The Carolina Kostner Thread

[lulu]

I don't really have anything substantial to add to the thread, except the last 1/3 of Bolero-with the step sequence and ending, was absolutely fantastic, and already a highlight of the season for me.

 

[Judge Dred]

I don't really have anything substantial to add to the thread, except the last 1/3 of Bolero-with the step sequence and ending, was absolutely fantastic, and already a highlight of the season for me.

Its the type of program that will improve with each competition

 

[spikydurian]

Thanks for the SP & LP vids. Carolina's skating is beautiful. I like both programs though I agree with some posters that her LP is still developing and can't wait to see it when it reaches its potential at Worlds. Glad that she decided not to retire. Her programs will give the other elites like Tut, Mao and Yuna a run for their money. Go Carolina go!

 

[lulu]

Its the type of program that will improve with each competition

I totally agree with that. I'm looking forward to seeing the program performed at Euros & Worlds.

 

[jiggs]

Catching up on some performances from Carolina at several shows over the holidays:

A Transylvanian Lullaby (SP) at Christmas on Ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiOmieWnJwI
It's Oh So Quiet (EX) at Capodanno on Ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Zag2SRo3A

She also skated at Bolzano Gala which will be shown on TV on January 6 so hopefully we will get videos of that too!
I am more and more impressed by her short program, so amazing! This could be her best SP ever imo.

 

[eleonorad]

The Bolzano Gala exhibitions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hePx1V48O4s

 

[shine]

I HEART that program. I love how expressive and emotionally invested she is in this program. I think this is my favourite SP of hers yet. Thanks for posting!

 

[jiggs]

I agree, this is imo the best SP she has ever had. Her SPs are usually very good but this takes her to another level emotionally. I love how everything is connected and all the elements are woven into each other. So many movements are perfectly timed to the music, whether it is the entrance of the loop (perfectly timed to the piano), the three turns she does before the flying camel or the hand movements during the layback spin in the end. I also really like the exit of the axel.

The program is also packed with transitions and linking moves - if you pay attention, she hardly does any cross-overs the entire program and gains speed mostly from steps and turns, she also maintains the speed very well throughout all movements. To me it looks very difficult. Can't wait to see her skate this in a new dress at Europeans. I am sure it will contribute even more to the overall package of the program.

About the FP I am still not entirely convinced, but she skated it so much better at Italian Nationals last month than at her first showing. IMO it's still a work in progress while the SP is already top-notch!

 

[kwanatic]

The Bolzano Gala exhibitions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hePx1V48O4s

Holy. Crap. That is a gorgeous program! I think this is my favorite of the season so far.

The nuances...the accents...damn near every single one is used in this program. Incredible.

ETA: that dress is completely GORG!!!

 

[Aussie Willy]

Holy. Crap. That is a gorgeous program! I think this is my favorite of the season so far.

The nuances...the accents...damn near every single one is used in this program. Incredible.

ETA: that dress is completely GORG!!!

ITA. Wow her SP this year is amazing. I do think the music choice helps. Love that piece of music. But she really works it, milks every part of it, it looks totally natural and creates some beautiful nuances.

The Exhibition is loads of fun, really entertaining and again very musical Enjoyed it very much.

What I am really appreciating about her skating is the joy. There seemed to be a time when it was looking like hard work and a lack of confidence. In the last couple of years she has blossomed - the joy is there and it comes through in everything she is doing. It is skating from the heart which is so nice to see in a skater. I love watching her.

 

[shine]

What I am really appreciating about her skating is the joy. There seemed to be a time when it was looking like hard work and a lack of confidence. In the last couple of years she has blossomed - the joy is there and it comes through in everything she is doing. It is skating from the heart which is so nice to see in a skater. I love watching her.

ITA with this part!

 

[jiggs]

ETA: that dress is completely GORG!!!

Apparently this dress was meant as an exhibition dress last season and the real SP dress for this year will be ready by Europeans. She is working with the same costume designers as last year so I bet we can count on her for coming up with something really special again. She will probably use this lavender dress for exhibitions then.

What I am really appreciating about her skating is the joy. There seemed to be a time when it was looking like hard work and a lack of confidence. In the last couple of years she has blossomed - the joy is there and it comes through in everything she is doing. It is skating from the heart which is so nice to see in a skater. I love watching her.

ITA. It is so nice to see skaters performing from the heart. When Carolina announced that she would be continuing until Sochi 2014 she mentioned in a lot of interviews that she just loves skating so much, she is not ready to give it up yet, even if she's been performing on senior level for 10 seasons (!) and has achieved everything that she can dream of. Now she wants to skate for the sake of skating, for herself, her family and coach and her fans and doesn't want to think about the results too much. I feel like that attitude of hers really comes across in her skating lately and I hope she can keep it up, even if the pressure will be huge again once the Olympics approach (I remember how the Italian press and public treated her after Vancouver. They trashed her to pieces and almost destroyed her. I honestly don't think they would behave any differently if she doesn't medal this time around. Just look at what happened to Federica Pellegrini last summer in London , I'd hate to see that happen to Carolina again).

This is why I hope she can keep this attitude up, skate with joy and freedom and have a good showing at the Olympics. If she wins a medal, that would be amazing and I would be over the moon for her, but basically all I wish for her is to skate well there and finally have a good Olympic moment that she can be at peace with.

 

[NadineWhite]

I still say Carolina Kostner is the only one that can go head to head with Yuna Kim, jump for jump, move for move, and that was evidenced by her latest exhibition.

Can't wait till Worlds! It will be even more impressive and prestigious if Carolina was to go to Worlds as as five-time European Champion, which would tie her with Surya Bonaly (France; 5) & Sjoukje Dijkstra (Netherlands; 5). Only Sonja Henie (Norway; 6) & Katarina Witt (Germany; 6) & Irina Slutskaya (Russia; 7) hold more European Titles.


GOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL DOE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TheIronLady]

I remember how the Italian press and public treated her after Vancouver. They trashed her to pieces and almost destroyed her. I honestly don't think they would behave any differently if she doesn't medal this time around. Just look at what happened to Federica Pellegrini last summer in London , I'd hate to see that happen to Carolina again...

Were the Italians also angry and ungrateful after her unsuccessful performances in Turin? I imagine some people were expecting her to medal at home.

Can't wait till Worlds! It will be even more impressive and prestigious if Carolina was to go to Worlds as as five-time European Champion, which would tie her with Surya Bonaly (France; 5) & Sjoukje Dijkstra (Netherlands; 5). Only Sonja Henie (Norway; 6) & Katarina Witt (Germany; 6) & Irina Slutskaya (Russia; 7) hold more European Titles.


GOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL DOE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe Irina has the most Euro titles.

 

[NadineWhite]

Lol I know what you mean. To surpass Sonja. But I'm happy for her, she deserves it!

As far as the men go, Zhenya is in third place with 6 European Titles, tied with Willy Bockl (Austria), whose career spanned from 1922-1928, and who was a 4-time World Champion, 4-time Austrian Champion, and 2-time Olympic Silver Medalist. Whereas Karl Schafer (Austria) sits comfortably in 2nd place with 8 European Titles (1929-1936); 2-time Olympic Champion, 7-time World Champion, 7-time Austrian Champion, Karl Schafer Memorial named after him. And last but not least the great Ulrich Salchow (Sweden) sits in 1st place with 9 European Titles (1898-1913); 10-time World Champion, 1908 Olympic Champion, 3-time Swedish Champion, creator of the salchow jump, and President of the ISU from 1925-1937.

Sorry for going off topic, but history calls to me...

 

[jiggs]

Were the Italians also angry and ungrateful after her unsuccessful performances in Turin? I imagine some people were expecting her to medal at home.

Well, the pressure was immense, she was kind of "the face" of the Olympics there (she was literally on every billboard and she was chosen as the flagbearer), so yes, people expected her to medal. I can't really say whether people were angry, I think it was more a sense of disappointment but many people still supported her because she was so young back then. I think it was much worse after LA 2009 and Vancouver 2010. They referred to her as "falling Carolina", pics of her falling on jumps were everywhere and there was a lot of bashing. Even today, you will hear stuff like "Carolina? Oh ya, the one who falls all the time". After Vancouver, she was publicly humiliated by the president of the Italian Olympic Committee who called her a disappointment and claimed "she is not a champion". Last season I feel like she has shut up many critics but I don't know what would happen if she has another bad showing at a major event. Still, she has a lot of fans in Italy and has become very, very popular there!

On a different note, Carolina's Facebook page has reached 60.000 likes and she posted a lovely thank you message and photo: http://www.facebook.com/carolinakostner

 

[LilJen]

The Bolzano Gala exhibitions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hePx1V48O4s

In agreement that the program and the dress are awesome. The footwork is great; goes with the music really well. I dig the long, flowing edge out of the 2a--very Kwanesque.

 

[mathil]

Nobody was angry at Carolina at that time (2006 Olympics), but yes, the media hyped her so much that people were really expecting her to medal. She was talented, beautiful, young and the cousin of Isolde Kostner who was Olympic silver medalist in Salt Lake, so she was 'marketable', I guess.
You have to understand that skating is not a popular sport in Italy, only Carolina is somewhat well known, and many end up following only during the Olympics, then forget about it for four years and remember that skating exists when it's time for the next Olympics When she wins something, it's mentioned in passing during the news (and by something I mean Europeans/Worlds), maybe they'll show 15 seconds of her program, and that's it. So for many Italians, their image of Carolina as a skater is her falling in Torino. Because it's basically the only time they've seen her skate. They certainly have no idea that she is World Champion and multiple times European Champion. She's much more popular for her relationship with Alex Schwazer (and even then it's not like there was any gossip about them, but they appeared together in tv shows a few times).

 

[Sylvia]

New interview before Euros: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130114&content_id=40953610&vkey=ice_news

 

[Marta24]

Congratulation to her 5th European Title!

Urmanov commented on her win,he said a lot of nice things about her:http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=495833523800724&id=113697665347647

 

[briancoogaert]

I'm just so happy for her, and for Figure Skating.
Her skating is exactly what I like in Figure Skating.
Thank you, Carolina !

 

[Katarzyna]

Congratulations to Carolina!

I'm not particularly fond of her LP (it's the music - Bolero just doesn't do it for me ), but putting that aside, I'm very happy how she skated. I was so much in joy when she announced that she'll stay eligible and I'm very glad that she shows real dedication to it by adding technical difficulty to her programmes (the Lutz!).

 

[orbitz]

I'm also not crazy about Bolero in general, but I do think Kostner's version has been the most watchable Bolero in recent memories. It's very easy for this piece of music to appear like background music if the choreography looks like the skater is simply stroking from element to element such as MK and S&S's Bolero. Lori has done a clever job of incorporating enough arms and legs movements in between the jumps and spins to demonstrate that she understands the piece. The last 30 seconds is very exciting to watch if very risky with the 3sal as the very last element.

Kostner did a great job. I've never been a big fan before, but I have found her to be very watchable last season and this season.

 

[Aussie Willy]

^^ ITA. I am of the opinion that people should leave Bolero alone, but Carolina did skate to it and used it to construct the program. It wasn't just background.

I have always liked her skating but now she really is something very special.

 

[shine]

I've turned into a total uber for Carolina. I don't think anyone else in the world can do justice to the last 30 seconds of her FS the way she has done. It's so uqnie and grand and magnificent that it almost brings tears to me eyes.. I love how her LP just builds and builds to the end. This is a woman who skates with elegance AND an aboslutely grandiose command over the ice.

 

[lulu]

Congratulations to Carolina Can't wait to see her at the Worlds Championships

 

[jiggs]

Congrats Carolina! Wow, what an artist ... those programs were so good and still have so much potential to be performed even better. I hope she can rock at Worlds! I love what Urmanov said about her on Russian TV. He pretty much summarized why she is my favorite skater right now.

Here is her gala performance from Europeans , this has got to be one of the best exhibitions she has had: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFmdHPw-Z0M
Also, she posted a lovely "Thank you" note on her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...87368600024.554179.75707050023&type=1&theater

And last but not least, a video of her at practice doing 3f3t and 3lz3t: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrKEB763d7U&feature=youtu.be

 

[Marco]

Is she working on a 3flip3toe or a 3toe3toe in the free skate? I think the 2axel3toe is out of the question now that the three combos she is doing this season are on the flip, toe and sal.

She is my favorite lady skater this season (and last).

 

[Doggygirl]

I feel like a teenage girl posting on a skater fan thread! I was all ready for another dull Bolero and WOW that was so NOT dull! I feel so lucky I will get to see this live at Worlds. I will be cheering for the US ladies of course, but will be ubering Caro too!

 

[npavel]

this program have to be seen live. Of course not everyone have a chance and you take what you get. It's not possible to see all the skaters live all the time. But this particular piece of art is so much building and you don't really get it on tape. I'm simply without words, ART.