Rika Kihira to add Brian Orser as her secondary coach

Greengemmonster · Jun 13, 2020

Amei said:
That's choreographers in general, not just David Wilson.

I find it interesting that THIS is the year she does this - she's going to have to travel between Canada and Japan; travel restrictions galore are going to be an obstacle going between the 2 countries unless there is some special agreement put in place to not have to quarantine.

She used to go to Colorado a lot so this is consistent with how her coach handles her. I'm actually wondering if there choice for Canada is because the virus situation is so terrible in the US they don't want to go back and forth like they did in previous years.

eterislouisvuitton · Jun 13, 2020

I'm sorry if I'm not quite up to date with all the Japanese things, but do you think this has anything to do with the Mie Hamada abuse case? As a gymnastics fan I just came after the Maggie Haney scandal and knowing what Hamada has been accused of I'm a little suspicious.

Regardless, great move. I think this is a good move for Rika, she can learn from many great performers at TCC and up her performance game. And as for the political side of it, I wish there was no such politics in sport but there is and this will be smart. I hope that she will get her quads and enhance her beautiful skating even more!

Also whoever makes Yuzu and Zhenya's costumes must be located in Toronto (the same city Gogolev got his costumes last year but oh well)

randomfan · Jun 13, 2020

By the way, for those who don’t know, Rika’s Clair De Lune SP was choreographed by David Wilson. I personally didn’t like the program too much, but it’s just worth noting that they’ve already worked together before. That could either mean they’d be willing to do so again or that Rika and her team are willing to look elsewhere.

corinthia · Jun 13, 2020

Another article:
https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/s...-coach-brian-orser/?__twitter_impression=true

- - - Updated - - -

Another article:
https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/s...-coach-brian-orser/?__twitter_impression=true

TallyT · Jun 13, 2020

eterislouisvuitton said:
Also whoever makes Yuzu and Zhenya's costumes must be located in Toronto (the same city Gogolev got his costumes last year but oh well)

Umm, no. Yuzu's for some years now, and I think Evgenia's geisha one, have been by Japanese designer Satomi Ito, who has made them for many of Team Japan (I'm not sure if she has for Rika).

Clairecz · Jun 13, 2020

How has this thread about Kihira turned into David Wilson bashing is beyond my understanding... but never mind, I'll go to watch Schindler's list again. Or Guys & Dolls? Or MOLM? Hmm or Danny Boy?...

Skatesocs · Jun 13, 2020

What is... MOLM?

Edit: Oh, Man of La Mancha. Wow. If I had a thousand guesses, I wouldn't have guessed that.

Amei said:
That's choreographers in general, not just David Wilson.

:yes:

ankifeather · Jun 13, 2020

eterislouisvuitton said:
I'm sorry if I'm not quite up to date with all the Japanese things, but do you think this has anything to do with the Mie Hamada abuse case? As a gymnastics fan I just came after the Maggie Haney scandal and knowing what Hamada has been accused of I'm a little suspicious.

Regardless, great move. I think this is a good move for Rika, she can learn from many great performers at TCC and up her performance game. And as for the political side of it, I wish there was no such politics in sport but there is and this will be smart. I hope that she will get her quads and enhance her beautiful skating even more!

Also whoever makes Yuzu and Zhenya's costumes must be located in Toronto (the same city Gogolev got his costumes last year but oh well)

The costume designer, Satomi Ito is based in Japan. She had no involvement in Gogolev's costume. Rika's SP and LP costume last season were already made by Satomi. Satomi is the most frequented designer for the whole Japanese team, from novice to senior tops. And now she makes costume for Zhenya, Boyang, and Zhou too.

AshWagsFan · Jun 14, 2020

Will she also be working with Tracy or just Brian?

readernick · Jun 14, 2020

randomfan said:
By the way, for those who don’t know, Rika’s Clair De Lune SP was choreographed by David Wilson. I personally didn’t like the program too much, but it’s just worth noting that they’ve already worked together before. That could either mean they’d be willing to do so again or that Rika and her team are willing to look elsewhere.

I was going to comment on this. David Wilson makes great programs for certain skaters, but I didn't enjoy his choreography for Rika. She is capable of more complex programs and, unlike the previous poster, I think Tom Dickson is a great choreographer for her. (Beautiful Storm was the best ladies program I have seen in the last 3 years). Rika has worked with many different choreographers and I hope she continues to do so. I think her dance ability makes Shae-Lynn Bourne a good choreographer for her (although many people hated the music this year/the actual sp choreo suited her well), Jeff Buttle would also be an interesting choice. I think working with a variety of choreographers is good for any skater.

Back to the original topic, I think this is a good choice for Rika. She has shown consistent improvement each season, her jumps are getting higher and her 3A is improving in consistency. Since she appears to be completely recovered from her injury that reduced her ability to train Quads and the 3Lz early in the year, it is a great time to go work at TCC. I believe she has already worked with Ghislain and he reworked her 3S prior to the 2018/2019 season to make it easier for her to do a 4S. Additionally, Rika is already very talented artistically. Her skating skills are superb, her transitions are effortless, and her musicality is wonderful, but she doesn't always perform facially / her performances can be muted and more internalized than externalized. Working alongside Evgenia Medvedeva, who, in my opinion, excels primarily at selling a performance will be good for her.

Tolstoj · Jun 14, 2020

Lunalovesskating said:
He choreographed Eunsoo's SP (the one with purple dress) and FS last season. Both were amazing programs. He is often hit or miss. Sometimes he creates masterpieces, sometimes not so great programs

He choreographs for so many skaters and there are many skaters and coaches who like to try different choreographers every time, so i think if it is just a for a one season thing, so you end up seeing lookalike programs which to be fair i've seen from other choreographers as well. The best work from him i think you see after 2-3 years.

Ballade88 · Jun 14, 2020

I find this secondary coach thing fascinating. It does look like Rika is serious about winning in 2022. I always thought she should make a change but I am not sure if Orser is the best choice, mainly because he seems far too busy. This choice seems to be all about getting the quad and learning from Hanyu in my opinion. But less than two years until the Olympics is not much time to learn an extremely difficult jump and adjust to a new training environment, while also dividing some time to going back to Japan. Something also tells me that this means Orser might be giving up on Evgenia...

Add me to those that think David Wilson's choreography is a bit overrated. His Clair de Lune SP for Rika was so bland. I think Rika is a bit like Akiko in that they are both great skaters but also a bit unconventional in terms of presentation. She is much more interesting when she skates to non-lyrical and powerful or quirky pieces. Someone like Pasquale Camerlengo would be great.

Ophelia · Jun 14, 2020

Kihira is one of the most well-rounded skaters out there, but she's punching below her weight with the programs she's had. I'm optimistic about this move to TCC because they excel at polishing and packaging skaters like Kihira. If all goes well, she could be TCC's next Hanyu and Kim.

Ophelia · Jun 14, 2020

Shayuki said:
Pretty surprising if Orser doesn't mind being just a secondary coach. I wonder whether he's secondary in name only.

Yes. I think Kihira will be spending the majority of her time training at TCC.

YuBluByMe · Jun 14, 2020

Ballade88 said:
I find this secondary coach thing fascinating. It does look like Rika is serious about winning in 2022. I always thought she should make a change but I am not sure if Orser is the best choice, mainly because he seems far too busy.

She’s very serious about winning the Olympics, but I think this is a great change. I think the move will be permanent. To be honest, I don’t think she will be working primarily with Orser. She’s worked with Briand in the past and she’ll be working with him to tighten up that 4S. I’ve also noticed that she suddenly had issues with the 3T last season (working on 4T, perhaps?) so maybe she’ll also work on a consistent 4T, as well. She’s already a full-package skater, but she can emote outwards a little more. Orser can help her with this, but she can also observe other skaters such as Brown.

Something also tells me that this means Orser might be giving up on Evgenia...

Nah, I don’t think he’s “giving up” on Medvedeva. But keeping it real: Kihira’s more likely to go to the Olympics than her. He has to think of the career of his students as well as his coaching career. Orser’s a coach, not Medvedeva’s grandmother. He has experience in this; I’m sure he’ll do right by both women. But again, I don’t think Orser will truly be Kihira’s secondary coach to begin with.

Ballade88 · Jun 14, 2020

lilahozi said:
Kihira is one of the most well-rounded skaters out there, but she's punching below her weight with the programs she's had. I'm optimistic about this move to TCC because they excel at polishing and packaging skaters like Kihira. If all goes well, she could be TCC's next Hanyu and Kim.

But she isn't just going there for polishing and packaging. She is going there to learn a quad or two (that's her main goal). TCC's success at helping a skater learn a new jump is inconsistent. I mean Jason Brown still struggles with it. I would also say in terms of packaging, TCC was probably the best like more than four years ago. The most artistically interesting skaters nowadays aren't from there. Hamada does a very good job in that area.

YuBluByMe · Jun 14, 2020

The difference is that Kihira can already land a rotated 4S. She just needs to get it consistent enough for competition. She’s not learning it from scratch at 20+ years old.

Ballade88 · Jun 14, 2020

YuBluByMe said:
Nah, I don’t think he’s “giving up” on Medvedeva. But keeping it real: Kihira’s more likely to go to the Olympics than her. He has to think of the career of his students as well as his coaching career. Orser’s a coach, not Medvedeva’s grandmother. He has experience in this; I’m sure he’ll do right by both women. But again, I don’t think Orser will truly be Kihira’s secondary coach to begin with.

Then it makes it the title even stranger. Either Hamada doesn't want to lose another star student and/or this is insurance for Orser. If it pays off then he gets major credit, but not much loss if it doesn't. Hanyu and Javi worked because the latter seemed content with being a medalist. Medvedeva is super competitive; it's hard to see that she won't be bothered by the inclusion of such a strong rival in her own camp. I mean didn't she leave Eteri because of the competition?

YuBluByMe · Jun 14, 2020

Ballade88 said:
Then it makes it the title even stranger. Either Hamada doesn't want to lose another star student and/or this is insurance for Orser. If it pays off then he gets major credit, but not much loss if it doesn’t.

Orser doesn’t need insurance by taking on Kihira, though. She’s a gold mine already. No technical issues. Consistent 3A. Been traning 4S and 4T for several years. Great skating skills and musicality. I believe the “secondary coach” is a formality to appease either Hamada or Medvedeva. She may never say it aloud, but there’s no way Medvedeva’s 100% A-okay with this. But this is a win-win situation for Orser and he’s not going to pass it up. The positive spin to this is that Kihira is Japanese, not Russian. Medvedeva may also need competition in the rink to get that 4S down. If she’s strong enough, this should light a fire under her.

kolyadafan2002 · Jun 14, 2020

For me, she doesnt need Orser to sort her technical out. Maybe with the jump coaches they can find more efficient training in terms of quads, but I think their team would help develop her choreography, and find something that works better for her to improve PCS and match Kostornia. Maybe shorter entrances (less telegraphed), and also better transitions into the jumps.

I think Rikas current coach has done a fantastic job on technical: no need to change that.
For me Rika isnt a competitor with medvedeva. Rika isnt russian, and they are no longer direct competitors in competition as Rika has superseded her in the big internationals. I think that training with Rika might be more motivation for medvedeva even.

Rika Kihira to add Brian Orser as her secondary coach

Greengemmonster

eterislouisvuitton

randomfan

corinthia

TallyT

Clairecz

Skatesocs

ankifeather

AshWagsFan

Edges for days.

readernick

Tolstoj

Ballade88

Ophelia

Ophelia

YuBluByMe

May Rika spin her hair into GOLD….in 2026.

Ballade88

YuBluByMe

May Rika spin her hair into GOLD….in 2026.

Ballade88

YuBluByMe

May Rika spin her hair into GOLD….in 2026.

kolyadafan2002

Fan of Kolyada

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