Davis and White #36: What a Wonderful World

[mollymgr]

I/Z seem mismatched to me in a lot of ways. She emotes OTT and he blends in with the ice. I think they were better with their original partners. IMO, the Bollywood FD is messy. Bollywood as a program seems more viable if it was shorter. 4 minutes just seems like an eternity.

 

[aftershocks]

I got to meet Charlie and Tanith at Skate America. Quite a lot of fun talking to them. They are both so classy and professional.

 

[mollymgr]

I happened to listen to the dance commentary from Universal last night. Some of the things he says are so unexpectedly funny.

 

[literaryfreak]

IMO, the Bollywood FD is messy. Bollywood as a program seems more viable if it was shorter. 4 minutes just seems like an eternity.

Agree, I've noticed this as well. I think Bollywood as a concept works much better for the 2 minutes whatever that was the Original Dance. And D/W's already had 2-3 parts, if I remember correctly. Any more music cuts is just . Bollywood for 4 minutes has to be approached entirely differently from what's been done.

 

[Laura4]

Speaking of Bollywood, an Indian fan tweeted this comment to Meryl last month:


Shailesh Raj Koona (@rajkoona)
10/5/16, 5:58 PM
@Meryl_Davis & @CharlieaWhite Just happened to come across your bollywood skate bit! Absolute brilliance! Well done and all the best.

 

[Laura4]

From Brooke Castile's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMywjdOhaEF/?taken-by=brooke_castile_okeefe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMywZYKBOJ5/?taken-by=brooke_castile_okeefe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMywyg8BHy2/?taken-by=brooke_castile_okeefe

 

[mollymgr]

Agree, I've noticed this as well. I think Bollywood as a concept works much better for the 2 minutes whatever that was the Original Dance. And D/W's already had 2-3 parts, if I remember correctly. Any more music cuts is just . Bollywood for 4 minutes has to be approached entirely differently from what's been done.

Totally agree!! I think their Bollywood instructor introduced them to the music. Bollywood "dance" tracks also tend to have repetitive notes and fillers so that makes it very challenging to use for a free dance. I think the closest analogy would be trying to create a program with techno music. It works for shows like So You Think You Can Dance, where the dances are well under 2 minutes.

 

[LilJen]

I am being hounded by MSW programs. Today I got a UM booklet in the mail. Wonder if Meryl and Charlie ever finished their UM degrees?

 

[mollymgr]

I am being hounded by MSW programs. Today I got a UM booklet in the mail. Wonder if Meryl and Charlie ever finished their UM degrees?

Nope... still students...
http://www.heraldandnews.com/news/l...cle_c3fcf904-1270-55a2-b3b1-c066cb8a6aa6.html
“Right now our goals are to graduate from college,” White said. “We’re still very busy so it’s a slow process. But like you guys, we really love learning and we love education.”
And a new video too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFIEfX9V9_4

In other news, the Skate Gym show is in Florida in Jan. I'm surprised and impressed that Disson not only rescheduled it but also got Simone to do it. Yayyy!!! However, I don't know any songs by Echosmith.
http://www.dissonskating.com/event/colgate-skating-gymnastics-spectacular-2016/

 

[Debbie S]

I think Meryl said in an interview not too long ago (maybe spring or summer) that she and Charlie had "about a year left" until completing their degrees.

 

[Laura4]

Nope... still students...
http://www.heraldandnews.com/news/l...cle_c3fcf904-1270-55a2-b3b1-c066cb8a6aa6.html
“Right now our goals are to graduate from college,” White said. “We’re still very busy so it’s a slow process. But like you guys, we really love learning and we love education.”
And a new video too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFIEfX9V9_4

In other news, the Skate Gym show is in Florida in Jan. I'm surprised and impressed that Disson not only rescheduled it but also got Simone to do it. Yayyy!!! However, I don't know any songs by Echosmith.
http://www.dissonskating.com/event/colgate-skating-gymnastics-spectacular-2016/

Here's a Meryl and Charlie fan video using one of their songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avBqXbJ39vM

 

[mollymgr]

I think Meryl said in an interview not too long ago (maybe spring or summer) that she and Charlie had "about a year left" until completing their degrees.

Not too many students can brag about taking more than a decade to complete their degree. But then not too many of them have Olympic medals in every color either. I have to commend Evan Bates for finishing his degree.

 

[Laura4]

Way to go, Meryl!

http://people.com/bodies/athlete-calls-out-nike-models-promote-workout-clothes/

 

[Barbara Manatee]

I actually winced when I saw that tweet. You don't have to be an athlete to wear workout clothes, so why should you have to be one to sell them? It comes across as a little body-shamey to me, which isn't something I ever expected from Meryl.

 

[Debbie S]

I actually winced when I saw that tweet. You don't have to be an athlete to wear workout clothes, so why should you have to be one to sell them? It comes across as a little body-shamey to me, which isn't something I ever expected from Meryl.

I get what you are saying, but I think Meryl was probably trying to get across that an ad featuring Aly Raisman is a more realistic portrayal of women in athletic clothes than an ad featuring a fashion model or celebrity.

 

[Jay42]

I think this post from morqet in the OTBT thread articulates my feelings about it pretty well. I don't think Meryl's intent was to body shame. I think she was just trying to make the point that they could have more women in these ad campaigns.

I like that Meryl spoke out about it. Although I don't know that shes going along the same angle, it has always bugs me that female athletes never get the same endorsement opportunities with sportswear companies that male athletes do. It's basically saying "You might have won multiple world championships or olympic medals, but that's not merit enough on its own, you have to have model level flawless looks" And as a consequence, it's the looks that are more important than the achievements. It's part of the bigger picture of women's sport not getting the same recognition as men's; I can't think of a single major sportswear brand that has chosen to use a male model or non athletic celebrity to front an advertising campaign rather than a male athlete. Maybe Nike or Adidas for campaigns for their fashion footwear, but never for the serious sportswear. But looking out of my office at the windows in Niketown London, I can see a campaign for running gear featuring Mo Farah for the menswear & group of female models for the womenswear - and this in a year when British female athletes won 3 Olympic track medals. One of those women, Dina Asher Smith, is also the British record holder at 100m & 200m, and is signed to Nike, but I have never seen her fronting the billboards on the Nike store in the way the male athletes do.

And yes, not everyone who wears athletic clothes is an athlete, but equally, they aren't a model or instagram star like Bella Hadid or Kylie Jenner, so it's an image as equally removed from most people's reality as using an elite athlete.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

I get what you are saying, but I think Meryl was probably trying to get across that an ad featuring Aly Raisman is a more realistic portrayal of women in athletic clothes than an ad featuring a fashion model or celebrity.

I don't think an Olympian's body is any more realistic than a model's for most women.

I'm confused why she'd go to the effort of pasting up a comparison of three women and then put down two of them. It's not at all her usual style, and she has to have known there'd be a pile-on.

 

[Laura4]

I don't think an Olympian's body is any more realistic than a model's for most women.

I'm confused why she'd go to the effort of pasting up a comparison of three women and then put down two of them. It's not at all her usual style, and she has to have known there'd be a pile-on.

Just my opinion, but I don't think she meant any disrespect to the celebs. I think she simply wishes that these companies would hire more athletes to model their clothing lines. I'm also guessing she didn't expect her tweet to get the attention it did from some media outlets.

 

[Laura4]

In other news - From the Michigan Women's Foundation:

http://www.miwf.org/figure-skating-detroit/

 

[Barbara Manatee]

We'll have to agree to disagree on workoutgate, but I'm totally with you on hearing that Figure Skating in Detroit is getting off the ground! It's really good to see a program aimed at raising up girls be organized and fronted by women from the community.

 

[mollymgr]

IMO, it is a flawed argument on both sides. These companies have traditionally used athletes for endorsements and still do. If they stopped doing it, then there would be cause for concern. I thought it was just a silly tweet and not a statement against who promotes what or body types. This is a new trend that companies are exploring because in the end it comes down to the bottom line. They want to sell more. Nike dumped Maria Sharapova earlier this year after she failed a drug test with Meldonium. She was the only female athlete in Nike's top 10 athlete endorsers.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/08/news/nike-maria-sharapova-nike-suspension-doping/
This article came out around the same time on their explanation for exploring this new idea of using non-athletes.
http://fortune.com/2016/03/19/nike-adidas-kevin-hart-kanye/
Athlete contracts are a big gamble. There is always career ending injury or poor performance. But there are also cases like Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.
In reality, an athlete promoting fitness gear doesn't really matter to me because I just care about comfort and quality. I'm usually happy for an athlete I like if they get to endorse something nice.

The tree lighting thing is tomorrow. And this was only 10 years ago!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEnuXjHITAw

ETA: This photoshop cracks me up. It looks like Simone is part of the Scheherazade opening pose.
https://twitter.com/Meryl_Davis/status/798246561989816321

 

[Laura4]

When I read the tweet, I didn't see it as a diss to the celebs, although I can understand how some would construe it that way. I saw it as a show of support for athletes, especially Ali Raisman, who I know Meryl admires in the sport of gymnastics.

I really don't think she expected the People online mag to take her tweet and run with it the way they did. They do make it sound like she has something against celebs promoting fitness wear and I'm just not convinced that was the intent of her tweet.

 

[mollymgr]

I hope this tweeting thing dies a swift death. It seems to be getting out of hand. Workoutgate is right.

In other news...more videos here and link to watch it live.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/wxyz-to-broadcast-detroit-tree-lighting-on-friday-nov-18

 

[Laura4]

I hope this tweeting thing dies a swift death. It seems to be getting out of hand. Workoutgate is right.

Sheesh...no kidding! Now other media outlets have picked up the story. I seriously doubt Meryl meant to set off a firestorm with her tweet. And since when do these media outlets pay attention to what skaters tweet about.

 

[Laura4]

Sorry my reply to your quote got posted incorrectly @mollymgr. I didn't know how to fix it.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

It was lovely to see Meryl and Charlie skating - it's been too long! - but that was the worst camera work ever.

They just cannot bring themselves to say they're retiring, can they? Poor babies, it's hard to give up what you love.

 

[mollymgr]

It was lovely to see Meryl and Charlie skating - it's been too long! - but that was the worst camera work ever.

They just cannot bring themselves to say they're retiring, can they? Poor babies, it's hard to give up what you love.

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

 

[marbri]

From Brooke Castile's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMywjdOhaEF/?taken-by=brooke_castile_okeefe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMywZYKBOJ5/?taken-by=brooke_castile_okeefe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMywyg8BHy2/?taken-by=brooke_castile_okeefe

This is the first time I have ever made a post anywhere on the internet judging another's parenting but I was at that third link. It doesn't matter how great a skater you are, no one is immune from a toepick mishap, that child should have a helmet on.

 

[mollymgr]

This is the first time I have ever made a post anywhere on the internet judging another's parenting but I was at that third link. It doesn't matter how great a skater you are, no one is immune from a toepick mishap, that child should have a helmet on.

Her kid was wearing it in another video so she isn't irresponsible. Who knows whether she had her wear it before or after? I agree that it is not wise. I don't like judging other people's parenting either. Sometimes you live and learn.

 

[Laura4]

Meryl and Charlie performing at the tree lighting ceremony in Detroit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7ZtGnLL4TY


Interview with WXYZ TV Detroit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYsXChL9GeA