Gymnastics News #23: Defying Gravity

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I think Jade is working on her floor. She was never dinged before for not doing the dance and emotion, so it's going to take a while for her to show big improvements. She is working on those arms (much better) but has a way to go before showing more performance, including her face.

I appreciate that she is working on it, even though her detractors are dismissive. It shows the desire to grow.
 
Honestly, I find Chiles' artistry to be pretty manufactured, in a very cheerleader "pop and lock" exaggerated way. Carey is more subtle and subdued, but there is clear improvement from Tokyo. I haven't seen enough of Gadirova to have much of an opinion one way or the other. There's a huge range of choices possible, artistically.
 
Karen-W said:
I haven't seen enough of Gadirova to have much of an opinion one way or the other.
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My gut response to Gadirova's choreography was "this is why I don't watch rhythmic gymnastics". However, I do think it is most analogous to what the judges wanted.

For all I know, the WAG technical committee referenced the rhythmic gymnastics technical references to help create the scoring rubric.
 
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I looked at the so called "artistry" deductions and a lot of them seem like they should be called 'technique' or quality of movement.

Artistry, to me, means coming up with and committing to a choreographic concept, and using all the aspects of dance to communicate that concept to the viewer. Extending your limbs and using your whole body speaks to your technique, not artistry.
 
Obviously, the FIG can do whatever it wants, but I enjoy seeing a variety of performance styles. I can enjoy Lily Pod's balletic perfection and enjoy the strength of Amanar's power and like both their floor routines. I hope there is room for variety under this new code and we won't get only hyper-extroverted or bubbly pop styles as the champions.
 
Karen-W said:
Honestly, I find Chiles' artistry to be pretty manufactured, in a very cheerleader "pop and lock" exaggerated way. Carey is more subtle and subdued, but there is clear improvement from Tokyo.
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Chiles' just finished her freshman year at UCLA, and this routine is very much in the vein of what they've done on the team for the past few years. I wouldn't want to see every routine be like this, but it's one valid style.
 
Jade has definitely worked on her floor presentation and this routine is much more watchable than what she did in Tokyo. However, I’m sorry to say I still don’t enjoy her floor work. But I can see the work is being done and they are trying.

I really find her unwatchable on beam though. So slow and deliberate. During team finals I was watching thinking that she was going at half the speed of everyone else.
 
skatfan said:
Chiles' just finished her freshman year at UCLA, and this routine is very much in the vein of what they've done on the team for the past few years. I wouldn't want to see every routine be like this, but it's one valid style.
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Agreed. I've watched Pac12 gymnastics occasionally in the last few years, and it very much is in that vein. It's not that it isn't a valid style, but I think it's a lot easier to score "artistry" points when you're doing something that requires very over-the-top, extroverted dance moves. Carey strikes me as a more introverted person, in general, and that's reflected in her FX style this season.
 
Karen-W said:
Agreed. I've watched Pac12 gymnastics occasionally in the last few years, and it very much is in that vein. It's not that it isn't a valid style, but I think it's a lot easier to score "artistry" points when you're doing something that requires very over-the-top, extroverted dance moves. Carey strikes me as a more introverted person, in general, and that's reflected in her FX style this season.
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I agree that Jade's program seems more suited to her than one like Chiles would. Completely different personalities. She's got another season coming up competing under NCAA so I think she'll keep growing.
 
Jordan's routine is very NCAA. It's not a bad thing but if you watch enough of those meets the wiggling and facial expressions are so NCAA. I also think the corner dancing has to stop. If I have to see one more routine where gymnasts go to a corner and wiggle their butts or wave their arms around ...
 
I just hope FX does not become a "Circus Du Vomit" fest.

I am also no "Cardi B or whatever" fan, but I knew Jordan liked what she was doing on the floor ... 🤬 Except the arm movements in the last corner, which Jordan completely threw away 🤬 ... 😂
 
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Rob said:
And this. https://media.giphy.com/media/3cvyKdzd6csRotexYM/giphy.gif
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I love that too because her dance makes actual sense with her choreography and fits her personality. I love Kalinina’s wiggle in an ironic way. It is so weird and out-of-place and she was stoned face while doing it. You can tell she only did it to make sure she had no empty spots in the choreography right before her last tumbling run. And she did that routine for four years in a row, and throughout the four years, you can tell what mood she was in or how that competition was going based on whether she would do that butt wiggle…so it was also optional.
 
^Oh thanks for posting that. "Butt and body wiggles" - with classical training - as performed by Queen Boginskaya, even past her best in 1996, is much more enjoyable to me than any of the butt and body wiggles, or most of the other "artistry" I saw at Worlds this year.
 
honey said:
I really find her unwatchable on beam though. So slow and deliberate. During team finals I was watching thinking that she was going at half the speed of everyone else.
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I don't know her gymnastics well enough to know if her speed in the team event was slower than usual, but I'd guess yes if she doesn't usually get a time violation. If yes, some relevant team event context is the water leak on the beam that officials didn't warn athletes about. In an interview, Jade said she noticed thewarer on the beam during her performance. I don't blame her for being slow and deliberate.
 
I don’t discount the effect the water may have had on her, and mad props to her for staying on while water was literally dripping next to her. But she was over time by like 1 second, so it seems unlikely that her speed was affected substantially. She landed exactly on the bell in the AA, so a pretty similar overall rhythm in that routine too.

Really, my comment about her moving slowly applies to anytime I have seen her do beam. I just don’t enjoy watching it. She seems like a nice girl and I admire her consistency, but her beam is probably never going to be for me.
 
honey said:
Jade has definitely worked on her floor presentation and this routine is much more watchable than what she did in Tokyo. However, I’m sorry to say I still don’t enjoy her floor work. But I can see the work is being done and they are trying.

I really find her unwatchable on beam though. So slow and deliberate. During team finals I was watching thinking that she was going at half the speed of everyone else.
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Jade has improved in terms of body movement on floor but this music was a total miss especially compared to last year. Her Olympic floor routine hid her weaknesses expertly by having moments of "obvious movement needed here" and then having her pose. This music is completely on one note and doesn't have those "obvious moments"--it's more suited for a lyrical gymnast who would dance throughout the whole thing which is absolute not a strength of Jade.

Her beam is absolutely too slow and to make it worse she has no change of rhythm throughout the entire routine. I didn't mind it at the Paris World Cup because she hit all her connections and had no wobbles and it was so sturdy and strong. But should she have a single mistake or missed connection like she did here--and I think it ruins the whole picture and it's so easy to pick apart.

I'm impressed with her though. To think Valeri Liukin just randomly asked Jade and her dad to try out for elite in 2017 and 5 years later, here she is as an Olympic champion, 3 time world champion and 2-time all around finalist at the Olympics and Worlds. It's kind of insane.
 
Any other NCAA gymnastics fans on here wanting to discuss preseason previews so far?
ETA: Whoops, I found the other thread.
 
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