- Joined
- Oct 25, 2014
I liked his Carmen, a bit less his SP... did Stéphane Lambiel choreograph both of them or just a part?
SP is completely Lambiel's - even song choice/edit. He also choreographed the step sequence in the FS.
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I liked his Carmen, a bit less his SP... did Stéphane Lambiel choreograph both of them or just a part?
Thank you!SP is completely Lambiel's - even song choice/edit. He also choreographed the step sequence in the FS.
This video gives new light to his Carmen, for sure. I think he was still tentative, and needs more oomph to sell the program, but you can see he enjoys this music, and that might give him the push to give his all to the program.
"His movements are too fluid for rock'n'roll" was one of my first comments on Misha's Elvis last season, and they remained so throughout. Sharp movements are actually harder for him to execute, I believe, and you can see in Carmen when his mind wanders his arms get too soft again. The arm choreo in both programs still needs some cleaning up, but last season they worked on that during the season and there was significant improvement.Have you seen the better video of his skate? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEBDj-ryUME
I eat my words right now, because i start to like it more and more! He has the poise needed for Toreador, he shows power. My fear was that he will skate too soft and fluidly, like he did with Elvis (which in my opinion was the main reason why he couldn't sell it last season). Get ready to read the moaning of those people which appreciate only the fluidity in skating. Naturally,he still needs to polish here and there, but i cannot believe that i say it: I like what i see!
Early in the season + new cramped layout. All the guys looked exhausted at the end.Is it just me, or does he look exhausted afterward? :/

There is also this short snippet.New interview by Vaitsehovskaya:
https://rsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20180909/1141520478.html
Yes his SS are dazzling! every season he manages to improve drastically during the off season - he is now undoubtedly on Patrick's level :luv17:
I first read some conflicting reports on both SP & LP and was seriously worried. After watching the videos I feel relieved and excited for the coming season. Okay, I don't like the Muse but then again I don't like with a few exceptions all pop music (which I regard as a noise and one of these evils of modern life that has to be endured somehow) But I like that the SP is more dramatic and energetic than I imagined per the reports - I like that it showcases his speed, power & SS. I actually think the costume is quite good - the belt is questionable but gives it some futuristic feel?
Now Carmen - I still hate the music (I know I should love by definition of it being a classical piece - but here it is I don't!) but the main thing is that Mika clearly is basking in both its sound and the audience response to it - and what's more anyone can wish for? He confirmed my 'theory' though in the interview - he wanted to skate to Carmen since he was 10! Yes it is a disease like a chicken pox one has to catch and get done with as early as possible
The costume I first did't like at all but in action it actually look better than at the close look, I only wish the red was of different shade - deep red wine? It looks more orange than red or I am imagining it?
All in all a sigh of relief!
There is also this short snippet.
https://www.sport-express.ru/figure...al-li-on-psihologicheski-ustoychivee-1455066/
The overall message is that Misha's first priority is to show the program in the best light, get comfortable and receive high scores for it, and then add the 4Lz. He is not going to skate the LP with just one quad in it all season as some people seem to seriously believe. He was red in the face even after this layout in the Open Test Skates which probably had a lot to do with the jump choices. Lots of form still to be gained.
Also, it was Raf who invited Misha to come train with him in the summer, not the other way around as everyone assumed.
Yes, that the direction of the jump was not quite right, it looked fine from the outside, but he didn't always have the physical energy to land the jump. He realised it already during the approach and essentially went into the 4Lz expecting not to land it properly, so unsurprisingly he didn't.There are also some technical details on how Raf helped him with 4lz - I wonder how it is going now in practice but his 3lz looks even higher and more effortless than ever!
Also, I don't quite understand the concerns that Misha will stick with a layout that will end up with him being overtaken by other Russian guys. So far he has proven quite tenacious in clinging to that #1 even after everyone was ready to bury him, and his team obviously keeps a keen eye on what other Russian men are doing and adjusts accordingly. You don't get to where he is by completely lacking ambition and being ready to fade into the background at the first opportunity instead of fighting to stay on top.
Yes, it's rather unlikely that a solo 3S followed by a 3Lz-Eu-2S is the final layout. But he obviously needs better stamina to even think of quads that late in the program.I don't know if it was because of the layout, but I feel that Misha might try the quad salchow before the lutz, though, it's interesting that it would be essentially in the second half of the program. I just don't like his pops, and I'm sure he doesn't either. At Bratislava the layout might be the same, at least to ward off potential falls from happening.
The impression of those who saw the test skates live was still "Misha and everyone else" (the other guys sure helped though :noshake: ).That much is obvious to me. They want to get a rise out of him, especially when some big voices in FS in Russia usually only talk about the quads, or about how Misha isn't skating programs that men should skate. He didn't get to where he is by doing nothing. I'm sure he wants to see how the new rules will adapt to his skating. It's just not possible for him to get good scores while falling three times in a program. He has to see how he's going to fare, and then move up from that.
So much to dissect in that interview. Vaitsehovskaya was really trying to get a rise out of him with the quad question. At one point she warns him that the second mark will go down if he doesn’t put in quads, but Kolyada seems to have faith in his own skating ability being good enough to earn those pcs. I think that short program in Milan, where he scored 100+ with the limited tech content, helped in this regard. He seems to have a very positive and mature mentality, and I hope it translates to more confident skating this season.
The part about Raf was so cute. They were on a bus, Raf offered to help him, and Kolyada immediately agreed out of happiness. He also seems to really really love Nathan. Despite not speaking English, he says he can just intuit that he’s a good person![]()
I can’t believe he stayed in a motel in downtown Los Angeles. The thing that surprised him most about America was hearing the gunshots and police sirens at night*
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At this moment his chances to stay the no 1 in Russian Team are as good as for Aliev (who tried but missed his quads and is also not more reliable to do them all clean in a program), Samarin (who might have better quads but is messy in technique and lacking in choreography), Voronov (as unstable as Mika in quads department) or Kovtun (which has to rise again to international standards). Mika has the purity in his technique, Aliev his soft movements, Samarin his quads, Kovtun possible his quads, Voronov - his experience - each of them has the chance to shine and take the lead. Erokhov has the build up for being the junior world gold medalist and is a bit wild card right now how he will adjust to senior (at this moment i am not seeing him being superior to Mika it will depends on his quads and how stable he is, his choreography and presentation last year were pretty boring).
I don't see an easy task for Mika to keep his no 1 in the team. He needs a second different quad if the others deliver. I hope he will get the chance to pace himself better than the last season which was a mad competition with the result that all of them imploded. His team seems already more wise and cool.
Erokhov is such a wild card, especially since he has the same CS and GP assignments as Misha. It will be interesting to see how rapidly his star rises, particularly in relation to Kolyada.