Daria Usacheva | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Daria Usacheva

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Interview with Olga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWBhu7qrcyU

Her whole presentation looks far beyond her years, BTW.

Yes, indeed, and she seems very bright too, with these scientific interests.
Here is my take on the interview.

O: "This is Dar'ya Usachyova. Dasha, we’re starting a new season and we want to start with questions about last season like: how do you evaluate it and where have you not succeeded?"
D: "Considering past season: I didn’t succeed having this 'constant stability', there were errors in my skating runs which I want to fix in the new season so I ride stably, cleanly, and show everyone the best result".
O: "What has become your main motivation for the off-season, what made you, or what inspired you, pushed you, to work, maybe harder and more actively, qualitatively?"
D: "To work more actively was encouraged by the fact that since reaching junior level, we now have Test Skates early in the year, along with the juniors from last season or the year before last. I was encouraged to improve my skills just the same way and I want to show myself from the best side, to show that I am no worse than past juniors and to present myself from a worthy side."
O: "Nice wishes! How, have you worked on new programs and what can you tell about these programs?"
D: "My short was left the old, free was changed. My free is to the Lara Fabian song 'je suis malade'. I really like this song, it is very soulful, I was absorbed by it very much. I often just listen to it, I've listened to it lots, and every time I heard it, I was feeling very content.
In it I am a girl who in the crowd lost 'her fellow' who is very dear to her. Throughout the whole program I’m going through all these difficulties while I’m looking for him.
I want to show that it’s not just music this and that, but that I -live- in this music, I try to work on this. I really like this program and like to skate to it."
O: "About jumps and elements, what have you worked on, off-season"?
D: "I've worked on execution itself, on jumps, on elements, on difficult entries and exits, on improving the look of my jumps. Not just doing them, but doing them with a beautiful exit and to flow out of them at speed, on those things."
O: "As the season is rolling along and you show the programs many times, I think this is just like acting: you skate it a little bit differently each time because you invest in each skate differently.
But the question now is that it’s impossible to think only about work all the time: how do you distract yourself, what do you like to do in your spare time?"
D: "In my spare time, for example during breaks between trainings, we do our homework for distraction (laughs).
My mom says: 'the best vacation is a change of activities'. Weekends, mom and I go somewhere to stroll, walk in a park. Not long ago we went to the Moscow Planetarium. I liked it very much, advise you all to go. It was very interesting and enlightening. I gained a lot of knowledge and emotions."
O: "Meaning: we're not only skating on ice, we are also developing ourselves and trying to learn something new.
Dasha, season is coming, what do you want from it, what would you like to show this season?
It’s clear that we are putting this question to everyone, but before the start of the season, I’d like to know if the person has any plans made for himself?"
D: "I want to show stable skating, show mature skating, conscious skating that doesn't look like 'step-step-jump', but rather as a complete program and integral image. And of course display stable skating."
O: "Wishing you this all works out. Success."

----
PS: definition of holistic as my dictionary originally suggested: "characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole."

Which strikes me as very thoughtful on the part of Dar'ya, she seems indeed to be a very bright and clever girl and honestly emotionally invested in her music.
Perhaps Dar'ya receives the same praise Ted Barton gave Kostornaya: she is the music she skates to.
 
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Ykai

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
I only watched the test skate, and I fell in love with Daria. She was very musical and was channeling that vulnerability through her beautiful arms and body movement. It was just a beautiful performance.

Go Dasha!
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Happy to see they are in a cheerful mood, happy and smiling :biggrin: I hope they will all skate clean, and be happy at the end of this JGP :pray:

Yes, me too.

And I am looking very forward to hear Ted's comments on both Dar'ya and Daniil, who are new to the scene.
I really wish for Dar'ya to pull off both her exquisite programs which I've come to like very much for the depth of Dar'ya's interpretation, but suspect she will be as nervous as Maya was in her first start. Best of luck and solid skating to Danill too :)
 

Giltedge

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 5, 2018
Yes, me too.

And I am looking very forward to hear Ted's comments on both Dar'ya and Daniil, who are new to the scene.
I really wish for Dar'ya to pull off both her exquisite programs which I've come to like very much for the depth of Dar'ya's interpretation, but suspect she will be as nervous as Maya was in her first start. Best of luck and solid skating to Danill too :)


Looking foward to watching some exquisite skating from Darya (and the other two). :hap85:

My guess is that Maiia having been through the fire in the mountains will be able to spread a calming effect to the other two.
 

SkateSkates

Medalist
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
A little shaky on some landings but overall a very good first outing! Hope she can skate cleanly with confidence in the LP
 

flanker

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Country
Czech-Republic
Daria performed with confidence and serenity. Her skate is (deservedly) high for the debut and the beginning of the season.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Daria performed with confidence and serenity. Her skate is (deservedly) high for the debut and the beginning of the season.

Serenity, that's a most appropriate word to describe Dar'ya skating today. Hopefully she repeat this performance tomorrow. It will be close between her and Maya Khromikh tomorrow in the free skate, their skill levels are about the same.
 

TheBallerina

#teamtutberidze
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 30, 2018
An outstanding performance from Dasha today! All her elements looked efortless (yes 2A, I am looking at you and I totally see a potential 3A replacing you :biggrin: ) and the clean performance helped to highlight even more the beauty of Dasha's skating: the elegance, refinement and serenity, how flanker masterfully pointed out, her ability to feel the music and convey so many emotions.

Dasha is an extremely artistically gifted skater for me, and I really hope to see tomorrow a clean FS :pray:
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
An outstanding performance from Dasha today! All her elements looked efortless (yes 2A, I am looking at you and I totally see a potential 3A replacing you :biggrin: ) and the clean performance helped to highlight even more the beauty of Dasha's skating: the elegance, refinement and serenity, how flanker masterfully pointed out, her ability to feel the music and convey so many emotions.

Dasha is an extremely artistically gifted skater for me, and I really hope to see tomorrow a clean FS :pray:

Remembering her interview with Olga Yermolina, do you think Dar'ya succeeded in improving her jumps, having these good entries so she can flow out of them at speed? She does indeed to seem to live -in- her music, and I don't know if you need to pull faces to show that emotion. You hardly ever see cheap fake smiles on any Russian skater, their emotional involvement usually goes way deeper. All these young skaters explained after Test Skates what their programs are about, what the image means to them and how they think to portray or convey this best. Small intricate touches of articulation, minute embellishments spot on, tension, posture, to me say so much more about the spirit of the program, the inner soul of the skater than smiles and grimaces. They are juniors, but this is not child-like skating at all. All Khrustalniy skaters share this maturity, it is one of their most distinguished hallmarks.
 

TheBallerina

#teamtutberidze
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 30, 2018
R You hardly ever see cheap fake smiles on any Russian skater, their emotional involvement usually goes way deeper. .

Totally agree with you, I think that you don't need exaggerated face expressions and grimaces to be considered expressive, not at all, especially in figure skating. Expressiveness can also be derived from movement, from rhythmicity and musicality, these can be even more spectacular, and I think they all define Dasha's style. And many people still forget she is just 13, at her first international competition. Just incredible :biggrin:
 

flanker

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Country
Czech-Republic
Remembering her interview with Olga Yermolina, do you think Dar'ya succeeded in improving her jumps, having these good entries so she can flow out of them at speed? She does indeed to seem to live -in- her music, and I don't know if you need to pull faces to show that emotion. You hardly ever see cheap fake smiles on any Russian skater, their emotional involvement usually goes way deeper. All these young skaters explained after Test Skates what their programs are about, what the image means to them and how they think to portray or convey this best. Small intricate touches of articulation, minute embellishments spot on, tension, posture, to me say so much more about the spirit of the program, the inner soul of the skater than smiles and grimaces. They are juniors, but this is not child-like skating at all. All Khrustalniy skaters share this maturity, it is one of their most distinguished hallmarks.

And that's one of the most important things for me to be their fan.

About expresiveness, some people say about russian skaters that they lack face expressions, but the thing is that we slavs are generally different in this, we don't like exaggerated expressiveness, emotions and our inner world are more private for us.
 

Alex65

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Country
Russia
Great performance today! First place after SP and obtain SB. Congratulations to Dasha.
 
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