Alysa Liu Ready for Change (NEW ARTICLES)

[natsulian]

US reigning Champion Alysa Liu, now fifteen, looks to her last season as a junior with newfound maturity, excitement, and the same fervency that characterized her birth as a star two years ago.

Brandon Penny's article about Alysa Liu can be found here: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...f-change-with-new-coaching-team-programs.aspx

Things to note:

• Short program will be performed to "La Strada"
• Long program will be performed to "The Storm"
• Trains with Massimo Scali at the Oakland Ice Center
• FaceTimes and ZOOMs Lee Barkell and Lori Nichol
• Long program will have two triple-Axels and one quad-Lutz
• Working on skating skills, speed, choreography, and maturity on the ice
• Started skating again in June
• Doesn't think she'll be on social media anytime soon as she no longer finds it fun, but rather exhausting
• She's grown from 4' 7" to 5' 0"

Furthermore, Alysa Liu will be performing virtually at Carnival on Ice on October 3rd and will compete at the ISP Points Challenge on October 6th.

I believe "The Storm" is by HAVASI which is what Carolina Kostner's 2018-2019 long program would have been.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53UG28poX84

 

[dramagrrl]

That's a pretty significant growth spurt! Hopefully it will give her more power in her skating and jumps once she is able to adjust to the new height.

 

[Lacey]

Wow, sounds like she did grow a lot, perhaps the overall image will now be stronger too.

 

[Vagabond]

Short program will be performed to "La Strada"

The thought of a fifteen-year-old girl portraying the victim of human trafficking makes me very uneasy.

 

[VGThuy]

The thought of a fifteen-year-old girl portraying the victim of human trafficking makes me very uneasy.

Me too, but a part of me would be impressed if she actually watched the movie. I have a feeling most skaters skating to Fellini film scores have never seen the accompanying movies.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

The thought of a fifteen-year-old girl portraying the victim of human trafficking makes me very uneasy.

Skating programs are not obliged to be a copy of their movie version. One can like the music and interpret it their own way.

 

[AxelAnnie]

The thought of a fifteen-year-old girl portraying the victim of human trafficking makes me very uneasy.

Well, yes, but what age do you think these kids are who are being trafficked?

 

[Frau Muller]

...I believe "The Storm" is by HAVASI which is what Carolina Kostner's 2018-2019 long program would have been.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53UG28poX84

Oh good. I was afraid for a moment that she had chosen the same “Storm” as Valieva’s SP (Eric Radford)...Battle of the Storms...just like Battle of the Carmens long ago, LOL!

All of this sounds very promising for Liu! Exciting.

 

[Japanfan]

Me too, but a part of me would be impressed if she actually watched the movie. I have a feeling most skaters skating to Fellini film scores have never seen the accompanying movies.

And Fellini movies are tough to watch and hard to understand because Fellini by no means uses typical narrative forms.

I was a film studies major and watched Fellini movies in my second year of university, in the first film studies class I took. It was very a much a 'what fresh hell is this' scenario.

My prof adored Fellini and wrote articles about him, later wrote a book. He helped me navigate the world of Fellini and appreciate Fellini's brilliance.

Even so, Fellini never became a favorite director of mine. To be frank I've no desire to ever watch a film of his again.

 

[Vagabond]

Skating programs are not obliged to be a copy of their movie version. One can like the music and interpret it their own way.

True, but the score of La Strada is character-driven, so my hope of seeing something along the lines you suggest are low.

 

[natsulian]

New article by Phil Hersh --> https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/09/29/alysa-liu-figure-skating/

They have been working on making her skating more powerful. The triple-Axel and quad-Lutz are not back it seems, although she wants to add them later in the season but only time will tell.

 

[Carolla5501]

Honestly this "you can only skate to music we like" needs to stop. No, the skater shouldn't have to do 'political correctness' on their skating music choice unless it's blatantly bad. So unless the 15 year old inserts lyrics screaming "human trafficking is good" then let her skate to what she wants without you "reading between the lines" to insert your own views LOL!

First we condemn skaters because "they always skate to the same thing" and then we condemn because "well I don't like that piece for reason x y and z" Poor kids.

At least this one is smart and is off social media where she won't be subjected to the "I don't approve of your music choice" judges!

 

[natsulian]

I hope she gets her 3A and quad back. I'm not going to lie, I'm very suspicious about her getting it back as consistently as before but you never know, she's a very hardworking young lady. Anything is possible! Best of luck to her!

 

[Vagabond]

Honestly this "you can only skate to music we like" needs to stop.

Go discuss this with SHARPIE. It's her board, not yours.

I like the music from La Strada. I would not have a problem with a twenty-year-old woman skating to it. I do have a problem with a fifteen-year-old skating to it.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

Skating programs are not obliged to be a copy of their movie version. One can like the music and interpret it their own way.

Yes, that's true—skating programs don't have to copy the movie.

If you "like" something, it's worth digging into the source material. That's how people actually build interesting interpretations and create something worth paying attention to. Unfortunately, in figure skating this rarely happens, so choreographers/skaters/coaches/etc rely upon easy/cheap signifiers, or worse give themselves a free pass to ignore the source material entirely.

 

[soogar]

The thought of a fifteen-year-old girl portraying the victim of human trafficking makes me very uneasy.

I guess PC censure is the thing now, but this is the first time I have ever heard anyone actually refer to the movie's plot and inferred that this music was inappropriate. This is a common piece of music that has been skated to a million times. I've never seen any skater emote beyond the circus theme.

I wouldn't characterize this plot as "human trafficking". There are a lot of victims in this movie. It would be something if Alyssa actually portrayed Gelsomina's role on ice, but I think the complexity of the role wouldn't lend itself to a 4 minute program.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Is anyone else getting concerned about this new coaching situation? The Olympics are less than 18 months away, and every single day of training matters. This just seems like she is sabotaging herself. I wish her well.

 

[MacMadame]

I guess PC censure is the thing now,

Naw. It's just people thinking up a reason to rag on Alyssa.

give themselves a free pass to ignore the source material entirely.

It's not a free pass to chose to emote to something other than the original story. In the movie Fantasia, they specifically had one segment where they did that while other segments did not. It was very interesting to see a completely different interpretation to the piece of music they picked rather than what people normally do.

 

[Sylvia]

Key excerpts from Hersh's article: https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/09/29/alysa-liu-figure-skating/

Liu’s jump layouts this season include a triple Axel in the short program with two triple Axels and a quadruple Lutz in the long. She may wait until later competitive events to include them. She plans to skate at the USFS Championship Series competitions in Spokane, Wash., November 10-15 and Henderson, Nevada Nov. 24-28.
“I just want to do good programs for whatever competitions are available,” Liu said. “It will take me a long time to get everything perfect. But I have been working hard on skating skills, and hopefully people can see a difference.”
Barkell handles nearly all the jump instruction, although Scali said is learning enough from watching the remote sessions to be aware of what Liu is supposed to do. Nichol is primary choreographer, with the concept, the music cuts and the steps coming from her.

Scali, who has done choreography for ice dancers, makes occasional choreographic suggestions. But his focus is the areas of skating covered by component scores (PCS).
...
“We want Alysa to go out on the ice and look like a mature, different skater,” Scali said. “We are working on details – expression, speed, gliding, posture – to polish the programs so that they give an image of an Alysa who is more empowered and more mature and really ready for senior level competition.”

 

[VGThuy]

I don't mind so much when skaters deviate from the source material when they skate programs so long as they're good. Bereznhaya/Sikharulidze are my go-to examples of that (I don't think their SP to "Lady Caliph" was about a love affair amongst union issues nor did they portray the literal story of "Meditation of Thais"). I also don't think Tonya Harding was playing a dinosaur or Laura Dern when she used Jurassic Park either...she also wasn't playing Batman, Desiree in A Little Night Music, or Tone Loc in "Wild Thing" in that one program.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

I guess PC censure is the thing now, but this is the first time I have ever heard anyone actually refer to the movie's plot and inferred that this music was inappropriate. This is a common piece of music that has been skated to a million times. I've never seen any skater emote beyond the circus theme.

I just listened to it on YT. I always assumed that music was from Casablanca since it was part of Browning's "Casablanca Program". This music has been used so often, I've never even associated it with child trafficking! Some are just grasping to complain or be offended about I think....

 

[natsulian]

Here are my thoughts:

Coaching changes, of any kind, take time to settle in. No matter how talented an individual is, a change in environment and the people you interact with will have psychological effects. Furthermore, although Alysa did begin skating again in mid-June, she was off the ice for three months. Additionally, based on the article, Alysa was "coaching" herself during her time in Delaware. The amount of tribulations this young lady had to endure would have affected anybody and it is charming and enlightening to see that she's still just as bubbly and charismatic. Alysa is an intelligent young lady, she understands the fixation on her jumps, skating skills, etc. Her team, hopefully, will know how to best maneuver the pieces so that by the time 2022 rolls around, everything is set in motion and Alysa will be primed and ready to fight for her spot and placement.

As for the jumps, it seems as though her triple-Axel and quad-Lutz will not be part of her layout until November. Alysa's layout without the ultra-jumps will most likely be what we see next Tuesday, October 6, at the International Selection Pool (ISP) Points Challenge. However, I am optimistic that at least her triple-Axel will become consistent enough to add back into her programs. Alysa grew, yes, but she grew even more between her first and second National titles and her jumps, presentation, and overall skillset improved drastically.

Finally, focusing on skating skills, speed, and presentation with about 18 months to go until the Olympics is a sign that her team is going to address her shortcomings. Furthermore, once Lee is able to physically teach her the jumps, I'm sure her jumps will come back--stronger than ever before.

I wish Alysa and her team the best, she is a bright star and I hope for longevity and success for her.

 

[Erin]

I also don't think Tonya Harding was playing a dinosaur or Laura Dern when she used Jurassic Park either...she also wasn't playing Batman, Desiree in A Little Night Music, or Tone Loc in "Wild Thing" in that one program.

The real question is whether she was portraying people (still) having sex in her 1992 short program. I demand an authentic interpretation of that music!

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

I like the music from La Strada. I would not have a problem with a twenty-year-old woman skating to it. I do have a problem with a fifteen-year-old skating to it.

Perhaps you should have sent Alysa a list of pre-approved,politically-correct,multiculturally sensitive music selections prior to the start of the season.

-BB

 

[VGThuy]

The real question is whether she was portraying people (still) having sex in her 1992 short program. I demand an authentic interpretation of that music!

I want to like this post so badly.

 

[feraina]

Is anyone else getting concerned about this new coaching situation? The Olympics are less than 18 months away, and every single day of training matters. This just seems like she is sabotaging herself. I wish her well.

Oh yeah totally! If Orser can’t coach Medvedeva remotely when they’ve already worked together for two seasons and she’s much older and more experienced, how could Barkell coach Alysa remotely effectively, when they’ve never worked together and she’s barely 15? It makes no sense.

ETA: so she left Lipetsky after skating in DE with her dad for two months. Shades of Michelle Kwan and her dad. I find the whole situation really bizarre.

 

[VGThuy]

Kwan said her dad was never a part of the decision for her to leave Frank and go coachless. Frank never said Danny was the cause of that fracture either. Kwan was 21 at the time and was having a tough time of it prior to SLC.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

The real question is whether she was portraying people (still) having sex in her 1992 short program. I demand an authentic interpretation of that music!

LOL. I loved Tonya's tackiness!!! I mean, seriously "People Are Still Having Sex"???? We know she was, as her tacky sex video on a tacky waterbed showed... eek

 

[Alilou]

The real question is whether she was portraying people (still) having sex in her 1992 short program. I demand an authentic interpretation of that music!

Perhaps you should have sent Alysa a list of pre-approved,politically-correct,multiculturally sensitive music selections prior to the start of the season.

-BB

I want to like BOTH of these posts so badly.

 

[Coco]

I want to like Vagabond's post. If something creeps you out, you shouldn't have to pretend you're fine with it

Others should be able to process that someone else holds a negative view they don't agree with without making grandiose pronouncements about the state of society. A simple, 'I see it differently because xyz' will suffice.