Random Figure Skating Questions

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

Good Morning Everyone.......I was wondering if skaters ever do Semi-Biographical programs? I was listening to Stevie Nicks this morning and she has 2 very good songs that seem to mirror the pathway of her life.

They are "Edge Of Seventeen" and "Landslide"

At this point, if I had to pick a skater who could bring these songs to life, I'd go with Ashley Wagner or Elena Leonova. They are two of my favorite skater's and whether they win or lose, I will be a devoted fan.

Here's "Edge of Seventeen" since I don't think young people know this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

I'll post Landslide if anyone's interested but, I think everyone's at least heard the Dixie Chick Version.

tulosai · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
Good Morning Everyone.......I was wondering if skaters ever do Semi-Biographical programs? I was listening to Stevie Nicks this morning and she has 2 very good songs that seem to mirror the pathway of her life.

They are "Edge Of Seventeen" and "Landslide"

At this point, if I had to pick a skater who could bring these songs to life, I'd go with Ashley Wagner or Elena Leonova. They are two of my favorite skater's and whether they win or lose, I will be a devoted fan.

Here's "Edge of Seventeen" since I don't think young people know this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

I'll post Landslide if anyone's interested but, I think everyone's at least heard the Dixie Chick Version.

Gordieva and Grinkov said their 1994 Olympic LP was meant to represent their love story.

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

tulosai said:
Gordieva and Grinkov said their 1994 Olympic LP was meant to represent their love story.

Really. That's a great story and adds another layer to their Iconic love story. BTW did she Marry Ilia Kulik?

tulosai · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
Really. That's a great story and adds another layer to their Iconic love story. BTW did she Marry Ilia Kulik?

Yes she is still married to him and they have a daughter together

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

tulosai said:
Yes she is still married to him and they have a daughter together

Hurray!!!

That makes me happy. Thanks Tulosai. If She looks anything like her daughter with Sergei, she's going to be beautiful.

karlowens2 · Nov 18, 2015

Does anyone know about the forward scratch spin? I was watching 2004 Sasha at the Marshalls Competition - the one where she didn't fall down in the long. She finishes with this blurred spin that 'ole Dick Buttons says is the hardest. I never see anyone do it. Is it not something you can get points for in the new system? It's very impressive looking.

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

karlowens2 said:
Does anyone know about the forward scratch spin? I was watching 2004 Sasha at the Marshalls Competition - the one where she didn't fall down in the long. She finishes with this blurred spin that 'ole Dick Buttons says is the hardest. I never see anyone do it. Is it not something you can get points for in the new system? It's very impressive looking.

This is a great question. If it's anything like when I was young, It was the first thing my coach told us NOT to try. Of course, it was the first thing we'd all try when our coach was looking the other way.....

creaturelover · Nov 18, 2015

Can someone explain to non-skaters why a forward scratch spin is so difficult?

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

creaturelover said:
Can someone explain to non-skaters why a forward scratch spin is so difficult?

It's very hard to explain if you've never skated. When my dancers would ask me, here's what I'd tell them. Remember when you rode a bike with "Hand Brakes" for the first time. They'd always tell you NOT to apply the front brakes only or, you'd go flying over the handle bars. I think it has to do with Force. If you're running down the street and someone pushes you from behind you fall face first. If someone grabs your shirt from behind when you're running, you slow down but, you don't fall. I hope that made sense.

creaturelover · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
It's very hard to explain if you've never skated. When my dancers would ask me, here's what I'd tell them. Remember when you rode a bike with "Hand Brakes" for the first time. They'd always tell you NOT to apply the front brakes only or, you'd go flying over the handle bars. I think it has to do with Force. If you're running down the street and someone pushes you from behind you fall face first. If someone grabs your shirt from behind when you're running, you slow down but, you don't fall. I hope that made sense.

That actually does make sense, good job! Thanks for that!

dorispulaski · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
Good Morning Everyone.......I was wondering if skaters ever do Semi-Biographical programs? I was listening to Stevie Nicks this morning and she has 2 very good songs that seem to mirror the pathway of her life.

They are "Edge Of Seventeen" and "Landslide"

At this point, if I had to pick a skater who could bring these songs to life, I'd go with Ashley Wagner or Elena Leonova. They are two of my favorite skater's and whether they win or lose, I will be a devoted fan.

Here's "Edge of Seventeen" since I don't think young people know this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

I'll post Landslide if anyone's interested but, I think everyone's at least heard the Dixie Chick Version.

Ross Miner in 2014 did a long program about the Boston Marathon bombings. Some of the images are from his experiences from that day, but they are mixed with what other people did.

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

dorispulaski said:
Ross Miner in 2014 did a long program about the Boston Marathon bombings. Some of the images are from his experiences from that day, but they are mixed with what other people did.

I really like Ross Miner and I loved his Casablanca Free Program. He reminds a bit of Max in that I wish he'd learn to use his "Upper Body" as well as he uses his legs. He has beautiful turnout on his camel spins, and the deepest knees I've ever seen when he goes into his triple axels. His posture is beautiful however.....He needs to learn use his "Ribcage" I'd love to see Ross take a Modern, or even an Afro Jazz, Dance Class. I think it would do wonders for his skating.

Weathergal · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
Good Morning Everyone.......I was wondering if skaters ever do Semi-Biographical programs? I was listening to Stevie Nicks this morning and she has 2 very good songs that seem to mirror the pathway of her life.

They are "Edge

At this point, if I had to pick a skater who could bring these songs to life, I'd go with Ashley Wagner or Elena Leonova. They are two of my favorite skater's and whether they win or lose, I will be a devoted fan.

Here's "Edge of Seventeen" since I don't think young people know this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

I'll post Landslide if anyone's interested but, I think everyone's at least heard the Dixie Chick Version.

I believe Ashley Wagner's "Moulin Rouge" is supposed to represent her different feelings about her skating career. I hope I'm not confusing that with something else...

karne · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
Hurray!!! That makes me happy. Thanks Tulosai. If She looks anything like her daughter with Sergei, she's going to be beautiful.

She looks a lot like her father, and is probably going to be tall like him too. She also jumps like her father, but has her mother's grace on the ice.

video of Liza from last year

mrrice · Nov 18, 2015

karne said:
She looks a lot like her father, and is probably going to be tall like him too. She also jumps like her father, but has her mother's grace on the ice.

video of Liza from last year

Holy Cow!!! How old is she? Her arm movements are gorgeous. She's gorgeous. Wow!!! I can't wait to see her grow over the next seasons. :points:

gkelly · Nov 18, 2015

Doing a forward scratch spin at all is one of the easier spinning moves beginners learn, right after they get comfortable with spinning on one foot at all.

Doing it well is a different story -- it's the easiest spin in which to pick up a lot of speed, but you have to be well balanced over the spinning foot to control that speed. If not you will travel at best, or lose balance and have to bail out at worst.

What makes an excellent scratch spin -- well centered, extremely fast/blurred, well balanced, many revolutions going by too quickly to count -- harder than a good or mediocre or poor scratch spin is all about the quality. It's nothing that can be identified as a level feature under IJS, so it can't earn higher base value, only higher GOE. Therefore it's not valuable enough to include in an IJS program, except maybe as the end of a combination spin.

If you see a low-level skater who is not an absolute beginner and is able to do a mediocre or poor sitspin or camel spin or layback or back scratch spin, I guarantee you they can already do at least a mediocre or poor forward scratch. Some low-level (e.g., pre-preliminary) skaters can already do quite good forward scratch.

Once they start working toward more difficult spins, though, they don't spend time on practicing the plain old scratch spin to make it excellent, as more skaters did in the mid-20th century, for example, before so many variations became popular. Even by the 1990s, well before IJS, more skaters were aiming to include more difficult and unique variations than to excel at the basic scratch spin.

Perdita · Nov 18, 2015

mrrice said:
Good Morning Everyone.......I was wondering if skaters ever do Semi-Biographical programs? I was listening to Stevie Nicks this morning and she has 2 very good songs that seem to mirror the pathway of her life.

They are "Edge Of Seventeen" and "Landslide"

At this point, if I had to pick a skater who could bring these songs to life, I'd go with Ashley Wagner or Elena Leonova. They are two of my favorite skater's and whether they win or lose, I will be a devoted fan.

Here's "Edge of Seventeen" since I don't think young people know this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

I'll post Landslide if anyone's interested but, I think everyone's at least heard the Dixie Chick Version.

Weathergal said:
I believe Ashley Wagner's "Moulin Rouge" is supposed to represent her different feelings about her skating career. I hope I'm not confusing that with something else...

As far as I remember, Akiko Suzuki's ''Hymne de l'Amour" and Daisuke Takahashi's "Beatle's Medley" are meant to represent their skating career. I remember both of them saying that their musics reflect the bitterness but also joy they experienced through theeir career. It's a lovely thought to end one's career with such programmes.

tulosai · Nov 19, 2015

mrrice said:
Holy Cow!!! How old is she? Her arm movements are gorgeous. She's gorgeous. Wow!!! I can't wait to see her grow over the next seasons.

She is 14 now; she failed to qualify for Sectionals this year at the novice level; she was 7th out of 18 skaters at Regionals. She does have a triple toe, triple salchow, and double axel; it doesn't seem that she has other triples right now. She also struggles with levels. I think her parents still coach her but honestly if she wants to advance I think she needs more and better technical help at least with hitting levels. It really could have made a difference.

mrrice · Nov 19, 2015

tulosai said:
She is 14 now; she failed to qualify for Sectionals this year at the novice level; she was 7th out of 18 skaters at Regionals. She does have a triple toe, triple salchow, and double axel; it doesn't seem that she has other triples right now. She also struggles with levels. I think her parents still coach her but honestly if she wants to advance I think she needs more and better technical help at least with hitting levels. It really could have made a difference.

That's too bad about sectionals. I think you're right about her parents coaching her. 13 to 16 were always difficult years for my dance students and more importantly for "their Parents." In California, the junior year of high school or 11th grade is particularly stressful. This is the year when all the college entrance exams take place and they require a lot of study time and focus. Unfortunately, skating requires the same time and discipline.

Like my other sport, Tennis. Several of the elite level young players are home schooled. When I was young, they had "Tutor's" on set but, they were not IMO, very helpful. Anyone who actually planned on going to college would hire a tutor who came to their home. Note: Most of the people I danced and sang with professionally did NOT go to college. However, "Theater" has a much longer shelf life. You're not considered over the hill when turn 30 like you are in skating.

The other day, the B.ESP guys said "Gracie is running out of time at 20 years old" Can you imagine being in a career where that statement is true. That's why I always want skaters to do well and be happy. Their career's are over in a flash and we all see what's happened to Smart and Talented Debbie Thomas.

AnnaTheMusician · Nov 19, 2015

Question about Gran Prix competition places. There are two in North America, two in Asia and two in Europe. So, one in Canada and one in USA - every time in different cities, am I right? One in Japan and one in China. And one in France and one in Russia. Why are the European GP's always in France and in Russia? As a Finn a would be very happy if there were a GP in Finland. Finlandia Trophy is nowadays part of the CS but why it couldn't be a GP competition? It's very famous competition in Finland, there are lots of audience and the organisation works professionally.

And if not in Finland, why not somewhere else? Italy? Sweden? Germany?

Random Figure Skating Questions

mrrice

tulosai

mrrice

tulosai

mrrice

karlowens2

mrrice

creaturelover

mrrice

creaturelover

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

mrrice

Weathergal

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

mrrice

gkelly

Perdita

tulosai

mrrice

AnnaTheMusician

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