Programs that will be reused in the Olympic season?

[Philippa8187]

Now that Alena has reunited with Mother Goth-- I mean, Empress Eteri, it's time to bring back the masterpiece that was her 2019-2020 short program.

Oh no!! I loved the Angel program but time for a change.

 

[Blades of Passion]

Kostornaia definitely should do 2 new programs. She needs to keep things fresh when coming from behind like this, and present herself as being the most artistic of all the Russian ladies, if she wants to carve out a place for herself on that Olympic team. I don't think her 2019-2020 season programs are even close to the best she can do anyway. Her inherent beauty and skating skills is what made those programs shine, they weren't that special on their own.

 

[nguyhm]

Hoping Gilles/Poirier will keep this year's FD.

 

[fzztsimmons]

Hoping Gilles/Poirier will keep this year's FD.

I believe Piper & Paul have said they’re already working on their two new programmes for the Olympic season.

And as much as I loved “Both Sides Now”, I think it had its “moment” at Worlds 21, and I feel it would be difficult to recapture that and may come off a bit flat - which is a little how I felt about C/B’s snake dance - it didn’t quite have the same spark. They used Both Sides Now for all of the 19/20 season and won a few medals with it so it’s time for something new imo.

 

[readernick]

Kihira and Hanyu both absolutely need new programmes; I have no idea where this nonsense about keeping them is coming from. Kihira's programmes this season are more Richaud than Kihira, especially the FS, and don't showcase the qualities that made her stand out when she first burst onto the scene. She needs something more distinctive

I like Hanyu's FS. I think he just needs more time to develop it. However, I agree about Rika. The SP is a good program and a good match, but the FS doesn't suit her. It was actually choreographed by Lambiel ( not Richard) but it isn't up to his usual standard. I hope she gets choreo from someone who understands her better for next year.

 

[hannahbanana]

Now that Alena has reunited with Mother Goth-- I mean, Empress Eteri, it's time to bring back the masterpiece that was her 2019-2020 short program.

You’re joking, right? Aliona skated that program for 2 seasons and looked completely sick of it by her senior season, no way that is ever going to be brought back. She was tired of it, the fans were tired of it, everyone was tired of it

 

[melsh]

The soundtrack and individual song is not cut like that. It didn't make sense together. A superficial program and so was his movement. Daisuke Takahashi and Florent Amodio and others have shown much better ability to do a program like this. Nathan lacked both soul and a sense of effortless bravado, I already talked about part of his problems here - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2020-21-u-s-mens-figure-skating.85887/page-6#post-2638204, but let's break it down even more. The program starts by using these lyrics:

When are you gonna come down?
When are you going to land?
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man​

What does he do that creates any kind of story or relation with this? I don't see anything different than his normal schtick. Nothing that relates a sense of nostalgia or regret. He is too casual, his body too slack and not trying to convey any distinctive shape, his face not giving us much. The program then moves into sensitive lyrics like this:

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
​

This section has a strong sense of longing and hidden identity, what does Nathan do to convey such emotions and ideas? The vulnerability is sorely missing from him. When the music starts crescendoing with the "Rockkettttmaaaannn" stuff he doesn't hit those beats or show a significant increase of excitement or at least time his jumps even close to it. Look at how underutilized and contained his arms are, how he doesn't express very well outward. He is mainly concentrated on the elements, almost always in athletic stance, not in a more refined or artistic form.

Then of course comes the hip-hop section and, like, what else needs to be said. There are endless examples of better hip-hop movement out there in the world and, as previously mentioned, other ice skaters have shown a much better conveyance of it too.



Nathan is the one who decided to skate to it, so yes he is part of the "blame". Skaters can decide what they want to skate to, unless they are forced otherwise by a coach, but he obviously wasn't. Actual artists have a strong hand in what they are putting out there. They have a deep need to express their emotions and ideas. Skaters can come up with the musical ideas they want for a program themself, if they are completely engaged in the process. The music editor is just needed for the technical capability of putting it together (if the skater can't also do that part themself or don't want to spend time on it). What does Nathan's program say? It very much lacks cohesion to me. He keeps doing this with his programs too, trying to throw in something drastically different at the end, to go wild and make it look like he has good range and like the program is more exciting than it really was.

any chance to work as a TV commentator in the future?

 

[melsh]

Yuzuru can skate to that long program for the next 40 years, just with a different costume, starting from... uhm, tomorrow.

 

[lopesgw]

Jason’s already announced he’s keeping Sinnerman as his SP for the Olympic season.
He’s also bringing back a Free Programme and I would bet a good sum of money on it being Schindler’s List.

I heard this and was SOOOO happy! Then I read an article that said Rohene Ward had packed the program so full of wonderful positions and moves from Alvin Ailey's original chores that Jason had A LOT of material still to master for the Olympics! He presented only a partial choreography!

 

[happycamper2554]

I hope S/K will turn their Tango RD into a free.

 

[noskates]

There are many programs I have liked through the years and it's always "comfortable and familiar" to see a program that was especially well-received by the judges. However, having said that, I think it's also a benefit to the skater to present something new that hasn't been minutely examined and rehashed. It's like a fresh program gets a fresh judgement. You can always use an old program for an exhibition piece and make everyone happy!

 

[shine]

Nathan should absolutely not bring Rocketman back. He didn't move well to that music or understand in the first place, and then totally disrespected the music with his annoying remixing attempt at the end. His choreo sequence there was a cartoonish attempt at hip-hop, those arms, that totally unthreatening expression while trying to act like a "baller", just no. His current LP is his best, keep that and do a new SP. Probably something Chinese themed to pander.

That tone of yours is bordering being racist.

 

[lappo]

I've read that Evgenia is going to keep both her programs for this season (Masquerade SP, Alegria LP), only they will be a bit modified by Daniil adding a few transitions. It makes sense, the programs were showed only once and very incompletely at test skates, and I also think that they have potential (especially the LP one; not sure about the SP because it's big music and it risks to overshadow her a bit).

 

[Blades of Passion]

That tone of yours is bordering being racist.

NO, and it's really sad you make such an empty, ugly post.

It's completely common for competitors to choose Nationalistic music of the country where the Olympics is being held, in an attempt to pander to the crowds and thus get the best reaction. Whether or not that decision is lazy or inspired can vary. But it's definitely a choice that would be unsurprising to me from that camp.

 

[DSQ]

I like Hanyu's FS. I think he just needs more time to develop it.

I kinda agree but on the other hand I’m worried if he does have more time with it he might do down similar paths. I would love if he were to keep his SP though. I think he could go deeper on it and really find his funk soul heart.

 

[lappo]

NO, and it's really sad you make such an empty, ugly post.

It's completely common for competitors to choose Nationalistic music of the country where the Olympics is being held, in an attempt to pander to the crowds and thus get the best reaction. Whether or not that decision is lazy or inspired can vary. But it's definitely a choice that would be unsurprising to me from that camp.

Is it that common in figure skating, though? My impression is that using music from the host country is far more common in artistic or rhytmic gymnastic (I could mention several examples from those two disciplines) while the only figure skating one I can remember is Min/Gamelin "Arirang" program in their home country. I think it is a very interesting topic and it would be interesting to quantify the phenomenon across all disciplines and going back through the Olympic cycles. As for Nathan, in theory he could sell a Chinese themed program as an homage to his own heritage but I doubt he will choose this way: in fact, in the last Olympics he choose to skate to a Chinese themed program that portrayed the life and struggles of a Chinese defector, as an homage to his own parents struggles as immigrants from China (it would be interesting to know how that program was received among the Chinese figure skating fans). I see Karen Chen keeping her LP to Butterfly Lovers for the Olympics though as this is in line with her past choices (I remember several exhibitions of her with Chinese themed music and style of dances, all very beautiful).

 

[Seven Sisters]

I think it’s pretty common for skaters to choose music that has an affinity to the country hosting Worlds or Olympics that year. Examples: Mariah Bell using ABBA for her free this season; Gilles Poirier using Joni Mitchell, Gabby Daleman using Celine Dion—Canadian icons both—for the season leading to Worlds in Montreal.
Of course fate has a way of messing with peoples’ best-laid plans, as in all of these examples!

 

[kolyadafan2002]

Anybody else want yo see a Nathan Chen "Land of All" reboot?

 

[soccerjc77]

I want that program back to the Olympic ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEBZiI6IWAg

Kamila Valieva - Girl on the ball (so beautiful!)

 

[ali0125]

Kostornaia definitely should do 2 new programs. She needs to keep things fresh when coming from behind like this, and present herself as being the most artistic of all the Russian ladies, if she wants to carve out a place for herself on that Olympic team. I don't think her 2019-2020 season programs are even close to the best she can do anyway. Her inherent beauty and skating skills is what made those programs shine, they weren't that special on their own.

I really like the my way/yellow moon program - if Aliona restores her top form, it will shine. But it seems more likely they will let her skate the lovely program or some other Danny G "masterpiece"