Javier Fernandez

[tureis]

Post-Worlds TSL interview with Brian

He mentions Javi's FS. Great to hear him also say it was just an unfortunate fluke that they have to learn from and make sure it doesn't happen next year.

 

[xibsuarz]

Post-Worlds TSL interview with Brian

He mentions Javi's FS. Great to hear him also say it was just an unfortunate fluke that they have to learn from and make sure it doesn't happen next year.

Brian said Javi will "stick to his own thing". So I take it he is not upgrading his layout? Nice to hear he will start right away on the FS (on Monday!) :yes:

 

[tureis]

Brian said Javi will "stick to his own thing". So I take it he is not upgrading his layout? Nice to hear he will start right away on the FS (on Monday!) :yes:

It sounds like they haven't even had their proper talk after Worlds yet, and they will definitely need that before they can do any sort of strategy discussions for next season. I think this is still mostly a reference to their strategy for this season.

 

[DelRetiro]

Brian said Javi will "stick to his own thing". So I take it he is not upgrading his layout? Nice to hear he will start right away on the FS (on Monday!) :yes:

Yeah, that's the sense I got as well, no upgrade for Javi. Then again, that's my assumption, and you know what happens when you assume

As bummed as I was after Javi's free skate in Helsinki, from the various interviews, it sounds like the WC disappointment was just a bump in the road for Javi, and already in his rearview mirror. With a fairly light touring schedule ahead and work on his new programs to start on Monday, Javi seems laser-focused on the Olympics. While there's no predicting how Javi will do, it is safe to say that he will be 100% prepared for Pyeongchang.

 

[narcissa]

I think it's a good idea. Worlds 2017 wasn't a lesson that he needed more quads, it was a lesson that he needed to be clean. If he goes clean, he will medal in PC. Let's say all of Nathan, Boyang, Patrick, Shoma, Javi, and Yuzu go clean. Javi will beat Nathan, Boyang, and Patrick, IMO, unless Patrick adds a quad to the SP. He might even beat Shoma.

 

[LRK]

Oh dear God, if I hear Phantom of the Opera one more time at a figure skating competition, especially sung by Gerard frigging Butler, I will catch the next spaceship Matt Damon takes to get left behind somewhere in space and just pray that it will take me far enough from that damn piece of music! :dev2::hpull:

I am fine with any warhorse music really, if done in a fresh and unique way as evergreen says, except for Phantom.

Oh and agreed, definitely no ballet prince program for Javi!

A Fellow Phantom Hater - yay!

(Especially Music of the Night gives me the heebeejeebies.)

 

[Jaana]

I don´t dislike POTO music at all, but in my opinion that kind of music would not suit Javi´s style.

 

[evergreen]

Totally agreed. There's reason that Classic music remain Classic over centuries. While I enjoyed Andrew Lloyd Webber' s musicals, I had to admit that I fallen into sleep the fourth time when I was in the theatre for POTO during my time living in NYC. From then on, I refused to accompany any friends or family members for that show. However, being a figure skating fan, it seems it is inevitable to hear POTO, lyrics or without lyrics again and again, until in the arena of 2015 Worlds, it seems that POTO had become Japanese team's song. POTO has been so overly used and I wish it will disappear from skating rinks indefinitely.

David Wilson has involved in skating shows in South Korea over years, let's hope he may have a good idea what suits the best to Javier, whilst appeal to the general audiences there.


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[Jaana]

"Hair" would suit Javi nicely, I think. Or some musical from 1940 or 1950 with swing music.

David Wilson has involved in skating shows in South Korea over years, let's hope he may have a good idea what suits the best to Javier, whilst appeal to the general audiences there.

That is wonderful about David Wilson and he always has great ideas (if just the music allows it).

 

[evergreen]

And the Costume! I sort of appreciate the simple yet sleeker style of all black costume for his Malagenua this season, especially he is leaner and the Costume compliments his body alignment, without distractions of the traditional yet fabulous flamenco suit, I was able to concentrate more on his performance, but I have to say Javier looks absolutely gorgeous in his old red & black one.

I always thought that his all black body suit with invisible suspenders looks familiar and was sure it was Brian's idea, until I bumped into this clip yesterday. https://youtu.be/q5G5m4oeoGU
I watched one of the Canadian Star on ice shows 15 years ago, these three man's were absolutely brilliant.

It seems Brian has constantly digged up his own closet searching for ideas how to dress up Javier. In the meanwhile, it shouldn't a bad idea for Javier to skate a piece of Tango music like that, I don't mind it is for an exhibition or competition program, he has proved himself that he is a good and natural dancer, he can be lyrical, soft and romantic by Danny Boy, so long as he feels for the music he skates to.

BTW, the Rostelecom Cup 2017 would be the first GP competition, starting from
Oct 19-23, following by Skate Canada, Cup of China, NHK, Trophy devil France & Skate America consecutively. Which two Grand Prix Javier will choose? He always goes to compete at Russia, but wouldn't it be a little early for him? He does have chance to compete two Grand Prix in Europe though, not back-to back like last year, if both federations accept him, which I don't think could be a problem.
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[xibsuarz]

BTW, the Rostelecom Cup 2017 would be the first GP competition, starting from
Oct 19-23, following by Skate Canada, Cup of China, NHK, Trophy devil France & Skate America consecutively. Which two Grand Prix Javier will choose? He always goes to compete at Russia, but wouldn't it be a little early for him? He does have chance to compete two Grand Prix in Europe though, not back-to back like last year, if both federations accept him, which I don't think could be a problem.
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Given that none of the 4-6 seeds seem like host picks and he chooses first out of that group, I think there will be every possibility of him going to both European events. And this is the Olympic season, and we know he is already back to work so I think he will be ready in time for COR
It will be interesting to see who he goes up against from the 1-3 group. My bet is one against Shoma and one against Boyang.

 

[cathlen]

Well, I really hope he won't have to do back to back GPs again. It's surely tiring.

And I hope he enjoys Saturday with Atletico snatching draw from Real in last minutes in the derby match today

 

[Khoai]

He should add 4Lo. If not, it's very dangerous for him at Olympic.

 

[cathlen]

He should add 4Lo. If not, it's very dangerous for him at Olympic.

Problem is, it will be dangerous with 4Lo as well. As he will introduce it pretty late in the game. Yuzuru was right about trying it in this season. At least he's accustomed to the layout now. I wonder how well it's going for him in practice.

Javi in Boston: https://twitter.com/SkatingClubBOS/status/850472785579257858 :luv17:

 

[evergreen]

I think the most important thing for him is to remain healthy. Javier will be 26 next week, and he has been practicing quads since 15 or 16, whilst it amazed me he has never missed any competitions throughout his senior career, all these jumping/falling/landing could have taken its toll on his body and it would be too demanding for him to undertake numerous jumping practice on daily basis like his peers, who are mostly teenages or almost 4 years younger than him. I think that Javier knows how much his body can take. As matter of fact, both Eppen and I worried about him, having seen him rubbing his hip and holding his knees in practice at Helsinki.

Patrick Chan, only 3 and a half months older than Javi, also declined to practice 4 loop, although his coach suggested him to do so. His reason is simple, he wants to do all sorts of sports activities after finishing his competitive career in figure skating, he did not want to ruin his body at 20s. Every athlete has his own choice, some rather die in order to be on the top of Olympic podium, some wants to enjoy a happy ever after live.

At the SP conference in Helsinki, Javier said it seems he has been in the sports forever. He and Patrick recalled that they are the only two skaters in the current field who had competed at Vancouver Olympic. Actually, they forgot about Denis Ten, who was 16 at 10's Olympic, being the youngest in this particular game and two years younger than Javier and Patrick. Denis is a beautiful skater and the most artistic one in my book, sadly, I could tell his body may not be able to pull off and meet the challenge of quad battles nowadays. I can only be thankful that both Javier and Patrick are healthy enough to maintain as medal contenders.

Of course if Javi feels healthy to push his limit by adding 4 loop, that's fine. Otherwise, he can stick to his current layout and keep polishing his jumps, skating skills and spins and try to put down two clean programs maximizing GOE. After all, with his SP at Helsinki, an almost clean free program would have earned him the third straight title. He lost not because of short of BV, but for making too many costly mistakes.

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[tureis]

^^ I couldn't agree more with what evergreen wrote. Health is the key here. Patrick spoke extensively about how different training methods are for a guy of his age compared to an 18 year old. Older guys like him and Javi have to focus on quality vs quantity. They can no longer afford to do dozens of quads per practice session. (I don't want to sound like an alarmist here, but it may still turn out the young ones can't afford it either, as we have yet to see what sort of effects these crazy jumps have on their bodies in the mid-term.)

Javi has been very lucky so far to avoid more serious injuries, but there may be smaller nagging ones he needs to be mindful of which may be a deciding factor whether they can consider working on new elements or remain with stuff his body has been able to handle. I want to see Javi challenge himself and have a realistic shot at the gold medal at the Olympics, but not at any cost. If his current content is as far as he can go physically, then I would rather see wonderful and clean skates from him that may prove no longer enough to win or earn a medal of any color.

 

[eppen]

It's amazing to think that the work for the Olympics programs starts already today, so very soon after the Worlds and the end of the season for Javi... It's interesting to read all the opinions on what he should do

Warhorses (however, I would not count Guys and Dolls as a warhorse in figure skating - has anyone else ever done it?) have their good and bad sides. It's not just the skating fans who groan when they hear the first notes of Carmen or POTO or Feeling Good, it's also probably the casual fans who think that there are maybe 10 pieces of music that get used in skating. So, ONLY if you can do something truly fresh and extraordinary with it like Malaguena in Javi's case. It worked because it was based throughly on the dance style which was successfully put into skating. Flamenco is very stationary performed on the floor and so putting it into skating which is based on glide and speed and flow on the ice without having long stationary moments is kind of tough. Argentinian tango I really don't care much for when it is performed by single skaters - you know, it does take two to tango I think our guy is good enough at selling his programs that something new and different would also bring in the high PCS scores!

Over the years I've also begun to understand my own preferences better and I like to have a story line a lot - that there is something else in the programs than just some kind of abstract "emotional interpretation" of the music (and this is why I like Medvedeva's programs this season, even an ice dance SD can actually be enjoyable if there is a story line, like Testa & Csolley in the paso doble based on Addams Family). Characters tend to be good also, but easily carried a bit too far and turning not very credible. Now that lyrics can be used in the music, I also always hope that they are incorporated into the program - you can't ignore them whatever the language... And I don't mean here miming their content, but rather that the movement cleverly reflects what the story in the words is.

My second fave thing is having a distint dance style translated well into skating vocabulary - ie having the speed, the flow over ice, the glide and still maintaining the dance style (Gilles & Poirier Tango this year particularly). I also like at least 90-95% performances - like NOT losing the interpretation when prepping for the most difficult jumps or other elements. That the music is matched by the choregrahy and movement and that the chosen idea/style/whatever is maintained through the whole routine. An otherwise not very exciting program can be saved a lot by a change in speed or by change in intensity that perfectly matches the music (like Misha Ge in the Worlds - he really worked hard on concentrating on the technical stuff, but let rip in the step/choreo sequences in ways that few others are able to do).

Over the years I have also gotten more and more bored with the usually most respected form of interpretation in figure skating - the abstract emotional interpretation of the music. And it would usually have to be sad or dramatic or serious stuff. It is most often very repetitive and unimaginative in movement vocabulary, can IMO be easily learned to do even without any real connection between the skater and the music (I refrain from mentioning examples ). Only very, very rarely some skaters have been able to move me doing this kind of interpretation. Watch Carolina Kostner and Evgenia Medvedeva in Worlds EX back to back, eg.

This selfreflection explains (to me at least!) completely why I love Javi and probably also why I have loved him only since Black Betty. He has become very good at all the things that I truly love and appreciate, and avoids the last bit that I don't care for. Plus I love the way he is able to adapt his movement to different styles. BUT to maybe finally earn a higher respect for artistry of the skating world in general, he would kind of have to resort to the last bit. It would be interesting to see him try and do a sad program, though - I think he could pull it off easily enough considering what he has done in the shows.

Boston produced some lovely stuff. He did Danny Boy (also here and in practices) and Torero, David Baden posted a number of vids, icluding this with a bit of a dreaming of a vacation in Hawaii feel (plus look at the speed with which Javi is back to his phone after the hula ). But is was a charity gig and he also visited a children's hospital with other stars of the show incl. a radio show.

But my faves are these pics with Javi wearing a Harvard hoodie (can I dream of an academically oriented Javi??!?!). Looking totally happy and relaxed <3

E

 

[DelRetiro]

Ice Network posted an article about Javi today, mostly about the disappointment of Worlds and his plans for the Olympic season. I like his idea of doing a program to Spanish music but a song/piece not as "typical Spanish" as Malaguena (although I do love that program). There are so many great Spanish pop songs that Javi surely has a favorite or two that would work out great for a program. The added bonus is that a well-known Spanish pop song would send his fans in Spain over the moon

I'd love to see Javi do his free to a medley of Spanish pop hits, but my pick for the short would be "Take 5." Yes, I know it's been used before (I loved Lu Chen's SP), but after seeing his "Touch of Evil" exhibition skate, I think "Take 5" would be perfect for Javi's smooth, sophisticated style. I can't wait to see what Javi and his team come up with!

 

[FourSeasons]

I think Javi really hates pressure. He used to be very competitive with Hanyu but at some point I think he assumed that one day he won't be able to keep up to Hanyu's pace anymore. I think he's wrong of course, because they're both amazing skaters and if he works hard he can beat Hanyu again, but I'm not sure if he really wants that. Or I'm not sure if he wants to risk his own health for that. Which, at the end of the day, is a smart way of thinking.
If you ask me, I'd love to see a new, 120% focused Javi for next season. He absolutely deserves the olympic gold and he has the skills to earn one. But he's been getting a lot of attention within his own country lately and I'm pretty sure he feels that awkward, heavy pressure again. The 'I have to win" kind of pressure.

If anything, I hope he'll be mentally prepared for next season so that he can overcome any insecurities / lack of motivation / pressure without any problem

 

[eppen]

Another interview, this time from Spain: https://okdiario.com/deportes/mas-d...mundial-representar-espana-ya-victoria-902063

e