Nathan Chen (#Slaythan Fans) thread

[nimi]

The Lord of the Quads! from Patrick Commentates Skating:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTM1rpnqoTw

Great intro

Patrick basically wrote NBC's future Slaythan Olympic puff piece for them!

 

[Sylvia]

Expectations high as Chen returns to Salt Lake City
18-year-old set to debut fresh programs; plans to limit number of quads
Posted 9/12/17 by Philip Hersh, special to icenetwork
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/09/12/253866186

"For the most part, people are expecting brilliant from me every time out, and that's also something I'm expecting of myself," he said in a telephone interview last week. "But I have to be wary of going super hard too fast to make sure I am at my best in the important events, instead of peaking at the beginning."
Although he took little time off at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, Chen has been careful not to rush preparations for this campaign. He did several shows and some photo shoots for sponsors, including United Airlines, Coca-Cola and Bridgestone.
"Pretty low stress," he said.

... This season, he has turned to a more contemporary style in a short program choreographed by ice dance world champion Shae-Lynn Bourne. He said his free, choreographed by the venerable Lori Nichol, would still have a lot of balletic movement "but not be centered around ballet."
"Being able to (use ballet) last season helped me set a good level for who I am artistically," Chen said. "But I tend to enjoy skating a more contemporary style. That comes out in my show programs."

 

[olympic]

I rewatched his LP from the US Intl. Classic. I think his jump layout for the LP might be -

4L
4Z-3T
4F-2T
--------
4Z
4F
4T-2T-2L
4S
3A

 

[jlai]

I rewatched his LP from the US Intl. Classic. I think his jump layout for the LP might be -

4L
4Z-3T
4F-2T
--------
4Z
4F
4T-2T-2L
4S
3A

No way. Not that he is not capable of the quads, but the choreographic demands are such that I don't see him do this.

 

[olympic]

No way. Not that he is not capable of the quads, but the choreographic demands are such that I don't see him do this.

It is no secret he was going to repeat 4Z and 4F at Worlds last year and now he landed a 4L as his opening pass at the US Intl. Classic. The 4T is his most reliable jump, so I still think we would see something close to this by February.

 

[jlai]

If he can do 7 quads and do choreography then he would have done it by now.

I think he is doing v well if he manages 4-5 quads with such complex choreography.

 

[Frida80]

If he can do 7 quads and do choreography then he would have done it by now.

I think he is doing v well if he manages 4-5 quads with such complex choreography.

You need all five quads to do a seven quad program. Nathan wasn't capable of doing a seven quad program until he landed his 4Lo consistently. He has hinted in multiple interviews he may go for a seven quad program.

 

[olympic]

If he can do 7 quads and do choreography then he would have done it by now.

I think he is doing v well if he manages 4-5 quads with such complex choreography.

Not necessarily. He was not doing 4L last year in competition, but he was going for 6 quads by Worlds, only falling short due to boot failure, not injury, bad technique, or anything else. The Choreography is more complex but it's not impossible to master

 

[Dobre]

He has hinted in multiple interviews he may go for a seven quad program.

In the interview I read after the U.S. Classic, he said that he thought the discussion of a 7 quad program was a little crazy talk.

But I don't trust what Nathan says prior to events about his planned jump format. Sometimes he tells you the truth (as he did prior to the U.S. Classic about how many jumps were planned), but often he gives you a conservative answer (as he did prior to the U.S. Classic saying the loop wasn't a priority). He'll give us what he gives us when he's ready to give it to us. And we are going to have to wait & watch.

 

[olympic]

TSL is reporting that Nathan will not visit the WH if he makes the Olympic team and is invited.

 

[Dobre]

TSL is reporting that Nathan will not visit the WH if he makes the Olympic team and is invited.

I don't watch TSL, but I'd assume they are basing that on Nathan's twitter page. He retweeted Adam's post.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Yes. USA Today reported that Nathan, Ashley, Adam and other athletes said they won't go to the WH after the Olympics should they make the team. https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...hley-wagner-skip-white-house-visit/702646001/

 

[Fiero425]

The Lord of the Quads! from Patrick Commentates Skating:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTM1rpnqoTw

So Nathan Succeeds from "The King of Quads," Tim Goebel to being the "Lord of Quads?" I forgot about the boot situation at Worlds! I just thought he peaked too soon winning Nat'ls, then "4 Cont." going away after a great SP! Even Hanyu couldn't overcome that lead secured over 100 pts.! Funny Hanyu came back from a bigger deficit at Worlds after errors dropped him to 5th after the SP!

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Hanyu did exceedingly well to come back at Worlds after his problems in the sp. But Hanyu's PCS are generally always overblown regardless of when he makes mistakes or has error-strewn programs. Hanyu has been perfect in both programs maybe 3 separate times. He usually has a mistake or two in one or both programs, or he tanks one program or the other. At his latest comp, Hanyu was perfect in the sp, and then blew the fp.

As far as Nathan's jump layout, we'll have to wait and see. Nathan and Raf apparently are being very strategic in planning out how to approach the season without Nathan burning himself out too soon. I think that's a good strategy. I also feel that Nathan's wonderful overall talents and his edgy contemporary style are being too easily dismissed by persnickety fans who in some cases have other faves and so they tend to find fault with Nathan.

Although Nathan is one of my faves, I can appreciate any skater who is well-rounded and making a huge impact on the sport. But I also try to take everything that's happening (especially the rampant politics and manipulative scoring), and all aspects of skaters' strengths and weaknesses into perspective.

 

[Marco]

Two for two, that 4loop is looking fine.

 

[Fiero425]

Two for two, that 4loop is looking fine.

I guess I must have missed a lot of skating since Plushenko retired for good! It's seemed like things had stabilized with a quad or 2; now out of nowhere, guys are attempting 4 or 5? The ladies have regressed from what little I've seen of them! You used to get a quad outta one of the ladies, now the triple axel seems to be lost with Asada! I did enjoy what little I saw of this season; esp. "Four Continents" which is usually a throwaway event where we send our "also-rans!" What made them send our best this past season? It was the most competitive I can ever remember!

 

[shine]

Nemesis from Carnival on Ice:
https://youtu.be/7_jIoYv8c0E
This was SO GOOD. If he could perform like this along with the quads, sky is the limit.

 

[Jammers]

I guess I must have missed a lot of skating since Plushenko retired for good! It's seemed like things had stabilized with a quad or 2; now out of nowhere, guys are attempting 4 or 5? The ladies have regressed from what little I've seen of them! You used to get a quad outta one of the ladies, now the triple axel seems to be lost with Asada! I did enjoy what little I saw of this season; esp. "Four Continents" which is usually a throwaway event where we send our "also-rans!" What made them send our best this past season? It was the most competitive I can ever remember!

Since when have the ladies been regularly doing quads? I must have missed that era.

 

[Firedancer]

Nemesis from Carnival on Ice:
https://youtu.be/7_jIoYv8c0E
This was SO GOOD. If he could perform like this along with the quads, sky is the limit.

That was fantastic! It really looks like he has been working a lot on his choreography for both programs as he is looking so much more comfortable with both.

 

[Rukia]

Nathan has without a doubt my 2 favorite new programs this season. They have the potential to be absolutely incredible by the Olympics.

 

[Fiero425]

Nathan has without a doubt my 2 favorite new programs this season. They have the potential to be absolutely incredible by the Olympics.

Haven't looked, but most suggested Hanya should repeat last season's; so ethereal and beautiful! His performance at Worlds was deserving of an event more historic and prestigious! I still SMH when I think of skaters skipping events which are so few and far between; which makes the Olympics HUGE being quadrennial!

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

It's a shame he can't get more of this into the competitive programs. Here I can see his dance background. He's expressive, relating to audience. Wow

 

[Fiero425]

Since when have the ladies been regularly doing quads? I must have missed that era.

You had several female skaters who at least practiced it and threw it into program if they felt they needed that little extra to win! From Surya to Sasha to Miki Ondo; quads were at least talked about in the ladies' event they skated!

 

[Sylvia]

Belatedly... Nathan shared 4 photos from last month's Team USA media summit in Park City, Utah on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BZfDhDcg_7O/?hl=en&taken-by=nathanwchen

Link to his Team USA photo shoot (Sept. 25, 2017) on Getty Images: Nathan Chen

Nemesis from Carnival on Ice:
https://youtu.be/7_jIoYv8c0E
This was SO GOOD. If he could perform like this along with the quads, sky is the limit.

Thanks for posting! And here's his Japan Open FS on Oct. 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxLIO5xZjc8
He placed 2nd: 178.46 95.68 83.78 8.61 8.14 8.32 8.43 8.39 1.00 (fall on 4F)

 

[DreamSkates]

Nemesis from Carnival on Ice:
https://youtu.be/7_jIoYv8c0E
This was SO GOOD. If he could perform like this along with the quads, sky is the limit.

Wow that was one very fine program (moves, footwork, choreo).

 

[livetoskate]

Wow that was one very fine program (moves, footwork, choreo).

That was awesome! Mirai similarly had an amazing performance, where she was smiling and enjoying the performance too. How wonderful that they got this opportunity to perform for a huge crowd and make some $ too. I wish we had shows like this near me.

 

[shine]

It's a shame he can't get more of this into the competitive programs. Here I can see his dance background. He's expressive, relating to audience. Wow

This IS his competitive SP. The only difference is the jumps. But if you meant he hasn't skated this SP in competition like he did here - well, the season has just begun and he has only competed once with this so I think it's too early to say whether he can or cannot. We will see if he's able to pull off the same kind of performance level with the quads included as the season progresses.

 

[Marco]

He is moving around with so much command these days.

 

[Pretty Vegas]

I loooove the footwork in that program. I hope he can perform it in competition to the level that it was performed there.

 

[aftershocks]

Here's a fancam video of Nathan's sp at International Classic, which provides a different angle than the IceNetwork version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcZaDen49gg fancam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDFcmlhn5nM IceNetwork version with warmup; program starts @ 2:50

On a related note: Benjamin Clementine (the artist behind Nemesis) is featured in the October 2017 issue of Vanity Fair, page 125.