Layback spins | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Layback spins

I have to give another shout out to Angela... she was stunning :) I miss her skating :(

I'm not a fan of Irina's 'layback' and all... and I don't like Michelle Kwan's variation...
 
Does Angela have plans to come back? I know she's been coaching, but she never really closed the door on her competitive career.
 
Mathman said:
For comparison, here's Sasha:

Sasha

MM :)
Click to expand...

Hey Mathman, that picture of Sasha from "Swan Lake" was NOT of a layback but of a transitional element, part of her choreo. Sasha's back position tends to be lower when she does her layback spins.
 
I don't really think that you can call Michelle Kwan one of the worst... Is this including every lady on the senior circuit? It's not her strongest element, but I think that she's improved over the years and agree that her arm positions make her limited hip flexibility forgivable.

I do agree with all of the top ten... I've also always liked Irina's layback positions... I'm too lazy to search for pictures right now :p
 
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Sasha doesn't do the Sasha Curl anymore - her back problems probably prevent it. The pic MM posted was right after she dropped her leg from a Biellmann spiral in her Swan Lake LP. :)

I think pretty much anyone outside the ladies we've mentioned--Sasha, Angela, Sarah, Alissa--have "okay" to downright horrible laybacks. A lot of skaters just don't seem to have good ones! It's odd. I'm learning how to do mine and not having much of a problem with it (I have mucho back flexibility and have done ballet before, though, maybe that's why but I do think once I get the freakin' spin down, it'll be a very nice one!).
 
I don't like Sasha's, it doesn't have a nice arch to it. She has a very deep bend from the lower back, but the rest of her back is so flat. I don't think it looks pretty like that.
 
Spun Silver said:
Any chance you could post photos of some that you consider arched and pretty, dancindiva?
Click to expand...

I get what she's saying, sort of. I personally prefer laybacks to looks soft and classical like Angela's or Sarah's and that Sasha's seems to extreme (for lack of better wording). BUT as with all Sasha's spins, she is amazing, one of the best, so I won't say I don't like Sasha's layback. I like her variations more than the traditional position itself (and I'm not too crazed about her dropped leg variation.)

I like laybacks like this, although I used to complain about Sarah's hands:
http://www.dianesrink.com/sarah/gallery/avemaria/02natsttsp1.jpg
I think she looks soft with her leg, hip and back, not over the top, showing off her flexibility.

As for Sasha, I loved the variations she did last season to Nutcracker, with the dropped leg and then she sort of dropped one hand behind her back and the other went up, not sure what that was, and of course, her catch foot was very nice. Alissa can be extreme as well, but I think her traditional layback doesn't look as sharp (for lack of better word, again!) as Sasha's does. BUT this is just IMO, and like I said before, I still think Sasha's among the best spinners, no matter what position she is doing.
 
Spun Silver said:
Any chance you could post photos of some that you consider arched and pretty, dancindiva?
Click to expand...
I don't have any pictures saved right now, but when I have more time I will try to find some. But look at Angela Nikodinov's layback spins, the back has more of a continuous curve to it, not just one sudden bend and then flat like Sasha has. That's what I'm talking about.
 
Well, the first one (blue) doesn't stand out from Sasha's for me. Her back looks "flat," to use dancindiva's word. But in the second one (White), she's less flat and more arched and has the most exquisite head tilt and arm positions - she's a perfect ice ballerina!

ETA: Thanks, MM!
 
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned Kristi Yamaguchi, I've always thought that she had one of the best layback spins in ladies competition.
 
I agree, Michael, I immediately thought of Kristi when I saw this thread.

Kristi's layback was very pretty, although not quite as technically perfect as Angela's or Peggy's. Also, as I recall, Kristi was one of the first skaters in the pre-COP era to do the catch-foot layback spin, in which she brought her free skate up to her head. This variation looked fresh at the time (although it's since become a bit overused).

Laybacks are interesting. Very few ladies actually have good laybacks. Even some of the best women skaters, such as Michelle Kwan and Yuka Sato, don't do this spin very well. It makes you appreciate a great layback even more when you see one.
 
Did Kristi do more of a side catch like AP would do, or was it more the catch we see in just about every COP layback now?
 
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