Michelle performing arguably her most iconic program, Lyra Angelica.
With US Figure Skating Nationals starting next week and her induction into the USFSA's Hall of Fame, it is only fitting this Why Art Matters is dedicated to Michelle Kwan.
Where to even start? Nutshell bio, Michelle burst onto the senior skating scene with an impressive 6th place finish at the US Nationals in 1993. One year later, she was the Olympic alternate, finishing a quiet second in the midst of the Tonya/Nancy controversy.
But Kwan would not live in the shadow of the scandal for long. From this unassuming start to her skating career, she went on to become the most decorated figure skater in US history: 9 national titles, 5 world titles, two Olympic medals in silver and bronze.
But what sets Michelle apart from other skaters, outside of her victorious streak? While other skaters trotted out tried and true fare like Carmen, Swan Lake, and movie soundtracks, Kwan pushed the envelope with musical choices like The Feeling Begins, Taj Mahal, Song of the Black Swan, A Day in the Life and her legendary East of Eden.
She trusted choreographer Lori Nichol and with her created masterful pieces like Rachmaninoff short of '98, Lyra Angelica, The Red Violin, Romanza, Salome. She had such a backlog of amazing programs, she tossed aside such classics in the making as Rush and The Miraculous Mandarin.
Then there was the actual skating itself. She revived and popularized moves such as the spiral, the falling leaf, the Charlotte spiral, and Y spin. She turned a weakness, the layback spin, into a strength by creating variations that saved her back and made sense within the program. She was also a consistent competitor who can lay claim to the most clean 6 and 7-triple long program in competition.
Even in the face of loss, Kwan showed distinct grace few competitors could match. The legitimate second place finisher during the national championships in 1994, Kwan had a claim to the an Olympic spot, a place she demurely relinquished to Nancy Kerrigan without fuss, fight or a lawsuit. Her reward was the silver in '98. A disappointment? While she was the gold-medal favorite, she pointed out many times in interviews and press conferences that a.) nothing in this life is guaranteed; b.) she won the silver with a great performance; c.) that Tara, someone that she likes, won. In '02, coming up short as the bronze medalist, she continued to be her philosophical self, and bravely skated an exhibition to Fields of Gold, a melancholy song about loss that brought so much about who Kwan is into perspective. And finally, having been petitioned onto the Olympic team in 2006, she aggravated an injury that made competing impossible. Instead of trying to hide the injury or tough it out, she graciously relinquished her spot to US bronze medalist Emily Hughes, who turned a once-in-a-lifetime chance into a seventh place finish.
Kwan has moved on with her life in the fields of education and politics. What she has left behind is a staggeringly masterful body of work that will be used as a bar for other ladies - US and the world - to reach. While she has been surpassed athletically by skaters such as Yu-Na Kim and Mao Asada, none thus far have taken judges and an audience on an emotional 4-minute journey quite like Kwan.
Where to even start? Nutshell bio, Michelle burst onto the senior skating scene with an impressive 6th place finish at the US Nationals in 1993. One year later, she was the Olympic alternate, finishing a quiet second in the midst of the Tonya/Nancy controversy.
But Kwan would not live in the shadow of the scandal for long. From this unassuming start to her skating career, she went on to become the most decorated figure skater in US history: 9 national titles, 5 world titles, two Olympic medals in silver and bronze.
But what sets Michelle apart from other skaters, outside of her victorious streak? While other skaters trotted out tried and true fare like Carmen, Swan Lake, and movie soundtracks, Kwan pushed the envelope with musical choices like The Feeling Begins, Taj Mahal, Song of the Black Swan, A Day in the Life and her legendary East of Eden.
She trusted choreographer Lori Nichol and with her created masterful pieces like Rachmaninoff short of '98, Lyra Angelica, The Red Violin, Romanza, Salome. She had such a backlog of amazing programs, she tossed aside such classics in the making as Rush and The Miraculous Mandarin.
Then there was the actual skating itself. She revived and popularized moves such as the spiral, the falling leaf, the Charlotte spiral, and Y spin. She turned a weakness, the layback spin, into a strength by creating variations that saved her back and made sense within the program. She was also a consistent competitor who can lay claim to the most clean 6 and 7-triple long program in competition.
Even in the face of loss, Kwan showed distinct grace few competitors could match. The legitimate second place finisher during the national championships in 1994, Kwan had a claim to the an Olympic spot, a place she demurely relinquished to Nancy Kerrigan without fuss, fight or a lawsuit. Her reward was the silver in '98. A disappointment? While she was the gold-medal favorite, she pointed out many times in interviews and press conferences that a.) nothing in this life is guaranteed; b.) she won the silver with a great performance; c.) that Tara, someone that she likes, won. In '02, coming up short as the bronze medalist, she continued to be her philosophical self, and bravely skated an exhibition to Fields of Gold, a melancholy song about loss that brought so much about who Kwan is into perspective. And finally, having been petitioned onto the Olympic team in 2006, she aggravated an injury that made competing impossible. Instead of trying to hide the injury or tough it out, she graciously relinquished her spot to US bronze medalist Emily Hughes, who turned a once-in-a-lifetime chance into a seventh place finish.
Kwan has moved on with her life in the fields of education and politics. What she has left behind is a staggeringly masterful body of work that will be used as a bar for other ladies - US and the world - to reach. While she has been surpassed athletically by skaters such as Yu-Na Kim and Mao Asada, none thus far have taken judges and an audience on an emotional 4-minute journey quite like Kwan.
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