The Kween, about to unleash.
It's that time of year again... SKATING ON TV!
The sport began for me back in 1976 with Dorothy Hamill winning her Olympic gold. That iconic pink dress, her little bashful shrug when she got her gold, and radiant smile. My folks took me to see her perform at the old Olympia in Detroit when she headlined the Ice Capades the following year.
Since that "saucer-eyed" moment in my youth, I satisfied my skating jones any way I can: Champions on Ice, Stars on Ice, and Disney on Ice; watching coverage on a grainy b&w TV; volunteering at national competitions; playing Scott Hamilton "he/she NAILED it!" drinking games in college; hosting viewing parties with a vile punch named after an iconic skater, such as Rudy Galindo Ice Breaker sangria. Even that was not enough, and I became a figure skating judge.
Ah, but what would I consider iconic skating performances? What had me in a different realm all together? Some may be performances for the ages, others are ones that spoke to me personally, otherwise known as my blog, my rules.
Because show programs are in a realm all by themselves, I'm electing to choose competition programs. There is an added tension to competition that makes the performances that much more thrilling. I'm also choosing modern era so as to allow this list to be realized by me firsthand.
Michelle Kwan, A Day in the Life - From the 99-00 season. First, there's the music, it's the freakin' Beatles. Second, it's the dress, a rich blood red with seductive cutouts. Third was choreography that was sensual, mature, sexy and exactly what you'd expect a 20 year old champion to skate. Last, her interpretation was spectacular. I could list a million of her performances that thrill me to no end - East of Eden, Red Violin, etc. - but this is my favorite.
Battle of the Brians, 1988 Olympics - two men, two countries, the single most electric showdown in skating, ever. Both delivered complex, intricate programs in an extremely high pressure enviornment. I've watched both programs time and again. I was a huge Orser fan, but concede the victory to Biotano, he was magnificent.
The beautiful thing about this sport is I have had the opportunity to meet both men in different settings, and if this were a head-to-head competition in who impressed me more, I call it at a tie. Biotano led the competitors at the 2002 ISI Adult Champs in singing "Happy Birthday" to me. I attended one of Orser's adult skating classes at the Cricket and Curling club in Toronto (it was an early blog post, Octoer 2010?), where he complimented my skills and led me in a killian dance the length of the ice. That means Biotano sang to me and Orser danced with me. What 'cha done for me lately, Victor Petrenko?
Belbin and Agosto, Gypsy Dance, 2005 - My fandom of ice dance is spotty, until B&A made me care. I wanted to BE Tanith Belbin in this program - the hair flying, that amazing dress, the music, the performance. I always liked them as a team from the moment they won Juniors in 2000, but this sent me over the freaking edge. So often in ice dance, the man's role is to simply show off his partner, but Ben was just as talented as Tanith and he commanded you watch him too, a true pair on the ice.
Daisuke Takahashi, hip hop Swan Lake, 07/08 - There are naysayers who declare the IJS system robs the skaters of creativity and all programs now are cookie cutter copycats. This program blows that theory to bits. Using a hip hop version of a classical, if not overused piece of music, he reinterprets the black swan as a badass. When I first saw it at Skate America, I shrieked, rewound, and told all my skating friends "you gotta see THIS!" His programs have only gotten better, La Strada from the Olympic year in particular.
Oh Evan, I miss your messy hair.
Evan Lysachek, 2004 to 2006 - The 2009 World champ and 2010 Olympic champ was but a mere sprite of a boy who transformed from team mate to front-runner. What I liked about his skating during these years was the speed, freshness, honesty, and abandon in which he skated. There was a looseness, a casual energy that was not there in later years, something that I missed. Oh, and when he skates clean and jumps for joy, you cheer right along with him.
Jeremy Abbott, 2009 to present - Oh hell, I tried to pick just one and I can't. He is extraordinarily talented, and it is evident as he has, in most recent years, choreographed his own programs. He is very much his own man on the ice, from music to costuming to interpretation, and thank God for that. It would be a shame if he was never a World or Olympic medalist, because he creativity should be rewarded.
Shen and Zhao, "Turandot," 2003 Worlds - I was in the minority for years when the debate raged about B&S v. S&P - I was the one shouting "what about S&Z?!" They grew before skating fan's eyes from technical skaters to true artists. This program had people on their feet cheering and crying a full minute before the program was over. And in true figure skating fashion, there was high drama, as Xue was skating injured, practically on one foot the entire time. Brilliant.
Tonia Kwiatkowski, "Hunchback of Notre Dame," 1998 Worlds - Tonia K was the odd girl out with US Figure Skating and sponsors at the peak of her career, heading into the '98 Olympics. Then she sat cozily in medal contention, poised for a spot on the Olympic team, until... *sigh* Ever the trooper, she was asked by officials to keep training, just in case anything happened. The anything that happened was two of the three Olympians withdrew from Worlds, giving Tonia one last shot at redemption. Her skate was flawed, but her raw emotion, sheer determination and skating in front of an American crowd led to a powerful performance that had everyone on their feet for her.
Skating is a gorgeous sport.
Castile and Okolski, "Requiem of a Dream," Nationals 2007 - Brooke and Ben are my favorite American pairs team of the last 10 years, and it was a joy to see them win the national title in 2007. This program was interesting, thrilling, damn near perfect. How did the two kids from Michigan follow this up? With an exhibition skate to Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold." Rawk. 2009/2010's Clair de Lune was my runners up choice, beautiful, flawed. Damn injuries.
Gordeeva and Grinkov, Moonlight Serenade, 1994 Olympics - it was a stunningly gorgeous performance at the time, made iconic by the tragedy that befell the team a year later. They set a standard for pairs skating few in the world have been able to match: the power, grace, artistry, and their relation to one another in telling a story on the ice. They were truly a pair.
Rudy Galindo, "Black Swan", 1996 Nationals - While Rudy had a respectable resume leading up to this event, his performance, one of the most spectacular slam-dunks in figure skating history, sealed his entry into the figure skating Hall of Fame this year.
There are so many more programs and moments like this I could cite, but this will do for starters.
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