Best skating performance I can remember
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Ever since my first memories of seeing figure skating on tv in the '60s, which seemed artful and graceful, the sport seems to have slowly been overtaken by athleticism at the expense of art.
So it made me really happy to see this short program yesterday from Alysa Liu. In my mind, this is what skating is. The athletics are there to support grace and beauty. I love this performance so much.
From NYTimes:
The 16-year-old version of herself had the courage to walk away. To no longer be complicit in surrendering her life to the sport at the expense of her happiness. She said goodbye to figure skating after finishing third in the 2022 world championships, done with the grind of the sport.
“Moments like these made me realize 16-year-old me was so right,” Liu said with a proud smile. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t decide to retire for a little bit. So I’m glad that I listened to myself. … I was, like, kind of in my own world and people would always tell me not to make the decisions I made. But I’m really glad. I think I have good intuition. Maybe.”
Taking that time off to find herself made her an artist, iyam.
Link to video -
That was beautiful!
We’re in Boston for the Worlds and looking forward to seeing her performance tonight.
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That was beautiful!
We’re in Boston for the Worlds and looking forward to seeing her performance tonight.
@Steve-Miller Wow, that's exciting!
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As expected, Alysia Liu won the world championship! She earned it, too; her performance was flawless. It was awesome to see.
She had a good bit of competition from Japanese skater Kaori Sakimoto, who took silver. Sakimoto also presented a solid performance, if just a bit less technical than Liu’s. She skated to “All That Jazz” and performed it to the max. The most entertaining figure skating routine I’ve ever seen!
It was fun to see it in person. The show, if I may call it that, was a lot more energetic than Olympic competitions I’ve seen on TV. Think of equal parts Olympic trials and Monster Truck Jam. Great sound system, huge screens, emcee to pump up the crowd, with lots of cheering and clapping to the music.
Tomorrow is ice dancing and then the men. I’ve never been much of an ice skating fan but I’m really enjoying this!
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As expected, Alysia Liu won the world championship! She earned it, too; her performance was flawless. It was awesome to see.
She had a good bit of competition from Japanese skater Kaori Sakimoto, who took silver. Sakimoto also presented a solid performance, if just a bit less technical than Liu’s. She skated to “All That Jazz” and performed it to the max. The most entertaining figure skating routine I’ve ever seen!
It was fun to see it in person. The show, if I may call it that, was a lot more energetic than Olympic competitions I’ve seen on TV. Think of equal parts Olympic trials and Monster Truck Jam. Great sound system, huge screens, emcee to pump up the crowd, with lots of cheering and clapping to the music.
Tomorrow is ice dancing and then the men. I’ve never been much of an ice skating fan but I’m really enjoying this!
@Steve-Miller That sounds great, Steve. I'm glad she won. Was it at TD Garden?
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Yes. Surprisingly good acoustics.
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@Steve-Miller Sounds like fun!
Your post title made me go searching for performances by my favorite pairs couple, the Protopopovs. I know, I know, I'm old. The Protopopovs dominated pairs skating in the 1960s.
I found this video of them performing in 2013. Oleg was 81 at the time and Lyudmila was 78.
Link to video
