Fonty Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I am not so fond of the ice dancing now since they changed to rules to make it more like the other branches of skating. In the old days, they had compulsory dances where certain moves had to be performed, but the free dance was exactly that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Worthwhile discussion about skating, art v. sport, on BBC Front Row last night with Robin Cousins and Debra Craine. Preceded by a review of I, Tonya. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Robin Cousins came across so well in that interview. It’s a pleasure to listen to someone who is articulate and informed about their sport. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Am I the only one to really dislike the mashed up music used for so many of the skating routines? Today we had odds and ends of Swan Lake, and then the Sleeping Beauty waltz with bars cut out. The other day it was Beethoven's turn for the mincer, with a patchwork of bits from the Moonlight sonata. Surely it's not impossible to do better - John Curry could do it! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 No, you're not - it's musically insensitive. But then, so are some of the skaters. Perhaps they'd have to be in order to skate to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Fiz said: Robin Cousins came across so well in that interview. It’s a pleasure to listen to someone who is articulate and informed about their sport. Agreed, and a bit better than Debra Craine, who unless I've misunderstood her seemed to be arguing that dancers aren't really judged on technique and execution outside competitions :/ And on the subject of Cousins, I like his camel spins even more than John Curry's Edited February 21, 2018 by Lizbie1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 9 hours ago, John Mallinson said: Worthwhile discussion about skating, art v. sport, on BBC Front Row last night with Robin Cousins and Debra Craine. Preceded by a review of I, Tonya. Very good discussion, indeed. Well worth a listen for anyone interested in "figure" skating (not that anyone seems to do figures any more in competition). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 11 hours ago, Lizbie1 said: And on the subject of Cousins, I like his camel spins Beautiful, thank you- 'grace on ice' indeed- makes some of the recent performances look a bit clumsy and frenetic.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 That was something all the British gold medallists had: musicality and artistry. Even in those days of "primitive" audio editing techniques, their music tracks were noticeably better edited and better quality than much of the competition: you didn't get that "ouch!" moment when there was a transition from one piece to another. Nor did you get the feeling that they were just using the music as wallpaper, as you unfortunately did/do with many skaters. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 (edited) But I must correct my own sweeping statement-the exquisite Yuzuru Hanyu, for one, did edit his own music according to Cousins: certainly it is seamless and what a lovely line he has. Edited February 22, 2018 by Mary 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 1 hour ago, alison said: That was something all the British gold medallists had: musicality and artistry. Even in those days of "primitive" audio editing techniques, their music tracks were noticeably better edited and better quality than much of the competition: you didn't get that "ouch!" moment when there was a transition from one piece to another. Nor did you get the feeling that they were just using the music as wallpaper, as you unfortunately did/do with many skaters. I think many of the current skaters have sacrificed style and artistry for technique. To me, it's not the number of spins you can do or the height that you can lift your leg that matters, but how good you look when you are doing it! And agree totally about musical wallpaper! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I agree about the hashed up music. I understand they need to change speed, but these musical abominations are happening during the same segment, so no excuse. My hubby and I have also been bemoaning how boring and pedestrian most of the songs used seem to be. The Canadian lady used Piaf, and that was the best choice by a country mile. I also liked the use of Celine Dion's "Ne Me Quitte Pas", although it's not really my thing. I much prefer Brel and Dusty, but at least the skater used the whole song, from start to finish, with no chopping. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21pvHxrINtI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt7uF7pFQ04 If you want some musicality in your skating, Sim and ninamargaret you might like these- (Youtube is a great way to lose a day...) Robin was really a Swan on ice... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 3 hours ago, ninamargaret said: I think many of the current skaters have sacrificed style and artistry for technique. To me, it's not the number of spins you can do or the height that you can lift your leg that matters, but how good you look when you are doing it! Now, where have I heard this comment before? Oh yes, change the word in bold to dancer, and you have the recurring theme of many a thread. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 "Hashed up" is one thing, but taking 2 notes, as I think it was, (several times) out of Swan Lake is something else! I know there are time restrictions on how long your programme can last, but really - 2 notes??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 2 hours ago, Mary said: If you want some musicality in your skating, Sim and ninamargaret you might like these- (Youtube is a great way to lose a day...) Robin was really a Swan on ice... I was quite surprised (but not) to hear him admit the other day that he'd started with ballet before moving over to ice-skating. Can't believe it had taken me 30+ years to find that out! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 2 hours ago, alison said: I was quite surprised (but not) to hear him admit the other day that he'd started with ballet before moving over to ice-skating. Can't believe it had taken me 30+ years to find that out! Must admit I didn't know that either! To me, John Curry always looked as though he was a dancer who just happened to dance on ice instead of a stage and Robin Cousins with his extra height was, if anything even more elegant. They really don't make 'em like that any more. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 14 hours ago, alison said: "Hashed up" is one thing, but taking 2 notes, as I think it was, (several times) out of Swan Lake is something else! I know there are time restrictions on how long your programme can last, but really - 2 notes??!! Couldn't agree more and there really should be a mandatory 2 point reduction for showing disrespect to the music and 5 points if it's Tchaikovsky.... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I have a general rule of thumb that if it's music you ballet-dance to it's generally not good for skating to - they just don't seem to overlap that much, somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 20 hours ago, Mary said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21pvHxrINtI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt7uF7pFQ04 If you want some musicality in your skating, Sim and ninamargaret you might like these- (Youtube is a great way to lose a day...) Robin was really a Swan on ice... Mary thank you so much for those. I've never seen the 2nd one before, and wow it is just gorgeous. How lucky were we, to produce Cousins, Curry and Torvill & Dean, all in the space of eight years. Truly a golden age, where skating became art as well as sport. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 28 minutes ago, alison said: I have a general rule of thumb that if it's music you ballet-dance to it's generally not good for skating to - they just don't seem to overlap that much, somehow. Don Quixote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I did say "that much" But even then, I'm still not sure I'd necessarily have picked Don Q as "suitable" for ice skating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 32 minutes ago, alison said: I have a general rule of thumb that if it's music you ballet-dance to it's generally not good for skating to - they just don't seem to overlap that much, somehow. 3 minutes ago, ninamargaret said: Don Quixote? Corsaire too 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Maybe it's a Minkus thing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Maybe it is Okay, the Corsaire adagio worked well, the (?)variation less so - and it was an exhibition, which does expand your choices significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 It's such a short section - there was only really time to show off how he could spin in both directions, so I'll forgive him! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 His legs seem to go on for ever! The timing-...the line. I've watched a lot of Robin Cousins on youtube the last 2 days and one thing really strikes me is that he seems to be enjoying himself, almost all the time. He didn't have the easiest climb to the top and not much in the way of funding and so on, if any. But he just loved to skate. Watching the Olympics skating, you could see they were surrounded by every kind of support and etc but some of them looked miserable as hell! Such a shame if that is so. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) I’ve been having a ball on YouTube watching Torvil and Dean, Barber and Slater, Duchesnay and Duchesnay, Klimova and Ponamerenko etc. I really think ice dance declined after the mid 1990s and I’m not sure it has picked up again yet. Edited February 23, 2018 by Fiz Spelling 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Does anyone remember seeing John Curry dance an extremely sultry looking tango with a skater called, I think, JoJo Starbuck?.It was quite something! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) Alina Zagitova, 15, wins Olympic figure skating title for OAR’s first goldhttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/23/olympic-figure-skating-zagitova-medvedeva http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/42981323 https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=zagitova+olympic+champion&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=O3OQWpTJNIP98we4oYqIBQ Edited February 23, 2018 by Amelia More links added to allow for more videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 28 minutes ago, LinMM said: I saw Curry skate quite a bit when he toured his ice show which was quite revolutionary at the time as was very artistic and musical show unlike the usual skating shows at the time. Unfortunately there is nothing like this much today. A few years back there was talk of building a new ice rink in Brighton ( when Cousins lived here) near the Marina and I had high hopes that some shows like this might materialise again but nothing came of it and now even the small ice rink in the town centre has gone. The biggest "crime" was getting rid of the lovely ice rink in Richmond down by the river....the first rink I skated ( very badly) at. Family legs has it that I was taken to the Brighton I've rink at the age of five or thereabouts to see an ice show.I loved it, especially when a man dressed as a devil jumped over a series of barrels. But I howled blue murder because my mother wouldn't let me go on the ice at the end of the show, when the public was allowed to show their skills.Sad to think of another piece of my childhood gone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 I remember being taken by my friend's parents to see an ice show, I think at Wembley Arena, back in the early 70s. I don't remember much about it, except that I think it starred Reg Park (either my dates are wrong or he was mid-40s by then, which I'd have thought was perhaps a bit old, since my impression was that it wasn't that long after he'd become world champion or whatever it was), and that it was distinctly cold! I think I knew his name before I saw it in the programme ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 11 hours ago, alison said: I have a general rule of thumb that if it's music you ballet-dance to it's generally not good for skating to - they just don't seem to overlap that much, somehow. After some thought this afternoon, and since various people have provided links to people skating effectively to the more adagio parts of ballet scores, I think I should rephrase that to something along the lines of: just because it's good for ballet-dancing to doesn't automatically mean it will be good to skate to. A lesson unfortunately not learned by rather a lot of 2018 skaters - I can't remember a year when quite so many people used ballet scores, whether hacked about or not, for their short or long programmes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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