Practice reports?

[CoyoteChris]

:
I'm totally loving and living for that pony tail pull. It's probably one of the most memorable choreographic touches I've seen so far from any skater.

What, not Ashley dancing on her toes during "Swan"?????
When my wife and I saw the Shibs winning novice in Spokane 2007, there was no doubt we were watching something special.....

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

What, not Ashley dancing on her toes during "Swan"?????
When my wife and I saw the Shibs winning novice in Spokane 2007, there was no doubt we were watching something special.....

Oops. I meant this season, not all time, haha. You're right, you could tell they were special at a young age. My personal discovery of them was their 2009 Junior Worlds FD and I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and I became a lifelong fan then and there.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Gracie's gonna drop out of my top 3 after what I witnessed today... :gaah: I'm beginning to get worried about her, more than usual.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Tear falls.....what joy will I now find at Kansas City????? Who will stop me from sinking into a bout of self medication?..... Tara...Johnny....tell me what is happening to my Gracie!

 

[skylark]

Out of the ladies I loved, loved, loved Ashley's long program routine. Finally an elegant , beautiful Skate like ladies use to skated a few years back.

I :luv17: your description, and I can't wait :hap57: to see it as it has progressed since Japan Open. I had a feeling after seeing her FS then that she hadn't really put all the content into the program yet at that time. In her SA teleconference, she confirmed that.

 

[Arriba627]

Welcome! And to all, sorry I was trying to watch the ladies and write at the same time, so my notes aren't as good for them as for men. I'll try to be clearer next time! I met Arriba there (by coincidence, sat right behind her!) and she really liked Mai Mihara, so maybe she'll share her thoughts later.

That was fun to meet you and quite a coincidence! I did write some comments about Mai Mihara in her Fan Fest. Because I'm not posting my stuff until the evening, I was just putting it in the individual Fan Fests.

 

[samson]

Well I'm LIVING for the shibs SD. I think they look amazing - maybe my favorite costumes so far this season. I was skeptical of Frank Sinatra when they announced it, but it's a great vehicle for them and their movement at the top is spectacular. I'd love to see Maia giving a little more edge and smirk in her face. I also am a huge fan of the remix. It's very relevant and I think exactly what the ISU was getting after and it's bold. But honestly not that bold. This notion of starting with a traditional version of a song then bringing in the remix or club version is nothing new.

Moving forward I'd love to see a little more speed and a little more power. They have moments where the movement does a nice job of accenting the beat especially in the no touch step sequence and I would love to see them hot those moments a little harder. Don't be afraid to get aggressive.

One thing I think is gonna be a challenge for ice skaters to really grapple with while taking on hip hop is finding a way to get into the earth (I mean earth not ice it's a different sort of sensation) and get grounded. The traditional style in skating is so lifted and buoyant and modeled after the aesthetics of ballet and ballroom that to find the earthiness, grit, and even edge of anger that's so relevant to the form it's going to require a bit of a shift in how we view what figure skating can be.

Oh but they still gotta get those levels lol

 

[Jaana]

I can't wait to see his Spider-Man costume. The program looks so entertaining. I think his stroking and edges got better as well as his upper body movements than last season.

I think Jin had a really good sp in last season, too. It was his freeskate that needed a lot improving, I would say. Will be eagerly looking forward to his new freeskate to see how he will be doing in PCS now....

Thanks so much for all reports!!!

 

[cathlen]

Any thoughts on Pairs?

 

[matcha]

I definitely feel like the acoustics of the rink won't/doesn't do the Shibs' music justice - I think people would get and appreciate it more if they heard it at a house party or a bar.

I also think that Gracie skating first in the second group will be good for her; practice not withstanding.

 

[cathlen]

I put a few thoughts in the pairs' Fan Fests.

Well, I don't read every Pairs couple FF. And I don't see any news on James/Cipres, Seguin/Bilodeau and Tarasova/Morozov... I hoped there would be some comparison, like for other disciplines in this thread.

 

[lutzlover]

Can anyone please comment on the speed of some of the ladies and men skaters? How are Ashley and Gracie relative to each other, and their other competitors? Has Jason gotten faster? Has anyone surprised you with their speed or lack thereof?

 

[georgia]

I am a pretty good observer, but the only skaters I thought hm..he/she is fast, are Daleman and Soma, and a much faster Adam, without calling him really fast. I think the Shibs need to Skate faster and closer. As for Jason, I don't know. His speed was never his strong point, but his skating has mature.

 

[Tavi...]

Can anyone please comment on the speed of some of the ladies and men skaters? How are Ashley and Gracie relative to each other, and their other competitors? Has Jason gotten faster? Has anyone surprised you with their speed or lack thereof?

First, I think a lot of the skaters weren't going full out yesterday - they were getting used to the ice, and I heard that the ice was a bit weird. So that may have have affected speed.

That said, for the ladies, my impression was that Gabby and Mariah were the fastest. Gracie was also pretty fast. None of the other ladies, including Ashley, struck me as particularly fast or slow.

Of the men, my impression was different than Georgia's: Jason struck me as much faster than he was last year, and he actually looked like one of the strongest and fastest guys out there - but then again, he was one of the few skating full out. Adam struck me as of average speed, not fast, but this is my first time seeing him live, so he may well be faster than he was.

I am going again today. I'm guessing we'll see more full out skating, so I'll let you know if I change my mind on any of this!

 

[semosk8tfan]

Thanks for all the practice reports guys....keep them coming!

 

[bramweld]

I hope its just from the video, but the Shibs music the Jay Z part, hurts my ears. But these aren't the best of videos.

 

[Snow63]

I hope its just from the video, but the Shibs music the Jay Z part, hurts my ears. But these aren't the best of videos.

I really hope it sounds better on the arena...

 

[Tavi...]

I really hope it sounds better on the arena...

It sounded fine in the arena, at least to me.

 

[rosy14]

YES. I totally agree with this. This is the kind of music you would definitely hear on ABDC (which, obviously, since it was mixed by an ABDC participant--LOL), a similar show, or on YouTube. I think if I were watching Quest Crew or whoever dance to this on YouTube or on ABDC, I'd love it.

But I'm not much of an idealist when it comes to figure skating judging. I hope the judges go for it as well, but judges seem to be a bit more on the...conservative side and more often than not, skaters get "punished" for trying something new.

IMO it depends on which skaters the judges are assessing: last year some skaters had to re-do their SD because it was deemed "not a real Waltz", others skated something which was difficult to call a Waltz, but was accepted and well received.
I think problems cold arrive not here at Skate America (in USA), but at other GPs and at Worlds.

 

[rosy14]

Precisely, precisely, precisely. As someone who has been following the Shibs on social media (particularly Instagram), I think a program/collaboration like this has been a long time coming. I really hope this "risk" (to borrow the term!) is worth it and they'll get more recognition (at the very least) in younger AA/PI circles.

I also agree that it might be "jarring" if you're not used to listening to sampling. It's also a bigger risk, like vietgrl stated, to skate to something that isn't as traditional as other teams might have.

Problem is, they must please the judges and, as far as I know, there are no AAPI judges.
However best to risk this year and not at Olympics.

 

[rosy14]

I absolutely agree with this comment. Plus, if Marina is anything like I was, she'll have a back up plan in case a risky program is not well received by the Judges.

I read they received mixed responses at Champ Camp, but for the FD. Am I right ?