NHK 2010 Reaction Post #2
This time pairs and men's short program. Oh 2010-2011 season, I'm in love with you already. I already know they final ranking of all the competitors except the men, but I'll play dumb and only talk about the short programs. My next post will be a monster with my reactions to the free programs and dances for all the fields.
Top 4 pairs, and Top 6 men. (What? I have my priorities.)
PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM (I am the worst at this section, expect no enlightenment)
Pang and Tong. I loved it. I thought it was light and airy; their throws made her seem as if she was utterly weightless. Qing Pang was so low to the ground on that death spiral she should have gotten ice in her hair. The long wait during the music before they began to move showed a lot of patience and confidence I thought. And after watching the top four you can really see that they're just on a whole different level than the other pairs.
Vera Bazarova & Yuri Larionov The music is to Secret Garden! Bonus points on that alone. The jumps were not in synch, looks like she was too low. But they had a nice split throw and I liked the deep edge and low position on the pose right after. I thought the throw jump wasn't amazingly elegant, but it was clean. Good spins, nice lift, footwork is sweet enough. And aw, a kiss at the end. Idk! I liked it, but pairs is not my strong point.
Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran. I think they're just adorable. And very in synch. The timidity of their throws is pretty apparent, but I guess I can't help but be won over by their personality and back-story. They fist-bumped on ice, and Narumi Takahashi looked so happy to be skating. Adorbs.
Caydee Denny & Jeremy Barrett. I love the purple costumes. They're starting off far apart in the ice, I like it. Nice throw, but not explosive or weightless, same on that throw jump. Unusual death spiral position. Spins are not in synch, Mr. Barrett. Footwork is pretty but not enthralling. I do like their lift! Aw, poor Jeremy coming off the ice. It must be hard to feel like you've let a teammate down.
MEN SHORT PROGRAM
Jeremy Abbott. He placed second, but I'm starting with him first because he was all I wanted to watch when I woke up this morning. I loved this program like fire when it was debuted, and I love this program like fire now. I'm sure it is the massive amount of Stephane Latin music programs I have consumed but I think flamenco-esque choreography on ice can be just perfect. And Jeremy was perfect. He had a nice triple axel, I thought, and the movements of his hands and arms were good and intricate. I was so happy to see him do well out the gate. BIG THINGS this year for you, Jeremy. Big things. (Side note: The background music to Jeremy's Kiss and Cry moment is Mandy by the Jonas Brothers... Worlds collide!)
Daisuke Takahashi. Well, I'm interested to see his free, especially considering he feels that despite being in 1st place he is not in top form. I wish he'd stuck with magical zebra's magical forest creature and monster. This is not my cuppa, even though I just said I love Latin music on ice. I don't like the costume, and the tone of the choreography (rather than the elements) is not really pushing the boundaries of art for me. I PERSONALLY would rank Jeremy over Daisuke, or at least have nudged them closer in points, but that is of course just me. I subscribe to the Johnny Weir school of things apparently. This program did have some patent Daisuke footwork, fun, with lots of energy and speed. But 41 and change for PCs is obviously generous.
Shawn Sawyer. HAHAHAHA another Latin number. This kid better not make me eat my words about how much I love Latin choreography on ice by making me dislike two in a row. Step out on the triple axel, and then a better if not particularly fierce handled combination. (Okay, I do like this. I probably just didn't love Daisuke, probably because I'm a bitter Stephane enthusiast.) Haha, this footwork is equal parts awesome and bland. How is that happening? I'll start to get bored and then kapow, he's suddenly interesting, and WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING TO HIS LEG! My goodness. In his final spin he suddenly he turned into a Ken doll with universal joints. Insane. And painful looking. Um, anyway, I liked it! I think he has a ways to go technically, but I liked it. I'm surprised to see Sawyer's technical elements outweigh Jeremy Abbott's. I think this shows that I do not understand ISU judging at all.
Florent Amodio. Wha-what? Chaps? Really? Okay. Chaps. Getting ready for this. Nice triple axel. Nice combination. So far I'm not understand his fourth place standing. This is looking great, if maybe not super fast. LOL and just as I type this the footwork begins. I like it? He's not 100% with the music. Hmm, my feeling is that the combination spins at the end could be more flexible? But Morozov seems happy that his voodoo whispering worked. Florent's PCs were very low and his technical elements ranked 2nd for the entire night, so I guess for the judges it came down to a choice of what flavor they liked better. I'm interested to see how 3rd and 4th will sake out in
Yuzuru Hanyu. I love this kid. He has got so much attitude. He's practically fresh from the womb and yet he's a total spitfire. And also he's doing me and the world a favor by continuing to bring us Johnny inspired sparkley-onesies and I appreciate it. It took me a while to recognize the music, and "Swan Lake" seems a bit ambitious for someone this young, but okay. Boss triple axel like I've come to expect from him, and he did hold on to that combination. I didn't like how much speed he lost in the Beillmann spin, but I guess he's not the only person guilty of that. Still, I hope he doesn't think of it is a necessary element, because if you can't always do it well, it shouldn't be done. I also personally feel like his footwork could have been more enthralling and his performance components reflect that. Overall I'm looking forward to seeing how this kid develops.
Denis Ten. Stephane choreographed this SP, and guess what! It's to Latin music! Sweetness. Step out on the triple axel, comes back with a good combination. I'm breathless to see if the 6th place is because of a low technical or performance... spins are good. Denis's Beillmann loses less gas than Hanyu's. I do see Stephane in this, but to me it's not as overwhelming as Daisuke's Amelie. Love the footwork (no one is surprised.) I hate seeing him so dissatisfied, poor bb. 35 and change for the technical elements, 33 and change for the program components. Ten's PCs were fourth for the night, behind the top 3.
Briefly let me say, "Baw, Jeremy Ten! ;______;" I know he's not a huge competitor but I just love that kid and his attitude. I was hoping Mr. Buttle would help him jump up a few points but yikes. 12th out of 12. I can't even find his program to have my heart broken by it.
<--- Bleeding heart.
Top 4 pairs, and Top 6 men. (What? I have my priorities.)
PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM (I am the worst at this section, expect no enlightenment)
Pang and Tong. I loved it. I thought it was light and airy; their throws made her seem as if she was utterly weightless. Qing Pang was so low to the ground on that death spiral she should have gotten ice in her hair. The long wait during the music before they began to move showed a lot of patience and confidence I thought. And after watching the top four you can really see that they're just on a whole different level than the other pairs.
Vera Bazarova & Yuri Larionov The music is to Secret Garden! Bonus points on that alone. The jumps were not in synch, looks like she was too low. But they had a nice split throw and I liked the deep edge and low position on the pose right after. I thought the throw jump wasn't amazingly elegant, but it was clean. Good spins, nice lift, footwork is sweet enough. And aw, a kiss at the end. Idk! I liked it, but pairs is not my strong point.
Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran. I think they're just adorable. And very in synch. The timidity of their throws is pretty apparent, but I guess I can't help but be won over by their personality and back-story. They fist-bumped on ice, and Narumi Takahashi looked so happy to be skating. Adorbs.
Caydee Denny & Jeremy Barrett. I love the purple costumes. They're starting off far apart in the ice, I like it. Nice throw, but not explosive or weightless, same on that throw jump. Unusual death spiral position. Spins are not in synch, Mr. Barrett. Footwork is pretty but not enthralling. I do like their lift! Aw, poor Jeremy coming off the ice. It must be hard to feel like you've let a teammate down.
MEN SHORT PROGRAM
Jeremy Abbott. He placed second, but I'm starting with him first because he was all I wanted to watch when I woke up this morning. I loved this program like fire when it was debuted, and I love this program like fire now. I'm sure it is the massive amount of Stephane Latin music programs I have consumed but I think flamenco-esque choreography on ice can be just perfect. And Jeremy was perfect. He had a nice triple axel, I thought, and the movements of his hands and arms were good and intricate. I was so happy to see him do well out the gate. BIG THINGS this year for you, Jeremy. Big things. (Side note: The background music to Jeremy's Kiss and Cry moment is Mandy by the Jonas Brothers... Worlds collide!)
Daisuke Takahashi. Well, I'm interested to see his free, especially considering he feels that despite being in 1st place he is not in top form. I wish he'd stuck with magical zebra's magical forest creature and monster. This is not my cuppa, even though I just said I love Latin music on ice. I don't like the costume, and the tone of the choreography (rather than the elements) is not really pushing the boundaries of art for me. I PERSONALLY would rank Jeremy over Daisuke, or at least have nudged them closer in points, but that is of course just me. I subscribe to the Johnny Weir school of things apparently. This program did have some patent Daisuke footwork, fun, with lots of energy and speed. But 41 and change for PCs is obviously generous.
Shawn Sawyer. HAHAHAHA another Latin number. This kid better not make me eat my words about how much I love Latin choreography on ice by making me dislike two in a row. Step out on the triple axel, and then a better if not particularly fierce handled combination. (Okay, I do like this. I probably just didn't love Daisuke, probably because I'm a bitter Stephane enthusiast.) Haha, this footwork is equal parts awesome and bland. How is that happening? I'll start to get bored and then kapow, he's suddenly interesting, and WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING TO HIS LEG! My goodness. In his final spin he suddenly he turned into a Ken doll with universal joints. Insane. And painful looking. Um, anyway, I liked it! I think he has a ways to go technically, but I liked it. I'm surprised to see Sawyer's technical elements outweigh Jeremy Abbott's. I think this shows that I do not understand ISU judging at all.
Florent Amodio. Wha-what? Chaps? Really? Okay. Chaps. Getting ready for this. Nice triple axel. Nice combination. So far I'm not understand his fourth place standing. This is looking great, if maybe not super fast. LOL and just as I type this the footwork begins. I like it? He's not 100% with the music. Hmm, my feeling is that the combination spins at the end could be more flexible? But Morozov seems happy that his voodoo whispering worked. Florent's PCs were very low and his technical elements ranked 2nd for the entire night, so I guess for the judges it came down to a choice of what flavor they liked better. I'm interested to see how 3rd and 4th will sake out in
Yuzuru Hanyu. I love this kid. He has got so much attitude. He's practically fresh from the womb and yet he's a total spitfire. And also he's doing me and the world a favor by continuing to bring us Johnny inspired sparkley-onesies and I appreciate it. It took me a while to recognize the music, and "Swan Lake" seems a bit ambitious for someone this young, but okay. Boss triple axel like I've come to expect from him, and he did hold on to that combination. I didn't like how much speed he lost in the Beillmann spin, but I guess he's not the only person guilty of that. Still, I hope he doesn't think of it is a necessary element, because if you can't always do it well, it shouldn't be done. I also personally feel like his footwork could have been more enthralling and his performance components reflect that. Overall I'm looking forward to seeing how this kid develops.
Denis Ten. Stephane choreographed this SP, and guess what! It's to Latin music! Sweetness. Step out on the triple axel, comes back with a good combination. I'm breathless to see if the 6th place is because of a low technical or performance... spins are good. Denis's Beillmann loses less gas than Hanyu's. I do see Stephane in this, but to me it's not as overwhelming as Daisuke's Amelie. Love the footwork (no one is surprised.) I hate seeing him so dissatisfied, poor bb. 35 and change for the technical elements, 33 and change for the program components. Ten's PCs were fourth for the night, behind the top 3.
Briefly let me say, "Baw, Jeremy Ten! ;______;" I know he's not a huge competitor but I just love that kid and his attitude. I was hoping Mr. Buttle would help him jump up a few points but yikes. 12th out of 12. I can't even find his program to have my heart broken by it.
<--- Bleeding heart.