Moonlight Sonata in Exhibition: Gordeeva and Grinkov VS Belusova and Protopopov

[bardtoob]

Gordeeva & Grinkov (RUS) - Skating to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"

VS

Belousova Protopopov 1985 "Moonlight Sonata" Worlds Pro AP



Just in case you are curious, here they are each winning their 2nd Olympics to the same music.

Gordeeva and Grinkov 1994 Olympics Long Program

Ludmila Belousova & Oleg Protopopov - 1968 Olympics - FS

[falling_dance]

Neither: in 2009! Second place goes to Kira Ivanova at the 1988 Winter Olympics, for sheer voidiness alone. Oh wait, that wasn't an exhibition...

Off to watch the videos now...

[bardtoob]

Belousova Protopopov 1985"Moonlight Sonata" Worlds Pro AP

This is a better video of the same performance, if it plays properly.

[bardtoob]

Neither: in 2009! Second place goes to Kira Ivanova at the 1988 Winter Olympics, for sheer voidiness alone. Oh wait, that wasn't an exhibition...

Off to watch the videos now...

You are wrong, wrong, wrong . . .

Nobody can redesign a beautiful dress to be ugly, go out on the ice like she doesn't care and has better thoughts than you, and skate the best short program of her career as if it does not matter like Kira Ivanova.

Kira Ivanova (URS) - 1984 Sarajevo, Figure Skating, Ladies' Short Program

[falling_dance]

You're right.

[sadya]

I can't seem to choose between both pairs. What a judge would I make if they'd have been competing in the same time in the same events!

[briancoogaert]

G&G, the best glide ever.
So fast, light, effortless. Impressive.

[bardtoob]

I think B&P would have probably had more speed if they were not so committed to perfect posture, positions, and unison.

[maatTheViking]

I liked the B&P competitive program the best, but of the exhibitions I liked G&G the best...

I have not watched figure skating for more than a decade or so, so thanks for posting these! I find that both these pairs have vastly superior death spirals, including the 'fugly one' (inside DS?) than any of the pairs I see today!

[lulu]

I liked the B&P competitive program the best, but of the exhibitions I liked G&G the best...

I have not watched figure skating for more than a decade or so, so thanks for posting these! I find that both these pairs have vastly superior death spirals, including the 'fugly one' (inside DS?) than any of the pairs I see today!

The Protopopovs invented the back-inside, forward-inside and forward-outside death spirals. Both G&G and the Protopopovs had beautiful classic death spirals.

[zilam98]

I think B&P would have probably had more speed if they were not so committed to perfect posture, positions, and unison.

i do have to say that katia has consistently better upper body posture than ludmila. at times, especially in lifts, ludmila's back looked stiff whereas katia has consistently better stretch in her back in lifts

[bardtoob]

i do have to say that katia has consistently better upper body posture than ludmila. at times, especially in lifts, ludmila's back looked stiff whereas katia has consistently better stretch in her back in lifts

I would imagine that somebody so much younger than Ludmila would have better stretch in her back. Katia won her last international medal at 23. Ludmila did not win her first international medal until she was 26, in 1962. In the video from the 1985 World Pro, Ludmila was 49 and Oleg was 52.

ETA: I don't think lifts were even done in competition when Ludmila started training, at 16.

[zilam98]

I would imagine that somebody so much younger than Ludmila would have better stretch in her back. Katia won her last international medal at 23. Ludmila did not win her first international medal until she was 26, in 1962. In the video from the 1985 World Pro, Ludmila was 49 and Oleg was 52.

ETA: I don't think lifts were even done in competition when Ludmila started training, at 16.

oh well, i forgot that g/g have been the youngest pairs champions in FS history.

[bardtoob]

Well, that's a contrast.

[briancoogaert]

Anyway, Katia Gordeeva has probably the best basics ever (at least, that's my opinion).

[lulu]

Anyway, Katia Gordeeva has probably the best basics ever (at least, that's my opinion).

Katia has amazing basics. As does Elena Berezhnaya, as female pair skaters go.

Speaking of B&P and G&G though,
I think Ave Maria is a signature routine for the Protopopovs, but I would have loved to have seen G&G skate to that routine during latter professional years.
It's hard for me to compare both numbers, especially they were skating in different eras. Both teams had gorgeous qualities to their skating. As far as the competitive version goes, the Protopopovs version just seems a little more 'fresher' if perhaps only because I haven't seen their version of Moonlight Sonata as much as G&G's version.

[NadineWhite]

I love them both, can't pick or compare the two, but I will say this, Katia & Sergei literally glowed, they made the audience a part of their love story with their smiles, openness, sharing of their daughter Daria, et al, whereas P&P never made me feel that way. They always seemed so stiff, remote, never smiling, like they were on a different plane then everybody else, dare I say a tad hoity-toity. Just my own personal impressions.

I've read what wonderful people P&P are, and I applaud their love of skating, still skating today, unheard of, I respect them for that. And for skating for the Jimmy Fund every year.

[judgejudy27]

Neither: in 2009!

LOL I hope and will assume you are joking. Sasha`s Moonlight Sonota was plain dead, even if she had landed all the jumps somehow. There was no Moonlight Sonota in that program, it felt like she was just skating around and through the music, with the exception of the last footwork sequence where she used the music well.

[falling_dance]

LOL I hope and will assume you are joking. Sasha`s Moonlight Sonota was plain dead, even if she had landed all the jumps somehow. There was no Moonlight Sonota in that program, it felt like she was just skating around and through the music, with the exception of the last footwork sequence where she used the music well.

Have you seen the exhibition?

ETA: This one is better.

ETA2: My vote went to G/G in this poll and would also go to them in a poll about "Moonlight Sonata" programs generally. That said, I'm sorry if I've created the misimpression of denigrating Cohen (whose Beethoven exhibition I think exquisite), Ivanova, or anyone else mentioned in this thread.

[bardtoob]

They always seemed so stiff, remote, never smiling, like they were on a different plane then everybody else, dare I say a tad hoity-toity. Just my own personal impressions.

Oh, you would not be the first to say that, and there is no law against you saying that just as there were no laws against them being who they were after they left the USSR