Am I the only Maria Butyrskaya fan?

lavender · Sep 19, 2017

Although Kwan was my fav I always had a soft spot for Maria. Irina was the fav in Rus but Maria was my pick.

sc8 · Sep 19, 2017

Ender said:
She had some bad programs and some bad costumes (and many bad performances). Her stiff knee is still remembered. But she was very elegant and when she's on she's amazing.

I'll agree here. I'm a big fan and still occasionally watch her videos on YouTube or Google her name to see if there is any recent news. She was stiff-kneed, sometimes seemingly shaking with nerves, but I always pulled for Maria. When she was confident, or "on," she was so elegant and sophisticated. She got it all right in 1999 and I was so happy for her. It is so ironic now, considering the incredible depth of young Russian ladies, that she was the oldest world champion and first Russian.

sc8 · Sep 19, 2017

Elsie said:
This is a Russian video where you can see Maria in a training outfit and also with her "boy toy" husband (fast forward to 7:30 minutes) and two of her children. I didn't know she had a third child?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGL2aQKuPd4

She appears to be coaching some young skaters in the beginning part of the video.

Thanks for the link! Loved it.

sc8 · Sep 19, 2017

Elsie said:
This is a Russian video where you can see Maria in a training outfit and also with her "boy toy" husband (fast forward to 7:30 minutes) and two of her children. I didn't know she had a third child?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGL2aQKuPd4

She appears to be coaching some young skaters in the beginning part of the video.

Elsie said:
Not sure if this is a silly question or not, but are there any more people like me who absolutely adore Maria Butyrskaya? Her name doesn't seem to come up often anymore since her retirement, even though for me she is still the greatest who ever lived. Not in terms of technical abilities, I know that, but because of her presentation on the ice. So it would seem only obvious that she is regarded as a model for current skaters, but that doesn't seem to be the case, or not that I'm aware of.

We all know she had her flaws. Her jumps were not all that: shaky landings (she had a tendency to stiffen up her legs and land on two feet), not very consistent, no true 3-3 combo (she had one with an Euler in between), slow spins etc. But it's what she did in between the jumps, including the preparation of her jumps, that always impressed me. And when she did land her jumps, some of them were just spectacular, most notably her lutz (really deep edge) and her loop (looked really pretty).

I would like to know what skaters think of her. I don't skate myself so all my opinions are based on what I see on TV and that's it. I've only been to one of two ice shows in my life (I think it was Disney on Ice), but never to watch a real competition, where skaters show all of their technical abilities.

So how do you skaters judge Maria Butyrskaya? How would you rank her in the list of "greatest skaters of all time"? I have never seen anyone like her, and the current skaters don't do it for me like Maria did. It's all about acrobatics now, and some mime, but not the balletic touch and her "woman"-like skating that Maria added.

Thanks for this thread. It's so nice to see all the love and nostalgia for Maria.

Baron Vladimir · Sep 19, 2017

Skater Boy said:
I liked her because she skates like a woman.

This. When she won 1999, it was described as a 'woman win' kind of thing... If there is a scale to measure womanly way of skating, it should be called by her name.

WeakAnkles · Sep 20, 2017

Maria was never ever ever ever no never ever boring.

Ever.

There is much to be said for this.

Loved her.

Elsie · Sep 20, 2017

I'm glad my thread is still being read and attracting more Butyrskaya fans!

Violet Bliss · Sep 20, 2017

Elsie said:
I'm glad my thread is still being read and attracting more Butyrskaya fans!

She is not talked about so much because she's not active, having retired for a long time. Evidently she's well remembered.

viennaskater · Sep 27, 2017

I just adored her 'Otonal' FP with which she won the Worlds - magical!

LeReveur · Sep 28, 2017

Can't recall if this was the best example of the program, but Maria's Carmen is SMOLDERING

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4oduTGZW6c

mrrice · Sep 28, 2017

WeakAnkles said:
Maria was never ever ever ever no never ever boring.

Ever.

There is much to be said for this.

Loved her.

I LOVE this Post!!!!!!!!! This is exactly why I loved Maria. She was NEVER boring. I loved this SP even though my friends weren't into it. I loved it. Her 1997 SP from Worlds...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVzvM-CJiuw

dorispulaski · Sep 28, 2017

BTW guys, when this thread drops off the front page, it is going to be moved to Fan Fests. Such a fabulous lady as Maria deserves to be remembered and discussed! Thanks for the thread and the great memories.

WeakAnkles · Oct 2, 2017

Baron Vladimir said:
This. When she won 1999, it was described as a 'woman win' kind of thing... If there is a scale to measure womanly way of skating, it should be called by her name.

Yes, wouldn't that be a lovely thing to add to PCS? The MB Score. The teeny bopper who's obviously been rehearsed and rehearsed into a "mature" performance can--and should!--get a -3MB (applying a GOE-type of -3 to +3 for it).

It would be so much more realistic than most of the PCS as it already exists!

mrrice · Oct 2, 2017

WeakAnkles said:
Yes, wouldn't that be a lovely thing to add to PCS? The MB Score. The teeny bopper who's obviously been rehearsed and rehearsed into a "mature" performance can--and should!--get a -3MB (applying a GOE-type of -3 to +3 for it).

It would be so much more realistic than most of the PCS as it already exists!

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! I vote yes for this!!

dorispulaski · Oct 3, 2017

WeakAnkles · Oct 3, 2017

Doris! You're the best!

GJD7 · Jan 13, 2018

Hi Elsie, I know it's been a few months since you posted this, but I must respond.
No, it was not a silly question, simply because Maria Butyrskaya was the greatest figure skating artist to have ever graced the ice with her presence. Her style, form, movements, and presence were both mesmerizing and unequalled. And it didn't hurt that she was a physically beautiful young women.
Even though (as you've stated) she was not the most technically talented skater, Maria's LP performance in the 1999 world championship was sublime.... The most beautiful performance I've ever seen. Also, her technical performance was nearly perfect. Figure skating is an art, and being an art, one doesn't have to be an expert to recognize a great artist. I'm sorry if I'm rambling a bit, Elsie, but it's so refreshing to hear from someone who feels the way I do about Maria Butyrskaya. Take care of yourself, and thank you for your post.

Tigerlily87 · Jan 13, 2018

I loved her. Completely under rated skater

Ladskater · Jan 13, 2018

Maria, was never a favorite skater of mine but nice to see old footage of her.

Globetrotter · Jan 14, 2018

GJD7 said:
Hi Elsie, I know it's been a few months since you posted this, but I must respond.
No, it was not a silly question, simply because Maria Butyrskaya was the greatest figure skating artist to have ever graced the ice with her presence. Her style, form, movements, and presence were both mesmerizing and unequalled. And it didn't hurt that she was a physically beautiful young women.
Even though (as you've stated) she was not the most technically talented skater, Maria's LP performance in the 1999 world championship was sublime.... The most beautiful performance I've ever seen. Also, her technical performance was nearly perfect. Figure skating is an art, and being an art, one doesn't have to be an expert to recognize a great artist. I'm sorry if I'm rambling a bit, Elsie, but it's so refreshing to hear from someone who feels the way I do about Maria Butyrskaya. Take care of yourself, and thank you for your post.

Well certainly she has her flaws. She doesn’t have much by way of combo jumps, no 3-3, an awful layback spin and ugly spirals due to a combination of nervous stiffness and lack of flexibility. But if you look below the ankles, her blades were always on good, deep edges, even the spirals. The positions were awful but the depth and edges were solid. This was complete Sasha Cohen in reverse - Sasha had the best and most beautiful positions ankle up but her edges were ..... non existent. Also, among her peers, Maria had a lovely 3R and also a rare, true outside edge 3Lz which picked in while deepening the outside edge and launched up with little pre-rotation which means she really got more air time rotating than most others. Unfortunately, her nerves and stiffness meant that she was rarely rewarded for performing a truer lutz than say M Kwan or Irina whose lutzes were either a mild flutz (Kwan) or ! (Slutskaya). Maria B’s true strengths were in her natural X factor that made it impossible to take your eyes off her no matter the nerves. Nervous to watch but never boring as her nervous vulnerability and mature presence were compelling. She was the only female skater who could out present and out artistry M Kwan at her best. Of course a lot of it was due to her natural presence and frankly, great physical beauty with that touch of mysteriousness. Her programmes were thus very unique and virtually nobody has the maturity and appeal to carry off say her Scent d’amour SP in 2000. Closest likely contender will be Anna Pogo.

Am I the only Maria Butyrskaya fan?

lavender

sc8

sc8

sc8

Baron Vladimir

WeakAnkles

Elsie

Violet Bliss

viennaskater

LeReveur

mrrice

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

WeakAnkles

mrrice

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl

WeakAnkles

GJD7

Tigerlily87

Ladskater

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Globetrotter

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