Taking Risks in an Olympic Season

[GGFan]

I know there has been lots of discussing about repeated programs, but I do not have a problem with that per se. The Olympic season brings a lot of excitement, but it is such a bore for those of those who like to see skaters push themselves artistically. That is the real travesty for me.. It makes sense to go safe, since you do not want to end up with a dud at the Olympics. Some tend to overthink their programs while others stick to what they've done best.

For example, from last year's program you could tell that P/C were going for it and pushing themselves in a more avant garde direction. Unfortunately, the Olympics intervened . I'm so looking forward to seeing their programs next season . There are many other examples but I don't want to belabor the point.

Instead I was wondering if we could highlight those who took an artistic risk this season. Something bold or unexpected that made the season more bearable. I have a feeling that we'll end up mentioning more lower ranked skaters because they were in line for an Olympic spot. I'll start with a couple, but look forward to reading your examples.

1) Nathan Chen's SP music. Shae Lynn should really get the credit here :dev2:. I remember at the beginning of the season some could not bear Clementine's voice, but I think over time most were won over. The music is contemporary, different, and passionate. It highlights Nathan's strengths and hides his flaws.

2) Jimmy Ma SP music and choreography. This was a stunner at Nationals. He just changed the entire atmosphere of the short and made a name for himself. It was musical and never cringey, which is an achievement in figure skating! I'm sure it has received many well-deserve YouTube views.

 

[Anni234]

I think Mai Mihara took quite the risk with her Libertango SP.

I would also give credit to Zhenya for changing her program at the very beginning of the season and doing Anna Karenina instead of a program that was somewhat similar to her previous ones.

 

[gkelly]

I would say it's easier to take a risk in an Olympic season if
*you're unlikely to get to the Olympics no matter what you do
*the chance of getting to the Olympics is slim if you do what you did last year, but changing something significant might improve your chances
*your Olympic spot is pretty safe but you're unlikely to medal there no matter what you do
*your Olympic spot is safe but a medal is an outside chance based on past experience, so maybe doing something different will improve your chances

For those who have a lot to lose by not sticking with what has worked for them in the past, playing safe is probably the better part of valor.

If they think standing out from the crowd stylistically will help their competitive chances, then a new stylistic choice could be a calculated risk.

For skaters who have a better chance of winning new fans than of winning medals, or who are at least as interested in winning with fans as with judges, then making music/choreography choices designed to appeal to fans is a good option.

Adding a new, envelope-pushing element will probably gain attention from judges and sports fans, and may gain lots of points if completed successfully. But one element alone won't win placements if everything else gets short shrift in training and therefore in competition. And you'll probably gain more fans by rotating a rare or never-before-executed jump element and failing than by popping it in competition. Sticking with jump content you can count on landing successfully would reduce the risk and split the difference.

 

[lappo]

I second Mai Mihara choice of Libertango (and Marin first tango program) were quite risky in an Olympic season (and unfortunately didn't serve them well ). Tango is quite tricky to pull off, even for more experienced skaters (truly outstanding tangos are very few, in fact, especially in singles) and it was quite a bold choice from their teams.
A bit OT, but I sometimes feel that with few exceptions ladies have more conservative programs than men, where you usually find a more varied choice of themes, music...am I the only one?

 

[SnowWhite]

Of the top contenders:

- Evgenia: she changed her FS because it didn't feel right, and adapted an Ex (and a pretty new one), instead of going back to an old program. And AK was a bit more different from her previous programs than her first FS. Also it's my favourite program she's done.

- Nathan with his SP: on the one hand, it made sense for him to put a lot of effort into the programs since he was trying to be viewed as better on the artistic side, but the SP is really cool and really stands out this season. And even the FS was a cool idea, not what everyone is doing, though it hasn't been executed as well as the SP imo

- Savchenko/Massot: their 1st SP was a different style for them, though they ended up ditching it. And their FS is maybe similar to their last year's FS, but they obviously put a lot of effort into making it really complex and interesting, and really had an artistic vision

- Virtue/Moir: in that, they really fought for Moulin Rouge! even though Marie-France was not on board initially. I know it's not what a lot of people wanted them to do, but they chose something that they really wanted and connected with, despite others doubts, so I guess that is a type of risk. Also their SD is different from everyone else's, stands out and works really well imo - going the latin rock style was really smart

- Hubbell/Donohue: the style of their FS really suits them well, but it's not something that they'd done recently, and it's a really cool, interesting program. And especially the 1st song is not what you'd expect

I guess you could call Tarasova/Morozov's FS a risk - a really bad one to have taken. Also Mikhail's Elvis FS, because it's not a comfortable style for him, so it could be considered an artistic risk, but I don't think it works very well.

Other skaters:

- Dmitri Aliev: the lyrical style of his FS was comfortable already for him, but he used To Build a Home, which was so special for P/C and managed to bring something new and interesting to it and it really worked for him at Euros

- Mai Mihara SP

- Wakaba Higuchi: the Bond FS is a really fun, interesting program

- Seguin/Bilodeau SP: the Lorde is a new style for them, and quite cool when they perform it well

- Jason Brown SP: Hamilton was definitely a risk

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[gkelly]

A bit OT, but I sometimes feel that with few exceptions ladies have more conservative programs than men, where you usually find a more varied choice of themes, music...am I the only one?

I have always found that to be the case, over several decades of following skating.

I suspect there are several reasons. Primarily:

1) Men tend to be older than the ladies and have more life experience to draw on

2) Women who aspire to artistry often gravitate toward classical music and other beauty-related themes; some men do favor that approach, but others explicitly reject it and therefore get more creative in finding ways to be artistic

 

[lappo]

I have always found that to be the case, over several decades of following skating.

I suspect there are several reasons. Primarily:

1) Men tend to be older than the ladies and have more life experience to draw on

2) Women who aspire to artistry often gravitate toward classical music and other beauty-related themes; some men do favor that approach, but others explicitly reject it and therefore get more creative in finding ways to be artistic

Thanks for your answer. This is a very interesting point as I often asked myself if women are somehow pressured to look and skate in a predetermined way in order to be well rewarded by judges...I remember that Frank Carroll had Gracie change her Olympic program saying something like "pretty girls ought to skate to pretty music" and I think that this sort of thinking is embedded at all levels in FS culture and very difficult to change.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Personally, I think very few (if any) contenders (i.e. not Jimmy Ma) have taken any big risks with the music choices. This might be because the contenders have a sense of what works for them, and sticking to what works is probably the best strategy, as gkelly pointed out. I always think the biggest risk takers have been the French women. Between Bonaly, Gusmeroli, Hubert, and Meite, we have seen some very inventive and unusual choices.

 

[gkelly]

"pretty girls ought to skate to pretty music" and I think that this sort of thinking is embedded at all levels in FS culture and very difficult to change.

Especially because it's so embedded in the wider culture and not only in figure skating.

Seductiveness as opposed to chaste beauty being another choice we tend to see often from women and rarely from men.

 

[lappo]

Especially because it's so embedded in the wider culture and not only in figure skating.

Seductiveness as opposed to chaste beauty being another choice we tend to see often from women and rarely from men.

This is true. I follow also dance competitions and I can confirm that almost all the programs follow these two patterns and those who do not really stands out (in a good way, IMO).

 

[silverfoxes]

Ivett Toth - AC/DC

 

[lappo]

Ivett Toth - AC/DC

My girl! I thought about her too but I would say that she follows her (unusual by FS women standard) norms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_GuZlDYC2M :thumbsup::luv17:
Now, she is one to be commended for skating to different thing, for sure!

 

[Crossover]

I don't think changing one's program at the "very beginning of the season" takes quite a risk. Such skaters quickly reflected the feedback they received on their new program, so it can be a wise move for them. On the other hand, changing a program in the middle of season is very risky and adventurous, but I don't think going back to their old program can be regarded as risky unless it is significantly revised. Ashley Wagner took the risk at Nationals but the new La La Land program wasn't ripen enough, so it got a mixed review and she isn't going to the Olympics!

On the other hand, the one that takes quite a high risk by keeping one's heavily criticized program throughout the OLYMPIC season is Tarasova and Morozov in my opinion. How shocking it must be to casual viewers at Olympics who have good enough listening abilities of realizing the lyrics in English. The song was very popular all around the world, so yeah.... The judges have not minded it at all but the audience would surely mind or not accept it as an Olympic program possibly an OGM program if the two frontrunners such as S/H and S/M bomb a big time (rather highly likely to be taken as an O.M.G program).

 

[Crossover]

I think upping dramatically skaters' arsenal in the Olympic season is very risky such as Hanyu's 4Lutz attempts or Nathan's on 4Loop while they are the clear frontrunners in the Olympic gold medal hunt. Though I really don't get why Hanyu did that as all he has to do is to deliver two clean(ish) programs. His three different quads have high enough BV in the current field as none delivers cleanly their ambitious layout yet and his PCS and GOE are guaranteed. Javi with two types of quad is still considered one of the heavy favorites for the OGM.

In this regard, Samarin's 4Lutz can't be comparable with the aforementioned two although I was pleasantly surprised by his attempts and its relatively high consistency. Not that I don't recognize him taking risks, but he had nothing to loose against the big guys at first. Due to it's high BV, he got medalled at Skate Canada beating Patrick with a completely off-day and received the strong push from the Russia Fed from the day onward. However, unless you don't land other jumps but sacrifice other elements at the sake of 4Lutz, well, it gets you. He is not going to the Olympics in the end.

 

[skylark]

I think upping dramatically skaters' arsenal in the Olympic season is very risky such as Hanyu's 4Lutz attempts or Nathan's on 4Loop while they are the clear frontrunners in the Olympic gold medal hunt. Though I really don't get why Hanyu did that as all he has to do is to deliver two clean(ish) programs. His three different quads are high enough and his PCS and GOE are guaranteed. Javi with two types of quad is still considered one of the heavy favorites for the OGM.

Brian Orser said something really interesting. He said that it was Yuzuru's choice to up his technical content, because he doesn't just want to win another Olympic gold medal; he wants to win it by beating everyone else with the highest difficulty of jumps and by being the best artistically. That desire/strategy has proven to be a big risk.

** And he said that their strategy with Javier is different because it's Javi's choice. They did the calculations, and if Javi performs everything as he wants to do, he can win the gold medal with these 2 programs.

This is maybe OT tangentially with my comment about Yuzuru; but I tried to bring it back to topic with Javier ... because he's taking a big risk by sticking with his guns and making it about the performance, the audience, the music and the emotion. Not exactly an artistic risk, but a risk.

** I agree that the biggest artistic risk, and the biggest pay-off so far and hopefully going forward, is Nathan with his Nemesis program. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Shae-Lynne's a genius. She saw something in him that no one else had brought out, including the vaunted Marina Z. And it is magical. So perfectly Nathan.

** Artistically, I think Madison Chock and Evan Bates took a very big risk with their program to Imagine. Even B.Esp. commentators said at first that they felt the FD didn't utilize one of their biggest strengths: Madison's dramatic talents. But it has proven to be a great choice and a great program for them, and is a breath of fresh air because it's so unlike anyone else's FD. It's their SD that has held them back.

 

[Globetrotter]

Thanks for your answer. This is a very interesting point as I often asked myself if women are somehow pressured to look and skate in a predetermined way in order to be well rewarded by judges...I remember that Frank Carroll had Gracie change her Olympic program saying something like "pretty girls ought to skate to pretty music" and I think that this sort of thinking is embedded at all levels in FS culture and very difficult to change.

Actually I think this went back a long way. Ladies skating used to be very princessy. I still remember the early days of rivalry between M Kwan and I Slutskaya. Irina’s personality and energetic skating was certainly not princessy but she seemed pressured to try softer programmes e.g. Tosca, Serenade, Apassionata as these allowed the softer style favored somewhat in the presentation scoring. The definitely not princess type skaters like Tonya Harding, Surya Bonaly, Midori Ito we’re almost always slammed on their presentation and their energetic skates were not often favored. FS is at least more diversified now.

 

[TontoK]

The thread so far is about artistic risk.

But I think the biggest factor, especially for men, is technical risk. The quad revolution has changed the game... and it's not just about who can do what quads. It's about IF they should do what number of quads.

There must be a ton of gamesmanship and strategy at the top. For example, in Nathan's USNats LP, the third jumping pass is 3L. My first thought on seeing it is was "Is that a placeholder for a 4L? Is he planning a 6-quad LP? Is he signalling that he can do it if he needs it?"

I bet a lot of other skaters are wondering the same thing.

The men's competition is wide open because of this risk factor. Depending on who hits and who misses - a lot of different men could win the Olympics, and that makes it very exciting.

 

[ancientpeas]

To be honest if I was an OGM contender and winning was important to me I'd probably not take any big risks. I know that's boring and makes me less of an artist but if I wanted to win I'd go for something that I thought was powerful but safe.

 

[Ylyzybyth]

Kaori Sakamoto with her Amelie program. It's quirky and different. I love it!

 

[charmblade]

I was just thinking last week while watching Euros that I was looking forward to next season because hopefully some of the skaters will try a new direction and take some rests. There are some skaters I really like but am very tired of seeing the same kind of programs from them, so I'm hoping they will be bold next year and experiment with new styles.

I think I thought that while watching Sotsokva, but I'd also like to see Medvedeva try something different.