Re: Responses to Skaters
Re Sasha--Just to show different strokes, when Sasha skated at 2000 Nationals, I was watching it with my sister, her husband, and her husband's brother. The two guys were hardly figure skating fans, lol. But when Sasha skated, we were all enthralled. My brother-in-law said she reminded him of a hummingbird, skating with great speed and purity. I found her emotionally compelling in a similar way--the quiet, internally focused, purity of movement way. My sister and her husband's brother were also moved by her. For me it certainly wasn't the flexibility or any of that, having seen tons of that in dance over the years, it was, as I said, the pure, clean lines and direct unaffected expression of who she was.
As Sasha has matured, I think she has struggled to find what came to her naturally as an unknown since she has been in the spotlight, so to speak. I saw this often in preternaturally gifted dancers. Before they knew how exquisite they were, they had an easier time expressing themselves. In Sasha's case, I think she is going through a period of being self-conscious. Last season I think she tried too hard to dramatic in the LP, while I think her SP was sublime. This season, with Tarasova, I think she is trying to find a way to be expressive from a point of truth in herself. Sometimes she succeeds, sometimes she fails. For me, I would rather see a skater struggle to be a truthful performer than mug through a performance. Although I've seen people describe Sasha as a "look at me" performer, I've never gotten that sense from her. Although I don't doubt that some people truly feel that from her, I think that her exceptional physical abilities can give that impression even when that's not what she's doing. For the most part, I find Sasha to have one of the most honest performing styles among the top ladies today.
I've always found Sarah to be honest as well, but like Sasha, I saw her have trouble expressing herself in her transition from 15-yr-old phenom to mature skater. Unlike Sasha, I thought Sarah's performances, while true to who she was, tended to be one note and underperformed ('02 Nationals was a good example). Of course the freedom she found in her Olympic LP performance was absolutely dazzling and very heart-connected. Her Olympic exhibitions were also exceptional. Since then, because of the time off during the summer and then the injury, we haven't seen Sarah at 100% physically, so it wouldn't be fair to evaluate her performances this season, IMO.
Although I realize I'm in the minority, Michelle never moved me until this year's Nationals. Although there were a couple of exceptions, for the most part I felt that the facial expressions and drama in her programs were superficial, though not necessarily through any fault of her own. I think Lori Nichol's choreography and direction pushed Michelle into that. Obviously a lot of people responded to it, but I know a lot of other people felt this way too. I say this about Lori Nichol because when Michelle did "White Horses," I was happily surprised to see genuine feeling and expression whenever she performed that program. I also saw an unaffected Michelle in "Rush," I think because of the demands of Christopher Dean to work from the movement out rather than "think emotion." But with this year's Nationals, I saw an enormous change with Michelle's skating. As I've said before, I felt for the first time as a mature skater she was truly skating as who she was instead of who she thought "Michelle Kwan" should be. I also couldn't agree more with Oksana Baiul that Michelle is getting more graceful. Some people may go crazy when I say this, but one of the main reasons I wasn't captured by Michelle's skating was that I saw an essential awkwardness in her skating. Again, a lot of it I think was do to a poor fit between Michelle's natural way of moving and Lori Nichol's choreography. It seemed to me that Lori often choreographed very difficult "bravura" sequences (to use Joe's term) requiring high speed and complex coordination of the upper and lower body, and IMO, Michelle just wasn't up to it. She could execute them, but it looked to me as if she was barely getting through them and getting through them with athleticism but not grace. "Song of the Black Swan" was, IMO, the program where this was especially evident. Anyway, I don't know if it is maturity, getting the right choreography, mentally and emotionally loosening up, finding peace in herself, or what, but with "The Feeling Begins" and "Aranjuez" at Nationals (didn't see it in her performances at Campbell's or Skate America) that Michelle took an enormous step in finding the process that allows her to move with her own sense of grace and emotion from within. I find this Michelle compelling to watch and a skater who has the potential to speak to my heart.
I like Nadine's point about trying to separate what other people say about a skater from one's own reactions to a skater. I think we miss out on a lot when we let the way fans, agents, or whomever influence the way we perceive a skater. After all, the skater has no control over what is said about him/her.
Rgirl
PS Joe, you asked about pro-am competitions this season. One was the Harkness competition where Yuka Sata was first, Irina was second, and Sarah third. And I believe the Sears Open where Sasha and Yags placed first, respectively, was the other pro-am. Or maybe that was the Crest Whitestrip. These brand names as titles for competitions have me flummoxed. Anyway, they were in late November and December. Someone please correct me as I'm sure I have the second one wrong <img src=
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. I see a hidden diss in his mention of the simple footwork. It mayhave been simple compared to other. But, it was perfect for the music & keeping the tempo of the program. Just because, a footwork may look more intense. Doesn't mean it fits into a program. Something that looks forces & put in just because of a needed element, doesn't make a program look or better. It just looks forced & applied.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":\"> . But, He did mention how Alexie's persona(sp)/ Soul does pull an audience in when he skates. 
