I was so impressed with Young You's performance in the long program at the US International Skating Classic. She combines grace of movement with very good musicality especially with the shoulder shakes in the upbeat salsa section and smooth edges through some intricate transitions. She also has fine skating skills with nice speed, and refined artistry demonstrated most evidently in her beautifully expressive arms and her ability to sense the right amount of time to hold each pose and extension instead of rushing them. For example, there is a lot of aesthetic appeal in how she holds her lovely layback spin in anticipation of the picturesque Biellmann that follows and there is her statuesque arm extension that frames the end of the program. Some of her more impressive elements include the triple lutz/ toe and triple axel in an 8 triple program, a fantastic Ina Bauer, and the beautiful arcing arabesque near the end of the program. I just started listening to Korean pop music recently and I have grown to enjoy the use of musical montage and Young's juxtaposition of a variety of musical cuts reminds me of how Korean music often combines singing and rap elements or ballads that build to more upbeat sections or dance mixed with classical and retro styles. To me, the contrasting juxtaposition adds to the dynamic range of her performance. I may be wrong but on Wikipedia I saw that Young You only has one Grand Prix assignment at Skate Canada. I hope she is able to skate more internationally this season. She deserves it after giving such a marvelous performance.
