As a disclaimer, I don't actually know anything about figure skating. I'm just a law student with free time and Google, so this is my internet-educated take on the men's short program, skater by skater.One preliminary note: At each event under the COP system, there is a technical caller who makes the actual calls on each element that is attempted. Was it a lutz? A flip? The technical caller decides. The judges subsequently issue grades of execution on how well (or how poorly) the element was executed. The NBC cameras showed that the technical caller tonight was Viktor Petrenko. Intriguingly, when Plushy got married this summer, guess who was in attendance as an honored guest? That's right-Viktor Petrenko. In a small community like elite figure skating, this is bound to happen - but it's still a little alarming, especially in a sport that has been plagued by scandal.
Takahashi (Tango Roxanne and selections from Moulin Rouge): Once he got his feet under him, he did really well. It was a great choice of music, great expression, great timing of footwork to the music-footwork can be incredibly inspiring when it's choreographed to a big build in the music. Love the style. He's 19, he'll be a face to watch.
Plushenko (Puccini, Tosca): I love Plushy! He's skating tonight to Tosca, which is music that Michelle Kwan has also recently used. He's dominant, he's an artist, he's an athlete, and he's a Russian diva. He has had some ridiculous-looking costumes in the past, but tonight's black is classy, and thank the lord that he's not wearing the hideous gloves of yesteryear. Plus his hair, while still mullet-esque, is much better. The quad toe triple toe was fabulous to watch, mostly because you got the sense for a moment that he could have lost it and he didn't. I love his hands on his spins-the movements are clean, intentional, well executed. He just has so much more choreography - his skates with his whole body and throws himself into the work. You can see it in his spins, in his transitions, in his footwork. Lots of people say he "flails." I can sort of see their point, but it really works for me. His final spin combo was not particularly theatrical, as Scott Hamilton points out, but gets him the points. That's the problem with the COP. Just imagine what it would have looked like to hold the spin in a classic position and just work it all the way around. He would have gotten the crowd to their feet. Instead, he got the highest men's point total in the short program.
Jeffrey Buttle (Louis Prima, Sing Sing Sing): This is light, jazzy, sassy. That's the amazing thing about the shorts - they are jam-packed with these eight required elements, but the choice of music and choreography makes them really different. He uses music with a vocalist scatting. The rule is that you cannot use music with sung lyrics, but you can use music where the human voice is used as an instrument. You'll hear this again in Sasha Cohen's short program. Love the finale to his skate. You're not allowed to touch the boards-but he skated right up to it, then kicked back and ended up in a slouch on the ice. It's so charming and adorable. Wow, the cameras sure pulled up to his face the minute the producers saw tears. This is why they call it the kiss and cry - with the trouble he had on the jumps, I'm sure that he's just really disappointed. But honestly, folks, he FELL. And his marks weren't that bad. One of the major criticisms of the COP is that it fails to adequately penalize falls (Zhang and Zhang, I'm talking to you) and Jeff Buttle's marks may indicate that.
Stephane Lambiel (Cirque du Soleil). This is an interesting music choice. I really love the strength in his body and his power. I am just amazed by these quad-triple jump combinations. They're so hard to do and the skaters have to be moving so fast to rotate their bodies that many times. Stephane's triple was partly amazing because he literally just hurtled his body into a triple with very little momentum to propel him forward.I like the footwork, but this is a footwork sequence that could be really brilliant if he timed them to more of a crescendo in the music.There was something really sexy about the program - and I swear it's not just that I think he's cute! But the pulse of the music and his choreography create an intensity and a physicality that I really like.
Johnny Weir (The Swan, by Camille Saint-Saens): Oh, Johnny Weir. I love this guy. But instead of rhapsodizing about how charming I think he is, I'll just give you a few choice quotes:
On his delight to be in the Olympic Village with other athletes: "We're [usually] just subjected to figure skating people and tiny skinny girls."
On his fashion choices at a press conference: "The next morning the papers came out and all of a sudden I was causing a stir because I told Phil Hersh he looked thin and I was wearing a chinchilla scarf that someone thought was a boa. First of all, boas are so out. Secondly, I would never wear a boa to a press conference."
On his one red glove, Camille: "He's my evil side. He didn't get to rock it today because that was all me, but when I skate poorly, I blame it on my glove."
For lots more Johnny Weir fun, including scandalous photos taken by Nigel Barker(yes, the Friend of Tyra and ANTM judge), check out his website.
Tomas Verner: This is a great program, but he can't quite pull it off. Still, he's 19 and he's got time.
Kevin Van Der Perren: I could hardly pay attention to this because I was so distracted by the big red EXIT on his back. But when I focused, I really enjoyed it. It didn't seem to have the transitional elements of the other top skaters, but his jumps were powerful and I really liked the techno-inspired choreography. Sandra Bezic said that he was a better skater than the program allowed him to be - and I really see what she means. The choreography is essential here; your program has to be a brilliant synthesis of the very most difficult elements you can get in without losing speed or style or technical merit. And Kevin's program just didn't have enough built into it, I think.
For a really fun take on techno skating, go find a video of Stephanie Rosenthal's short program in the US 2006 Nationals. It's totally unusual and very fun. [Note from Adam: I absolutely agree. She's the future.]
Matt Savoie (Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings): Matt's going to law school in the fall and he has a master's degree in urban planning, so I'm automatically fond of him. His first three jumps were just gorgeous - his landing positions were so clean and elegant. One thing to watch is the fluidity of Matt's skating - he has what the commentators like to call soft knees. I was really disappointed to see that he stumbled out of the lutz - what a bummer. But his musicality and his performance was just beautiful. I love that final spin he does - almost like a death spiral.
Brian Joubert (James Bond music): I don't think you get to dress like James Bond (complete with more lettering across the back- this one a"007") unless you can land your first jump!
Evan Lysacek (paso doble): He had a painful fall on his first element, a triple axel. Bummer, because he is a really talented guy. I had hoped that he would do better.
Emmanuel Sandhu: It's ridiculous, because he could be so amazing and instead he's just so inconsistent. He's like the Sasha Cohen of the men's skating world!
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I thought that tonight was a huge improvement from the pairs competition - there was more energy, more speed, and more passion. One interesting thing is that because of the COP, you just don't see as many quads as you used to. They appear in combinations, but not as often as we saw in Salt Lake. Why? Because the COP doesn't reward you enough for the risk of a quad. They continue to be very important - but they're not everywhere. It will be interesting to see if Johnny Weir goes for a quad (or the quad-triple-triple that he tried in practice) in a last-ditch effort to shoot past Plushenko.
Seriously, Gretchen, thanks.
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