Nathan Chen

[LutzDance]

Let me just say we should not lose sight of what’s probable and what’s unbound imagination His original phrasing was that he was more comfortable with hip-hop and modern or contemporary type of movement, and the latter is in line with a purely classical program (as demonstrated in Kostner’s and P/C’s programs). I find it much more plausible to do a modern/hip-hop short and a classical long than having both styles in the same program.

 

[sheetz]

Let me just say we should not lose sight of what’s probable and what’s unbound imagination His original phrasing was that he was more comfortable with hip-hop and modern or contemporary type of movement, and the latter is in line with a purely classical program (as demonstrated in Kostner’s and P/C’s programs). I find it much more plausible to do a modern/hip-hop short and a classical long than having both styles in the same program.

Maybe, but then I think about Shae's disco Romeo & Juliet program she did for Cha and go hmmm....

 

[Gilligan]

Maybe Nathan could be merciful and post his music clip, even without any choreography, because the scenarios that come to mind are utterly

I blame sheetz's link on the previous page.
(j/k appreciate all the news sheetz posts)

 

[Ella5555]

I thought it was interesting that he mentioned in that interview that he likes to select his music/get his choreography around this time because by now he will have a general idea of what most other skaters are doing, and then he (with his choreographer) can come up with something a little different. He’s definitely done that the last few years.

 

[Gilligan]

I thought it was interesting that he mentioned in that interview that he likes to select his music/get his choreography around this time because by now he will have a general idea of what most other skaters are doing, and then he (with his choreographer) can come up with something a little different. He’s definitely done that the last few years.

Then getting his programs this late is intentional? And not just this year? In non-pandemic years he would have been away at the various shows and not had a chance to work with his choreographers as early as other skaters, or so I thought?

On the one hand we might get something that's different from the general trend. On the other, it feels like a regrettable constriction of the available music and program choices.

Would hip hop be well-received in Beijing?

 

[LutzDance]

Would hip hop be well-received in Beijing?

In terms of audience reception, probably not. Hip-hop is much, much less popular in China than in countries like the US, especially among older generations, and the Rocketman ChSq was less appreciated by Chinese fans than by international fans. (OT: Just thinking about this makes me dread over the RD next season ) A Chinese audience is more likely to connect to music like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Seimei with their salient Asian-ness. However, the judging panel is going to be international, and Rocketman received pretty good component marks, so hip-hop might be more welcomed by the judges than the audience.

ETA: I think a major complaint people have about the Rocketman ChSq is that it’s disconnected with the rest of the program. If hip-hop is done more consistently (but maybe not as aggressively) throughout the program I can see it having a better reception.

 

[discode]

I'm not sure why it wouldn't be well received when the hip hop part of Rocketman was always very well received by judges and he always got +5's for for chsq.

And I'm here for a hip hop Mozart (even if people are joking/dreading the possibility ) if he can pull something off like Daisuke's cyberswan, which is iconic. Kind of interesting how commentators said a lot of the same things about Daisuke during that program (made FS cool, doing something current and outside the box) that they say about Nathan now. Anyway I doubt he'd do a full hip hop FS since it would be difficult to carry the energy for that long and the programs will probably be different genres.

 

[Gilligan]

In terms of audience reception, probably not. Hip-hop is much, much less popular in China than in countries like the US, especially among older generations, and the Rocketman ChSq was less appreciated by Chinese fans than by international fans. (OT: Just thinking about this makes me dread over the RD next season ) A Chinese audience is more likely to connect to music like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Seimei with their salient Asian-ness. However, the judging panel is going to be international, and Rocketman received pretty good component marks, so hip-hop might be more welcomed by the judges than the audience.

ETA: I think a major complaint people have about the Rocketman ChSq is that it’s disconnected with the rest of the program. If hip-hop is done more consistently (but maybe not as aggressively) throughout the program I can see it having a better reception.

Thank you. This is also my impression from internet comments.

Only I am not as optimistic as you about the judging. The judges are the first row of the audience. They will be more inclined to reward a program that the audience is enthusiastic about.

As you mentioned, hip hop is likely to be heavily featured next season, because the ISU chose 'street dance' as the rhythm for 2021-22 short dance. Having to combine hip hop with quads would hinder Nathan's ability to outshine the many hip hopping ice dance teams.

For all we know the Hozier program all of twitter desires could be what he meant by 'modern.' We'll know by Skate America.

 

[Joe Mendoza]

Here's where he talks about how he and his choreographer go about choosing music and which styles he feels more comfortable with.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Nathan does say in the interview that SLB and he would also see the "landscape" of what others have selected so what they work on stands out a bit more, which to me, is fantastic! I'd rather suffer and wait a bit so Nathan and SLB can cultivate amazing programs this season.

 

[sheetz]

So does this young skater remind you of anyone?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRkLqxCgMCu/

 

[SaDa]

^ Holy crap...! He not only moves around the ice like baby Nathan, he looks a lot like him

Regarding the reception of hip-hop by the Chinese audience, I personally don't think Nathan should be too focused on pleasing the audience. To be fair, I feel like a majority of the Chinese fans who were really critical of "Rocketman" were Yuzuru fans, and there happens to be a ton of Chinese Hanyu fans. Regardless of what music Nathan chooses, I don't think he'll ever please that crowd. They'll always have negative things to say about him, so I kind of feel like his focus should be on his own goals and whatever his personal desires are.

Regarding Mozart, I have conflicting thoughts about it. I like classical music but I was kind of hoping that if Nathan went the classical route, he would pick something a lot more modern and with more flow along the lines of Philip Glass. That's just me, though. I agree that he's versatile and talented enough to skate to anything. On the other hand, I'm completely amused by the idea of Mozart. Reason is, I was talking to a hater a while back who was saying that Justin Bieber couldn't be compared to Mozart(insinuating that Nathan was like Bieber and that her idol was like Mozart). This would just be too ironic, lol.

 

[Gia_Sesshoumaru]

https://twitter.com/quadtoeIoop/status/1419068601726914561?s=21

 

[1111bm]

Just one iffy phrase ('LGBTQ dominated') and everybody on Twitter leaps on him and calls him a homophobe
How about they ask Jason Brown what he thinks? I'm sure he knows Nathan better than they do.

The poster's icon is quite predictable. And the comments promising gleefully to archive this clip...

Just hope this stuff will soon pass like other Twitter lynchmob incidents (Mariah, Denis Ten, the Michelle Kwan GOAT thing).

...or the Shoma lnych mob...

 

[Kitt]

There was quite a brouhaha on Twitter. I suspect that 80% of the posters were Yuzu superfans. That being said, I wish he could have worded his viewpoint better. I don't believe he is a homophobe...just maybe thinks that FS could have more US fans if music and themes were modernized. But let's not get started on how misogynistic hiphop and rap can be!

 

[SaDa]

Having listened to the clip, I have a few thoughts. Using the phrase "LGBTQ dominated sport" was probably the wrong choice of phrasing by Nathan since, as far as I know, there aren't really stats out there to give us exact numbers. With that said, there are quite a number of male figure skaters out there who are indeed gay, especially when compared to male athletes from many other types of sports, so Nathan isn't entirely wrong. More importantly though, he never said anything negative about being gay or that there was anything wrong with it so I have no clue why people are calling him a homophobe. He was merely talking about how figure skating was being labeled and viewed in this day and age by society, either as something not considered a true sport or a sport that is more for females, and he's actually saying that those kinds of views are wrong. He said that for them(the skaters), it's a genuine sport, that they've spent their entire lives trying to hone their craft, and that it's wrong to be belittled like that. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what he said.

The haters are seriously twisting his words into something they're not. Nathan brought up his own sexuality to make the point that figure skating is a sport for straight athletes like himself as well, that it isn't limited to society's wrong views. Even that got turned into the idea that he wanted to make sure everyone knew that he was straight 'cos, you know, he's supposedly scared of being viewed as gay. They're also mad over him adding that he and his friends are trying to help shift the narrative by bringing in other styles of music and skating outside of the usual classical pieces. Nathan even said there was nothing wrong with classical music. All he's saying is that bringing in other styles too would diversify figure skating and help shift the public's views. Sounds pretty practical and inclusive to me.

Also, something that's really been bothering me a lot is how people are judging male figure skaters like Nathan who have a more masculine style. I think we all understand that skaters shouldn't be judged for being feminine or expressing themselves in a feminine way, and people preach about it all the time, YET, the same respect and standard isn't being given to those who are masculine. Both should be appreciated and celebrated as individualism. Sadly, they are not. When a male skater is feminine, they get labeled as being comfortable with themselves and expressing their individuality. However, when a skater expresses themselves in a masculine way, those very same people preaching about rights and respect have no problems labeling him as a homophobe or someone who's "scared of being seen as gay". How is that not hypocritical behavior? There is nothing wrong with being feminine, however, there is also nothing wrong with being masculine.

 

[decafjava]

That thread was disturbing to read. I don't think Nathan is a homophobe at all.

 

[Cashmire]

I tried to respond to some of those offended people on twitter but I can't. They're not hearing what he's actually saying. He says (paraphrasing) that typically/historically figure skating is associated with qualities tipically associated with 'females' and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with people who like to present this way he's not one of them. He prefers to bring qualities typically 'manly' because that's how HE is comfortable presenting. If anything he's fighting biases - you can be man covered in sequins and skate to classical music in figure skating and kick ass or you can be allergic to glitter as Nathan is and also kick ass. Nothing wrong with either.
And how people are bringing LGBTQ+ people being harrased daily and Jason Brown coming out last month into Nathan's interview is just beyond me. Truly don't want to offend anybody by writing this but this is way to American for me.

 

[heyheyhey]

I had no idea there was even any discourse on this interview but I’m also not on Twitter and that seems to be where the discontent is. I wouldn’t worry much about it, it’s just a small fraction of people making it something it’s obviously not. Don’t fret, Twitter will make you believe the world hates everyone when reality says different. Let’s live in reality

 

[Tahuu]

I applaud Nathan for pointing out that it’s messed up to view male figure skating as gay and feminine. This view is the root of male skaters, whether straight or gay, out or closeted, being bullied. Like their gay friends straight skaters are constantly being called gays and bullied by classmates and strangers.

What could be the solutions? Letting the public see that figure skating is a diverse (gay and straight, ballet and pop) and genuine (athletic and hard) sport definitely is a solution. That’s what Nathan promotes. He sees the problem. He sees the misconception to the sport as the root of the problem. He acts on it.

 

[Gilligan]

Thanks for the reply. I agree with you and Sada, that he is decent, brave and smart to say what he said in his instagram. He'll be more careful in future interviews (maybe his agent is telling him the same right now .)

I think it would be nice if there were fewer interviews, whether his agent has vetted the potential interviewers / advised him beforehand or not. Can the Olympics circus wait a bit?