Which men's skater's artistry do you prefer?

Ulrica · Mar 25, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu absolutely, the way he connects and feels the music it's unparalleled, watching him skate is truly magical and beyond words.

Others I enjoy are Shoma Uno (in past seasons, in this one I didn't feel as much connection and interpretation to the nuances of the music from him), Jason Brown.

From the past Javier Fernandez (still can't believe he's retired

) and Stephane Lambiel.

RobinA · Mar 25, 2019

Cousins, Curry!!! More currently, Takahashi and Brown. And yes, thank you, whoever mentioned Johnny Weir. I am from the area he started out from so I saw him just before he became known and until CoP got its hands on him he was a beautiful damn skater. The first program I ever saw him do was Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a piece of music I was not crazy about until I saw him skate to it. A fabulous program. And I have to give a shout out to Chan. Not the greatest artist of all time, but Hamilitonian blade control in an era where no one cares. Not an easy thing, that blade control.

QueenOfTheRoad · Mar 25, 2019

Dreamer57 said:
Daisuke Takahashi

Oh man, how could i forget Daisuke!!! :love:

noskates · Mar 25, 2019

Current? Jason Brown, no question, Camden Pulkinen (someone to watch, for sure) and Nathan is growing on me as long as they continue to pick music that suits his style)
Past? Kurt Browning, Johnny Weir

Plumededragon · Mar 25, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu for sure. There are other skaters I like, such as Jason ans Kolyada, but Yuzuru is the GOAT.

In the past area, it was Weir and Lambiel. I loved Joubert too, but I don’t count him in the list as he wasn’t the most artistic one.

GGFan · Mar 25, 2019

I forgot about a couple under appreciated artists: Alex Johnson and Dmitri Aliev.

Lunalovesskating · Mar 25, 2019

Jason Brown. No one beats him in artistry imo.

Mrs. P · Mar 25, 2019

GGFan said:
I forgot about a couple under appreciated artists: Alex Johnson and Dmitri Aliev.

Agree on both! Alex Johnson expercially. His In Your Eyes program is so beautiful and haunting. (And he used the original Peter Gabriel song, so that gets major points with me.)

temadd · Mar 25, 2019

GGFan said:
I forgot about a couple under appreciated artists: Alex Johnson and Dmitri Aliev.

Yes! Alex Johnson is such a beautiful skater! I think he should move to ice dance now that he has retired from singles. His edge work is divine

SNAKSuyun · Mar 25, 2019

Lambiel and Yagudin got me into men's singles back in the early 2010s, and Yuzuru kept me here. Just going to leave here one of the best descriptions I've seen of Hope and Legacy:

"It’s the kind of program that leaves no place to hide. No characters, no foreground stories, no big stirring things. It was just him. and it was almost like this blank canvas he’s filling in as he goes - sometimes it feels like sadness or hope and sometimes it was grim resolution. Perhaps that’s the point of legacy. it’s uncertain, it’s watery and opaque. And what matters despite that is how you continue to move forwards in the face of that. It is, in fact, still being written." (by tumblr user awesomousse)

merrywidow · Mar 25, 2019

My preference is the skater who has found an equal balance between artistry & athleticism....Todd Eldredge is a good example. John Curry, Toller Cranston, Paul Wiley, Bowman, Kulik, etc., etc. My problem is that I've been a fan since the late '60's. Too many to name. I'm a Chen fan & a Zhou fan today, impressed by Matteo Rizzo. Can I also say I'm a fan of Miyahara & Zagitiva?

Tolstoj · Mar 25, 2019

Usually i like Takahashi, obviously Patrick Chan, Boyang, Aliev, Yan Han even (the more serious programs), but i've to say i keep going back to Shoma's skating, it draws you in.

With Jason Brown you can immediately identify his style, but it all depends by the programs for him: when it's too happy (like the Hamilton SP) for me it gets too much in your face, it almost becomes little fake, while this season programs are a bit uncharacteristics for Jason, i didn't feel it. I think the Nyman Piano FS he had few season ago was the best one yet, that was incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWM1aFmq5HY

Silvia451 · Mar 25, 2019

Lambiel was the first who impressed me artistically. Daisuke Takahashi next, he was a real talent. I also loved Denis Ten's passion and intricate step sequences.

I enjoyed a lot Tatsuki Machida's elegance, to me he was flying over the ice. I could really connect emotionally to his skating.

From the ones competing, Yuzuru and Shoma.

gsk8 · Mar 25, 2019

Ladskater said:
Just a question, does someone here change the titles of postings? I recall my title was Nathan Chen is Amazing but I prefer....
I also noticed a slight change to another title I posted previously. I guess it doesn't, matter, but just curious.

Per Guidelines:

Post/Thread editing
Part of the moderators responsibilities are to scan thread titles for possible editing for quality assurance, misspellings, etc. Do not take offense if you find that your title has been altered. If we feel a current title will more than likely initiate flames wars, trolling, etc., there is a good chance it might be edited. On the other hand, a 'good' thread title might be shortened or altered to reflect the topic more clearly so that it can be used in a newsletter or other source to encourage more discussion.

CanadianSkaterGuy · Mar 25, 2019

To elaborate on my earlier post, with Brown, you can tell he makes every effort to put nuances and lean deep into as many edges as possible. Nathan and Hanyu are sensational overall with their difficulty, but there are definitely times their skating looks sloppy, or half-hearted/mechanical. Brown truly feels his music from start to finish.

Aymoz's artistry is great too - definitely a skater who truly thinks about the performance, and pleasing the audience instead of just executing the elements.

If we're talking men's skater in every discipline, Guillaume Cizeron schools all these guys, but it's a bit unfair given his discipline is based around artistry and edges/strong skating skills moreso than the execution of jumps/spins.

Farnaz · Mar 25, 2019

Patrick Chan is retired now but I can't help naming him as I used to enjoy his SS and smooth blades. His facial expression though was always way off for me but it was OK as I mostly look at the blades :biggrin:

Also, my all time favourite from past skaters is Yagudin :luv17: Winter never gets old for me.

Yossalu · Mar 25, 2019

Kevin Aymoz is it for me right now that Javi has retired (and if Daisuke does not continue). I find things to enjoy from many skaters, even someone like Vincent, but he is the one who captures my heart. Every moment seems to have intent and passion. I don't know if I want him to keep "In This Shirt" because it's one of the most beautiful programs I've seen or instead give us something new because I know it will be brilliant. Aliev is also very special and I hope he gets the technical side together so we can actually see him skate more than a handful of times next season. His programs this year had such potential.

I love Chen's artistry in short programs in particular because I think he has the space to be himself. I can think of few shorts I love more than "Nemesis" and it's unfortunate that setting up quads takes away the time and energy he needs to show more of his natural artistic talent in the free. He's come such a long way in the last few years and I hope he'll be able to grow even more because he's still so young.

From the past decade, I miss Abbott, Farris, Kozuka, Ge, Ten, and Chan. If I go back any further I won't be able to stop.

GGFan · Mar 25, 2019

I just remembered Elladj Baldé. This is just my opinion but I think he is the perfect example of how showmanship crosses over into artistry. His complete commitment to his characters and his music were superb.

FCSSp4 · Mar 25, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu. Said it in the World's Men's thread and will say it here: He has a unique eroticism to him that is removed from the typical Western POV. I think this has only been more obvious with later iterations of Chopin and Seimei, and now Otonal and Origin. His inspiration is Plushenko and Weir but he's made a completely new and different style that I haven't seen in another men's skater. It's intense but vulnerable, loose but tense, ETHEREAL-- he achieves an unforeseen kind of equilibrium in his skating. As Dick Button said, he has the sense of theatre in him.

Charlotte 71 · Mar 25, 2019

Ladskater said:
I have to admit Nathan Chen is an amazing athlete and jumper as is Yuzuru Hanyu, but I prefer the artistry of Jason Brown and Keggan Messing who are both entertaining skaters in their own rights. It becomes a bit of a jump fest after awhile, but my hats off to both YH and NC for their amazing jumping abilities.

For the currently active skaters, if there is one skater I could watch just skate around, whose every movement is perfect and beautiful, it's Jason. (Kind of like a lot of people have that one actor you would pay to watch "read the phone book.")

But I also need me some jump excitement, and Yuzu is the total home run. Yuzu's passion and abandon just draws me in, and some of his less than technically perfect tendencies like the loose-jointedness, the hunching over, it just amplifies that total commitment to what he is doing, and I love it all.

Nathan is growing on me bigtime this past season, but I still appreciate him more cerebrally rather than viscerally. Same with Vincent, only much more so. I have hopes he will MAKE me love him, because his determination is undeniable.

IMO, the men who reach this level of world/international/US national competition all have something very special about them- there is a reason they persevered in skating to get where they are, something important they have to express - and I admire and enjoy the artistry of pretty much all of them.

Which men's skater's artistry do you prefer?

Ulrica

RobinA

QueenOfTheRoad

noskates

Plumededragon

GGFan

Lunalovesskating

Moonbear power 🐻

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

temadd

SNAKSuyun

did it spark joy?

merrywidow

Tolstoj

Silvia451

gsk8

CanadianSkaterGuy

Farnaz

Yossalu

GGFan

FCSSp4

Charlotte 71

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