Skaters you just don't "get"

[Zanzibar]

Princes Leppard wrote:

"I am completely baffled by people who don't get Alexander Abt. I could watch him do crossovers while wearing nothing but a Hefty bag....

Laura"



Oh, I am so right there with you, LOL.

And to DORISPULASKI: Great idea - people should petition to get him on a North American tour - or, just feel free to send an email in via the websites to COI or SOI.

About seeing Abt live via t.v. - yes, just seeing him at practice is incredibly impressive because of his sheer speed - which didn't always translate during competition - his amazingly deep edges, which always show - and his light, airy style across the ice.

As mens singles skater Trifun Zavinovic said about Abt: "he really has balls out there - he just skates with wild abandon - and his speed - incredible!"

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Bebe - Joe keeps predicting 2006 Oly champ for her, but she just seems so unrefined to me.

True, Thartell, True!! , but then you know me. I acknowledge young talent. I never say they bore me. I just keep hoping that presentation will develop. I've never liked the presentation of anyone under 20, and that includes Tara. And the men, all look better when they become ineligible.

In Bebe's case - a very talented young lady - I am going by past judgements of skaters who are still in their teens to win the Olys. I'm not necessarily saying that she will deserve it because I for one do not believe the Oly Champ is the best in the world. It's only how it works out that night.

Joe

 

[dorispulaski]

An interesting twist on this thread is, "Is it the skaters or is it their programs that you don't get?"

For example, Petrova&Tikhonov have been around a long time. And I thought what I didn't get was them. But I like their Princess of the Circus program a lot. So I can't say I don't get them any more, except that I don't get why they so often had bad programs coupled with worse costumes in the past.

There was a while when I admired the power of S&Z but didn't get them. But something happened with them in the 2002/2003 season, and they began to really reach the audience. Their performance at Worlds in DC is one of the very special memories I have of skating, and I have been seeing live programs for 23 years. This case of 'not getting' was a 'they improved, and now I get them.' And I loved their this year's program.

It took me quite a while to get Todd. Until his Chaplin program in fact. He is another skater who is much better live. And aging was definitely a help.

For those who don't get Tim Goebel, watch what he does when he is not jumping. He actually does quite a lot. And his spins are as precisely centered as a wheel. He needs smoother stroking. And he will never be centerfold cute. But he is a good skater, and he doesn't bore me.

Just because you are not impressed with a skater the one time you see them, remember they may have a bellyache. You may not have seen their best performance. Give them a chance. Give the younger skaters time to grow and develop. This is the category that I put Johnny Weir and Joubert in. Johnny has great basics. Joubert is centerfold cute, and has great jump but lousy spin technique and empty LP's to date. They are both young, and I expect them to improve. Many will really improve, even when you least expect it, like Petrova Tikhonov. Or Michelle Kwan with The Feeling Begins and even before that, her Hershey's version of Fields of Gold. It is this option for growth and surprise that is one of the most enjoyable parts of being part of the skating audience, IMO.

But seriously, it is worth studying to 'get' skaters you don't get. If a skater has a large international following, and I still don't get them, I try to see what the fans see in the skater. Sometimes this leads to a new way to be a better audience member, which means that I enjoy more programs now then if I were a fan of a particular skater or persisted in my own quirks for watching.

 

[icenut84]

There's not many skaters I don't "get" - and I wouldn't say I "dislike" any. But there are some that I don't really understand the praise they get.

* Paul Wylie (don't kill me!!). I can tell he's a good skater, with a great spread eagle. I just don't "get" him artistically. While his Hero programme was ok, it just seems to me like he always comes out in the most boring costume on the planet and skates to ballads. (Disclaimer - I have only seen a handful of his programmes.) Todd Eldredge is similar, although I liked his performance in the LP at 01 Worlds and would have had him above Yagudin.

* I didn't "get" Totmianina & Marinin till their 03 SP, and I like their programmes from this season more than their old ones. It still seems a bit like they're missing something though.

* Grishuk & Platov. I like one or two of their programmes, but didn't really see what was so amazing about them.

* Tim Goebel. "An American in Paris" is the only programme of his I've liked.

* Eltsova & Bushkov.

* Wotzel & Steuer.

* Silvia Fontana.

* Jennifer Robinson.

* Pang & Tong. I don't dislike them at all, but I prefer S&Z and Z&Z.

* Matthew Savoie.

* Klimova & Ponomarenko. I guess they just never "grabbed" me.

* Miki Ando. Again, I don't dislike her, I just don't see anything "grabbing audience" about her style. Maybe it will develop, she's only young.

 

[Pati]

Sasha.
Ok, I do get the fact that she's very flexible. I love to see her in gymnastics, rather than skating.

 

[Lantz]

I dont get those kibitzers who dont get the skaters i get and get the skaters i dont get.

 

[aliaschick]

Men
Michael Weiss
Plushy until this past season
Todd Eldredge
Elvis Stojko (okay so he has great jumps but artistically . . .)

Ladies
Michelle Kwan
Sarah Hughes
Julia Sebestyen
Elena Liashenko
Tatiana Malinina

Pairs
Totmianina & Marinin
Pang & Tong
Petrova & Tikhonov
Zagorska & Siudek
Obertas & Slavnov
Beschke & Petrov

Dance
Grishuk & Platov
Denkova & Staviyski (what was with the transparent pants?)
Punsalan & Swallow
Wing & Lowe
Fusar-Poli & Margaglio
Kulikova & Noivkov

 

[BronzeisGolden]

One skater that I never got until I saw her live at 04 Nationals was Jennifer Don. Many people were raving about her....I thought she seemed boring and could never manage to land her jumps. But, she came out and took total command of the ice in Atlanta. She fell 2-3 times, but the funny thing was that it didn't matter to me (and it seems, to many in the crowd...she received a great ovation). She is confident and moves so smoothly accross the ice. I couldn't believe how my opinion of her changed so drasticly just by seeing her live!

 

[Mathman]

Gosh, this thread is practically a who's who of all the skaters that I DO get.

Matt Savoie -- he's the only men's skater that I could watch all day and continue to enjoy.

Johnnie Weir -- well, he's just starting out, but I could watch him for half a day anyway.

Jenny Kirk -- OK, if you don't get Jenny, then you you just don't get eye candy! Plus, she's the only American lady who is really giving the old college try to doing a triple-triple.

Ann Patrice -- Put Jenny Kirk and AP MacD in the same ice show and you've got JENNY KIRK AND AP MacD in the same ice show!!!!

Mathman

 

[Ogre Mage]

I like Doris' point about whether what you don't get is a skater or their program. For instance, while Michelle Kwan has always been one of my favorite skaters there are some programs of hers that I did not get. From '96 - '99 she and Nichol produced an incredibly impressive body of work -- "Salome," "Dream of Desdemona," "Taj Mahal," "Rachmaninov #3," and "Ariane" to name a few. Then in 2000 I watched her "Red Violin" program for the first time. It was very ... different for her and my first reaction was "oh no, she has gone in the out-there artsy fartsy direction." It took repeated viewing of the program for the choreography to settle into my mind. It was a somber, dark piece of music which called for very different movements compared to what she had done before. While it wasn't her most accessible routine, in the end I liked the program and appreciated that she tried to push herself in a different direction. Other programs which I felt were interesting departures were "The Feeling Begins" and "Miraculous Mandarin."

There are also programs she has done which I never got/liked, including "Scherezade" and "Tosca."

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Another good analysis by Doris.

I think Johnny and Brian will eventually develop their own unique styles. It would be nice if it were when they were both eligible. I really believe the Men take longer than the Ladies to mature.

The Men in eligible skating have to mimic either a gladiator or a matador or some other type of character to wow the judges.
Klimkin and Lambiel have natural styles of their own, and they become a character when necessary. They are versatile, and that's what wins it for me.

Joe

 

[NwSwEeTy]

What about Cynthia Phaneuf I don't get her at all. When she has good edges spirals and presentation then maybe I will but until then I don't understand how people can think she'll win in 06

 

[mpal2]

I still don't get Plushenko and Irina.

I was really hoping to see Irina at 2003 Worlds to get an impression of her live but that obviously never happened. I was disappointed about that. I had hoped that seeing her compete live would make the difference. I had trouble appreciating Todd Eldredge until I saw him live so I do believe it makes a difference. I have seen Irina at COI live, but it was the cowboy routine that I didn't like. I did like her new LP at Worlds this year and I still keep looking for the moment where I "get" her.

I did get to see Plushenko live and still don't "get" him. I have kind of stopped trying to get into his programs. Great technique is nice to see, but I get bored with skaters who only have great technique without the interesting program. I think it will take a new choreographer before I will like Plushenko.

BronzeisGolden mentioned Jenny Don. I think one of the reasons why I have loved her from the beginning is that I saw her in person before I saw her on tv. She is so much better to watch live. That smile never leaves her face.

 

[shine]

Gosh, this thread is practically a who's who of all the skaters that I DO get.

Matt Savoie -- he's the only men's skater that I could watch all day and continue to enjoy.

 

[sarahmistral]

okay, I'll bite...

Don't get them at all:
Brian Joubert
Jenny Kirk
Amber Corwin
Cupcake
Takeshi Honda
Michael Weiss
Ann Patrice McDonough
Sale & Pelletier
Petrova & Tikhonov
Totmianina & Marinin
Stefan Lindemann
Fusar-Poli & Margaglio
Elena Liashenko (except her "violin" program)
Julia Sebestyen (much as her jumps make me want to)
Fumie Suguri (except Paint it Black, which, as Dick rightly noted, she needs to do a WHOLE lot more of that as far as style goes--dump the classical altogether--it feels like she's a young woman awkwardly attempting to don unflattering attire more suited to someone 20 years her senior; with Paint It Black, it felt as if she found the right fit, literally as well--the black unitard outfit was literally very flattering, as much as the song and choreography were to her as skater)

Don't get them at times (i.e. their PROGRAMS, though as skaters i can get them, and they can get me )
Plushy before this season
about half of Michelle's programs (she's either WW or 'blah' with me--i'm so evil and fickle, I know Has a lot to do with innovative choreography and stepping out of the 'box', i.e. Rush, Red Violin--l ved them, and many others)
Sasha 2002-2003 in spots--programs that felt like element checklists rather than have the wonderful flow of her 2002 Oly SP, 2004 Nats & Worlds SP, 2003 Campbell's Swan Lake
Sarah Hughes except 2002 SLC LP

Sarah

 

[clairecloutier]

Most times, I can appreciate skaters' strengths even if they're not my personal favorites. For example, I've never been a big fan of Irina Slutskaya, but I can understand why other people like her.

The skaters I don't "get" are Grishuk & Platov. Of all the programs I saw them do over the years, the only one I ever really enjoyed was their rock 'n roll free dance in Lillehammer. I just could never get into their style or their skating. Yet they are one of the most successful dance teams of all time--two Olympic golds and at least 3 world golds. So I guess I'm missing something. I'd actually appreciate it if anyone could explain to me the secret of their success. I know they had a lot of speed on the ice, but speed isn't everything--right?

 

[RIskatingfan]

Speed sure isn't everything, look at C/S who are some of the fastest teams out there.

One of the things were G/P excelled was the basic skills. They had terrific basic skating skills, there wasn't anything they couldn't do. Their technique was fabulous, Oksana was probably one of the best technical ice dancers we've seen. They were also very well matched IMO and they also had some very good programs.

(And if you want to count that, Evgeny Platov was just )

 

[Tonichelle]

I think Doris touches on an interesting subject. Seeing a skater LIVE adds a whole different dimension to your appreciation.

or lack there of...

1999 brought me back into watching skating... but I never could get over Maria Butyrskaya's apparent lack of something... and I'm not talking skating wise...

so Anchorage didn't give her a standing O for her first number... didn't mean we didn't like it and we didn't deserve a good/best effort second performance... I didn't like how she handled herself... so definately LIVE has a way of making or breaking your feeling of a skater

and Scott seems so slow on TV... but he flew around the ice!

 

[Ladskater]

I "don't get" the meaning of this post. The majority of the skaters named here are very talented skaters and have worked very hard.

Maybe it's figure skating itself you "don't get." Try it, then you will appreciate the hard work these skaters do and what they go through year in and year out.

 

[lulu]

I don't think any of us are saying that these figure skaters are not talented. I think many of us appreciate the hours of practice/dedication all of these skaters put in-just to make it where they are today.
That being said, there are some skaters that I enjoy more than others. There are some skaters-whom while I recognize their talent and understand why some people go absolutely over them-I don't have the same reaction.
It is interesting to see how some performances seem to "touch" others in different ways.