Which Oksana Do You Prefer and Why?

[VGThuy]

This video has been shared many times on this forum to much fanfare and acclaim:

A Tale of Two Oksanas

So my question to all of you is, which Oksana do you prefer and why? Which Oksana do you think represents YOU the most? Which Oksana would you show your friends?

I posted a poll and notice a "neither" option isn't available. I really wish I could make a quiz that would reveal which Oksana you are, but alas.

 

[sap5]

LOL! What made you revive this classic vid? There's a part of me that misses those days of figure skating. Watch and learn skaters! This is what it takes to win 2 Oly golds!!

 

[VGThuy]

Can you imagine Maia Shibutani blowing smoke in Madison Chock these days? Or Tessa Virtue's aunt pretending to be a member of the press and making Kaitlyn Weaver cry? Or Guillaume sleeping with a rival's partner and having that go public?

The closest thing we have had to something at least on the level of Anissina not recognizing Fusar-Poli/Margaglio as world champs lately was Nathalie Pechelat's podium faces at the 2013 TEB and 2014 Worlds.

LOL! What made you revive this classic vid? There's a part of me that misses those days of figure skating. Watch and learn skaters! This is what it takes to win 2 Oly golds!!

A comment from @allezfred in a totally unrelated thread.

 

[snoopy]

I love them both - both were magic. Go Ukranian girls!

A good head to head match up is The Feeling Begins because they both used it. And I prefer Baiul's by a hair. As good as Grishuk was, Baiul really did feel the music in her bones.

 

[Plusdinfo]

This is an interesting question, I must say. I didn't understand the Grishuk and Platov dominance during their career and nearly always enjoyed the skating of some of their competitors more whereas I really liked Oksana Baiul and was saddened by her push through pro events in spite of injury and subsequent loss of form. I think she would have given the world many outstanding programs if her body and mind had been healthier. What stands out for me now, as a more seasoned viewer, is Grishuk's speed and commitment to her programs. I appreciate her work more now, but she still doesn't figure among my favorite skaters... and her onscreen persona in interviews of that time ("A Tale of Two Oksanas") is not something I "like".

In spite of Oksana Baiul's personal troubles, I hold a lot of sympathy for her. I'm not sure she's ever escaped some past traumas, and it's hard to really break free from negative cycles of thought and behavior for anyone, especially someone without a family and her history. As for her skating, I don't think I can rate a single mover on the ice above her. As commentators and fans often say, she expresses the music with her entire body and she does it so well. She is dramatic and her actions look as though she has done all the choreography. Nothing seems taught, rehearsed, or foreign. I think she would be a great choreographer in terms of her ideas and her modeling the movements.

One last note: from 1991 to 2011, my only live skating event as an audience member was the 1993 Tom Collins tour. My dad told me either during or after Oksana's program, "Gosh, she's really something special." I don't think he even bothered to comment on any of the other skaters. That says something.

 

[alchemy void]

Omg, @VIETgrlTerifa, this might be the very best poll all summer long.

I'm really torn. That "Tale of Two Oksanas" fluff piece might be my all-time favorite skating video ever, I sadly can quote waaaay too much of it.

I love how batshit crazy Pasha was in the late 90s, the name change, the terrible Monroe impersonations, the obsession with "little girl" Oksana. She had it all.

However, I can identify with Baiul, too. Her version of TFB was probably my favorite pro program ever growing up, when I was obsessed with all those CBS Ladies Pro competitions they showed every other week (honorable mentions to Kadavy's Celine and all of Biellmann's abs programs). I also had a major weakness for long islands back in my 20s, so I feel Oksana's pain there, too.

I like Oksana's skating more, but Pasha's iconic brand of crazy is worthy, too, so in the end, I had to take the easy way out and vote for both.

 

[SamuraiK]

Can I vote for Oksana Domnina? This was waay before my fandom time so I really dont care for any of the Oksanas though I admit G&P from the 97 and 98 seasons are all kinds of awesome.

 

[Susan M]

I voted ridiculous because they skated in different disciplines and were totally different skaters.

Baiul was a magical performer, a skater for the ages in spite of some technical flaws. Grishuk was as technically proficient an ice dancer as any lady to that point, and maybe ever. Here we are still talking about both of them 20 years later.

 

[Aceon6]

Why isn't neither an option?

 

[Dobre]

Oksana Grishuk.

Because she was a brilliant skater. Brilliant. The speed, the intricacy. She could emote & sell you sexy, fun, intense, dark, dramatic, sultry, pizzazz. Because she turned the tables on the sport & then stayed with it four more years. Four years of fending off the competition from within the deepest dance country of her era. Three different coaching teams with the three grande dame coaches of the era, and Grishuk & Platov took something from every one of them.

Because Oksana just left me in awe when I watched her skate. The best dance teams always do that for me. Leave me feeling like I've just witnessed a performance a cut above the rest. I just loved to watch them skate.

I have to add that she was very kind to a friend of mine who was dealing with a seriously debilitating illness circa 1999. G&P were my favorite dance team long before my friend & I met, but her experience at the least provided a more balanced view of Pasha than CBS's nonsense fluff piece.


(I loved to watch Oksana Baiul skate as well, but we had so little opportunity to see her develop her own voice on the ice).

 

[VGThuy]

Why isn't neither an option?

This thread/poll is only for people who appreciate at least one of the above Oksanas.

 

[suki]

Can I give my vote to Platov instead? I never cared much for Baiul's skating (I'm being kind here). Grishuck was clearly more talented, but I couldn't stand all the off-ice BS.

While we are on the subject, I have been watching some of G/P's programs from 1994-1998. Is it me, or does Oksana have an unconventional leg line for an ice dancer? Sometimes she appears to be bow-legged.

 

[Fiero425]

Why isn't neither an option?

Both were head cases! The only time I've really rooted for OB was to beat an even more insufferable ego-maniac; Nancy Kerrigan! I can still hear her whining concerning how long it was taking Oksana to get back out there for the medal ceremony at the Olympics in '94! The final match-up being at 2000 Goodwill Games; Oksana actually completed the best 3Lutz of her career! Nancy Kerrigan's jaw almost hit the floor, but Nancy wound up being just ahead of OB due to doubling her Salchow, then retrying it into a falling! She had it, but blew it! Surya Bonaly barely beat out Yuka Sato:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGc421mXbOo - - Surya Bonaly - (Cuor Senza Sangue)

 

[blue_idealist]

I thought Oksana/Pasha was kind of weird, personality-wise, but I don't like Oksana Baiul's skating and I liked some of G&P's programs so I voted for Grishuk. What about Oksana Kazakova though? Could I pick her? LOL

 

[berthesghost]

Baiul was extremely charismatic.
Total natural star power.

The other one.. ugh. I could sit here for an hour and still not come up with one single positive thing to say about her. Not one.

 

[snoopy]

While we are on the subject, I have been watching some of G/P's programs from 1994-1998. Is it me, or does Oksana have an unconventional leg line for an ice dancer? Sometimes she appears to be bow-legged.

I think it was the opposite, she was a little knock kneed. But I wondered if that helped with her speed and intricacy somehow.

 

[Xela M]

I liked both, but Pasha Grishuk was the untouchable undeniable true Queen No one has ever come close.

Grishuk & Platov will always be my no.1 ice dance team of all time.

 

[Xela M]

Baiul was extremely charismatic.
Total natural star power.

The other one.. ugh. I could sit here for an hour and still not come up with one single positive thing to say about her. Not one.

Maybe you should watch her skate. Start with 1997 Libertango

 

[gk_891]

Grishuk. Unlike Baiul, Grishuk was actually a good skater.

And as crazy as Grishuk became during her Pasha days, she was at least entertaining. Even if you were laughing more at her than with her.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Baiul... I still can't get her business card, "The Swan" out of my mind...

I, too, thought Kosakova would be included. She would be my next choice.

 

[nuge]

No contest

 

[Vash01]

I like them both but I picked Grishchuk. She and her partner made one of the best ice dance teams ever.

 

[alchemy void]

"Hello Pasha, can we have your autograph?"

 

[berthesghost]

Maybe you should watch her skate. Start with 1997 Libertango

Watched her entire career. Like most people screaming "look at me! Look at me!" all the time, she was about as interesting as watching paint dry. Even saw her live once. She's fast. I guess that can pass as a positive as I know others consider this something to admire. And her partner could skate, so there's that. And swing her partnered with zuhlin was good for a laugh.

 

[VGThuy]

Pasha's athleticism and body rhythm to the music was pretty incredible, IMO. I still think she may be the most athletic female ice dancer ever with Meryl Davis second. I do think her leg lines were a bit off and I found her to be a bit spastic at times. However, that was also part of her excitement.

 

[sap5]

Pasha's athleticism and body rhythm to the music was pretty incredible, IMO. I still think she may be the most athletic female ice dancer ever with Meryl Davis second. I do think her leg lines were a bit off and I found her to be a bit spastic at times. However, that was also part of her excitement.

How are you defining athletic female ice dancer?

 

[VGThuy]

Someone with tons of athletic prowess and physicality. Oksana's speed and the moves she did in her programs plus the amount of moves were pretty remarkable. Obviously all ice dancers are athletic, as this is a sport, but I do think some are more than others as it is with all sports. Some athletes are just more physically gifted or skilled than others. That is not to say that's the only thing important in a sport, especially ice dance, but it is something I noted with Grishuk.

 

[snoopy]

Athlete may be defined (or ranked) by how many athletic skills someone is good at, usually speed, power, strength, endurance, kinetic sense, eye & hand coordination, muscle memory, etc. I agree that Pasha and Meryl are the top two most athletic female ice dancers. (interpretation is not part of this classification).

 

[gk_891]

Pasha's athleticism and body rhythm to the music was pretty incredible, IMO. I still think she may be the most athletic female ice dancer ever with Meryl Davis second. I do think her leg lines were a bit off and I found her to be a bit spastic at times. However, that was also part of her excitement.

She also had an incredible sense of timing. Her timing was razor-sharp.

What's funny about her leg line was that it was impeccable in the compulsories. But her leg line could go off in the OD and FD. Looking at her skating in the juniors with Chickov was that she was extremely aggressive but didn't pay much attention to pointing her toes, extension, and posture. However, these aspects of her skating improved tremendously during her stint with Dubova. If Grishuk had either started off training with Dubova and maybe trained with her for another couple of years before inner-politics within the Dubova camp pushed her and Platov out, maybe her skating could've been polished even more. Because the talent and abilities are definitely there. When she moved back to Linichuk & Karponosov after 1992, her body movements became even more aggressive and sharply delineated afterwards.

To be fair though, there were many dances where Oksana's aggressive style worked very well. Like in their paso doble OD in 1996 and their street-style tango in 1997 as both dances need to be skated with a good amount of crispness.

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Ya mean I can't choose Option 3? http://www.pietrositaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/61.jpg