This past week has been exhausting, to say the least. I think I watched over 40 hours of CNN and MSNBC, while putting my Christmas decorations up to feel some sort of joy. There were also some joyous moments in figure skating this weekend...here are my top 3.
#3: Roman Sadovsky's New Free Skate
I have always been such a fan of Roman's skating, especially his spins. His Shindler's List free program was consistently one of my favorites of the past seasons. I don't usually enjoy programs set to Chasing Cars (too much Grey's Anatomy PTSD), but I really like this new piece. I don't necessarily think that this was a one-take, clean run-through, but the jumps look pretty consistent, and I HOPE that he actually gets a chance to perform this at some point. Cheers!
#2: La La Land....and Pockets
Han Yan doesn't have the quads that Boyang Jin does (much less the 4Lz) but his style of skating and skating skills are so relaxing to watch. This la la land program is probably my favorite rendition from the soundtrack that I've seen so far, so I'm glad he decided to keep it for this shortened season. I truly think that Han Yan's triple axel is probably the most impressive in the world, behind Yuzuru Hanyu....overall a great outing, and I really hope he continues to improve leading into Beijing 2022.
#1: My daughter, Aliona Kostornaia
Were they perfect performances? No. Was there a triple axel? No. But was I bursting with excitement just to see her skate and compete again? Absolutely. I figured this season for her was going to by iffy, considering the injury in the spring, COVID, and the major coaching switch, but all things considered, this was great! I am a big fan of her short program- with her skating skills, I think she can pull off the modern pop programs really well and not make them look like they belong in the junior ranks. I didn't really know what to think about the long program, mainly because she seemed more preoccupied with not messing up versus expressing the performance, so no judgement there yet. I was glad to see fairly solid jumps (despite a step out in the short and easier content), and while the step sequences need more practice, the skating skills were clearly so much better than Trusova's and so much more enjoyable. I sincerely hope we see the triple axel again (sooner rather than later), but I'll root for her until the day I die.
Comments