Except its all OPINION. Just because you and others don't like Evgenia's presentation, artistry, doesn't mean she doesn't have any or the judges have to mark her low. Opinion is not fact or law
And the majority of skaters do have similar jump layouts and moves from season to season no matter what the music is so criticizing Evgenia alone on it is
By editing music like this her choreographer does not intend to elicit emotions from people, but to create some sensation on the world stage, I think. Actually not many people take this theme that seriously.
Sometimes I'm tired of figure skating fans.hwell:
Go Evgenia! You are a talented, cute, nice girl. After these hateful comments I really want to you beat everyone, everywhere, everytime!
We can just agree on the obvious fact that program could have been better with a better thought through soundtrack. However, I dig the message and can't understand how it can be viewed as offensive. It's rather a very actual to the current issues in the world. And, yes, if Averbukh's message is "please stop violence" he picked the right topic and right metaphor, obvious symbol of the most tragic terrorist attack. Not because it's the biggest or the most tragic one, but because it was made such a symbol by our culture and media, so many people can relate to it. Not just Americans, but many other nationalities. So, it's a good idea and good tribute: the young girl waves goodbye to her husband/boyfriend/father/brother/friend (is it at home or at an airport, we don't know, it's upto personal interpretation) and some time later she sees all this horrendous newscasts and sounds. Hey we all been there. Almost the whole planet seen it, live, uncensored, with the same sounds and vivid explicit images and video snippets on our TVs. And the girl starts worrying about the person she just said goodbye without knowing would it her last goodbye, she can't find the place to calm down and restlessly rushes through variety of emotions ranging from hope, worry and fear. She runs, spins and jumps out her mind with anxiety. Until she receives that phone call and we left to guess was it a good news or bad ones. This is how i see it at least. Its really easy and straightforward. The whole concept is good. Now it's another story how it choreographed and performed. Could it be better? Yes. But judges loved it anyways, because I think they like that it sends such an important social message out there: please stop violence.
Ok. Lets draw anlogies here. Jsut for giggles. What message tries to send a girl who trying (or better yet: struggling) to portray a Firebird which looks more like a frozen chicken than a proud beautiful firebird caught by obnoxiously daring young peasant? Don't you think Russians can get offended by such poor interpretation of one of their popular farrytale from their ancient mythology. Firebird is a firebird, not the chaotic windmill as it sometimes portrayed.
Or someone making a ballet piece to Anastasia myth and tragic story which is so sensitive to all modern Russians, when bolsheviks executed all Royal family, and only Russian princess Anastasia had allegedly (more like a myth) miraculously escaped and lived somewhere under fake name bellow the Soviet radar. It's one of their national great tragedy. Yet. Royal Ballet doing their version of ballet based on this events (the story of Anastasia). I think it's either McMillan or Wheeldon. We don't expect Russians to boycotting, booing or picketing in front of Royal Opera House, do we? And I am sure we can find more modern and recent examples and analogies like this. Btw, I heard recent cinematographic interpretation of War and Peace by BBC (was it 5 or 6 episode series in total?) was very favorably received by Russians. They said it get the essence, mentality and feel of Russia at that time, like when Moscovites were leaving the city the day before Napoleon was about to seize the city, they not only left their dear homes and estates behind, but set them on fire in desperate state of mind of helplessness and left in agony further east. Yet genius military man Napoleon was silly waiting the whole day for obedient and submissive citizens of Moscow to bring him the keys to the city as symbolic gesture of submission. You gotta be Russian to understand that barbaric act in the eyes of westerners of that time. What could have been easier: bring the keys to Napoleon, pledge submission and host French nobels, officers and soldiers in Moscow for a while, and pay some sort of taxes and contribution later on as a losing side. And keep living a cozy life in your cozy warm houses in Moscow. But nope, Russian mentality is different: it's better to burn your own house and all your expensive belongings when share it or give it to invaders. You gotta be Russian to understand this logic, but that how they are: they would rather starve to death than bow down. Heh. And this BBC's version got it right in the TV interpretation. Russians did not even lost their sleep over controversial insinuation of incest between brother and sister in the British version, even though to my knowledge it was not in the Tolstoy's book.
Or when someone skates to Russian Tschaikovsky, Musorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Glinka, Stravinsky, Schnittke or many other, we don't really expect Russians to get offended when skaters don't make a "proper interpretation" of particular music piece be it about struggle against tsarism, Stalin's repressions, gay rights and acceptance by society in old Russian Empire (see Tchaikovsky story) or other tragical event of their past or recent times. Would Russian gays be offended when the Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker music would be skated in "unsensitive and tacky way" and without proper consideration of depth of the music like Waltz of Flowers is actually his desperate cry for his dream, and the whole ballet is about transformation into somebody he really are and desperately wanted to be, despite of disapproval by society of those times. Yet we see another performance to yet another Tchaikovsky warhorse which looks might look like rather cheerful and upbeat choreography, which might seem strange because even though Nutcracker sounds like a very melodic, cheerfully and catered for kids, but there is a very good reason why the almost all of the score is composed in Minor.
My point is simple: in the art and so called "beauty sport" such figure skating everything us up for grabs and interpretation. How it is successful and touching as an art is the whole another story. High marks and praise from judges are probably not for a quality of Averbukh's program, but may be it's just a message from FIS and judges to all coaches and skaters (international panel, I must say): "Hey, guys, this Averbukh's program might looks exploitive and tacky, but this is the direction we want all of you to go. The more talented people will be pushing there the less tacky and pretentious it will get over time. We, as figure skating communtiy, need to be more actual and contemporaneous with currents, may be to send a good social message, a simple and nice story. No reason to butcher Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov all the time." Just my humble speculations. There is probably a good reason why modern music and voiceovers were made allowed. The FIS is trying to stay current, modern and more popular among average Joes aka consumers. No reason for a young girl to pretend to be beautiful ballerina to portray a Firebird, if as a result the public sees NOT the nice performance on the greatest music by Igor Stravinsky and revolutionary ballet choreography by Fokine or Dyagilev, but Gracie's "frozen chicken" instead. No disrespect to undoubted talent of Ms Gold.
I know Russian probably giggle when they see such interpretations of Firebird.
Russkie probably giggle to all our "frozen chickens", because they know the standards, but they don't get offended if non-Russian performer or choreographer are not delivering it in a god way. So why not allow Averbukh to take a swipe at 9/11 tragedy and see how it develops and comes out. Judges certainly excited, as it's at least a fresh breath for them after all those countless warhorses in the last 50 years or so.
This is approximately how I see it.
The program could be better, yep. But
how good Averbukh is (or is not) we will see in Olympic year, when it matter the most. Last Olympic he was right on the money with his Shindler List and Yulia. Everything felt right into places back then I must say. For a now, this year, he just making yet another controversial and provocative splash with this Med's program of his, but judges dig it. Go figure.
Yikes, that 3T was pretty blatant.
Sometimes I'm tired of figure skating fans.
Go Evgenia! You are a talented, cute, nice girl. After these hateful comments I really want to you beat everyone, everywhere, everytime!
Because she beat Osmond in Skate Canada, that's why.
