Smooth Moves

One aspect of skating that has particularly received a great deal of attention (disproportionate attention, some would say!) in the IJS era is transitions--particularly transitions before jump elements.  With pre-jump transitions being doubly rewarded in both the Program Components Scores as well as in the grade of execution scores, it behooves skaters to cram in something before a jump so that the judges can accordingly reach for the upper registers on their scoresheets. Unfortunately, this tendency towards rewarding transitions before jumping passes has often resulted in careless, split-second moves in the field elements or sloppy steps wedged in before jumps that fail to reflect the music or overall choreography . . . but that is a subject for another day.  Instead, today we will reflect on the pre-jump transitions that thrill and excite, and/or memorably serve some higher interpretative purpose.  In that vein, the following list includes some of my favorite pre-jump transitions from both the 6.0 and IJS eras:

'A bit saucy'

Two videos chronicling some of the most crucial moments of figure skating history, from Alexander Fadeev's jockstrap to Vanessa Riley's famously 'independent' marking style to the spectacle of Annick Dumont, Didier Gailhaguet and Surya Bonaly in the kiss-and-cry. A must-watch for any person who professes to be a fan of figure skating (or a sense of humor, for that matter)!