Little things in skaters' routines that you really like

[falling_dance]

Past and present, in a particular performance or as a general trend. To get the sugarcoated medicine ball rolling...

I've always loved the way Kim Yu-Na finished her flying sit spin in the SP at 2011 Worlds. That element just flowed seamlessly into the rest of the program.

[A.H.Black]

Jonathan Cassar's spread eagle - gorgeous

Leng/Leduc's side by side jumps - wonderful.

Maia Shibutani's hands

[circuscandy]

Meryl and Charlie's hair situation.

That counts, right?

I really loved this little change they made to their final step sequence last season. I wish it had been there from the start.

[Cachoo]

A good falling leaf: I loved Kwan's use of it in "East of Eden."

[misskarne]

I've always loved it when any skater looks like they're really enjoying themselves. Like when Plushy was rocking the hell out of his steps in the short program at EC, laughing in spite of his pain. Or Josh's smile when he did the arabesque spiral in his long at Nationals, like he knew how well he was skating.

Anything that shows joy, that shows they still remember why they started in the first place, that makes me happy.

[aims]

The expressive hand movements Yuzuru Hanyu displays in all his spins. If you look closely, his hands are always moving in synch with accents in the music.

[oleada]

Watching the Russian Junior Nats, I love Seraphima Sahanovich's entrance into her 3F.

[briancoogaert]

Carolina Kostner 2011 LP Afternoon of a faun :
I love the entrance to Loop and the rest of the program : 3Loop, spiral sequence, step sequence...
http://youtu.be/dEHzfiygvtU?t=2m53s

[TAHbKA]

Stolbova depicting the Family Adams hand with her arm.

Generally when the programmes are 2 directional - Morozov is the worse - all his programmes are choreographed to the judges side, if you are sitting on the opposite side of the rink you'll see the skater's behind most of the time. Fernandez' SP to "Nu Pogodi' and his step seq with the eyebrows is the example to the worst ever.
IMHO Kostner's programmes are beautiful from any direction, much to my surprise so are Stolbova/Klimov's and (ouch) Agafonova/Ucar

[Holley Calmes]

Arakawa's Ina Bauer! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!

Ditto on Charlie's hair.

[miki88]

I like Michelle's COE spirals which were always a highlight in her programs. I also really like the beautiful opening to her Dreams of Desdemona program.

I like one-handed biellman spins, especially the one used by Mao at the end of her Nocturne SP.

[JasperBoy]

I like it when any skater reaches down and caresses the ice. The first skater I recall doing that was Toller Cranston, and many other Canadian skaters have used that move since.

[l'etoile]

When skaters, especially female skaters, have full extension in landing position ala Michelle and Caro's double axel. Honestly, Carolina's double axel makes me grasp my breath(besides the long set-up)!

[aliceanne]

I like walleys, half loops, and one footed axels as connecting elements. A good Russian split jump. In pro skating a huge delayed split or tuck axel. An exceptionally musical skater always gets my attention even if I don't like the music. As far as spins - a fast camel spin with beautiful line and stretch.

I like a skater who works with their body type and does what they do well. If you are built like a brick house go for jumps and grand moves. If you have spaghetti legs go for the interesting flexibility moves.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I guess this is a somewhat controversial choice, but I think what helped edge Kwan out over Irina in the 2002 SLC SP (other than skating on home turf) was all the little nuances Kwan had throughout the routine such as her sit spin, and her air punch during her combo spin, etc. It's the little things that matter most.

[orbitz]

^^^ I agree with you about the controversial part

----

What do you define as "little things" ? Kwan's split falling leaf and Jonathan's spread-eagle are highlights in their respective performances, so I would not classify those moves as little things. Some memorable highlights for me are choreographic details like the way Kwan moved her upper arms and shoulders in wave-like motion before going into the flying camel in her Schez LP, or how Sergei and katia's hands weaved under and over each other but never touched in their MoonLight Sonata performance.

[lahaa968]

Lu Chen 1996 Worlds - Little Choreographic sequence following the 2A.

[zilam98]

^^^ I agree with you about the controversial part

----

What do you define as "little things" ? Kwan's split falling leaf and Jonathan's spread-eagle are highlights in their respective performances, so I would not classify those moves as little things. Some memorable highlights for me are choreographic details like the way Kwan moved her upper arms and shoulders in wave-like motion before going into the flying camel in her Schez LP, or how Sergei and katia's hands weaved under and over each other but never touched in their MoonLight Sonata performance.

that has always enamored me too

[girlscouse62]

I love the way Tessa and Scott's movements are so completely in sync. Their attention to detail is exquisite.Their connection to each other is second-to-none.

[l'etoile]

^ I just looooooved their original SD opening choreo this season which shows how little things in movement can make a huge impact. Too bad it's gone