- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
I am on my interview trail and so behind catching up the competition videos and the conversations in GS.
Rika reminds me of Ando Miki. She is technically strong but musical interpretation is not as strong as her technique. She came prepared, skated deligently, and rewarded accordingly. In that sense, I think her sp stands out better than the LP does. Her LP was Carmen, but she was not Carmen. Her skating was precise and strong but characterless. It was the music that filled in the void and drove the program to look like Carmen. That's why I felt uncomfortable watching her skating at SC. Here, she skated much better technically and synced with music better. However, she needs to find a better way to connect to the music.
I see some comparison between So Youn and Yulia. In a large category, they are both very character driven skaters; So youn as a Juliet and Yulia as a girl in a red coat are telling compelling stories. I think the viewers are connected sentimentally to the skaters as well as convinced by their stories. However, they both are not technically perfect and struggling with consistency. Understandably they both are young and under enormous pressure from their home countries. Although they are not perfect, those two are the most exciting young skaters to me; who they are going to portray, what story they are going to tell us. Long story short, I like both of them.
Rika reminds me of Ando Miki. She is technically strong but musical interpretation is not as strong as her technique. She came prepared, skated deligently, and rewarded accordingly. In that sense, I think her sp stands out better than the LP does. Her LP was Carmen, but she was not Carmen. Her skating was precise and strong but characterless. It was the music that filled in the void and drove the program to look like Carmen. That's why I felt uncomfortable watching her skating at SC. Here, she skated much better technically and synced with music better. However, she needs to find a better way to connect to the music.
I see some comparison between So Youn and Yulia. In a large category, they are both very character driven skaters; So youn as a Juliet and Yulia as a girl in a red coat are telling compelling stories. I think the viewers are connected sentimentally to the skaters as well as convinced by their stories. However, they both are not technically perfect and struggling with consistency. Understandably they both are young and under enormous pressure from their home countries. Although they are not perfect, those two are the most exciting young skaters to me; who they are going to portray, what story they are going to tell us. Long story short, I like both of them.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. It's not a perfect world and what is perfect appears to be in the eye of the beholder.
. I read somewhere that you have to consider judges as being myopic, and you have to come prepared, show your A-game straight to their faces and leave no room for deductions. Tatsuki, Akiko and recently Misha and Rika are those who have made good use of the opportunities given to them. All of them don't have the advantage of being their federation's no 1 (the three Japanese skaters) or having a big federation (Misha) and they have to instill a copious amount of confidence in themselves, stay focused and skate clean to get noticed by the judges. Tatsuki used to be just a shadow of Kozuka but he diligently worked his way up and squeezed every last little bit of opportunities he has and now he has overcome Kozuka to become a major contender. I think Soyoun is a late bloomer and she didn't get the optimum investment from her federation. Her perfect jump techniques may treat her well in the future. Both Satoko and Rika wasn't noticed until this season and they are not their Federation's favorites, but they have been sent to a lot of B-competitions and summer camps since they were novices AFAIK.
