Nathan Chen

[yyyskate]

"no wild flailing"
the flailing one post mentioned perhaps referred to the relatively cluttered choreo in BFTD (choreoed by Nathan himself, and our hard working nathan is so scared that if he stop for second to breath, the audience will feel bored and consider him less artistic), compare to Nemesis, in which, the overall choreo and arm movement is more layed and cleaner too.

Regarding the real arm flailing in Nathan's performancec, I DON'T think Nathan flails his arms. but occasionally, he may ignore his arm positions, this happened more in his junior time. and especially when there is no specific arm choreo design, such as before a jump, he may hang his arms carelessly.

about back posture, sometimes, when his arms are doing reach forward dance moves, his torso moves in the opposite direction, and his head pitches forward, which gave this hunched posture appearance. His posture is okay in other type of movement. Nathan may need to figure out how to do this type of move properly in terms of back posture.

 

[hhh]

I think there's this tension/tightness in the particular area between the back of his head and his shoulders. Instead of extending his neck and head upwards and relaxing his shoulders to create a sense of openness, he likes to tighten or supress that area. It's interesting because this issue comes and goes with him. He also tends to do this more in his "modern" programs than his classical programs. I thought it was particualrly bad in BFTE in that debut video from Japan, but the bunched up shirt might have made it look worse than it is. he looks better in some of the more recent SOI videos. And I'm not convinced that he needs to maintain this hunchy posture in order to present a slouchy/relaxed vibe - you can be jazzy and relaxed and still be opened up. OTOH, in Bolero from the same show that tightness went away completely and he was all opened up. It also used to be more prominent when he was younger and I really believe working with Marina has helped correct that a lot (Le Corsaire). Even though it doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother some other fans , I do often wonder why this has not been addressed from day one with him, because he's simply splendid in all other aspects of movement and dance. .

Agree on most except the BFTE I like the intentional slouch and have seen it in other hip hop/jazz choreographies.
“because he's simply splendid in all other aspects of movement and dance.” Now, we wouldn’t have so many pages and some repeats of similar topics if he was perfect this young right He wants to keep us on the edge haha

 

[yyyskate]

I remember Nathan mentioned in the TCL interview that he had shoulder injury, not sure if it has anything to do with the "issue" you are talking about.

yeah, that is my thinking as well, the reason why Nathan's posture did not get fixed during that time. maybe he has on-going injuries, growing pains.
Thus I am optimistic, that Nathan's posture will get better when he grows old if he chose to pay attention to that.

 

[1111bm]

regarding Nathan's posture/stiff back etc, debate.
An video comparison worth more than a 1000*1000 words.
Here is Shoma's "This town" ex from 4CC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKhQ1EaZjFA
Here is Nathan's "Chopin" using the one video Mamamiia linked. or you can choose to watch Nathan's BFTE etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OWp0sAuFdE

I know what Nathan looks like, but to me that is hunching, and I wouldn't call it a "stiff back".
Because to me the word stiff would usually refer to something having to do with movement or a reduced range of motion, which doesn't seem to be the problem here, because apparently Nathan's issue is the placement of his neck and shoulders, while he moves just fine and fluidly, regardless of his hunched shoulders.

but occasionally, he may ignore his arm positions, this happened more in his junior time. and especially when there is no specific arm choreo design, such as before a jump, he may hang his arms carelessly.

I see all skaters do that before jumps, doesn't seem to be a bad habit specific to Nathan.

 

[oatmella]

"no wild flailing"
the flailing one post mentioned perhaps referred to the relatively cluttered choreo in BFTD (choreoed by Nathan himself, and our hard working nathan is so scared that if he stop for second to breath, the audience will feel bored and consider him less artistic), compare to Nemesis, in which, the overall choreo and arm movement is more layed and cleaner too.

aww - poor Nathan - if not even a second to breathe! I find the BFTE choreo kinda stressful though - it's just so nonstop. My favorite part is the beginning

His Osgood-Schlatters affected his shoulders - but really that is a growing pain issue I don't think it should be an issue any longer?

I think he just holds A LOT of tension in his upper back/shoulders - for whatever reason

 

[classicalfan]

Sometimes I think he needs some expressive music to help him open up cuz he usually breaths with music. If he will have a classical program next season, I wish he give Dvorak a try. It is not so commonly used in skating, but easy for the public to get the emotion.

Also, I would like to see blues or latin!!!

 

[hhh]

Congrats to Nathan for winning a few Team USA awards in his last season, while he didn’t attend tonight’s ceremony here’s Maia’s celebration tagging Nathan.
https://instagram.com/p/BbQjApvFK48/

 

[hhh]

Sometimes I think he needs some expressive music to help him open up cuz he usually breaths with music. If he will have a classical program next season, I wish he give Dvorak a try. It is not so commonly used in skating, but easy for the public to get the emotion.

Also, I would like to see blues or latin!!!

Yaaas Latin, I want that and he can definitely blew the roof off. Not familiar with Dvorak only New World at a concert.

 

[oatmella]

The most interesting thing to come out of Draft Day so far imo is the discovery that Josh Rosen’s (QB drafted by Arizona) parents were ice dancers !

And they attended Ivy League schools (UPenn, Princeton) and his dad is an orthopedic surgeon

 

[SkatingMusic]

The most interesting thing to come out of Draft Day so far imo is the discovery that Josh Rosen’s (QB drafted by Arizona) parents were ice dancers !

And they attended Ivy League schools (UPenn, Princeton) and his dad is an orthopedic surgeon

Am I just biased or is it true that figure skating in the US has a much higher concentration of brainy athletes compared to other sports?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

The most interesting thing to come out of Draft Day so far imo is the discovery that Josh Rosen’s (QB drafted by Arizona) parents were ice dancers !

And they attended Ivy League schools (UPenn, Princeton) and his dad is an orthopedic surgeon

Yes Lippincott and Rosen: Former US National Ice Dance Champs.

 

[oatmella]

Is Javi wearing the same costume as Nathan ?

https://twitter.com/starsonice/status/989655375573082112?s=21

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Is Javi wearing the same costume as Nathan ?

https://twitter.com/starsonice/status/989655375573082112?s=21

No. Nathan's has more red on the bottom.


ETA: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh_6hHyFgw6/?hl=en&taken-by=mameiziling

 

[oatmella]

oops, thanks Ic3Rabbit for the correction. I am clearly losing my Nathan superfan status here !

 

[hhh]

No. Nathan's has more red on the bottom.


ETA: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh_6hHyFgw6/?hl=en&taken-by=mameiziling

And I’d like to think of it as red symbolizing his youthful energy, my interpretation.

 

[skfan]

Wow. so much to catch up on.


1111bm, as you can see by the many people who agree with you, it's not that we *all* think Nathan has a stiff back. Perhaps it's just me? Or maybe I'm using terms in a different way. What I see is excess tension that remains fixed rather than changes with the music, the choreographic moment. I call that stiffness. Maybe you would have used a different word.

I respect your point of view and I'm certainly not insisting that anyone agree with me.

shine explained it better than I can, but shine and I also disagree on how much stiffness/tension Nathan showed in the various performances of the Chopin program. It doesn't diminish my respect for her insights and opinions. Can we agree to amicably disagree?

 

[Miss Ice]

Any news on the college? Is it Yale for sure? Decision day is May 1, though some waitlists come out after...

 

[skfan]

And I’d like to think of it as red symbolizing his youthful energy, my interpretation.

or the other shirts fit better on taller men ;p

I really hope for no more Vera.. And choreography wise, I def agree Stole the Show was much better done than BFTE.

What’s y’all’s take on him not using his Vera costume in all these shows? It makes me wonder if he himself is not that big of a fan and perhaps won’t be going back to Vera after all?

Someone on FSU said that Vera donates her costumes in exchange for the publicity received from outfitting an Olympic athlete--which makes sense in light of the Bonnie Ford ESPN article stating Nathan may grow out his hair in the spring. While he's under obligation to showcase her outfits to best advantage, she gets to dictate that he submit to her preferred streamlined, curls-free hairstyle--because that's part of the styling, the look.

My interpretation is the Vera Wang contract expires after Worlds, at the end of Oly season--that's why it no longer matters to Vera what his hair looks like in the spring. She eased up after Olys, (because well, who but the die-hard skating fans would care about Worlds in an Olympic year?), or he wouldn't have been able to get away with that little bit of curl at Milan Worlds.

Once the contract has expired, he's no longer authorized to wear Vera's outfits. He's free to wear his hair as he likes.

As for whether she will outfit him again, why should she bother with a mundane, non-Olympic year like 2018-19?

I for one am glad to move on from Vera. Just because Nathan's Back from the Edge outfit doesn't appeal to me, doesn't mean the only two choices are costumes by Nathan or costumes by Vera. His costumes for Le Corsaire (black) and Prince Igor from last season were superior to Vera's for Nemesis and Mao's Last Dancer IMHO. And I like his costume for Steal the Show best of all.

ETA--if you look at the light colored sleeve of the Vera Nemesis outfit, you can see a sweat guard patch sewn into the costume.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Vera doesn't donate her costumes as far as I know. At least she didn't for the multiple ones she made for Evan Lysacek in 2008-09 and 09-10.

Nathan just chose not to wear them again. Had they been linked to a gold medal win or something, you may have seen him in them again.

The sweat thing is probably linked to grooming things that guys will eventually learn within their skating careers. I'll leave it at that.

 

[oatmella]

I am not so sure if the Vera era is over? - could it also be possible she was charmed by Nathan and wants to continue designing costumes for him going until the next Olympics?

I guess she eased up on her hair requirements (if any really formally existed) by worlds. Nathan seemed to immediately cut his hair after Nationals (the Vera dictated cut) to even shorter with a shaved side

Wondering if anyone knows who designed his costumes from last season? I thought they looked great but I don’t think Nathan likes those looks as much per comments in NY Times article

Stole the Show costume? Isn’t that the same as his black shirt Nemesis he wore this season (it looks like he’s wearing different pants for SOI though)

Sweat guard patch ! - skfan, you are paying close attention . Something needs to act as a barrier against the river of sweat that apparently pours out from Nathans pits