Two particular performances of Mirai Nagasu's Carmen and Akiko Suzuki's West Side Story share one important similarity beyond the fact that they were both skated by ethnically Japanese ladies skaters clad in red in the 2009-2010 season: illusory spontaneity. Spontaneity, because both skaters palpably radiate a real sense of effortlessness, freedom and joy in their performances that seemingly stems from solely their music and emotions, and illusory, because all that spontaneity isn't, well, actually spontaneous. Every move in both programs has been carefully and painstakingly choreographed months before, every element carefully selected and calibrated to provide a maximum number of points, every gesture the result of countless hours of repetitive practice backstage. But such is the nature of the beast that is figure skating, and knowing this makes the pure unbridled joy of the final two products all the more miraculous to me.
TL;DR: Feeling depressed, fat and/or lonely? Put away that ice cream and watch the following two videos instead.
Glorious day ! You're BACK !
ReplyDeleteIs the title of this post an allusion to your return after such a long break? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll take the non-Japanese lady in red at the Olympics: give me Laura's FS over those two, any day.