hi All, just want to pop here to congratulate Jason on silver at Lombardia. At the same time - I want thank him for all the experience, a beautiful one I had watching him over the weekend. This beauty is strong and lasting and it's the rare ability to make me focus on a very little things, mostly overlooked. Thank you, Jason, it really meant a lot for me to be able to 'get lost' in something beautiful for a change due to your performances. And I allowed myself to re-post my thoughts on both programs from Lombardia threads:
SP
The same level of 'thoughtfulness', 'ownership' over whole performance and control of every aspect of skating is applicable for Jason in my opinion, even magnified by his strong, prominent personality. The edge of using 'Hamilton' already gives him a 'statement moment' on ice I feel – he's kind of breaking it for masses, making it his own signature, which for me is a quality of a great, mature performer taking total responsibility and ownership of the effect put on ice. But then – Jason for me makes every music, every theme looking entirely 'his', he just gets the theme, goes to the stage and owns it fully, which is one of my most loved features of Jason: he gets into role, character, vibe 100% with no reservation nor doubt since the very beginning. I love that choreography reflects so easily on music, beat and lyrical layer of it, which then enable Jason to perform it very naturally and effortlessly-looking. He totally proves by that SP performance that he lives to perform, he loves giving the joy he feels himself to the people, those emotions he feels. I understand some people are not taking Jason as a valuable skater/competitor due to the lack of a stable quad performed, but this SP is cementing my view even more that I'd rather love/appreciate Jason more when he gets that quad than miss/ignore his uniqueness and full-rounded performance ability with sublime skill. I want Jason with all his kicks, spirals, insane spins, crazy footwork, facial expressions than anything else Jason is supposed to be according to many people. This kind of natural performance ability cannot be bought or learned easily.
FS
Jason really transported me into another place and dimension by his performance. And it was an amazing place to be. You see, his whole case, his presence in figure skating world, competitive side of it has so much 'educational' value for all and helps to be more open, more tolerant and more sensitive for different ways of expression in skating. He dares everyone to focus on elements, on components people pay very little attention to – he makes the smallest things to pop in the most beautiful, intricate way. And I feel that he does not want to completely change people's perception forcefully about his way of skating, performing and expressing – he just want people to expand their thinking and try to understand frm where he goes. This program is all about detail and meaning behind every movement done – it tells the story, shows emotions, but with very sensual, unspoken and mysterious way for me, as there is some piece to guess, to find and explore after music finishes. And Jason's musicality, the way his body is so sensitive over every sound makes the performance just flow and last. Two definite highlights from the sea of all that grace and magnificence were: 2A and the whole transition after it into step sequence and then ½ Lo sequence RIGHT with the music and then amazing spiral/arabesque sequence. It takes a real effort and huge talent to create something that sublime yet powerful and seductive in reception, but moreover – it takes right skater, with certin amount of sensibility and care over every aspect of the performance to make the program work its magic in reality. Everything spoke to me and woke my senses: the softness of hands, the airy flow between elements, all extensions, elegance of costume, honesty and rawness in expression. I'm just glad being able to see and feel that beauty in its pure form, feeling it deeply and realizing that this is Jason's strenght and character behind it.
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I hope Javier Munoz or maybe even other Hamiltonians see this....
