Smiling in a serious performance?

zanadude · Nov 17, 2019

Only one thing prevents me from enjoying Mariah Bell's Hallelujah program: that huge Cheshire Grin she keeps on her face throughout the entire performance. I don't know of any interpretation of that song that justifies being so happy. Imagine Wakaba Higuchi's exhibition done with that face to get an idea of how ridiculous she looks.

It's as if she has no idea how to emote, so to avoid looking like she's concentrating on her next jump, she's forced that grin on her face so hard that it's become second nature.

AsadaFanBoy · Nov 17, 2019

I 100% do not agree.

So what if she has a smile. It's a valid interpretation.

As for not being able to imagine why someone might smile, well, others can and it's not beholden upon them to agree with your interpretation.

If a person has ever felt a religious experience or briefly touched a state bordering upon enlightenment, it's a different kind of joy.

I know professional singers, many of whom have said that their most heartfelt songs are Ave Maria or The Lord's Prayer. I don't see why Hallelujah would be any less valid if joyful, as the lyrics allow for widely differing interpretations.

noskates · Nov 17, 2019

I hope Mariah never loses that smile and the joy she feels for skating no matter what the music is.

Manitou · Nov 17, 2019

It’s her. It’s Mariah. If you replace her with some zombie then it won’t be Mariah. And I hope she will stay Mariah as long as we have a privilege to see her.

Amei · Nov 17, 2019

Let's be clear I love to watch Mariah skate because in my opinion you can tell how much she loves it. However her range of interpretation has never branched out much from being something that has her being smiley and happy; I'd be interested to see what she could do with something like Shcherbakova's short program music something that doesn't appropriately allow her to have the safety net of smiley/happy skater presentation.

Mishaminion · Nov 17, 2019

Amei said:
Let's be clear I love to watch Mariah skate because in my opinion you can tell how much she loves it. However her range of interpretation has never branched out much from being something that has her being smiley and happy; I'd be interested to see what she could do with something like Shcherbakova's short program music something that doesn't appropriately allow her to have the safety net of smiley/happy skater presentation.

But that is Mariah's personality, she is a smiley and bubbly person who just beams with joy when she skates.

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zanadude said:
Only one thing prevents me from enjoying Mariah Bell's Hallelujah program: that huge Cheshire Grin she keeps on her face throughout the entire performance. I don't know of any interpretation of that song that justifies being so happy. Imagine Wakaba Higuchi's exhibition done with that face to get an idea of how ridiculous she looks.

It's as if she has no idea how to emote, so to avoid looking like she's concentrating on her next jump, she's forced that grin on her face so hard that it's become second nature.

If that's the case, then she needs to choose programs that work with her Joker Face.

This is quite rude tbh

TallyT · Nov 17, 2019

AsadaFanBoy said:
I 100% do not agree.

So what if she has a smile. It's a valid interpretation.

As for not being able to imagine why someone might smile, well, others can and it's not beholden upon them to agree with your interpretation.

If a person has ever felt a religious experience or briefly touched a state bordering upon enlightenment, it's a different kind of joy.

I know professional singers, many of whom have said that their most heartfelt songs are Ave Maria or The Lord's Prayer. I don't see why Hallelujah would be any less valid if joyful, as the lyrics allow for widely differing interpretations.

Not that widely differing, thank you :scowl: Look, for the most part I just keep telling myself they are athletes, not musicians, but a bouncy beaming grin to a cold and a broken hallelujah? Come on. If the smile is so fixed she can't take it off, then she can pick a smiley song, it's not like they're aren't 20575294096664 of them out there...

Mishaminion · Nov 17, 2019

It is her interpretation. Who is to say what she can or can't do with that song? I think it works because she brings joy to it.

The word Hallelujah itself is a positive one by the way, basically Hebrew for "praise you"

Amei · Nov 17, 2019

Mishaminion said:
But that is Mariah's personality, she is a smiley and bubbly person who just beams with joy when she skates.

I get that it's her personality, but for all the preaching we get on this board about 15/16 years olds don't belong on the senior circuit that this ladies adult skating - here we have a 23 year old skater who didn't start competing internationally as a senior till she was 18 (legal adult age in most countries) whose artistic range doesn't venture much from 1 type of smiley/bubbly skating that most people will say is her natural personality.

Mishaminion · Nov 17, 2019

Amei said:
I get that it's her personality, but for all the preaching we get on this board about 15/16 years olds don't belong on the senior circuit that this ladies adult skating - here we have a 23 year old skater who didn't start competing internationally as a senior till she was 18 (legal adult age in most countries) whose artistic range doesn't venture much from 1 type of smiley/bubbly skating.

Who cares when she started competing internationally as a senior? What has that got to do with it, or her age? This is the style that suits her and reflects her personality. At least she shows some.
Mature doesn't have to mean skating around looking depressed as #$%£, mature can be smiley and bubbly too.

el henry · Nov 17, 2019

Amei said:
I get that it's her personality, but for all the preaching we get on this board about 15/16 years olds don't belong on the senior circuit that this ladies adult skating - here we have a 23 year old skater who didn't start competing internationally as a senior till she was 18 (legal adult age in most countries) whose artistic range doesn't venture much from 1 type of smiley/bubbly skating.

I’m sorry, I don’t know what one has to do with the other?

15 year olds can look miserable and still skate juniorish (and I am saying that rhetorically and about no one in particular) and of course, the most mature adult can be happy and smiling.

I’m also not sure what is “preaching”? No more than “preaching” that quads are the ultimate sign of progress in sport? Neither one is preaching, unless both are. :shrug:

TallyT · Nov 17, 2019

Mishaminion said:
It is her interpretation. Who is to say what she can or can't do with that song? I think it works because she brings joy to it.

Umm, no one can say she mayn't. People are perfectly entitled to say she can't as in she is not in their opinion pulling it off without an element of unintended risibility, just as people are entitled to and do say similar 'can't' about different aspects of every single skater on the planet.

Seren · Nov 17, 2019

Stop Smiling!

Mariah’s style of skating is very effervescent and joyous. It comes across in her performance. If you don’t like it then it’s your prerogative but creating a new topic to insult her seems like overkill.

TallyT · Nov 17, 2019

Seren said:
Mariah’s style of skating is very effervescent and joyous. It comes across in her performance. If you don’t like it then it’s your prerogative but creating a new topic to insult her seems like overkill.

So what is insulting about saying that in one's opinion, her smiley version of a decidedly unsmiley song clashes in the Psmithian inner ear? Goodness knows, enough people criticise other skaters' choices and interpretations, why is this particular American off-limits?

It all reminds me of a particularly joyous Australian TV show years ago that as one of its segments did the song Stairway to Heaven in every conceivable and many inconceivable style. Great fun, since it was deliberate pastiche/parody (my own particular favourites were uber-Wagnerian, lounge lizard, and ultra-campy Gilbert&Sullivan pirates). Of course, when Led Zeppelin fans found out, they were furious at the 'insult' (the band on the other hand thought it was hilarious and asks for tapes).

zanadude · Nov 17, 2019

Seren said:
Mariah’s style of skating is very effervescent and joyous. It comes across in her performance. If you don’t like it then it’s your prerogative but creating a new topic to insult her seems like overkill.

I'm insulting her performance. I'm sure she's a lovely person in RL, but nobody should care about that when she is performing a bitter lament about love and loss.

Lamente Ariane · Nov 17, 2019

Amei said:
Let's be clear I love to watch Mariah skate because in my opinion you can tell how much she loves it. However her range of interpretation has never branched out much from being something that has her being smiley and happy; I'd be interested to see what she could do with something like Shcherbakova's short program music something that doesn't appropriately allow her to have the safety net of smiley/happy skater presentation.

Have you considered watching her short program from this season? Mariah's not exactly grinning ear from ear during Britney Spears.

Ichatdelune · Nov 17, 2019

Lamente Ariane said:
Have you considered watching her short program from this season? Mariah's not exactly grinning ear from ear during Britney Spears.

But to be fair Britney Spears isn't something that requires you to portray heartwrenching emotion, and broadly speaking 'being fun' belongs to the category of 'happy skating'. I can't remember her ever doing a program that is 100% sadness/melancholy/solemn/etc, and while she is very good with the 'happy skating' I honestly can't picture her skating to, say, Schindler's List or Send In The Clowns.

Lamente Ariane · Nov 17, 2019

Ichatdelune said:
But to be fair Britney Spears isn't something that requires you to portray heartwrenching emotion, and broadly speaking 'being fun' belongs to the category of 'happy skating'. I can't remember her ever doing a program that is 100% sadness/melancholy/solemn/etc, and while she is very good with the 'happy skating' I honestly can't picture her skating to, say, Schindler's List or Send In The Clowns.

Well yeah, but I also don't think it's really necessary for her to. It's cool when skaters are versatile and show off lots of different styles, of course, but ultimately you're just as likely to get criticized for struggling to portray something outside your wheelhouse as you are applauded for taking a risk. And the Britney Spears program was a risk.

Makemi · Nov 17, 2019

Speaking specifically on the interpretation of "Hallelujah," it's a song that was originally written by Leonard Cohen. According to wikipedia:

Cohen's lyrical poetry and his view that "many different hallelujahs exist" is reflected in wide-ranging covers with very different intents or tones, allowing the song to be "melancholic, fragile, uplifting [or] joyous" depending on the performer.

So yes I do believe there are multiple interpretations of Hallelujah and "joyous" is certainly one of them. My personal interpretation of "cold and broken hallelujah" is finding the light within the darkness, hope in hard times.

If we are talking about other programs, I know it's been used to death but the first one that comes to mind is Hubbell and Donohue's version (which is coincidentally also done to k.d. lang's version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ooBnmjWk0

As far as interpretation, they're pretty happy and joyous to me (well Madison is a bit dramatic in the first few seconds but Zach is certainly happy throughout). This is actually one of my favorite programs of theirs simply because they're so happy.

So no, I don't think there is anything wrong with Mariah's interpretation. I love it in fact, it gives me so much joy to watch her and know that she absolutely loves what she's doing.

Now if we want to talk about Mariah branching out in other types of programs and expanding her range, well that's another topic.

el henry · Nov 17, 2019

Well, I'm going to say something that will be mighty unpopular here.

I don't like the song Hallelujah. I don't like Leonard Cohen. I don't care if it's angsty, I don't care if it's about sex, the song itself makes me bury my head in sand. So it makes no difference to me whether Mariah is happy, sad, or in between, the song itself grates on me, anything she does to distract me is fine.

I'll show myself out now :biggrin:

Smiling in a serious performance?

zanadude

AsadaFanBoy

noskates

Manitou

Amei

Mishaminion

TallyT

Mishaminion

Amei

Mishaminion

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.

TallyT

Seren

Wakabond Forever

TallyT

zanadude

Lamente Ariane

Skating Skills -5, Fashion +3, Camp +4

Ichatdelune

Long live the Queen and her successors

Lamente Ariane

Skating Skills -5, Fashion +3, Camp +4

Makemi

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.

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