Zagitova edges out Medvedeva for Oly Gold

[qwertyskates]

The best ballet figure skater is still John Curry. His Scheherazade is just stunning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se19k1ZvLSw

Look at the control he has over every muscle, every movement.

He is almost perfect as an embodiment of both ballet and figure skating.

Most figure skaters can't keep up with the carriage, they will throw their arms around, their limbs will drop, they will slouch...because their feet are doing some very difficult skating moves and they can't keep up with both.

I'm not so keen on his DQ, though, as he placed the finale music in the front, at 0:24, and I have to say Alina did the Coda better than Curry. That Coda to DQ is like the Shower scene is to Hitchcock's Psycho, it is iconic and must be done in that way with exactly that music at that exact moment.

I'm spoilt by Alina's finale of crazy jumps and spins, which brings that same enormous satisfaction of experiencing the ballet finale of the DQ Pas de 2. I'm such a fan of that thrill.

 

[Yatagarasu]

Zagitova has *performed* Don Quixote just about better than any ballerina at any major company working today.

 

[sailormoon]

Zagitova is awarded 4 million Russian Ruble for winning the gold medal and she wants to earn more prize money to live with her family. Zagitova is currently living with her grandmother in a small Moscow apartment. She already keeps three pets in the apartment but she is getting the Akita, a large breed of dog originating from Japan, as a gift from the preservation society.

 

[ancientpeas]

Different time though.. John Curry I mean. As lovely as it is I don't think the IJS would reward it well.


So maybe we could try this: What Alina does is not ballet, it is ballet adapted to figure skating evoking the spirit of ballet but not the letter of ballet.

 

[charlotte14]

Zagitova is awarded 4 million Russian Ruble for winning the gold medal and she wants to earn more prize money to live with her family. Zagitova is currently living with her grandmother in a small Moscow apartment. She already keeps three pets in the apartment but she is getting the Akita, a large breed of dog originating from Japan, as a gift from the preservation society.

That amount of money isn’t enough for a top skater in US to train in one year.

 

[lappo]

I know but on an unrelated note I’d like to see them perform with knife boots on.

A real life ballerina skating (not in competition, of course you cannot compare it with the technical requirements of IJS but I like that in the past there were those kind of crossover opportunities): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8d2ov28Y2A
Also Proklova... :sad21:

 

[qwertyskates]

Different time though.. John Curry I mean. As lovely as it is I don't think the IJS would reward it well.


So maybe we could try this: What Alina does is not ballet, it is ballet adapted to figure skating evoking the spirit of ballet but not the letter of ballet.

Exactly. :yay:


And only for DQ, due to the character-building of Kitri, but that finale is just ....brilliant...even compared to Curry's, who put it in front probably because he can't manage it at the end of his LP. And she's a slip of a girl too.

I watched Sarah Hughes DQ 2000/2001, who seemed to understand the coda music/jumps and interestingly placed it in front for her opening jumps and at the end of her FS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGTQZ5XX-tM

I wonder if we will ever see another DQ in future like this, as I think Alina herself can't manage this feat without the crazy training, 3Lz-3Lo-3Lo-3Lo-3Lo, she puts herself through for the Olympics.

I think her team packed her program with difficult transitions to earn the TES levels and the PCS TR points, but if it had breathing room for her to perform more ballet moves and hold onto ballet positions, like Proklova and Curry, it might be acceptable to her critics and look less frantic.

But win she must, so..

 

[qwertyskates]

A real life ballerina skating (not in competition, of course you cannot compare it with the technical requirements of IJS but I like that in the past there were those kind of crossover opportunities): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8d2ov28Y2A
Also Proklova... :sad21:

That is beautiful! Thank you. She has lovely ballet dancer qualities. It's a great exhibition program.:agree:

Btw, just for fun, there is a short ballet called "Les Patineurs" or "The Skaters", where it's the other way round, ballet dancers trying to imitate figure skating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OJz0V6h-X0

 

[Elucidus]

Zagitova is awarded 4 million Russian Ruble for winning the gold medal and she wants to earn more prize money to live with her family. Zagitova is currently living with her grandmother in a small Moscow apartment. She already keeps three pets in the apartment but she is getting the Akita, a large breed of dog originating from Japan, as a gift from the preservation society.

I think it's at least double that amount considering that there are not only federal prize but also regional prize as well. In other words governor of her region (similar somewhat to a state in USA) where her native town Izhevsk are located - will pay her money too. Also she got rather expensive BMW which she can sell at auction for much higher prize due to rare Olympic status of the car (one of athletes already did it, btw). Plus she will have advertisement contracts in near future, most likely or some other sponsors. And let's not forget about Olympic pension, of course. I think, all in all, they can afford new larger apartment now without problems.

 

[lappo]

That is beautiful! Thank you. She has lovely ballet dancer qualities. It's a great exhibition program.:agree:

Btw, just for fun, there is a short ballet called "Les Patineurs" or "The Skaters", where it's the other way round, ballet dancers trying to imitate figure skating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OJz0V6h-X0

Thanks! This is her at Varna dancing DQ (I think she still is the youngest gold medalist at the competition, she was fourteen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2suXBBds5N4
And this is her skating at 6!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPcDRxkR8es :shocked:

 

[qwertyskates]

Thanks! This is her at Varna dancing DQ (I think she still is the youngest gold medalist at the competition, she was fourteen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2suXBBds5N4
And this is her skating at 6!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPcDRxkR8es :shocked:

She is impressive and appears to be a protege of Curry? I can see how she is successfully combining both like he is. You are right, with today's COP, a balletic skater needs to bring jumps too. That would be perfect for ballet themed programs. I still don't know of a true ballet-trained figure skater today...:think:

 

[lappo]

As far as I know, Emanuel Sandhu has studied ballet in a serious way for many, many years.

 

[ancientpeas]

As far as I know, Emanuel Sandhu has studied ballet in a serious way for many, many years.

Yes..he had to chose between skating and the National Ballet of Canada school. So did Tessa Virtue. I also remember reading that Nathan Chen has a lot of ballet experience.

Emanuel was also on the Canadian edition of So you think you can dance. He was very good on that. You might be able to find clips on You tube.