
That said, these are just concerns that I have as an outsider fan.
I totally agree that it is most important that Fumie seems happy with him and with his programs and I am glad for her. Being happy and feeling confident are most important :agree:
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