Best use of ballet on ice | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Best use of ballet on ice

Sasha'sSpins

Sasha'sSpins

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A bit OT but I can't think of ballet on ice without thinking of the exquisite Katherine Healy. She was a professional ballerina and a show skater (I think she went pro at 10) but I have loved watching her balletic performances on ice over the years. And the late great John Curry choreographed several of her performances! Tribute to Katherine Healy I thought her spirals and Charlottes were breathtaking and long before Sasha (whom I also love). :luv17: Her line was exquisite! :love: Katherine Healy
 
shine

shine

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Jul 27, 2003
Another one of my favourite ballet inspired program is the Giselle LP from the Stieglers from 1998. Watching Tiffany Stiegler you kind of realize maybe we shoudln't be calling Sasha Cohen balletic. I also consider Oksana Baiul much more balletic than Sasha. IMO Sasha had the lines and extension and was beautiful to watch in her own right, but she didn't have the balletic way of moving, where movement oozes from one into another.

Yukina Ota was another truly balletic skater. The way she moved.
 
plushyfan

plushyfan

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shine said:
Another one of my favourite ballet inspired program is the Giselle LP from the Stieglers from 1998. Watching Tiffany Stiegler you kind of realize maybe we shoudln't be calling Sasha Cohen balletic. I also consider Oksana Baiul much more balletic than Sasha. IMO Sasha had the lines and extension and was beautiful to watch in her own right, but she didn't have the balletic way of moving, where movement oozes from one into another.

Yukina Ota was another truly balletic skater. The way she moved.
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so true! Sasha was balletic, but Oksana was more and her style had impact on the other skaters even Kwan said she wanted to move her arms as Oksana did...
 
plushyfan

plushyfan

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FSGMT said:
I am not a ballet expert, so I do not claim to be knowledgeable about this, but her program had a nice composure and seemed to fit the musical structure very well to me. At least, she reused some ballet elements in a very creative and fun way :)
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:) understand..but her awful posture spoils everything..
 
Sasha'sSpins

Sasha'sSpins

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Sasha was absolutely balletic! I do agree that Oksana Baiul was more so. She was the first competitive ladies singles skater that I'd seen with such arms and lines! Gorgeous! In Pairs, Gordeeva and Grinkov also had exquisite balletic lines. Sergei, rest his soul, was a big guy but he carried himself across the ice like a premier danseur! Some years ago I looked at some online archived reports after the 1988 Olympics and one journalist wrote that the way Ecaterina held her arms, even when just standing there, was a 'study in natural grace'. So true! It's the same for me with Berezhnaya and Sikuralidze! Anton especially stood out imo due to his height and long slender lines! I remember during the 2002 Olympics a journalist called Plushenko and Yagudin a 'Nijinksy and Barishnikov on ice' versus poor Tim Goebels whom he called 'robotic' between his quad jumps. I think Yagudin looked more elegant than Plushenko imo.
 
P

Parsifal3363

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 29, 2014
elbkup said:
A very young Polina Edmunds with beautiful balletic program ... does anyone know the music? This was posted in her FF and gave me hope for her future. She subsequently skated to Peer Gynt too; I find her style lyrical, graceful and am still hoping for her future. Reminds me of Carolina..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5TMpeUYyos
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It is fascinating to find so many elements of Polina's repertoire already in place nearly seven years ago. The formal positions of her arms, the running steps, and that curious backward leap, almost plaintive in its effect: all were there, as though even then the flower of her talent was in blossom.
 
plushyfan

plushyfan

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Sasha'sSpins said:
Sasha was absolutely balletic! I do agree that Oksana Baiul was more so. She was the first competitive ladies singles skater that I'd seen with such arms and lines! Gorgeous! In Pairs, Gordeeva and Grinkov also had exquisite balletic lines. Sergei, rest his soul, was a big guy but he carried himself across the ice like a premier danseur! Some years ago I looked at some online archived reports after the 1988 Olympics and one journalist wrote that the way Ecaterina held her arms, even when just standing there, was a 'study in natural grace'. So true! It's the same for me with Berezhnaya and Sikuralidze! Anton especially stood out imo due to his height and long slender lines! I remember during the 2002 Olympics a journalist called Plushenko and Yagudin a 'Nijinksy and Barishnikov on ice' versus poor Tim Goebels whom he called 'robotic' between his quad jumps. I think Yagudin looked more elegant than Plushenko imo.
Click to expand...



I'm happy you mentioned Plushenko if you think he is not balletic at all. https://twitter.com/aokilpomaaaa/status/926345152167161856 But many journalists( not only Russian) called Plushenko Barishnikov on ice before Vancouver, too. We knew the art is very subjective..I can show you some quotes:

Roberto Bolle ( one of the gratest ballet dancers today, Italian two parts of his opinion)
"Because this sport is very rich in content. It is a combination of spectacular exercises and elegance, carriage, the jumps, the softness, the strength, the interpretation. A combination that is Always a pleasure to watch. "
"- "There are many skaters who have a strong body, and many are flexable and have softness and extreme extensibility in their movement. Honestly, I’m not an expert, I don’t notice one element that stands out the Russian. It is his artistic vision, the quality of dance and of how he presents himself , he has completeness."


Maya Plisetskaya: ( we all know who was she)
- He is our favourite. He is so good that it looks like nobody can beat him. I can't imagine who can be better. He is a master, a great master who does everything beautifully, brilliantly and artistically. Also, he always looks so confident that we, his fans, cannot be not confident. He skates like an artist who knows that he is the best. Other skaters think that they are good too, but they have doubts and get nervous. Plushenko on the contrary always knows that he is much better than others, and he convinces all of us in it. He not just "works" on ice, he dances on ice masterly, and that is a wonderful thing to see.
E.S.- What do you think about his appearance?

M.P.- I think his appearance is fine. He is tall, striking, with a handsome body and long arms. He is not some cute guy from the postcard, thanks god he is not!, but he has the perfect face for the stage. The ice is the stage too.

E.S.- Who does he remind you among ballet dancers?

M.P.- He looks like Godunov, the Russian ballet dancer. The same type- tall, handsome, self-confident, with long waving in the wind and pirouettes blond hair. In ballet he would be perfect at parts performed by Godunov. He has the temperament and virtuosity for that."

Sergei Filin ( ex Bolshoi director):
"I do not like never to take a break, I work with those people with whom I'm interested, whom I respect, we want to make mistakes together, get up and move on." Therefore, there are such projects as working with Zhenya Plushenko, "he said.

Cooperation with Plushenko, according to the artist, "is an unforgettable work in the hall, this is an amazing overcoming, and I'm ready to stand on two knees before the Olympic champion, because what he does in his rehearsal room with himself, his body, ice, can not be described in words: it's heroism, patriotism, natural love, "

Yuri Smekalov( prime dancer and choreographer in the Kirov he choreographed the Nijinsky program)

- When did you start working with a skater, you can determine how wide the range of his artistic, choreographic possibilities?
- In figure skating, the good news is that you can create a choreography that will hide any flaws. If an athlete is inexpressive, we can compensate for plastics, and to focus on it. Put the motion that will express their individuality that is necessary to convey to the viewer.
Suppose take Plushenko. His charisma is so powerful that no matter what image of Jack chose, “he includes himself,” his inner strength and inner euphoria begins. It’s so captivates the audience, they forget that even a given image, which invested director. To them it does not matter. With Eugene in this sense simply to work…

Who else has such fans like him? ;)


off ice ballet training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELud8GUfpdQ he would have been agreat dancer..

This page is dedicated to Sergei Polunin and Evgeni Plushenko https://www.instagram.com/polunin.plushenko/
 
G

GrandmaCC

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
FSGMT said:
I am not a ballet expert, so I do not claim to be knowledgeable about this, but her program had a nice composure and seemed to fit the musical structure very well to me. At least, she reused some ballet elements in a very creative and fun way :)
Click to expand...

I saw her skate not as ballet, but I thought her Riverdance was awesome and very much captured the essence of that style of dance, the energy and the vibe. Even though I’m sure Irish dance fans will shriek about how “XYZ that she did was TOTALLY not like actual Irish Dance”. ;p


That begs the question of what one defines as “ballet” or “balletic”, I suppose on personal preference it comes down to to factors such as portraying the emotions of a dance character, such as mentioned of Yuna,
Or body lines, arm usage, flexibility, posture etc...or whether a certain combination is necessary...
I took ballet as a youngster and went back to dance briefly after college, and although I’m as inflexible as they come, my body type and turnout see me constantly asked if I’m a dancer. Personally, I think a skater’s build plays a huge part in whether they can be perceived as balletic or not. If a girl with the correct “type” can then be flexible (hello, Sasha :) ) then, there comes the balletic label.

Although of course there are exceptions - Ashley Wagner to me has beautiful arms that appear extremely graceful, almost as though they’re being graceful against her will (see Skate Canada HHCP for example)! I find her Black Swan to be not balletic at all, ironically! Yet when she’s trying to bring the sass and attitude, out comes the grace.

Then we get girls like Zagi with gorgeous slender lines, a ballet routine, a tutu!! - and yet the posture drives everyone mad. That she does DQ seems to insult so many.
(NOT to say ANY skater is of bad body type, just saying that it obviously is not the be all & end all).
Perhaps TRYING to be balletic makes a skater more prone to comparisons - good or bad - between actual dancers? Someone for whatever reason not looking like a ballet dancer is much more obvious when they are indeed trying to portray a dance character.

Back to Rika - her performance makes me wish to see other styles of dance brought more often and obviously to the ice, I would love to see some Tap inspired pieces! The two Fosse SP’s at last year’s worlds were fabulous. A bonus I think from allowing music with lyrics!
 
B

Bluediamonds09

Medalist
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Sep 8, 2016
Well, if u ask Tatiana Tarasova, ballet on ice is definitely not Kaetlyn Osmond. Wow, she really didn’t like her swan lake. A lot of people are harping on her swan lake. I admit I dislike it too.

This isn’t about kaetlyn ‘s body type, is it? The reason for the dislike?
 
Spirals for Miles

Spirals for Miles

Anna Shcherbakova is my World Champion
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Aug 25, 2017
I can't consider myself an EXPERT in ballet but I'm pretty knowledgeable:
It doesn't look like ballet at all. It looks like she's only trying to look seductive and she's totally not feeling the nuances of the music.
From a ballet standpoint, all she does is low attitude after low attitude. If you're going to do an attitude, at least make it high. There's no arabesque lines like a well-executed arabesque spiral, no penchees like a charlotte, no passes. There's no attempt to look swanly or birdly and there's not as much glide on the ice as there are in others'. (glide being not skating on ice but making everything fluid, like bourees in ballet)
 
plushyfan

plushyfan

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Bluediamonds09 said:
Well, if u ask Tatiana Tarasova, ballet on ice is definitely not Kaetlyn Osmond. Wow, she really didn’t like her swan lake. A lot of people are harping on her swan lake. I admit I dislike it too.

This isn’t about kaetlyn ‘s body type, is it? The reason for the dislike?
Click to expand...

Agree. That is not fit for her at all. Her body type also doesn't help, yes. I had similar feelings when I watched the original movie. Natalie is a great actor but not a ballerina level dancer. She had too short arms..
 
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