NHK Part II

Here are some other assorted thoughts I have about the NHK Trophy.

One of my favorite things to do is to compare skaters, especially if they’re from the same country. The Chinese pairs skaters are the best to compare, since they tend to train together and have similar influences. For example, whereas Zhang and Zhang’s strength is their athleticism, Shen and Zhao’s strength is their artistry.

One interesting comment from the ESPN commentators is their take on Zhang and Zhang’s conservatism. Their big fall during the Olympics, in which they took a four-minute break and came back to win the silver, was done while attempting the throw quadruple salchow. This season, though, it seems that they’ve been avoiding the big moves; in Paul Wyly’s words, probably because “they may not think it’s worth it.” They can still be athletic without the quad throws and twists, though, and I’m sure that they’ll go back to the biggies when they’re further away from such a scary experience.

One of the things I really enjoy about Shen and Zhao is their artistry. They do such a good job at interpreting the music. As Susie Wynn said, they hold the audience’s attention throughout a program, which is full of “little moments” that make what they do memorable. Shen and Zhao ended a few minutes late, but it didn’t matter, and they won handily anyway.

Marcoux and Buntin from Canada is a couple I’ve just discovered this season. I was fortunately able to catch their short program on YouTube. At first, I was a bit confused; it looked more like a dance routine, especially with their costumes. When my confusion was cleared, I decided that their short program is one of my favorites this season. They do a great job at taking the best elements from dance—music, choreography, and storytelling—and incorporate into their program. Even their choice of music, “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” is unusual for a pairs routine and reminiscent of dance.

I can’t decide who I like better—Takahashi or Oda. Where Takahashi is hothothot, Oda is a cutie. (I’m not as familiar with Takahiko Kozuka.) Whereas Takahashi represents tradition, Oda is more contemporary. Of course, you can only refer to an athlete in figure skating as “contemporary” when he skates to “Fly Me to the Moon” in his short program.

Takahashi is all about quads and footwork (his were the first level fours); Oda is about flash and smiles and great spins. (I love the donut spin—it must be the coolest looking spin in the sport. Johnny Weir does the best, I think.) My reaction, after watching all three of these guys, thanks to YouTube (and not to ESPN, who only showed Takahashi’s long program), was to quote from the original Iron Chef—“Man alive!”

Since this article is about comparisons, I’ll make one more, in regards to the women. (I won’t make any more comments, since I discussed the Japanese women in my NHK review. I unfortunately wasn’t able to view any ice dancers, due to my own technical difficulties and the fact that there wasn’t any dance videos uploaded on YouTube.)

Fumie Suguri, as good as her short program was, chose to skate to “Bolero.” As a fan, I can’t understand why anyone who do that, in any of the disciplines, because my mind automatically goes to Torvill and Dean's iconic dance program at the 1984 Olympics. It’s well accepted that Torvill and Dean’s performance of that piece of music represents the best out of any of disciplines, in the history of figure skating. So why would any self-respecting figure skater dare to invoke such comparisons?

I suppose because it’s such a great piece of music that lends itself well to figure skating, like any piece by Tchaikovsky. I must say that in order to do it, one must have lots of courage and lots of self-esteem.