How Do We Measure Musicality in FS?

skatingfan4ever · Mar 14, 2018

Someone already posted Patrick's A Journey LP from the 2016/2017 season (the Nationals version is even better than COC), but actually I think his Chopin LP shows even more "obvious" musicality. There are moments in the music that Patrick matches perfectly with his movement. Some examples:

- 2:15-2:20, where Patrick changes positions in his camel spin and slows it down to signify the music change
- 2:26-2:32, where a delicate arm gesture matches the two piano notes perfectly.
- 3:25-3:30, where he does 3Lo-turn-stop
- 3:41, where he lands the 3S right on the chord of the scherzo
- 4:32-4:37, where he glides to a stop and lifts his head up right on another clanging chord before running into his combination spin

4everchan, who used to post on GS and who is a professional pianist, commented that Patrick flows on the ice as a pianist’s fingers would flow on the keys. I find most of his programs quite musical, but particularly the ones since his comeback. When he had that disastrous LP at 2017 SC, when I watched it on TV I put it on mute to avoid the commentary, and still I found myself so enriched by the program, looking at all the beautiful images Patrick created. The jumps were a disaster, but there was still so much to appreciate.

When a skater does their choreography thoughtfully and I find myself going back to rewatch the tiniest nuances and moments of the program, that's when I know I love a program. It's when I stop thinking about a checklist of elements and can just sit back and take the program in as a whole because things have a sense of flowing naturally into one another. A musical program feels like it goes by so quickly (because you're enjoying yourself so much), while at the same time it feels like time slows down (because you lose yourself in the moment the skater creates and want to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible). For me, musicality is a matter of whether the movement matches the music and also whether there is clear intention from the skater in executing that movement. It's difficult to do, making it all the more exciting to see. Before I go I'll throw in Patrick's Blackbird SP as well. And, even at 18 he had musicality, at 2009 4CC.

draqq · Mar 14, 2018

I'm just going to sneak in Jeffrey Buttle into the mix here as one of the most musical skaters I've ever seen. His Nagoyqatsi program from Canadian Nationals still stirs me to this day with its modern movement, inventiveness yet minimalism, and uncanny timing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYv170n84Tw

skatingfan4ever · Mar 14, 2018

draqq said:
I'm just going to sneak in Jeffrey Buttle into the mix here as one of the most musical skaters I've ever seen. His Nagoyqatsi program from Canadian Nationals still stirs me to this day with its modern movement, inventiveness yet minimalism, and uncanny timing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYv170n84Tw

:2thumbs: :yes: No jumps necessary for it either. :love:

I'll thank Jeff forever for Patrick's Elegie, not to mention the programs he has skated himself!!!!!!

m0001 · Mar 14, 2018

skatingfan4ever said:
:2thumbs: :yes: No jumps necessary for it either. I'll thank Jeff forever for Patrick's Elegie, not to mention the programs he has skated himself!!!!!!

To add to your list, this one (when he was 17 years old): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d9LSJIzuQU
And this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHOMvzABdO8
And this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtA_xK3FgbA
And this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BKv_Dqqzys

mrrice · Mar 14, 2018

draqq said:
I'm just going to sneak in Jeffrey Buttle into the mix here as one of the most musical skaters I've ever seen. His Nagoyqatsi program from Canadian Nationals still stirs me to this day with its modern movement, inventiveness yet minimalism, and uncanny timing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYv170n84Tw

I agree with Jeffery and I'm going to give a shout out to his teammate Emanuel Sandhu.....When he got it right, he was fantastic and very musical. Obviously, we all know who I think is the most musical skater in history.....Patrick Chan. It's because he combined his musicality with technical skill that made him into a 3 time World Champion and living legend.

Arriba627 · Mar 15, 2018

skatingfan4ever said:
I think his Chopin LP shows even more "obvious" musicality. There are moments in the music that Patrick matches perfectly with his movement. Some examples:

- 2:15-2:20, where Patrick changes positions in his camel spin and slows it down to signify the music change
- 2:26-2:32, where a delicate arm gesture matches the two piano notes perfectly.
- 3:25-3:30, where he does 3Lo-turn-stop
- 3:41, where he lands the 3S right on the chord of the scherzo
- 4:32-4:37, where he glides to a stop and lifts his head up right on another clanging chord before running into his combination spin

His Chopin performance at 4CC where he won the gold medal in 2016 was breathtaking! That whole performance was just seamless. Talk about being totally in the zone! I don't think I'll ever forget that! :agree:

Ic3Rabbit · Mar 15, 2018

Izabela said:
This is actually one of my fave of her. Also one of the best Wilson cheoreography along with Homage to Korea. I was actually suprised for a 16 (17?) year old to be able to capture the “tone” of this music as clearly as her.

I’m also marathoning Kurt Browning’s programs as y’all are recommending him and goodness now I completely understand why veterans miss the good old skating days.
I still can’t stop laughing at his Rag-Gidon Time.

Fave KB program of all time here:
https://youtu.be/bDNgFGdrxYk

Rina RUS · Mar 15, 2018

If we want to "mesure" musicality for ourselves, music has long or short phrases, has an order: sound, sound, silence, sound... So we can expect, that the skating will be based on these phrases: long or short movements, important accents. Yet this is like a notebook with lines: one can use every line for writing, can miss a line, can use two lines for one word (big letters). This is an art: the order of music is a base, but one can use every element of this order or choose only important elements.
If we speak about judges, they can't "mesure" musicality. This is an art. It can be just a part of the mark for artisrty: as a judge can see it with his eyes.

I'd say, quads and triples are not musical. Short simple jumps can be more musical. Of course, it is possible to find a piece of music, where a quad will be as musical as possible, yet anyway the preparing to a quad or a triple almost can't be musical.

demarinis5 said:
I find Yuzu Exhibition programs much more musical than his competitive programs.

I think it is a rule, that EX programs can be more musical than competitive programs. When a choreographer creates a program for a competition, he can't just choose the most musical movements. This is not dancing. A choreographer has to use those challenging elements which judges expect to see, - and only with these elements a choreographer makes it as musical as possible.

I remember Tarasova saying, that it can't be, that another music begins, but a skater just continues to spin, doesn't do a new movement in this moment. So a choreographer's work is very important, yet of course, even a brilliant choreographer won't help, if a skater just "goes from element to element".

If we mean only competitive programs, I think it is easy to see, that Yagudin's "Lawrence of Arabia" is absolutely musical, and there are no parts, when he forgets about the music and thinks only about jumps. (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7vZZhfp1E

gkelly · Mar 15, 2018

For any given skater, will they be able to show better musicality in contexts where they don't need to push their technical content to the max? He, exhibitions and show numbers tend to be more musical than competition programs. So if we're going to compare skaters to each other, it's only fair to compare like to like in terms of type of program.

chuckm · Mar 15, 2018

What irks me is the lack of musicality. There was a skater at JW who chose a waltz, one of the most basic and easiest beats to follow, and just managed to always be behind the beat. That was as irritating to me as chalk scratching on a blackboard.

The skater who shows the greatest lack of musicality is IMO Mirai Nagasu. She just skates with music as background noise. That she could grin her way through Miss Saigon in the Ladies FS at the Olympics just shows how disconnected from the music she really is.

However, Mirai's non-musicality is apparent only in her competition programs. She responds to her music normally in exhibition programs, where the music is usually in the contemporary genre.

Blades of Passion · Mar 15, 2018

Ic3Rabbit said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_-FiufTjd8

Um, that's more an example of lacking musicality. The spins have little/nothing to do with the music, the footwork is too slow (he claps and wags his finger at the start and that's supposed to sell a footwork sequence? LOL), and the inbetweens don't have nearly the excitement or complexity that they should to keep the swing theme fully present.

Jeremy Abbott's cheesy suspender-ography program you linked is not something I would be calling great either, there are several examples in that program of pre-existing movement just being applied. They had the idea of him playing with his suspenders and doing cutesy moves and just put it in when there was time, regardless the exact musical timing or interpretation.

Ic3Rabbit · Mar 15, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC1ucqEJTiY

Paul Wylie.

mrrice · Mar 15, 2018

I'm going to give a shout out to Joshua Farris. This performance from 4CC was great. This is his Give Me Love SP.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FyUIfXKyHI

MIM · Mar 15, 2018

RedDress said:
I think you know it when you see it. It's like great dancers as opposed to great technicians. It's having that sensitive connection with the music that can take you as the performer onto a more exacting level of interpretation simply by having the music rather than the elements dictate your movement. It's when you are so drawn to the piece that when a difficult element is performed it's part of the overall feeling, rather than moments that must be telegraphed by skating strokes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJWW12GEIk

I really like this performance. And this image: Singing/skating in the rain stuck so hard to me that he is almost a mythical skater in my mind. :pray:

Can someone give me a little more detail about this kind of show? Was the set created to film him skating and broadcast on air? Was there any other skaters involved in this performance? Are there similar production in other parts of the world? It is just so fascinating to watch.. It maybe a huge investment but must be a great way to promote music and skating!:luv17:

Ic3Rabbit · Mar 15, 2018

MIM said:
I really like this performance. And this image: Singing/skating in the rain stuck so hard to me that he is almost a mythical skater in my mind.

Can someone give me a little more detail about this kind of show? Was the set created to film him skating and broadcast on air? Was there any other skaters involved in this performance? Are there similar production in other parts of the world? It is just so fascinating to watch.. It maybe a huge investment but must be a great way to promote music and skating!:luv17:

This was a skating special he did back in the late 80s early 90s for public tv in Canada and the US (it definitely played in the US on PBS b/c I remember VHS taping it when it was on haha).

It was set up like movie sets but with ice instead of a stage, there were other skaters in the show with him as special guests, I'm pretty sure Josee Chouinard was one of them.

Mussique · Mar 15, 2018

Hey, very interesting thread! It was really interesting to read each opinion and how it varied according to each one's favorites :laugh:

Now, I've been trained professionally in music, so I wanted to actually give something to this conversation. I've had enough time to munch over my answer, so forewarning: long post ahead! With plenty of examples you may or may not agree with! :laugh:

I hope it isn't that boring!

--
A few points beforehand:

* Even in music, there's not a consensus over musicality. Usually, it will be defined as the ability to feel the music and convey it to the public in your performance. This means having a strong sense of the beat, the climax, the flow and overall emotion of the music; but also of performance. If you do every little nuance the composer had written on the sheet but keep a poker face during each one of your concerts chances are you'll be called a machine -- even if you're not. In music, you have the possibility of playing with the tempo instead, but this isn't possible in dancing or figure skating.
* What it does need in performative arts is a certain knowledge of the music, a certain sense of anticipation that allows you to go with the beat. This is very important.
* I've seen various posts relating musicality to the ability to perform to different kinds of music. I vehemently disagree. At least if we're talking about the particular "amount" of musicality one exhibits on a particular program. Usually, if one chooses to perform to a particular kind of music it's because it's the best for you (the one you feel the most familiar with, or like the most). And it doesn't say anything about your musicality! I mean, of course, it's super good if you're a superb performer in every kind of music genre, but it's not a necessity. Even musicians specialize in one genre, often, even if they are trained on them all or they experiment. Would you say Glenn Gould had no musicality because he preferred Bach? Playing your strengths shouldn't, in any case, mean anything about your musicality.
* The above point also means that a skater can perform beautifully musically speaking in one program and then have absolutely no sense of rhythm in the next. Also known as "why the short dance this year was so terrible".
* That being said, ice dance has a stronger emphasis on musicality than any other discipline. However this is still the best.
* Yes, ice shows and galas (and pro competitions) do have the advantage of having fewer rules than amateur competitions and so letting some weird personalities appear. And that kind of personal interpretation is very important for me for considering "musicality" of one skater.
* YES, choreography has a very important role in musicality. One of the reasons junior programs often seem... well, juniorish, is because they don't have as good choreographers as seniors. To create a musical program you need to understand the balance the music is offering and place jumps and spins, and body movent accordingly. But the opposite is also true: you can give a very well choreographed program to someone who hasn't got as good musicality and it will feel like it's lacking something. I'll go over this point extensively now.

------
So, choreography. What makes a choreography good?
One of the best voted posts in this discussion is this one:

charlotte14 said:
Hanyu's Semei when he moves according to every bit of drum sound.

...in a nutshell, yes. That sequence is incredibly well choreographed, all of it. But I especially appreciate those little three crosrolls (around 2:43 in that same video) which are maybe the easier part of all the program and are incredibly elegant and on touch with the music, and allow the viewer to breathe. Seimei is a very well-thought program because it allows Yuzuru to stop with the music, step with the music, jump with the music... and it doesn't hinder the program. And he interprets it beautifully.
A choreography needs to play the skater strengths. They can be very expressive in the upper body, have beautiful skating skills, be very flexible, charismatic, funny, sensual, or they can have nice signature movements they want to show off. Or they can have enough stamina to put difficult jumps in the second half. For example, you shouldn't put a very mature program to a kid, because it'll be kind of awkward for everyone involved.
One example of a skater who has been improving a lot with his musicality is Boyang Jim. I think he's a fun-oriented skater, and that's more than fine with me. In this step sequence (WC 2017, FS) if we compare it with Yuzuru's, it's obvious he's not going with the beat of the music -- he's, however, trying with his upper part of the body and reconnects in time to the spin, which is good. Connecting steps are more often than not off-beat, sadly.
If you ask me (probably not if you ask the rest of figure skatings fans out there, though) I wouldn't put Yuzuru at the top of "musicality in lyrical male skaters", though. He has musicality, soul, and sense of rhythm, that's undeniable (and in Note Stellata you can almost even touch it) but there are skaters who manage to imprint each one of the steps with music, and Yuzu's not quite there -- he's helped by incredible choreographies, though. I'm speaking about Daisuke and about Tatsuki Machida. I linked his 2014 SP in WC, probably my favorite. He just follows the mood of the music so well (2:42) and has such nice flow...

Now onto an (I think) interesting comparison between one of the best crafted FS I've seen this last two seasons, which is Adam Rippon's. The location of the jumps is absolutely marvelous, especially this particular moment. I think it represents exactly what I mean with anticipation. Now the funny thing is, he places the convo in slightly different moments in different competitions. My personal favorite is the first one I linked. The second one still works but adds a different view. The third one is off-place. Can you see/hear/feel the difference?
Adam Rippon has very good musicality. He's not the best skater in terms of technique, but he's expressive and adds a deep of interpretation that I can really value. He's moving. If you compare the three performances I linked and think also about his Olympic Performance then you have a nice example of what's musicality in a good performance and how the choreography helps. The first jump, for example, works much better being a quadruple -- the music is asking for a big jump, and a double axel doesn't quite make the cut. The second part of the program starts by a noise -- birds, and then the first chord of Coldplay's O, Eb with a ninth chord (which gives off that melancholic feeling from the start). And in my favorite "musical" performance of Adam's, he lands the first combination on the first Bb/D chord (the second one), which is the one that gives the tonality. The one that feels "homey", as we'd say. He also jumps on "hovering above" (wink, wink).
Yes, that's the kind of nuances I get fixated on. Don't get me started on spins.

There are beautifully choreographed programs that are not skated to their full potential. I'm going to add a "yet" here. Now, I don't have anything against the so-called and so-feared backloaded programs. Mostly because they let you see the skaters' performance skills before the most dynamic moves. And also because the climax in most music is usually around 2/3 of the piece, so actually it's front-loaded programs the ones that feel the most unnatural, for me. That being said, doing a backloaded program it's fireproof for the skater's ability of performance, and not many can pull it off, since if it bores you then you know it's not well balanced... or well interpreted. Here I think every movement could be extended quite a bit more, there's not quite enough anticipation. She's actually hitting the beat quite well at the start, more or less till 0:41, then it's just that teeny bit messy... Well, there'll be quite a lot of time to improve.
But compare it with this (the maturity of the movement, the "there's no rush" feeling all over it), or, even this. That last one, from Yulia's Autumn Leaves, is everything I want from a lyrical program. A well-choreographed step here and there does wonders. And the extension of the arms does wonders. Both Yulia and Yuna know what to do with their hands, and it makes a enormous difference. But let me gush a bit more with Autumn Leaves, please. A lot has been said about Yulia's spins, I'm not going to add anything original here. But she changes positions on beat, and she changes the tempo with the music. Look at her head, her neck, her lines. It's a beautiful program...

I've put until now in this post mostly lyrical programs. It's "easier" to feel musicality in this ones, at least the deep-in-your-bones-kind. Doing funny programs some skaters wink a bit or pull their suspenders and call it a day, and well, it's more than that. Some of these programs end up being kind of my guilty pleasures (hey, but look at the "spread it like"), LOL. Adam Rippon's SP kind of ended that way for me as well.
And I couldn't end this paragraph with this another favorite of mine. I don't think I've seen anyone pull rock&roll like he did here

---
Well, this is getting too long now, so I'll stop here. I mean, at this point I was just gushing about my faves... I hope I made a bit of sense at least

skatingfan4ever · Mar 15, 2018

MIM said:
I really like this performance. And this image: Singing/skating in the rain stuck so hard to me that he is almost a mythical skater in my mind.

Can someone give me a little more detail about this kind of show? Was the set created to film him skating and broadcast on air? Was there any other skaters involved in this performance? Are there similar production in other parts of the world? It is just so fascinating to watch.. It maybe a huge investment but must be a great way to promote music and skating!:luv17:

I just discovered this behind-the-scenes video.

RedDress · Mar 15, 2018

MIM said:
I really like this performance. And this image: Singing/skating in the rain stuck so hard to me that he is almost a mythical skater in my mind.

Can someone give me a little more detail about this kind of show? Was the set created to film him skating and broadcast on air? Was there any other skaters involved in this performance? Are there similar production in other parts of the world? It is just so fascinating to watch.. It maybe a huge investment but must be a great way to promote music and skating!:luv17:

This was a CBC production and included Kurt Kristie Yamaguchi Josee Chouinard Christine Hough and Dough Ladret. It was pretty awesome all sets were created for telling stories through skating my favourite being the Singing in The Rain Set. But they also had a film noir called the Big Melt and a music video to Simply Irresistible among other performances. The production values were incredible and Sandra Besic was involved in the choreography Kurt was

star and Kristie training in Edmonton was a great Canadian connection

Simply Irresistible
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ7wbC_ApyM

The Big Melt
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ipN8545rI88

Ic3Rabbit · Mar 15, 2018

Mussique said:
Hey, very interesting thread! It was really interesting to read each opinion and how it varied according to each one's favorites
Now, I've been trained professionally in music, so I wanted to actually give something to this conversation. I've had enough time to munch over my answer, so forewarning: long post ahead! With plenty of examples you may or may not agree with! I hope it isn't that boring!

--
A few points beforehand:

* Even in music, there's not a consensus over musicality. Usually, it will be defined as the ability to feel the music and convey it to the public in your performance. This means having a strong sense of the beat, the climax, the flow and overall emotion of the music; but also of performance. If you do every little nuance the composer had written on the sheet but keep a poker face during each one of your concerts chances are you'll be called a machine -- even if you're not. In music, you have the possibility of playing with the tempo instead, but this isn't possible in dancing or figure skating.
* What it does need in performative arts is a certain knowledge of the music, a certain sense of anticipation that allows you to go with the beat. This is very important.
* I've seen various posts relating musicality to the ability to perform to different kinds of music. I vehemently disagree. At least if we're talking about the particular "amount" of musicality one exhibits on a particular program. Usually, if one chooses to perform to a particular kind of music it's because it's the best for you (the one you feel the most familiar with, or like the most). And it doesn't say anything about your musicality! I mean, of course, it's super good if you're a superb performer in every kind of music genre, but it's not a necessity. Even musicians specialize in one genre, often, even if they are trained on them all or they experiment. Would you say Glenn Gould had no musicality because he preferred Bach? Playing your strengths shouldn't, in any case, mean anything about your musicality.
* The above point also means that a skater can perform beautifully musically speaking in one program and then have absolutely no sense of rhythm in the next. Also known as "why the short dance this year was so terrible".
* That being said, ice dance has a stronger emphasis on musicality than any other discipline. However this is still the best.
* Yes, ice shows and galas (and pro competitions) do have the advantage of having fewer rules than amateur competitions and so letting some weird personalities appear. And that kind of personal interpretation is very important for me for considering "musicality" of one skater.
* YES, choreography has a very important role in musicality. One of the reasons junior programs often seem... well, juniorish, is because they don't have as good choreographers as seniors. To create a musical program you need to understand the balance the music is offering and place jumps and spins, and body movent accordingly. But the opposite is also true: you can give a very well choreographed program to someone who hasn't got as good musicality and it will feel like it's lacking something. I'll go over this point extensively now.

------
So, choreography. What makes a choreography good?
One of the best voted posts in this discussion is this one:

...in a nutshell, yes. That sequence is incredibly well choreographed, all of it. But I especially appreciate those little three crosrolls (around 2:43 in that same video) which are maybe the easier part of all the program and are incredibly elegant and on touch with the music, and allow the viewer to breathe. Seimei is a very well-thought program because it allows Yuzuru to stop with the music, step with the music, jump with the music... and it doesn't hinder the program. And he interprets it beautifully.
A choreography needs to play the skater strengths. They can be very expressive in the upper body, have beautiful skating skills, be very flexible, charismatic, funny, sensual, or they can have nice signature movements they want to show off. Or they can have enough stamina to put difficult jumps in the second half. For example, you shouldn't put a very mature program to a kid, because it'll be kind of awkward for everyone involved.
One example of a skater who has been improving a lot with his musicality is Boyang Jim. I think he's a fun-oriented skater, and that's more than fine with me. In this step sequence (WC 2017, FS) if we compare it with Yuzuru's, it's obvious he's not going with the beat of the music -- he's, however, trying with his upper part of the body and reconnects in time to the spin, which is good. Connecting steps are more often than not off-beat, sadly.
If you ask me (probably not if you ask the rest of figure skatings fans out there, though) I wouldn't put Yuzuru at the top of "musicality in lyrical male skaters", though. He has musicality, soul, and sense of rhythm, that's undeniable (and in Note Stellata you can almost even touch it) but there are skaters who manage to imprint each one of the steps with music, and Yuzu's not quite there -- he's helped by incredible choreographies, though. I'm speaking about Daisuke and about Tatsuki Machida. I linked his 2014 SP in WC, probably my favorite. He just follows the mood of the music so well (2:42) and has such nice flow...

Now onto an (I think) interesting comparison between one of the best crafted FS I've seen this last two seasons, which is Adam Rippon's. The location of the jumps is absolutely marvelous, especially this particular moment. I think it represents exactly what I mean with anticipation. Now the funny thing is, he places the convo in slightly different moments in different competitions. My personal favorite is the first one I linked. The second one still works but adds a different view. The third one is off-place. Can you see/hear/feel the difference?
Adam Rippon has very good musicality. He's not the best skater in terms of technique, but he's expressive and adds a deep of interpretation that I can really value. He's moving. If you compare the three performances I linked and think also about his Olympic Performance then you have a nice example of what's musicality in a good performance and how the choreography helps. The first jump, for example, works much better being a quadruple -- the music is asking for a big jump, and a double axel doesn't quite make the cut. The second part of the program starts by a noise -- birds, and then the first chord of Coldplay's O, Eb with a ninth chord (which gives off that melancholic feeling from the start). And in my favorite "musical" performance of Adam's, he lands the first combination on the first Bb/D chord (the second one), which is the one that gives the tonality. The one that feels "homey", as we'd say. He also jumps on "hovering above" (wink, wink).
Yes, that's the kind of nuances I get fixated on. Don't get me started on spins.

There are beautifully choreographed programs that are not skated to their full potential. I'm going to add a "yet" here. Now, I don't have anything against the so-called and so-feared backloaded programs. Mostly because they let you see the skaters' performance skills before the most dynamic moves. And also because the climax in most music is usually around 2/3 of the piece, so actually it's front-loaded programs the ones that feel the most unnatural, for me. That being said, doing a backloaded program it's fireproof for the skater's ability of performance, and not many can pull it off, since if it bores you then you know it's not well balanced... or well interpreted. Here I think every movement could be extended quite a bit more, there's not quite enough anticipation. She's actually hitting the beat quite well at the start, more or less till 0:41, then it's just that teeny bit messy... Well, there'll be quite a lot of time to improve.
But compare it with this (the maturity of the movement, the "there's no rush" feeling all over it), or, even this. That last one, from Yulia's Autumn Leaves, is everything I want from a lyrical program. A well-choreographed step here and there does wonders. And the extension of the arms does wonders. Both Yulia and Yuna know what to do with their hands, and it makes a enormous difference. But let me gush a bit more with Autumn Leaves, please. A lot has been said about Yulia's spins, I'm not going to add anything original here. But she changes positions on beat, and she changes the tempo with the music. Look at her head, her neck, her lines. It's a beautiful program...

I've put until now in this post mostly lyrical programs. It's "easier" to feel musicality in this ones, at least the deep-in-your-bones-kind. Doing funny programs some skaters wink a bit or pull their suspenders and call it a day, and well, it's more than that. Some of these programs end up being kind of my guilty pleasures (hey, but look at the "spread it like"), LOL. Adam Rippon's SP kind of ended that way for me as well.
And I couldn't end this paragraph with this another favorite of mine. I don't think I've seen anyone pull rock&roll like he did here

---
Well, this is getting too long now, so I'll stop here. I mean, at this point I was just gushing about my faves... I hope I made a bit of sense at least

Go watch a few of the videos I posted in this thread when it comes to choreography (esp Kurt Browning doing "thats entertainment" and Paul Wylie doing the movement with the drums etc in his JFK program. I'll take that any day over the one you pointed out).

I'll agree here with your points except the choreographer point you made. Many Junior skaters work with the same coaches and choreographers as their Sr counterparts. It's all about maturity and things they still have to learn than not having the proper choreographer access.

RedDress · Mar 15, 2018

skatingfan4ever said:
I just discovered this behind-the-scenes video.

This is Amazing, thank you for posting!

How Do We Measure Musicality in FS?

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."

draqq

FigureSkatingPhenom

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."

m0001

mrrice

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION 🔥

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

Rina RUS

gkelly

chuckm

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

mrrice

MIM

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

Mussique

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."

RedDress

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

RedDress

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