Virtue & Moir # 23 - Dance Me To The End Of Love

[flowerpower]

Precisely. It's very important to keep in mind when reading anything in print from anyone. The written word and the spoken word can be very different and probably the cause of a lot of arguments online because you can't always get tone and context from the printed word.

So true. Even full written transcripts don't represent the spoken word well, since tone of voice, facial expressions, etc. are missing. A person might be joking, or being sarcastic or self-deprecating, but that key information is lost. Coincidentally, I just read a paper about the degree to which after-the-fact documentation of an event effectively defines it, thus putting significant power in the hands of writers.

The writers of newspaper/online articles after a press conference always focus on a small part of what was said due to time and space limitations; they report partial quotes, possibly out of sequence, paraphrase, etc. These distortions are partly caused by practicalities of filing stories to a deadline and a limited word count, and partly though various conscious or unconscious biases. So it's actually not surprising the stories are all different. When you see consistency, it's usually because a wire service put out the story, and many news outlets are publishing it verbatim (or sometimes they cut a few paragraphs out).

[girlscouse62]

Another thing is that the journalists write their stories so that people will be interested and intrigued. If there is not a lot of excitement they will create their own. After all, the most believable lies are 95% truth. Their ultimate goal is to have people want to read their articles and be able to sell their work. It's their livelihood. Tess and Scott's job is to tell their story convincingly, on ice. IMHO, nobody does it better.

[rainbowkisses]

i too am excited to see what jennifer swan brought to the sd
i hope tessa didnt change her sd costume its so beautiful

[IoanaC]

This phrase in the Icenetwork article makes for a little eyerolling...

As for their passionate free dance to Carmen, the storyline -- vastly different than that of the Bizet opera -- stays the same.

Indeed. If there's no red dress and no dying from her at the end, clearly it's not "Carmen". Doesn't matter that everything else is there.

[girlscouse62]

Consider the source! They've never heard of "artistic license"

[VarBar]

IoanaC, it might be your turn now to read too much into some printed words.

To me, V/M's Carmen is indeed quite a departure from all the other Carmens I've seen on the ice but it's not any less Carmen than previous versions.

[IoanaC]

IoanaC, it might be your turn now to read too much into some printed words.

To me, V/M's Carmen is indeed quite a departure from all the other Carmens I've seen on the ice but it's not any less Carmen than previous versions.

Well, I'm not getting too worked up about it, but it does bother me a little when people say things that imply "it's not really the story of Carmen". We've discussed this before, though, so let's forget it...

[rainbowkisses]

another article
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...service=mobile

[sap5]

another article
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...service=mobile

I only visit FSU regularly, so I'll ask the rest of you -- are most fans really "obsessed" with V/M's personal lives? And have people really been associating Tessa's Carmen character with her own personality? I haven't seen anything close to an obsession here, and no comments associating Tessa's Carmen character with her real personality.

[bmcg]

I only visit FSU regularly, so I'll ask the rest of you -- are most fans really "obsessed" with V/M's personal lives? And have people really been associating Tessa's Carmen character with her own personality? I haven't seen anything close to an obsession here, and no comments associating Tessa's Carmen character with her real personality.

I don't think you see it here at FSU but people are braver to say nastier things elsewhere and some are way too obsessed with their relationship I wouldn't know the percentage but I wouldn't think it's most, I think most appreciate what they have done with Carmen and most don't care that they aren't a couple. But as usual with anything you can have 20 people telling you it's great and just one saying something negative and that's what you´ll remember, that one negative comment. It's why I think Tessa isn't a fan of social media, she doesn't seem the type who can ignore the negative so she stays in that bubble.

I like the latest article, it has some new things in there. Pani will be happy to hear also that it seems they practiced at their old rink over their christmas break I wonder if they have always trained in Canada over breaks or if this is something new.

[aka_gerbil]

eta... I'm just picturing the SD to be more dance based now and not so much story based which I think is fine for the SD.

IMO, I think they've made a very good move with dropping the story based sort of SD, as lovely as it was, and focusing on the dance as well. I read a discussion awhile back where a few commented that the SD is supposed to be more focused on the dance, much like the OD was. V/M had referred to their SD earlier in the season as mini-FD and it's possible, as some suggested, their words about how they viewed their SD may have hurt them a little in the eyes of the judges (which is a shame, IMO). If that was the case, hopefully the revamping will help.

[Sahararainfall]

I only visit FSU regularly, so I'll ask the rest of you -- are most fans really "obsessed" with V/M's personal lives? And have people really been associating Tessa's Carmen character with her own personality? I haven't seen anything close to an obsession here, and no comments associating Tessa's Carmen character with her real personality.

Rather ironic that some people are now associating Tessa with her character (to a degree that Tessa herself is affected) when at the beginning so many doubted her capabilites to portray Carmen. I never heard of this topic though as I just visit 2 or 3 sites, but it must exist for Tessa to even mention it and be bothered by it.

[maggylyn]

I only visit FSU regularly, so I'll ask the rest of you -- are most fans really "obsessed" with V/M's personal lives? And have people really been associating Tessa's Carmen character with her own personality? I haven't seen anything close to an obsession here, and no comments associating Tessa's Carmen character with her real personality.

I'm not sure what V/M are talking about. There seemed to be a lot of interest in their personal lives right after the Olympics, but I can't say I've seen anything amounting to obsession for a couple years or more now. And I have not gotten the impression that anyone is more interested this season because of their FD. I wonder where they read that? Or maybe I'm just visiting the wrong sites.

And I have definitely not seen anything anywhere associating Tessa's real life with the character of Carmen. On the contrary, I've seen a lot of praise for her ability to portray this character that is so removed from her real self. Maybe it's what bmcg said, that Tessa saw someone say this somewhere and that's what stuck with her. What a shame that she would remember that kind of comment - and I wonder where this was since no one here seems to have seen anything - and not all the wonderful things being said about her portrayal of Carmen.

[The Accordion]

Often when I watch their Youtube videos and make the mistake of looking at the comments - there are definitely people who focus on whether they are a couple, whether they could skate that way, look at each other that way etc. if they were not. Also - I would say things like people thinking the fans are being "messed with" about the state of their relationship by tiny bits of comments they have made in interviews could be considered obsessive by someone writing an article.

[ofdarkness]

Kind of off-topic, but I was just thinking about the types of questions that they always seemed to be asked, and how they can be repetitive and boring. So, as fans, given the opportunity to interview them, what questions would you guys ask?

[The Accordion]

That is a great question! The first thing that comes to mind is what changes would they make to the judging system if they were in charge?

[pani]

Its sad article, because Tessa said how many time they will compete - 13 mounth
As for there personal lives. I think this all about that blog - thats all. Its a really obsessed" with V/M's personal lives. And i am sure today you could read next post in this blog about how Tessa could live with her mom and Scott along. Its all lie But maybe this isnt not so funny anymore (i mean this blog)
And there are group of fans who have a dream they are together and dissapointed, when they found they are not couple off-ice.
But i think its not figure skating fans, but more Tessa-Scott fans like a cute couple

And as for Carmen. I didnt read nothing about Tessa is Carmen in real life, but more about Carmen - is full of porno and T-S need to show there ususaall style. And a lot off bad words about last lifts.
But at the same time some long time FS fans said a lot off good words about this FD and about new things V-M show in this FD. So why Tessa couldnt focusing on this positive comments and TAT words about them?
And i like they talked with Swan one more time

After GPF i thought its enough FS for me this season, but now i count days before we all see what changes T-S did, who will take second place in ice dance, could Osmond show clean skating and will Patrick have clean 3 Ax
O, and i wish to see novice and junior ice dance

[DORISPULASKI]

This part of the article is some good news with the bad news.
They will only stop skating

at a competitive level

after 13 months! It looks to me like they plan a pro career...at least I hope so.

[Cherub721]

I would ask if the CD hadn't been dropped, do they think they would have an advantage over D&W?

And considering Carmen is such a departure from what they've done stylistically in the past, have they ever felt creatively stifled before, and why (by the judges, Skate Canada, IJS, their coaches, etc)?

I would also ask for more details about any off-ice dance training they do, especially for Scott - how does he manage to keep up with Tessa in that department?

If they could skate one program that's more than 5 years old again, which would it be, and how would it be different now? (I want them to revive the Santana exhibition or their 2006 OD!)

What new dances/combinations would they like to see in the SD?

What ice dancers have been their biggest inspiration?

What costumes do they regret the most?

Of course I'd really like to know more about what it was really like with Igor and Marina, what it was like when B&A left, what they really think about training with D&W and the judging...

[VarBar]

Well, I'm not getting too worked up about it, but it does bother me a little when people say things that imply "it's not really the story of Carmen". We've discussed this before, though, so let's forget it...

Yes, it is quite frustrating to see there are people who have just a one-sided view of how the Carmen story should be told and who reject departures from traditional approaches from the off. But I can't blame them though because I too have trouble at times to relate to modern portrayals and contemporary forms of expression. It's definitely not easy to think out of the box and put sterotypes out of your mind.

And as for Carmen. I didnt read nothing about Tessa is Carmen in real life, but more about Carmen - is full of porno and T-S need to show there ususaall style. And a lot off bad words about last lifts.

I suspect those who dismissed Carmen as being porn were Tessa and Scott haters and haters tend to be hypocritical.

Thank you to rainbowkisses for the link. It's a very well written article, it makes you want to read every word and not miss a thing.