- Joined
- Mar 28, 2006
- Country
-
I guess the definition of versatility is in the eye of the beholder 
In the past 5-6 seasons, Hanyu has never - IMHO - done but serious and more serious routines, both SP and FS (Parisienne walkways could have been set to, say, Rachamaninoff easily enough). His vocabulary is pretty standard figure skating stuff and there is really no variation of movement whatsoever, Hanyu feels always the same whatever his theme or music is. Chan has tried jazz/lighthearted twice in SP (however, Mack the Knife is a murder ballad and doing a "fun" program to it is just plain wrong) and has tried tango once in SP. In FS Chan is always dead serious with classical style music. He has a very good lyrical style, but does not seem to be able to shed it to do something else.
Javi has done serious opera FS on Verdi (2011-2), serious Zorro SP (2012-3, but does this count as Latin?!), no pantomime lighthearted SP/FSs (I Love Paris 2011-2, Satan etc. 2013-4; Peter Gunn 2013-4). His comedic stuff ranges from slapstick of EX like Aerobics Class, to a character driven slapsticky Pirates to rom-com of Chaplin and more classical opera buffa character in the Barber of Seville. Black Betty is harder to define - but fun with one mime bit (which kind of accentuates the lyric at that point). Last season's programs I particularly appreciate because they took distinct dance styles (flamenco and jazz dance) and put them to skating and maintained the style almost 100%. In Guys and Dolls the mime in the first part is actually lifted from the movie choreo and the dice section compliments the lyrics plus is again a straight reference to the movie (and gives him a few seconds of rest).
In addition to Danny Boy (Worlds EX), Javi did some EX programs in the Japanese Fantasy on Ice tour this summer which were quite different from his usual repertoire (a J-pop crossover style version of Polovetsian Dances and Yoshida Brothers' "Barcelona") as well as Metallica's Nothing Else Matters in Kings on Ice tour. They were ok performances and maybe could have gotten still better with a bit of time and more work. Javi has probably has the potential to do just about anything, but if he does not feel comfortable with the theme/style, it will probably not end up in a competition programme (and this probably applies to just about every skater).
Btw, many people appreciated Mikhail Kolyada's SP last (and this?) season very much and it was actually ripped from Javi's 2010-11 repertoire: the concept, half of the music, much of the choreo and most of the expression...
Just to return to the topic, one of my fave skater/choreographer teams was back in the day Rahkamo & Kokko and Jorma Uotinen who did quite a few of their legendary FDs (Valse Triste particularly).
E
In the past 5-6 seasons, Hanyu has never - IMHO - done but serious and more serious routines, both SP and FS (Parisienne walkways could have been set to, say, Rachamaninoff easily enough). His vocabulary is pretty standard figure skating stuff and there is really no variation of movement whatsoever, Hanyu feels always the same whatever his theme or music is. Chan has tried jazz/lighthearted twice in SP (however, Mack the Knife is a murder ballad and doing a "fun" program to it is just plain wrong) and has tried tango once in SP. In FS Chan is always dead serious with classical style music. He has a very good lyrical style, but does not seem to be able to shed it to do something else.
Javi has done serious opera FS on Verdi (2011-2), serious Zorro SP (2012-3, but does this count as Latin?!), no pantomime lighthearted SP/FSs (I Love Paris 2011-2, Satan etc. 2013-4; Peter Gunn 2013-4). His comedic stuff ranges from slapstick of EX like Aerobics Class, to a character driven slapsticky Pirates to rom-com of Chaplin and more classical opera buffa character in the Barber of Seville. Black Betty is harder to define - but fun with one mime bit (which kind of accentuates the lyric at that point). Last season's programs I particularly appreciate because they took distinct dance styles (flamenco and jazz dance) and put them to skating and maintained the style almost 100%. In Guys and Dolls the mime in the first part is actually lifted from the movie choreo and the dice section compliments the lyrics plus is again a straight reference to the movie (and gives him a few seconds of rest).
In addition to Danny Boy (Worlds EX), Javi did some EX programs in the Japanese Fantasy on Ice tour this summer which were quite different from his usual repertoire (a J-pop crossover style version of Polovetsian Dances and Yoshida Brothers' "Barcelona") as well as Metallica's Nothing Else Matters in Kings on Ice tour. They were ok performances and maybe could have gotten still better with a bit of time and more work. Javi has probably has the potential to do just about anything, but if he does not feel comfortable with the theme/style, it will probably not end up in a competition programme (and this probably applies to just about every skater).
Btw, many people appreciated Mikhail Kolyada's SP last (and this?) season very much and it was actually ripped from Javi's 2010-11 repertoire: the concept, half of the music, much of the choreo and most of the expression...
Just to return to the topic, one of my fave skater/choreographer teams was back in the day Rahkamo & Kokko and Jorma Uotinen who did quite a few of their legendary FDs (Valse Triste particularly).
E
Last edited by a moderator:
