Mirai Nagasu | Page 11 | Golden Skate

Mirai Nagasu

Aww... so sad that the videos on the official the ice youtube account doesn't have mirai's program.. does anyone seen a link to her program?
 
Perhaps a video will surface sometime soon, but in the meantime they do offer Mirai and Alissa's short duet (at about a minute and twenty in) during the finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxbOoARSgZI&feature=channel_video_title

They both look lovely and this shows that they are clearly the two American skaters with the most matched abilities. Mirai is really looking so mature now, and her double axel is looking big as ever. Oh, and even though Alissa is spinning like a top in the foreground, Mirai's foot seems to be better turned out this time around on her layback. ;)

Also, according to her recent posts on twitter, she will be competing this coming weekend, so we may get to see her new competitive programs soon too.
 
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jeff goldblum said:
Perhaps a video will surface sometime soon, but in the meantime they do offer Mirai and Alissa's short duet (at about a minute and twenty in) during the finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxbOoARSgZI&feature=channel_video_title

They both look lovely and this shows that they are clearly the two American skaters with the most matched abilities. Mirai is really looking so mature now, and her double axel is looking big as ever. Oh, and even though Alissa is spinning like a top in the foreground, Mirai's foot seems to be better turned out this time around on her layback. ;)
Click to expand...

I agree with your observation of their layback spins. I haven't seen top lady-lady duet (to such extent that they skate to the same music for substantial amount of time, as opposed to the typical finale segments where the top skaters are just thrown in) and I loved what Mirai and Alissa had to show!
 
mirai for me didn't skate that well in the show, but alas it is the show.
also why didn't frank stick up for michelle like he did mirai, she isn't the better skater. as decent maybe but not better.
why didn't frank tell media why mirai didn't make it to worlds in the first place, instead of ripping rachel like he did. and alissa in a subtle way.
all through years he had michelle he quietly/subtly let the media rip her. but supposed mirai who is suppose so great with only 1 medal in 3 years in the gp circuit gets away with a protection to the media. yes scoring is different but also more rigged, and more of if they want you up there no matter what they will put you up there.
mirai is a good skater , yes, but only when SHE wants to be.
 
I enjoyed the Mirai/Alissa duet too. I love how it showcased the American ladies' strength when it comes to spins and spirals. I still think the US has the strongest in the field in those two areas...
 
The duet is very interesting to watch!! It showcases how both ladies have great strength in their spirals, laybacks, inas... And I finally really noticed how tall Mirai has become! Also; as far as expression on the ice goes, this duet made it obvious (for me) why I personally perfer Alissa: that beautiful smile :-)
 
Well, she wasn't, at least when the cameras were on her.The thing with Mirai's smiles is that they look so fake. Of course I know that all skaters are taught to smile during their performance and the smile is probably a bit fake since they're probably in pain/stress/whatever but for some reason with Mirai it bothers me more. Like she really can't make me believe that she likes to be there. Doesn't help that Mirai's serious face looks a lot like a 'I'm-on-the-verge-of-tears' face.
It think I've told this story before, and it probably won't make me very popular; but I guess this is also related to the fact that the only time I met her she acted very strange, like a scared, sad little mouse, looking like she didn't even understand English. And that was the evening of her SP win at Worlds! I was confused, but I attributed it to unfortunate timing. I mean, who knows what was on her mind when I bumped into her. But then the next day I watched practice and she spend a whole lot of time 'perfecting her smile' with Frank Carroll. And though I imagine a lot of skaters do this, witnessing this really weirded me out. Ever since, I just can't see Mirai's 'cocky smile' in quite the same way.
I just like happy skaters :-) But really; whose smile can compete with Alissa's toothpaste-ad-perfect smile ;-)

It's not that I don't see Mirai's talent. Her ina seemed better than Alissa's in this particular video. And I made photographs at worlds in Turin; I have quite a few oflanding positions, Mirai's was the most stunningly perfect. I have a photo where she does one in front of the Olympus ad and her leg, seemingly down to the last perfectly pointed toe is creepily parallell with the straight line of the Olympus logo. It doesn't get more perfect than that, I imagine.
 
Alissa's smile is pasted-on and fake too. Remember her 2010 Nationals? :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: Teeheehee big grins all around, despite two pretty awful programs. Granted, her coach might have told her SMILE ALISSA SMIIIIILE especially after 2009 Nationals frown fest, but I've never found Alissa's smile genuine. She seems very natural when spinning or spiraling, but when she's preparing to jump, she suddenly looks like she's thinking very, very hard. I don't feel comfortable watching her. She doesn't exude confidence like Mirai or Michelle Kwan.

Of all the skaters, Carolina Kostner's smile seemed the most genuine. She also seemed most at home on the ice.

I love the dances with multiple people. You don't see many of those as most exhibitions are solos. I'm partial to the the fast, exciting dances (the Pirates, the techno dance with the pairs) more than the more contemplative, slower solos. The music is more interesting and heart-racing. Mao sure loves her tango dances, doesn't she.
 
Trewyn said:
Well, she wasn't, at least when the cameras were on her.
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I know she wasn't, that's why I said "if". ;)
I got your point, and I'm absolutely ok when someone doesn't always smile. Like in a movie I watched recently, a boy asks: "Why are we smiling all the time? Is something wrong with us?"
Apparently, Frank Carroll doesn't think so, that's why makes his student smile.
 
Sometimes a smile, even a fake one, is better than skating around looking stone-faced. That's one of the areas of improvement I saw with Mao this season; she just looked happier in general whereas the last few seasons she looked nothing short of miserable. Here, here, and here...you can see she just looks more relaxed, and not fake at all.

At times Mirai's smile looks plastered, particularly when she's not skating so well, but other times you can see that she's genuinely enjoying herself or that she's performing...not posing. Alissa seems to smile even when she's not trying to. She's just a pretty girl with a Cologate smile and she can give face a lot easier that other skaters without looking overly dramatic, fake or just weird.
 
Her short program from last night's competition in Anaheim, CA:

http://www.youtube.com/user/umbsgoblue#p/u

And her reflections on twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/mirai_nagasu/status/99716648960925696

I guess she's switching to the loop because of the edge calls she was getting on her flip. But where's the triple lutz-triple loop Frank was so eager to tell us about in May? Anyway, this seems good enough for August. The last time she did a summer competition she ended up going on to place 4th in the Olympics that season. I hope this gives her the head start she needs. Of course Mirai is pretty much always a spot on short program skater, the real test will be today's free. Good luck!
 
jeff goldblum said:
Her short program from last night's competition in Anaheim, CA:

http://www.youtube.com/user/umbsgoblue#p/u

And her reflections on twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/mirai_nagasu/status/99716648960925696

I guess she's switching to the loop because of the edge calls she was getting on her flip. But where's the triple lutz-triple loop Frank was so eager to tell us about in May? Anyway, this seems good enough for August. The last time she did a summer competition she ended up going on to place 4th in the Olympics that season. I hope this gives her the head start she needs. Of course Mirai is pretty much always a spot on short program skater, the real test will be today's free. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link.
I agree that for early August it is fine.

Last year at this time Mirai was off the ice and wearing a cast......

Hopefully she will stay healthy this season.
 
They are killing her with that music selection. She's not into the tango and the heavy music is just dragging her down. They should give her a new short immediately but failing that they should just take this one and stick new music on top of it -- Malaguena, Tchaikovsky, ANYTHING romantic with a bit of drama to it -- it would be better than this.

On the other hand, her tweet makes me a little sad: "not bad, not great" -- she should be bragging that she got off to a solid start and looking forward to the next one. JMO, of course, but I want her to be proud of herself!
 
Spun Silver said:
On the other hand, her tweet makes me a little sad: "not bad, not great" -- she should be bragging that she got off to a solid start and looking forward to the next one. JMO, of course, but I want her to be proud of herself!
Click to expand...

On the flip side, means she's aiming higher and won't settle for average.
 
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