Men's Short Program

[Tonichelle]

Question of the century.

Normally when people complain of excessive arm movements, I find that I am not as bothered to the same extent as they seem to be. But this time, it was way noticeable. Those arm/hand movements need to go.

I finally figured out what his hand movements reminds me of: Kurt Browning's 92 SP! Where Kurt was playing the Hindu God of War or whatever. Random weird hand movements, bad costume (Kurt's. I like Jeremy's), weird program concept... But Kurt's was fast and powerful and exciting... Jeremy's not so much.

 

[colleen o'neill]

I wasn't fond of Kurt's costume , but at least it was one thing.To me, Jeremy's costume is far worse. I've been trying to understand the reasoning behind it. Is it supposed to reflect the Flamenco - Tango fusion ? Please , I don't need to be beaten over the head with it. I can hear it. I can see it in some of the movements. If that's the idea behind the costume, it's overkill, almost to the point of being insulting and it detracts from the skating and the program.

No, what I thought we were going to get was a CoP-friendly competitive program reminiscent of this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Izl1CA1uA&feature=more_related

....especially since the first time we saw this SP, Jeremy wore identical attire. I, for one , was ready for it . Kurt's arm movements are controlled , beautiful , masculine...and flamenco flavoured. The bare arms allow you to fully appreciate what those arms are doing and with the overall simplicity of his attire, you are absolutely focusing on his skating and how he uses his whole body . In a fully lit competition setting , tight sleeves would work as well , maybe better (if bare arms would be considered inappropriate..), and almost any colour would do ...well , maybe not neons ..

I agree with layfan that it could still be fixed and with prokofiev that the intricate hand movements when he's just stroking are unnecessary and silly...they just seem like filler. (I don't mind the ones at the opening of the program )..and I think seniorita is right , there's far too much wrist rotation. Male flamenco dancers use that far less than the females and male Tango dancers never, that I know of..so what's it all in aid of ?

 

[Nadine]

Jeremy is so good (he is my current fav male skater--a poster here called him "cerebral" and I agree.

This word describes Jeremy's skating to a T imho, and which I unfortunately forgot to add to my review of him in the LP, as I think it is essential when talking about his skating.

The purist in me absolutely adores his skating; he reminds me of all the greats that came before him going all the way back to the very beginning.

GOOOOOOOOOOOO JEREMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bluebonnet]

Obviously, Jeremy's busy wrist movements were the style that Antonio gave to him. It's not Jeremy's creation. Antonio knows better what style it was. I think people would feel it's inadequate if the program's choreography had been watered down. So I believe it's the best to keep it like it was. What Jeremy could do, though, was to emphasis more on the control and pause of the movements, and keep the lyrical moves in check all the time - which he hasn't. After all, it was a fast paced, packed, extremely difficult SP for which not many skaters could manage.

 

[snowflake]

Yes, the Flamenco expert dancer, Antonio Najarro, did this choreography for him. But could be he doesn't understand what goes well with figure skating. When you watch this dance it seems to me that the arm movements are more important than what they do with their feet. They are actually sitting down and dancing. Like for Jeremy it's the arms that catch your eyes. Not good for a single figure skater I think.

Viejos Aires is not my music and I find the arm movements distracting, but I am sure I 'll get to love the program eventually because it is Jeremy Anyway I think he is courageous and it seems like a very difficult program.

Those arm/hand movements need to go.

I don't think that will happen hwell: We'll just have to try to focus on his lower body

Abbott is a more cerebral kind of skater and pays attention to every nuance in the music and has amazing attention to details.

What does it mean? That he is skating with his mind … or something like that?

Btw, I am sure if ice dancers did these arm movements there would not have been the same negative reactions.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Now we've seen both Joubert's and Abbott's SP. I think Abbott's was much closer to Spanish style, and I like his SP music better. If he could keep focusing on the masculine moves, this SP could very well become another masterpiece ...only if he could change his costume.