In honor of the fact that it is FOURTY-EIGHT DEGREES FAHRENHEIT in NYC on May 24th, I'm doing a Least Favorite Things Friday, as opposed to the typical Favorite Things Friday.
Here are my least favorite programs from the past season:
5.
While Tom Z has blatantly stated that he doesn't give a flying crap about choreography, this is quite possibly the worst program one of his student's has ever done. His complete lack of anything resembling actual choreography (someone please explain to me how he got a 7.39 for Choreography - I would give it a 3), utter reliance on crossovers, and general hockey player-like/truckdriver skating leave many bewildered as to how exactly he managed to beat the always-stunning Jeremy Abbott at Nationals. Perhaps Max should go back to hockey, which based on is skating, is where he belongs.
4.
Heads up Gracie: in case nobody mentioned it to you, Life is Beautiful is a bittersweet Holocaust movie, not a Disney beauty pageant movie. With that knowledge, please inject that story into your program, and take out the peppy Kimmie Meissner-arm-waving. Another program like this next season will not get you a World or Olympic medal.
3.
I just cannot deal with the arm-waving.
2.
As Phil Hersh said, "they skated to the worst ever cover of Bolero." And as Dave Lease said, "This Bolero performance was the trashiest, tackiest thing I have ever seen."
1.
Oh man (or Molly, as I should probably say). This takes the cake for the absolute worst program for the 2012-2013 season. I just don't even know where to begin. The outfits - please explain how they match the music. And as one poster on GoldenSkate said, what is this team's obsession with getting shot? Nikita shot Elena on their way to a JWC in 2010, and now Nikita gets shot by the music. The dialogue is just bizarre, the choreography is literally them acting out the words. Oh Molly. Elena and Nikita, if you even want to think about the Olympic bronze medal, I have two words for you: LEAVE. MOROZOV. And go back to Zhulin. Remember that Don Quixote he did for you? Someone like that would go over VERY WELL, especially after this notorious mess. As Dave Lease said, the only bright spot is that each performance of this mess is followed by an argument by the British Eurosport commentators, since one of them actually thinks that this is good.
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!
-IllusionSpin
Friday, May 24, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
U.S. Nationals Recap, Part 4
The final part! While I initially intended to include the 12th place finisher, Ashley Cain, I cannot for the life of me find any videos on Youtube of either of her programs from Nationals, and there's only one from this season on Youtube where she got injured in the middle and had to stop midway through before resuming.
This final part will discuss the 10th and 11th place finishers, Hannah Miller and Caroline Zhang. I'll include a photo of Ashley Cain to make one point about her FS.
10th Place - Hannah Miller
Given the whole Ashley-Gracie fiasco, this was probably one of the most overlooked jokes of a result. Hannah skated two completely clean programs, yet finished behind 9 other people, many of whom had multiple major mistakes in both programs. No, this is not the most mature program of the bunch, but it's very pretty, and the maturity is coming - she's only 16, and was still on the junior circuit this fall! Which brings me to my next point - Hannah had the best international season on the junior circuit of all Americans. After not even being sure if she'd get one JGP assignment, she got two, won silver at both, thereby qualifying to the JGPF where she won another silver. I have absolutely no idea why the judges at Nationals buried her in the standings, when she proved in the fall that she can compete with the top international juniors, and beat many of them - she beat Anna Pogorilaya at the JGPF! She had an excellent shot at a medal at Junior Worlds! Regardless of her joke of a 10th place finish (I would have placed her more around 5th or 6th), she should have still received a spot on the Junior Worlds team. The USFSA claims that these teams are picked on fall results as well as Nationals, but it's clear that they picked the team based on Nationals only, which was ridiculous and WRONG, mainly to Hannah. She proved that she is consistent and can place near the top against top juniors around the world, and therefore should have had a shot at a Junior Worlds medal. Still, Hannah has a VERY bright future ahead of her.
11th - Caroline Zhang
Sorry for the terrible quality - as usual, it's almost impossible to find videos of Nationals on Youtube. Frankly, I think that Caroline is finished. The young phenom had a terrific junior career, but her skating has become a disaster since she hit puberty. Her speed (or lack thereof) is as slow as Rachael Flatt's, and her technique is still a disaster, despite what the commentators try to tell you. She STILL has a leg kick on the flip, her lutz, axel, and loop entrances are still all complete messes, and the majority of her jumps are now underrotated. To top all of that off, she's skating to the most generic piece of music ever used in figure skating - STOP. USING. TURANDOT....NOW!!! The layback is really the only positive that's existed in her skating for the last few years, which is a shame, because back in 2007 and 2008, she appeared to have a very bright future ahead of her.
12th - Ashley Cain
Sorry I couldn't get the photos next to each other - I'm still learning! The photo of her white dress is from the 2012-2013 season. The photo of her blue dress is from the previous season. Anyone with eyes can see that they're almost carbon copies of each other. While both happen to fit their respective programs, it's almost an identical dress - originality? I think not. I'm a bit puzzled as to why Ashley Cain gave up her pairs career with Joshua Reagan. Unless there's a mass retirement in the US after Sochi, her singles career is never going to reach the level that her pairs career could have, and already did. Ashley and Joshua were junior Nationals champions two years ago, and went on to place 4th at Junior Worlds, and received a senior GP assignment the next season at Rostelecom Cup. She's a nice, pretty skater, but unless she amps up the technical content, as I said, her singles career will never hit the heights that her pairs career already did and would have.
That's it for Nationals! I'll start my Worlds recaps soon!
-IllusionSpin
This final part will discuss the 10th and 11th place finishers, Hannah Miller and Caroline Zhang. I'll include a photo of Ashley Cain to make one point about her FS.
10th Place - Hannah Miller
Given the whole Ashley-Gracie fiasco, this was probably one of the most overlooked jokes of a result. Hannah skated two completely clean programs, yet finished behind 9 other people, many of whom had multiple major mistakes in both programs. No, this is not the most mature program of the bunch, but it's very pretty, and the maturity is coming - she's only 16, and was still on the junior circuit this fall! Which brings me to my next point - Hannah had the best international season on the junior circuit of all Americans. After not even being sure if she'd get one JGP assignment, she got two, won silver at both, thereby qualifying to the JGPF where she won another silver. I have absolutely no idea why the judges at Nationals buried her in the standings, when she proved in the fall that she can compete with the top international juniors, and beat many of them - she beat Anna Pogorilaya at the JGPF! She had an excellent shot at a medal at Junior Worlds! Regardless of her joke of a 10th place finish (I would have placed her more around 5th or 6th), she should have still received a spot on the Junior Worlds team. The USFSA claims that these teams are picked on fall results as well as Nationals, but it's clear that they picked the team based on Nationals only, which was ridiculous and WRONG, mainly to Hannah. She proved that she is consistent and can place near the top against top juniors around the world, and therefore should have had a shot at a Junior Worlds medal. Still, Hannah has a VERY bright future ahead of her.
11th - Caroline Zhang
Sorry for the terrible quality - as usual, it's almost impossible to find videos of Nationals on Youtube. Frankly, I think that Caroline is finished. The young phenom had a terrific junior career, but her skating has become a disaster since she hit puberty. Her speed (or lack thereof) is as slow as Rachael Flatt's, and her technique is still a disaster, despite what the commentators try to tell you. She STILL has a leg kick on the flip, her lutz, axel, and loop entrances are still all complete messes, and the majority of her jumps are now underrotated. To top all of that off, she's skating to the most generic piece of music ever used in figure skating - STOP. USING. TURANDOT....NOW!!! The layback is really the only positive that's existed in her skating for the last few years, which is a shame, because back in 2007 and 2008, she appeared to have a very bright future ahead of her.
12th - Ashley Cain
That's it for Nationals! I'll start my Worlds recaps soon!
-IllusionSpin
Friday, April 5, 2013
U.S. Nationals Recap, Part 3
I know I know!!! This is so late, but I've been so crazy busy with school stuff, the college process, and SAT work. Still, better late than never, right?
Part 3 will discuss Nagasu, Cesario, and Wang, who placed 7th, 8th, and 9th, respectively.
7th - Mirai Nagasu
Remember just three years ago, that Carmen LP that Nagasu had, and all the spark and speed she used to skate with? I honestly feel that it's all gone now. Yes, I'm aware that she had the flu during this competition, but her speed (or lack thereof) is approaching Zhang levels of slow. She used to have some of the faster spins in the world, but now they're as slow as Flatt's. This pretty, exciting music is playing in this program, and she's barely moving or doing any choreography. This WAS scored accurately. Those jumps are still underrotated, and there's really no excuse for that anymore. Back at the Olympics, Sandra Bezic said that "she will learn those jumps, and accomplish those fully rotated jumps." It's three years later, and the URs have become MORE of a problem, instead of being fixed. Honestly, the USFSA is really sending her a message. Unless some miracle happens in the next year, the Olympics are just not going to happen for her.
8th - Samantha Cesario
Now THIS was underscored. This is one of the best Swan Lake/Black Swan programs I have ever seen, maybe third to Baiul and Cohen. Cesario has LOVELY, elegant style, including fabulous landing edges and positions. The flow out of the opening triple Lutz is beautfiullll. One of the things I love most about this program is how she builds the character through the program, and really tells the story in her skating. I can see what/who she is portraying without being told 50 times in interviews (cough cough Ashley Wagner). While she builds the drama throughout the program, that choreographic sequence towards the end with the gorgeous spread eagles is a fabulous peak to the program, before she goes into the gorgeous double axels and the final spin. It's a real shame that injuries have held this wonderful skater back over the last couple of years, because she could have potentially been at a much higher level now. In terms of her Junior Worlds performance, she rightfully won the SP, and then was COMPLETELY robbed in the LP. I have no idea what the hell was going on, if they wanted a Russian sweep, or if they wanted to ensure that Radionova won, but that scoring was just wrong. Samantha looked upset, disappointed, and pissed off, and she had every right to be. Samantha will be too old for the JGP circuit this coming season, so let's all hope to see her on the GP circuit.
9th - Angela Wang
I couldn't find a video anywhere of her FS from Nationals, so here's her FS from the JGPF.
This is a very pretty program, although I do think she could do a bit more with the choreography. Still, that 3Lz-3T-2T is extremely impressive, even if it is pure code-whoring. While she did beat Hannah Miller for 9th (which was ridiculous), it was only by .08. Some delusional fans seem to think that Wang will make the Olympic team next year - she has a shot at the Jr Worlds team, but that's it.
The final 3 I will talk about (Miller, Zhang, Cain) will come soon! I promise!
Please comment and leave your thoughts!
-IllusionSpin
Part 3 will discuss Nagasu, Cesario, and Wang, who placed 7th, 8th, and 9th, respectively.
7th - Mirai Nagasu
Remember just three years ago, that Carmen LP that Nagasu had, and all the spark and speed she used to skate with? I honestly feel that it's all gone now. Yes, I'm aware that she had the flu during this competition, but her speed (or lack thereof) is approaching Zhang levels of slow. She used to have some of the faster spins in the world, but now they're as slow as Flatt's. This pretty, exciting music is playing in this program, and she's barely moving or doing any choreography. This WAS scored accurately. Those jumps are still underrotated, and there's really no excuse for that anymore. Back at the Olympics, Sandra Bezic said that "she will learn those jumps, and accomplish those fully rotated jumps." It's three years later, and the URs have become MORE of a problem, instead of being fixed. Honestly, the USFSA is really sending her a message. Unless some miracle happens in the next year, the Olympics are just not going to happen for her.
8th - Samantha Cesario
Now THIS was underscored. This is one of the best Swan Lake/Black Swan programs I have ever seen, maybe third to Baiul and Cohen. Cesario has LOVELY, elegant style, including fabulous landing edges and positions. The flow out of the opening triple Lutz is beautfiullll. One of the things I love most about this program is how she builds the character through the program, and really tells the story in her skating. I can see what/who she is portraying without being told 50 times in interviews (cough cough Ashley Wagner). While she builds the drama throughout the program, that choreographic sequence towards the end with the gorgeous spread eagles is a fabulous peak to the program, before she goes into the gorgeous double axels and the final spin. It's a real shame that injuries have held this wonderful skater back over the last couple of years, because she could have potentially been at a much higher level now. In terms of her Junior Worlds performance, she rightfully won the SP, and then was COMPLETELY robbed in the LP. I have no idea what the hell was going on, if they wanted a Russian sweep, or if they wanted to ensure that Radionova won, but that scoring was just wrong. Samantha looked upset, disappointed, and pissed off, and she had every right to be. Samantha will be too old for the JGP circuit this coming season, so let's all hope to see her on the GP circuit.
9th - Angela Wang
I couldn't find a video anywhere of her FS from Nationals, so here's her FS from the JGPF.
This is a very pretty program, although I do think she could do a bit more with the choreography. Still, that 3Lz-3T-2T is extremely impressive, even if it is pure code-whoring. While she did beat Hannah Miller for 9th (which was ridiculous), it was only by .08. Some delusional fans seem to think that Wang will make the Olympic team next year - she has a shot at the Jr Worlds team, but that's it.
The final 3 I will talk about (Miller, Zhang, Cain) will come soon! I promise!
Please comment and leave your thoughts!
-IllusionSpin
Saturday, March 2, 2013
U.S. Nationals Recap, Part 2
Part 2 will discuss the 4th, 5th, and 6th place finishers, which were Courtney Hicks, Christina Gao, and Yasmin Siraj.
4th Place:
Courtney was really the surprise 4th place finisher here. After missing the majority of the 2011-2012 season due to injury, and flying a bit under the radar during the JGP season, I didn't really know what to expect, but I think she surprised a lot of people by managing to beat out Christina Gao, Hannah Miller, Mirai Nagasu, and others for the pewter medal. Still, Courtney did a fabulous job here. Similar to Gracie and Agnes, her jumps are totally Herculean. She just launches into the air, covering so much ice while she rotates. Not to mention after a 20-foot pop on her loop, she still was able to finish the sequence with a double axel. Her artistry, posture, and overall look on the ice need some serious attention, but I loveeee that last spin!! The positions in it are very unique, very cool, and require a great deal of flexibility. It's always nice to see something different and unique. Side note: why did the screen say that she was skating to Red Violin? She skates to Concierto de Aranjuez....
5th Place:
That fall on the flying sit spin is a real shame, because this program is so gorgeous. It seems to really suit her personality well, and she does a beautiful job with the music. She's also grown a bit since last season, gaining some weight (for the better), which has gotten rid of her gangly look on the ice, and replaced it with a very clean, elegant look. The dress is also stunning.
Christina was really underscored here, and completely got the short end of the stick. I loveee the new dress she has for this program - it gives a much more elegant and sophisticated look/feel to the program. Speaking of which, this whole program has really grown in terms of artistry, elegance, and sophistication - frankly, this program was much better than Ashley, Agnes, and Courtney's long programs - I don't know why she was so blatantly underscored. She also does some very interesting, different, and unique positions in her spins, which I always appreciate. Let us all pray for Ashley and Gracie to pull a miracle and get 3 spots for next year, and for Christina to nab herself one. It's about time she skated on the World/Olympic stage.
6th Place:
Yasmin making the final group was a bit like Elene Gedevanishvili making the final group in Torino. A surprise, but this one was a pleasant one. She's not an overly special skater, but she's perfectly nice to watch - a bit like an appetizer before Gao, Zawadzki, Wagner, and Nagasu. The dress and the music are very pretty, but she could do a lot more with choreography - there's not much, and the music provides plenty of opportunities for more intricate choreography. Still, she's young (16), and she has time. I do like the combo spin right after the solo triple Lutz - being able to rotate well in both directions requires some serious skill and talent, and to be able to do both directions in one spin is extremely difficult, so hats off to her for doing that - again, very unique and very cool.
7th, 8th, and 9th (Nagasu, Cesario, and Wang) are next! Stay tuned!
-IllusionSpin
4th Place:
Courtney was really the surprise 4th place finisher here. After missing the majority of the 2011-2012 season due to injury, and flying a bit under the radar during the JGP season, I didn't really know what to expect, but I think she surprised a lot of people by managing to beat out Christina Gao, Hannah Miller, Mirai Nagasu, and others for the pewter medal. Still, Courtney did a fabulous job here. Similar to Gracie and Agnes, her jumps are totally Herculean. She just launches into the air, covering so much ice while she rotates. Not to mention after a 20-foot pop on her loop, she still was able to finish the sequence with a double axel. Her artistry, posture, and overall look on the ice need some serious attention, but I loveeee that last spin!! The positions in it are very unique, very cool, and require a great deal of flexibility. It's always nice to see something different and unique. Side note: why did the screen say that she was skating to Red Violin? She skates to Concierto de Aranjuez....
5th Place:
That fall on the flying sit spin is a real shame, because this program is so gorgeous. It seems to really suit her personality well, and she does a beautiful job with the music. She's also grown a bit since last season, gaining some weight (for the better), which has gotten rid of her gangly look on the ice, and replaced it with a very clean, elegant look. The dress is also stunning.
Christina was really underscored here, and completely got the short end of the stick. I loveee the new dress she has for this program - it gives a much more elegant and sophisticated look/feel to the program. Speaking of which, this whole program has really grown in terms of artistry, elegance, and sophistication - frankly, this program was much better than Ashley, Agnes, and Courtney's long programs - I don't know why she was so blatantly underscored. She also does some very interesting, different, and unique positions in her spins, which I always appreciate. Let us all pray for Ashley and Gracie to pull a miracle and get 3 spots for next year, and for Christina to nab herself one. It's about time she skated on the World/Olympic stage.
6th Place:
Yasmin making the final group was a bit like Elene Gedevanishvili making the final group in Torino. A surprise, but this one was a pleasant one. She's not an overly special skater, but she's perfectly nice to watch - a bit like an appetizer before Gao, Zawadzki, Wagner, and Nagasu. The dress and the music are very pretty, but she could do a lot more with choreography - there's not much, and the music provides plenty of opportunities for more intricate choreography. Still, she's young (16), and she has time. I do like the combo spin right after the solo triple Lutz - being able to rotate well in both directions requires some serious skill and talent, and to be able to do both directions in one spin is extremely difficult, so hats off to her for doing that - again, very unique and very cool.
7th, 8th, and 9th (Nagasu, Cesario, and Wang) are next! Stay tuned!
-IllusionSpin
Monday, February 18, 2013
U.S. Nationals Recap, Part 1
This is the first part of a 4-part series where I'll look back at the top 12 ladies from U.S. Nationals (I don't really have anything to say about the other 8), 3 at a time. A lot happened, including many controversial scores and placements, so I'm going to voice my personal opinions about everything here, and if you don't agree, that's fine, but let me know your opinions!
GOLD:
Ok. So many thoughts are going through my head about what happened here. Now, I fully expected Ashley to win this, which she did, but I didn't think it was going to happen with two falls and a bunch of tight jumps and spins. When Ashley fell on the Lutz, I had the same reaction as when Mckayla fell on her 2nd vault at the Olympic vault final - I gasped, my hand flew to my mouth, and my brain tried to process what had just happened. I'm not a particularly big fan of Ashley's programs; I think her LP dress is ugly, and I don't really like her choreography. I also don't like how she tells us about her programs, her character in it, and the story in every single interview. Like, if she needs to remind us every time, perhaps she should choose a less vague and abstract theme.
I've also been debating whether Ashley or Gracie actually deserved this title, and I think the answer is no. Yes, Ashley had a great SP and Gracie had a great LP, but both of them had two MAJOR mistakes in one of their programs, and there were several skaters ranked lower who put together two great programs and were marked lower because they didn't have as big of a "name." The USFSA wants their big names skaters to be on the World team, so that their scores get a boost, but there were many people (who I'll talk about later) who frankly, put two much better programs together, and were significantly underscored.
SILVER:
This is just dull. I applaud the effort to improve her performance ability by choosing a tango and doing fun choreography, but she just has this focused expression on her face the whole time instead of playing with facial expressions (like Sasha Cohen did), which takes away all of the fun and doesn't engage the audience. For instance, at around :20, when she glides forward and then kicks her leg up, there's no emotion in it; it just looks like another day at practice, doing another repetition. It's a fun piece of music, and she needs to have fun with it.
I love the music, especially the ending music, I think it's very pretty, but the skating/performance just doesn't match/connect with the music. She has a pretty body line on the ice, but the whole thing is just.....stiff. As the fabulous commentators from EuroSport said, "her arms...never go below the waist. There's never...a low movement...there's this presenting 'up" all the time." Her whole body is just so stiff, her arms are nicely extended, but they stay stiffly extended, and just wave around as her upper body moves. Her transitions are also extremely weak - she doesn't move seamlessly from each element to another. After each jump, there's awkward stroking to get back into the program. The jumps are gorgeous, especially the triple lutz-triple toe, but that's only part of the program. She also needs to work on some of her spin positions. At this level and at her age, there's really no excuse for not doing either a y-spin or an i-spin. Like Sandra Bezic said, all the ingredients are there, but she needs to refine her skating and continue working on her performance skills. Sending her to Marina Zueva was a genius move on her coach's part, and I can see the improvement from the fall to Nationals, but it still seriously needs more work. While she'll never be a Sasha Cohen, there's a decent amount of artistic potential that can easily be developed with the right choreographer.
Finally, I don't know where this label of Gracie being the most consistent American has come from. Out of ALL of her competitions from this season and last season, she has not put two clean programs together in one competition. At JGP Estonia, she singled the loop in her long. At Jr Nationals, she fell on her Axel. At Jr Worlds, she doubled the loop. At the World Team Trophy, it was mistakes galore, including a Waxel. At Skate Canada, it was mistakes galore again in both programs. At Rostelecom Cup, there were several problems in her LP, including an issue on the loop, which is clearly her nemesis jump. At Nationals, she fell on her combo and singled the axel in her SP. At 4CC, there were again multiple issues in both her SP and her LP. As The Skating Lesson pointed out, she's treading dangerously close to the headcase label, and that's a hard label to shake off.
If she falters at Worlds, I would most likely begin to label her as a headcase, because similar to Alissa Czisny, she seems to struggle when expectation and pressure are put on her.
BRONZE:
Agnes has really come a long way in the last year. This re-choreographed Rhapsody in Blue program is a big improvement, and she's really grown in terms of her artistry and maturity. I also love the new dress - the dark, cobalt blue is very pretty. Her jumps, although they have always been fabulous, look even better this season. The triple Lutz and triple toe-triple toe were great, as always, and I think the double flip may have just been a mental slip. The second triple Lutz looked just a bit off in the air, which I think caused the fall. Still, her jumps looked higher, tighter, and cleaner here at Nationals. She did a good job here, and in a night where everyone was also great, she should be very proud of that bronze medal. Seriously, though, that triple Lutz is a thing of beauty - she picks, and then just launches herself into the air. It's tight, clean, and there's never any doubt about whether it's fully rotated. I'm curious to see what she brings in terms of consistency and programs next year, and whether she can nab herself an Olympic berth. She's really improved over the last few seasons, and I'm excited to see her grow and improve more.
4th, 5th, and 6th places (Hicks, Gao, and Siraj) are next! Stay tuned!
-IllusionSpin
GOLD:
Ok. So many thoughts are going through my head about what happened here. Now, I fully expected Ashley to win this, which she did, but I didn't think it was going to happen with two falls and a bunch of tight jumps and spins. When Ashley fell on the Lutz, I had the same reaction as when Mckayla fell on her 2nd vault at the Olympic vault final - I gasped, my hand flew to my mouth, and my brain tried to process what had just happened. I'm not a particularly big fan of Ashley's programs; I think her LP dress is ugly, and I don't really like her choreography. I also don't like how she tells us about her programs, her character in it, and the story in every single interview. Like, if she needs to remind us every time, perhaps she should choose a less vague and abstract theme.
I've also been debating whether Ashley or Gracie actually deserved this title, and I think the answer is no. Yes, Ashley had a great SP and Gracie had a great LP, but both of them had two MAJOR mistakes in one of their programs, and there were several skaters ranked lower who put together two great programs and were marked lower because they didn't have as big of a "name." The USFSA wants their big names skaters to be on the World team, so that their scores get a boost, but there were many people (who I'll talk about later) who frankly, put two much better programs together, and were significantly underscored.
SILVER:
This is just dull. I applaud the effort to improve her performance ability by choosing a tango and doing fun choreography, but she just has this focused expression on her face the whole time instead of playing with facial expressions (like Sasha Cohen did), which takes away all of the fun and doesn't engage the audience. For instance, at around :20, when she glides forward and then kicks her leg up, there's no emotion in it; it just looks like another day at practice, doing another repetition. It's a fun piece of music, and she needs to have fun with it.
I love the music, especially the ending music, I think it's very pretty, but the skating/performance just doesn't match/connect with the music. She has a pretty body line on the ice, but the whole thing is just.....stiff. As the fabulous commentators from EuroSport said, "her arms...never go below the waist. There's never...a low movement...there's this presenting 'up" all the time." Her whole body is just so stiff, her arms are nicely extended, but they stay stiffly extended, and just wave around as her upper body moves. Her transitions are also extremely weak - she doesn't move seamlessly from each element to another. After each jump, there's awkward stroking to get back into the program. The jumps are gorgeous, especially the triple lutz-triple toe, but that's only part of the program. She also needs to work on some of her spin positions. At this level and at her age, there's really no excuse for not doing either a y-spin or an i-spin. Like Sandra Bezic said, all the ingredients are there, but she needs to refine her skating and continue working on her performance skills. Sending her to Marina Zueva was a genius move on her coach's part, and I can see the improvement from the fall to Nationals, but it still seriously needs more work. While she'll never be a Sasha Cohen, there's a decent amount of artistic potential that can easily be developed with the right choreographer.
Finally, I don't know where this label of Gracie being the most consistent American has come from. Out of ALL of her competitions from this season and last season, she has not put two clean programs together in one competition. At JGP Estonia, she singled the loop in her long. At Jr Nationals, she fell on her Axel. At Jr Worlds, she doubled the loop. At the World Team Trophy, it was mistakes galore, including a Waxel. At Skate Canada, it was mistakes galore again in both programs. At Rostelecom Cup, there were several problems in her LP, including an issue on the loop, which is clearly her nemesis jump. At Nationals, she fell on her combo and singled the axel in her SP. At 4CC, there were again multiple issues in both her SP and her LP. As The Skating Lesson pointed out, she's treading dangerously close to the headcase label, and that's a hard label to shake off.
If she falters at Worlds, I would most likely begin to label her as a headcase, because similar to Alissa Czisny, she seems to struggle when expectation and pressure are put on her.
BRONZE:
Agnes has really come a long way in the last year. This re-choreographed Rhapsody in Blue program is a big improvement, and she's really grown in terms of her artistry and maturity. I also love the new dress - the dark, cobalt blue is very pretty. Her jumps, although they have always been fabulous, look even better this season. The triple Lutz and triple toe-triple toe were great, as always, and I think the double flip may have just been a mental slip. The second triple Lutz looked just a bit off in the air, which I think caused the fall. Still, her jumps looked higher, tighter, and cleaner here at Nationals. She did a good job here, and in a night where everyone was also great, she should be very proud of that bronze medal. Seriously, though, that triple Lutz is a thing of beauty - she picks, and then just launches herself into the air. It's tight, clean, and there's never any doubt about whether it's fully rotated. I'm curious to see what she brings in terms of consistency and programs next year, and whether she can nab herself an Olympic berth. She's really improved over the last few seasons, and I'm excited to see her grow and improve more.
4th, 5th, and 6th places (Hicks, Gao, and Siraj) are next! Stay tuned!
-IllusionSpin
Sunday, February 17, 2013
A New Russian Star is Born
During the past 2 1/2 seasons, Russia has clearly been the dominating force in Junior Ladies. They have produced countless talents, including Sotnikova, Tuktamysheva, Agafonova, Lipnitskaya, Radionova, Shelepen, Korobeynikova, Pogorilaya, Sheveleva, Stravitskaia, Biryukova, Ovcharova, etc, that have banded together to dominate the JGP and countless other junior international events. Radionova has, as of so far, had an identical season to last year's season of Lipniskaya, i.e. winning both JGP events + the JGPF, Russian Juniors, and the senior Russian silver medal. If Radionova wins Junior Worlds, which is very likely, she and Lipnitskaya will be two juniors from the same country to have identical dominant seasons back-to-back.
However, at the Russian (Senior) Championships, which took place from December 24th-28th, a new star emerged, taking the Russian skating by storm by finishing 4th (beating out well-established oldies such as Leonova and Makarova). She goes by the name of Serafima Sakhanovich.
At 12 years old, she already has more maturity, elegance, musicality, and artistry than many top senior skaters currently competing, and she's not even eligible for junior events until next season. Unlike skaters such as Lipnitskaya and Radionova, Sakhanovich has already learned to really extend and hold out each of her moves. Obviously, this artistry and musicality is partially natural, and partially her fabulous coaches nurturing and improving it as she moves through the ranks.
I'll break down both of her programs from Russian Nationals to show all of her star qualities.
For those of you wondering, yes this is the same music that Lipinski used in the '97-'98 season. I prefer Serafima's cut of the music - it has more drama, and I personally think it's a prettier cut. She also skates with more maturity at 12, than Lipinski did at 15.
Notice how she sort of falls out of the triple Lutz, which was an intended triple Lutz-triple toe combo, and therefore fails to add on the triple toe afterwords. Now, most skaters, even the current top skaters, would have either panicked, or simply added a double toe to the triple flip. However, because this girl is made of total win, she didn't panic, and not only added the combo to the flip, but added a TRIPLE toe to the flip. That shows just how mentally strong she is - when something goes wrong, especially in the short program where a missed combo is a big mistake, she can keep her head in one place, and still make the improvised combo a triple-triple, so that she doesn't lose too many points.
I love this program so much. The music is similar to her SP, in that it has a whimsical sort of feel, but it's still very pretty, and suits her perfectly. She does such a wonderful job of bringing out all the accents of music with her movements, element placements, and her arms. Unlike all the other Russians, she doesn't have those flailing arms we've become accustomed to from skaters such as Tuktamysheva and Sotnikova - her arms are delicate, pretty, and she really used them in the choreography. Unlike Gracie Gold, Serafima's arms use multiple different levels, and she uses them to emphasize the music, instead of letting them flail about. Her deep edges are also gorgeous, and deserve plenty of recognition.
It's worth noting here that she had the highest TES (68.29) in the LP, but somehow only the 9th highest (52.58) PCS (Sotnikova somehow had the top PCS at 68). That's a SIXTEEN point difference - that's huge. Someone please explain to me how Sotnikova's choreography/composition, interpretation, transitions, and skating skills are better than Serafima's. Sotnikova plods around the ice with flailing arms to Christina Aguilera moaning, yet Sakhanovich's lyrical routine with lightning fast jump rotation, pretty choreography, and fabulous interpretation and musicality somehow gets wayyyy less in PCS. Explain to me how Leonova is more artistic than Sakhanovich (according to the corrupt Russian judges).
Some people on the Golden Skate forum seem to think that her beautiful knee bend when she lands her jumps is bad, but it's actually correct. She's really absorbing the landings on deep edges with that knee bend. That, along with her Tara Lipinski-fast jump rotation, will help her as she hits puberty and slows down a bit. The skating skills are really there to guide her to a fabulous career. Assuming she gets two JGP assignments next year, don't be surprised if she follows in Sotnikova, Lipnitskaya, and Radionova's paths.
While I have just spent the last page gushing about her, she's not completely perfect - there are a few aspects that need work. Her flexibility, for one, really needs work. Look at her spirals and her upright spin at the end - she really needs to buckle down and get to work on her flexibility. Also, her spins - not good. The side position and the haircutter during her layback are fabulous (she spin sooo fast during the haircutter), but then she crawls through the Biellman. She needs to pull her leg up more and arch her back through the Biellman - that will help her spin faster. Her positions in her final combination spin also just have a novice-like feel to them. Spending a few weeks in Detroit with Alissa Czisny certainly wouldn't do any harm.
Still, this girl has a very bright future ahead of her. From my sources, she just turned 13 on February 9th (she was born in 2000), which makes her eligible for next season's (2013-2014) JGP. I, for one, am very excited to see if she dominates next year's junior circuit. She'll be a force to be reckoned with once she's age-eligible.
Suggestions for the future:
Improve her flexibility and her spins
STAY WITH HER CURRENT COACHES - whatever they're doing seems to be working for her, and they seem like loving, protective coaches who genuinely care about her. Their choreography is also doing wonders for her - she doesn't need to go elsewhere.
Please read and comment! I would love to hear all of your opinions!
-IllusionSpin
However, at the Russian (Senior) Championships, which took place from December 24th-28th, a new star emerged, taking the Russian skating by storm by finishing 4th (beating out well-established oldies such as Leonova and Makarova). She goes by the name of Serafima Sakhanovich.
At 12 years old, she already has more maturity, elegance, musicality, and artistry than many top senior skaters currently competing, and she's not even eligible for junior events until next season. Unlike skaters such as Lipnitskaya and Radionova, Sakhanovich has already learned to really extend and hold out each of her moves. Obviously, this artistry and musicality is partially natural, and partially her fabulous coaches nurturing and improving it as she moves through the ranks.
I'll break down both of her programs from Russian Nationals to show all of her star qualities.
For those of you wondering, yes this is the same music that Lipinski used in the '97-'98 season. I prefer Serafima's cut of the music - it has more drama, and I personally think it's a prettier cut. She also skates with more maturity at 12, than Lipinski did at 15.
Notice how she sort of falls out of the triple Lutz, which was an intended triple Lutz-triple toe combo, and therefore fails to add on the triple toe afterwords. Now, most skaters, even the current top skaters, would have either panicked, or simply added a double toe to the triple flip. However, because this girl is made of total win, she didn't panic, and not only added the combo to the flip, but added a TRIPLE toe to the flip. That shows just how mentally strong she is - when something goes wrong, especially in the short program where a missed combo is a big mistake, she can keep her head in one place, and still make the improvised combo a triple-triple, so that she doesn't lose too many points.
I love this program so much. The music is similar to her SP, in that it has a whimsical sort of feel, but it's still very pretty, and suits her perfectly. She does such a wonderful job of bringing out all the accents of music with her movements, element placements, and her arms. Unlike all the other Russians, she doesn't have those flailing arms we've become accustomed to from skaters such as Tuktamysheva and Sotnikova - her arms are delicate, pretty, and she really used them in the choreography. Unlike Gracie Gold, Serafima's arms use multiple different levels, and she uses them to emphasize the music, instead of letting them flail about. Her deep edges are also gorgeous, and deserve plenty of recognition.
It's worth noting here that she had the highest TES (68.29) in the LP, but somehow only the 9th highest (52.58) PCS (Sotnikova somehow had the top PCS at 68). That's a SIXTEEN point difference - that's huge. Someone please explain to me how Sotnikova's choreography/composition, interpretation, transitions, and skating skills are better than Serafima's. Sotnikova plods around the ice with flailing arms to Christina Aguilera moaning, yet Sakhanovich's lyrical routine with lightning fast jump rotation, pretty choreography, and fabulous interpretation and musicality somehow gets wayyyy less in PCS. Explain to me how Leonova is more artistic than Sakhanovich (according to the corrupt Russian judges).
Some people on the Golden Skate forum seem to think that her beautiful knee bend when she lands her jumps is bad, but it's actually correct. She's really absorbing the landings on deep edges with that knee bend. That, along with her Tara Lipinski-fast jump rotation, will help her as she hits puberty and slows down a bit. The skating skills are really there to guide her to a fabulous career. Assuming she gets two JGP assignments next year, don't be surprised if she follows in Sotnikova, Lipnitskaya, and Radionova's paths.
While I have just spent the last page gushing about her, she's not completely perfect - there are a few aspects that need work. Her flexibility, for one, really needs work. Look at her spirals and her upright spin at the end - she really needs to buckle down and get to work on her flexibility. Also, her spins - not good. The side position and the haircutter during her layback are fabulous (she spin sooo fast during the haircutter), but then she crawls through the Biellman. She needs to pull her leg up more and arch her back through the Biellman - that will help her spin faster. Her positions in her final combination spin also just have a novice-like feel to them. Spending a few weeks in Detroit with Alissa Czisny certainly wouldn't do any harm.
Still, this girl has a very bright future ahead of her. From my sources, she just turned 13 on February 9th (she was born in 2000), which makes her eligible for next season's (2013-2014) JGP. I, for one, am very excited to see if she dominates next year's junior circuit. She'll be a force to be reckoned with once she's age-eligible.
Suggestions for the future:
Improve her flexibility and her spins
STAY WITH HER CURRENT COACHES - whatever they're doing seems to be working for her, and they seem like loving, protective coaches who genuinely care about her. Their choreography is also doing wonders for her - she doesn't need to go elsewhere.
Please read and comment! I would love to hear all of your opinions!
-IllusionSpin
Friday, January 18, 2013
European Championships Preview - Men's, Pairs, and Dance
Since I don't follow Men's, Pairs, or Dance that much (I probably follow Dance the most), I'm doing a quick preview of all three disciplines.
For Men's especially, I don't really know the skaters very well, i.e. their consistency, mental game, etc.
Anyways, here we go:
Men's:
The top players here are most likely going to be the same from last years Euros. The dominating forces in Men's are Russia, France, and the Czech Republic. Spain also has Javier Fernandez, who caused a major upset at Skate Canada this season by rightfully defeating Patrick Chan. Fernandez was the only European skater at the GPF, placing 4th, although winning the FS. He has an excellent chance of nabbing bronze, but he'll need to be completely clean.
Michal Brezina and Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic were 4th and 5th, respectively, last year at Euros, and should do about the same.
Florent Amodio and Brian Joubert of France were 3rd and 8th, respectively, last season. Both are always a force, and can be relied on for a top 10 finish. If Florent Amodio is low after the short program, don't assume he's finished. Amodio was 7th after the SP and Trophee Eric Bompard this season, and came roaring back to win the FS and the bronze medal.
All three Russians, Evgeni Plushenko, Sergei Voronov, and Maxim Kovtun, all have excellent shots at medals. Don't be surprised if Plushenko and his flailing arms while skating to the next jump win over skaters who understand the concept of artistry. Maxim Kovtun is the reigning JGPF champion, and was somewhat controversially picked over Konstantin Menshov, with Morozov dramatically claiming that Menshov's life has been ruined. Kovtun will be at his first senior ISU Championship, and needs to not let the pressure get to him.
Pairs:
It appears that only 15 pairs will be competing here, which makes things a bit interesting.
The main players for medals here are going to be Savchenko/Szolkowy of Germany, Bazarova/Larionov, Kavaguti/Smirnov, and Volosozhar/Trankov of Russia. All three Russian teams were at the GPF, with V/T winning, and B/L placing 2nd. Now, 3 of the 6 teams who qualified were not European (Pang/Tong, Duhamel/Radford, and Moore-Towers/Moscovitch). S/S withdrew from their 2nd GP event, which meant that they could not qualify. Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek of Italy were 2nd alternates to the GPF, and were 4th at last years Euros (S/S were also out due to injury). They have an excellent chance at the top 5, and maybe even the bronze if one of the Russian teams has some problems.
Other teams like Popova/Massot and James/Cipres, both of France, should easily be in the top 10, give this absurdly weak field.
Dance:
This was supposed to be an easy win for Péchalat/Bourzat, the 2-time reigning European Champions and reigning World/GPF bronze medalists. They are easily the best team in Europe, but had to withdraw due to a groin injury to Bourzat.
That means that like the Ladies' competition, this will also be an Italy/Russia competition.
I'd say that the favorites are Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte of Italy. They were 2nd at both of their GP competitions, and placed 4th at the GPF, behind the absolute 3 best teams in the world. They'll be chased by all three Russian teams, Bobrova/Soloviev, Ilinykh/Katsalapov, and Riazanova/Tkachenko. The first two Russian teams were both at the GPF, and placed 5th and 6th, respectively. Riazanova/Tkachenko were the 2nd alternates to the GPF, but the 1st alternates were not European. They can get on the podium if one of the other three teams makes a mistake, but will most likely place 4th.
Other teams to look for in the top 10 are Tobias/Stagniunas of Lithuania and Zhiganshina/Gazsi of Germany. I know nothing about all the other random teams competing here.
The 2013 European Figure Skating Championships being Monday, January 21st, and go until Sunday, January 27th.
Yes, it is the same week as the US Championships, so it should be a fun week of skating. I'm psyched.
- IllusionSpin
For Men's especially, I don't really know the skaters very well, i.e. their consistency, mental game, etc.
Anyways, here we go:
Men's:
The top players here are most likely going to be the same from last years Euros. The dominating forces in Men's are Russia, France, and the Czech Republic. Spain also has Javier Fernandez, who caused a major upset at Skate Canada this season by rightfully defeating Patrick Chan. Fernandez was the only European skater at the GPF, placing 4th, although winning the FS. He has an excellent chance of nabbing bronze, but he'll need to be completely clean.
Michal Brezina and Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic were 4th and 5th, respectively, last year at Euros, and should do about the same.
Florent Amodio and Brian Joubert of France were 3rd and 8th, respectively, last season. Both are always a force, and can be relied on for a top 10 finish. If Florent Amodio is low after the short program, don't assume he's finished. Amodio was 7th after the SP and Trophee Eric Bompard this season, and came roaring back to win the FS and the bronze medal.
All three Russians, Evgeni Plushenko, Sergei Voronov, and Maxim Kovtun, all have excellent shots at medals. Don't be surprised if Plushenko and his flailing arms while skating to the next jump win over skaters who understand the concept of artistry. Maxim Kovtun is the reigning JGPF champion, and was somewhat controversially picked over Konstantin Menshov, with Morozov dramatically claiming that Menshov's life has been ruined. Kovtun will be at his first senior ISU Championship, and needs to not let the pressure get to him.
Pairs:
It appears that only 15 pairs will be competing here, which makes things a bit interesting.
The main players for medals here are going to be Savchenko/Szolkowy of Germany, Bazarova/Larionov, Kavaguti/Smirnov, and Volosozhar/Trankov of Russia. All three Russian teams were at the GPF, with V/T winning, and B/L placing 2nd. Now, 3 of the 6 teams who qualified were not European (Pang/Tong, Duhamel/Radford, and Moore-Towers/Moscovitch). S/S withdrew from their 2nd GP event, which meant that they could not qualify. Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek of Italy were 2nd alternates to the GPF, and were 4th at last years Euros (S/S were also out due to injury). They have an excellent chance at the top 5, and maybe even the bronze if one of the Russian teams has some problems.
Other teams like Popova/Massot and James/Cipres, both of France, should easily be in the top 10, give this absurdly weak field.
Dance:
This was supposed to be an easy win for Péchalat/Bourzat, the 2-time reigning European Champions and reigning World/GPF bronze medalists. They are easily the best team in Europe, but had to withdraw due to a groin injury to Bourzat.
That means that like the Ladies' competition, this will also be an Italy/Russia competition.
I'd say that the favorites are Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte of Italy. They were 2nd at both of their GP competitions, and placed 4th at the GPF, behind the absolute 3 best teams in the world. They'll be chased by all three Russian teams, Bobrova/Soloviev, Ilinykh/Katsalapov, and Riazanova/Tkachenko. The first two Russian teams were both at the GPF, and placed 5th and 6th, respectively. Riazanova/Tkachenko were the 2nd alternates to the GPF, but the 1st alternates were not European. They can get on the podium if one of the other three teams makes a mistake, but will most likely place 4th.
Other teams to look for in the top 10 are Tobias/Stagniunas of Lithuania and Zhiganshina/Gazsi of Germany. I know nothing about all the other random teams competing here.
The 2013 European Figure Skating Championships being Monday, January 21st, and go until Sunday, January 27th.
Yes, it is the same week as the US Championships, so it should be a fun week of skating. I'm psyched.
- IllusionSpin
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