Alysa Liu Ready for Change (NEW ARTICLES)

[Tinami Amori]

I was in grad school at 24, working on my doctorate. Given that particular year for me, I think traveling the world as an elite figure skater would have been way more interesting, LOL.

We're drifting off topic.. . Elite figure skaters, or any skater travelling the world, do not get to see too much of the cities they visit (as per many interviews by skaters). Fans should not be selfish by wanting to see "their favorite skater" year after year. If one really cares about a skater, then let him/her have a career and a normal life after skating is over, and that means university education or training for a profession. Too many skaters feel lost and confused after the skating is over.

 

[feraina]

I take it as a good sign that Alysa now has non-fans who see her as a threat to their favorites. I mean after all, the top Russian girls really have no competition outside Russia except Kihira and possibly Alysa. The next Olympic ladies podium will likely consist only of ladies who can do multiple quads or a quad and an axel. Kihira and Alysa are the only non-Russians who have managed that in competition so far.

 

[Sylvia]

Article by Lynn Rutherford - Alysa Liu leaves Las Vegas without U.S. figure skating title, but full of optimism:

Alysa Liu leaves Las Vegas without U.S. figure skating title, but full of optimism

Alysa Liu, after placing fourth at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, looks ahead to next season, reincorporating jumps and the Olympics.

olympics.nbcsports.com

Excerpts:

Liu may have ramped down her expectations, but her coach, Massimo Scali, came to Las Vegas with a loftier objective.
“The only goal we had for this competition was to perform and show an Alysa that is confident, and gorgeous, and with beautiful new qualities that no one ever saw before, that could prove to herself she is capable of anything,” Scali said.
A six-time Italian ice dance champion (with partner Federica Faiella), Scali’s English is a bit florid, but his words ring true.
Liu, who many expected to struggle at these U.S. Championships, instead showed maturing expression, speed and some solid triple jumps, including her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination.

His specialties – skating skills, steps, performance quality, musical expression – were evident in Liu’s skating this week, particularly in her short program, choreographed by Nichol to music from “La Strada.”
“[We have] been working a lot on skating skills every day in practice and working on the choreography of the program, especially when I had my injury,” Liu said. “We especially worked on facial expressions in each part of the choreography. There is one part where I’m surprised or happy, and we worked a lot on that.”
Jeremy Abbott, the four-time U.S. champion, joined the team full-time, lending technical expertise to Liu’s jumps and spins as well as her overall performance.
“He is part of the team, and he is with us every single day,” said Scali. “In Oakland, there is also Phillip DeGuglielmo, who is mainly helping her with the [pole] harness to restart the big jumps.”

 

[UGG]

She looked like a completely different person than last year when she was super tiny. I think it will be extremely difficult for her (or anyone who grows that much) to get a quad back. Maybe she could get the triple axel but I keep thinking of Kimmie Meisner who could land all the big jumps as a junior skater and then grew and she could not even land really anything her final nationals. Caroline Zhang also comes to mind. She blew everyone out of the water as a junior and then grew and looked like a regular person and never made the world team. I truly don’t understand hyping these very young girls who look like they are 11. The fall from grace must be devastating. One minute you are Michelle Kwan and the next minute you are brushed aside. These are children and I truly think it’s selfish of adults to put them in this situation. Until Alysa makes a world or Olympic team I really think people need to calm down.

 

[Natanielle825]

I agree. She said she's been landing the 3A in practice and I can believe it, but I imagine it's probably small like it used to be, I thought her double axels looked tiny here. As for the quads...I don't really need to see a cheated lutz. If she wants to try and learn a toe or salchow, I'd sooner get behind that.

 

[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.

It would be hard for a young skater to watch, without some guidance. Fellini is hard to understand, because he is so unconventional. I was a film studies major and almost dropped that major after first being exposed to Fellini.

Also, I think in looking back at his films that he was quite misogynistic. As were the other cinematic 'masters' of the time. Last Tango in Paris was at one time my favorite film of all time. That all changed when I learned that Maria Schneider felt abused by both Bertolluci and Brando in the film's infamous butter scene. Even though she did consent to it.

 

[VGThuy]

It would be hard for a young skater to watch, without some guidance. Fellini is hard to understand, because he is so unconventional. I was a film studies major and almost dropped that major after first being exposed to Fellini.

Also, I think in looking back at his films that he was quite misogynistic. As were the other cinematic 'masters' of the time. Last Tango in Paris was at one time my favorite film of all time. That all changed when I learned that Maria Schneider felt abused by both Bertolluci and Brando in the film's infamous butter scene. Even though she did consent to it.

Italian plus Catholicism in mid 20th century, I kind of expect misogyny in some way. You’re so right about how jarring it is to see some older films, especially in the 60s and 70s with more creative control from auteur directors, and how they depict or treated the female characters (and actresses). I remember in my undergrad class Politics in the Cinema, one female classmate said, “what’s with these 1970s movies and women getting slapped?” We had just watched Soylent Green and we had a string of 70s films like Chinatown and boy did women get slapped a lot back then. Like it was expected and the men were entitled to do so.

 

[Sylvia]

I just posted an article about Jeremy Abbott in his fan thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/jeremy-abbott-uber-thread.81547/page-29#post-5946814

Relevant excerpt re. Alysa:

In just four months, Abbott has managed to have quite an impact in a crucial time for Liu. After growing three inches and injuring her hip in October, she was no longer looking like the skater that won a World Junior bronze medal with a triple Axel and quad Lutz in her arsenal.
"(The injury) kind of gave us a chance to pause and stop and restructure what she was doing and how she was doing it," Abbott said. "And honestly, since October to now, she's an entirely different skater. She's a different person on the ice in that the way she thinks about skating is different, and the way she skates is different. I'm speechless every time I think about it, and I'm so excited. If she could do that in two and a half months, I can't wait to see what she can do in the next year."
Liu won a pewter medal in Las Vegas, proving that she's far from done -- and making her coach incredibly happy.
"That week, for us, wasn't about winning, but it was about showing the work that she did, and showing what her potential is, and what her future can look like," Abbott said. "And she did that. She pulled it all out, and she really made people take notice. She made people understand that she's not to be counted out. And I was so, so proud of her."

 

[Erin]

It’s good to see that Abbott is viewing that performance as a positive for Alysa, and I hope she feels the same way. It seems like he is focused on the right things for her.