Why Yukari Nakano had the best SP

[_Ladybug_]

I can't get past her leg wrap, sorry.

 

[skates]

The Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus defines it as "poisonous".

Suddenly, I have this mental image of little Caroline lacing her blades with poison and infecting the ice, turning it vaguely green or something. All the girls are affected, thus explaining Yukari's bitchy staredown.

I still don't get it. Cold you simply state what you mean? sorry.i'm bad at figure skating lingo

 

[fourclover]

I still don't get it. Cold you simply state what you mean? sorry.i'm bad at figure skating lingo

I don't think you have to be good at figure skating lingo to understand Andalusia's post.

 

[skates]

I don't think you have to be good at figure skating lingo to understand Andalusia's post.

but how would Caroline be toxic during practice? I mean all she does is skate

 

[Mathman]

Now we need a thread about why Nakano also had the best long program.

 

[Mathman]

OK, I just saw the ESPN coverage of the ladies' SP. What we really need is a thread titled, "Why Sarah Meier had the best SP! :yes:

 

[Tinymavy15]

I love yukuri's SP. Finally she got the scores and the placement she deserved. Her spins are lovely and her jumps effortless, but I still feel that Mao should have been in 1st, Yukuri second and carolina 3rd.

 

[GoldMedalist]

Mao should have been in 1st, Yukuri second and carolina 3rd.

Yes, I agree with that SP placement.

 

[Bennett]

I just caught up and watched most of the ladies SPs from today. And I have to say, I was BLOWN AWAY by Yukari. She was fantastic, a breath of fresh air.

First of all, with Caroline Zhang not here, she is by far the best spinner in the competition. All of her positions are complete and well stretched, plus she maintains centering and speed better than anyone! It amazes me how fast she can spin - IMO she and Zhang are the most comparable to Lucinda Ruh out of the current pack of women skaters. So frankly, all of her spins deserve +3 GOE. I'm surprised she doesn't get more cred as a world class spinner.

Second of all, she deserves the best marks for PCS with Carolina Kostner. What I love about Yukari's choreography is that it's not contrived, she doesn't do it just for points, it's not all about playing the CoP game. The movements actually match the music beautifully. Compare her straight-line footwork in her SP to Mao Asada and you see the immense difference. Yukari's starts and stops, speeding ups and slowing downs actually go hand in hand with the music. Whereas Mao's straight-line is too busy, it drags on, it's kind of frustrating and silly because it's clearly all about CoP. It's like, "Come on Mao, get on with it already and stop zig-zagging!"

Additionally, she has terrific speed around the ice, great basic skating skills, and actually emotes through her face more than Asada or Kostner.

Even with lack of 3-3, I think Nakano shined as the best and deserved the highest PCS of the bunch.

Thank you for your post. That made me help her SP appreciate more.

When I compare Mao's, Shizuka's and Yukari's programs that were skated to the same music, I feel that each had strengths and weaknesses.

This music really emphasized the smooth, fast skating and superb edges quality in Shizuka and Mao, whereas not necessarily for Yukari whose strengths aren't skating skills, edges, and steps.

This classical music went so beautifully well with Mao's balletic style. Every move of hers made an elegant picture seen from any angle. But Yukari has had issues in upper body posture, arms, not-pointed toes, and weaker stretch, which make her moves somewhat ackward and less smooth in this type of music. She used to be a technical, power skater who has been transforming into a more elegant one. At this point of time, however, I didn't think it a very wise choice for her to go for this style of delicate classical music like this or Cinderella LP, compared to some other types of music like Sayuri last season, her SP during 2005-2006 season, or her current LP. I think that she has improved tremendously in stretching her upper body, arms, and legs during these two seasons. She also looks up more often as she skates. I hope that she could keep working on them and become more and more graceful in her positions and moves.

On the other hand, Yukari's program as well as Mao's program were choreographically very interesting. I feel that Shizuka was so dynamic that this fast, delicate melodies did not really flatter her style too well. Shizuka's SP choreos made the music sound a little bit like the background music and made the program a "technical program." It was a bit unfortunate considering the fact that her style suited Turandot so well and the artistry was so magnificent. But Yukari's and Mao's programs had very well thought-out delicate choreos that were very fascinating to see. Although I felt that Yukari's two spins in a row and steps did not went too well with the music, the rest was very nice to watch. This music has really a lot of notes. I think that Yukari's program paid elaborate attention to details whereas Mao's program paid more attention to creating a flow.

In terms of the atmosphere, I think Shizuka's was heavy but somewhat emotionless; Mao's was airy light but not necessarily passionate; and Yukari's in the middle. But she had perhaps more facial expressions.

I liked Yukari's costume very much. I mean I love almost all of her costumes and make-ups. I could see that they are very well thought-out.

I may like her LP this season and her previous SPs in 2005-6 and 2006-7 better than her current SP. But I heartily hope that she keeps her choreographer(s) and designer(s) next seasons and keeps working on details as she so carefully did this season. She said that she was working on PCSs and I think that her efforts really showed at this competition. I've never imagined before that Yukari would come to be so loved for her presentation. That's really impressive.