Isabeau Levito Fan Thread!

mtnskater

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So happy to see her in person again this year. Comparing her at Nationals from last year she has grown, matured has more speed and power and better edges and flow. Amazing amount of progress in a year. And what a head for competition she has. Just love her. Glad the judges both here and internationally do too!
 

sk9tingfan

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Some more details about Yasmin Levy, The singer songwriter who composed Isabeau's SP music. She is not of Hungarian descent, as previously reported in the forum but is of Sephardic Jewish descent whose parents emigrated to Israel from Turkey. Her father was a cantor, and pioneer researcher into Ladino music( Jews from Spain) and culture.

 

bardtoob

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I like Levito's jump technique because she gets deep in her knee. It's a technique that is adaptable for the future.
 

aml78

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I like Levito's jump technique because she gets deep in her knee. It's a technique that is adaptable for the future.
The knee bend on landings is great but she wrenches her back a bit which could lead to injury. I think it’s slightly better than it was but I hope she continues to address this for the sake of longevity.

I would love to see Isabeau do something totally different next year. Something more youthful and upbeat.
 

Allskate

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I would love to see Isabeau do something totally different next year. Something more youthful and upbeat.
Listening to the podcast Isabeau did with Polina it is clear that Isabeau absolutely loved her programs this year. I think it's important that she have programs that she loves and are her. Of course, what she likes and what her styles are may change over time. (Compare Jason Brown's Riverdance program to his more recent programs.) For now, though, I think that the types of music and choreography she is using suit her and are what she likes. Plus, she started doing ballet even before she started skating at a very young age, so she may always have a somewhat balletic style.

Having said that, I would think that she would benefit from working with various choreographers. I would guess that most skaters, especially younger ones, would benefit from working with various choreographers because it exposes them to new ideas and skating vocabularies. She has been with her coach (who also is her choreographer) since she was three and has been working with Platov for many years, and it clearly has worked well. But, there's no harm - and may very well be a benefit - to trying out a few different choreographers. Doing Stars on Ice should be a good experience for her. Any group number likely will have her try a different kind of music and work with a new choreographer. She may also benefit from spending time with skaters like Jason Brown, Satoko Miyahra, Madison Chock, etc.
 

barbk

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A couple of tidbits from before Isabeau withdrew from Four Continents. I hope she feels better soon.

She went straight from Nationals to Colorado. All of that has to be exhausting.
Color me confused. Didn't all the US skaters at 4CC first compete at Nationals? There are multiple non-stop flights between San Jose and Colorado Springs. If she left San Jose on Monday after Nationals, she had a full week in Colorado Springs to acclimate and practice before the SP.

I hope she's feeling better soon, but I don't see that she had some special burden. It would be nicer if Nationals were a week or two earlier, but I think that is the tradeoff of getting Nationals broadcast on TV vs. not getting on TV. As long as football is on the agenda, figure skating takes second place.
 

azcalder

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A couple of tidbits from before Isabeau withdrew from Four Continents. I hope she feels better soon.

She went straight from Nationals to Colorado. All of that has to be exhausting.


As I understand it, the entire USA team went directly to Colorado Springs. The dancers mentioned staying at the Olympic Center and using their facilities. A flight between San Jose and COS would be much less exhausting than flying home to NJ and then back to Colorado.
 

Allskate

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Color me confused. Didn't all the US skaters at 4CC first compete at Nationals? There are multiple non-stop flights between San Jose and Colorado Springs. If she left San Jose on Monday after Nationals, she had a full week in Colorado Springs to acclimate and practice before the SP.

I hope she's feeling better soon, but I don't see that she had some special burden. It would be nicer if Nationals were a week or two earlier, but I think that is the tradeoff of getting Nationals broadcast on TV vs. not getting on TV. As long as football is on the agenda, figure skating takes second place.

Color me confused by your response. I didn't say that Isabeau had some special burden that other U.S. skaters didn't have, so your response is baffling. This is a fan thread about Isabeau, and my post was about Isabeau, not anyone else.

And, if you want to compare, I don't know why you are limiting it to the American skaters. (The Americans generally did seem more tired, though apparently it wasn't just Isabeau who got sick.) Most of the competitors were not American and did not come directly from a major competition. I can certainly understand why the American skaters did not want to exhaust themselves more by flying home and then flying to Colorado, but the fact remains that they did not have an opportunity to decompress after the stress of Nationals in a familiar environment, work on improving their programs, and then go to Four Continents weeks (or more than a month) after their Nationals like so many of the other skaters did.

U.S. Nationals is very stressful and exhausting. In addition to the National title being on the line, Nationals is a major factor in assignments to Worlds and other competitions. Plus, Isabeau walked into the arena to compete and Andrea Joyce asked her about being the skater expected to win. She also asked Isabeau about the Olympics. Tara was predicting that this was the first of many titles she would win. Isabeau reportedly broke into tears backstage after she won. She says she experienced a thunder of emotion and was overwhelmed. IMO, the expectations on her are a lot for a fifteen year-old in her first year of competing internationally as a senior and it seems exhausting. (Whatever kind of stresses other skaters are dealing with are not relevant to my assessment that it must be a lot for Isabeau; this is an Isabeau fan thread.)

I have no idea what football has to do with it. I don't think the ISU is scheduling their competitions based on American football. And NBC isn't showing 4CC until next weekend anyway. And none of this changes the fact that I think it is a lot for Isabeau to go straight from Nationals to Colorado and do another competition so soon after Nationals. I think she would have been better off skipping Four Continents. (I doubt Ilia or Jason or Brandon or Alexa regret their decisions to skip 4CC.)

In any event, I found her delightful in the interviews.
 
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barbk

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Football is the reason US Nationals is scheduled the way it is in January. I don't think that NBC gives a hoot about 4CCs.

Hopefully she will be in good health mentally and physically by Worlds.
 

Scott512

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I like Levito's jump technique because she gets deep in her knee. It's a technique that is adaptable for the future.
Tara always talks about Isabeaus deep knee bend. I dont see other ladies with that deep of a knee bend. I can see Isa score in the 70s PCS and close to 80 TES next season. Just a fabulous debut season aall things considered. But of course some complain about her jump technique. Thats the main complaint I hear about Isabeau. But they said the same things about Zhenya and Anna. :biggrinbo
 

Scott512

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As I understand it, the entire USA team went directly to Colorado Springs. The dancers mentioned staying at the Olympic Center and using their facilities. A flight between San Jose and COS would be much less exhausting than flying home to NJ and then back to Colorado.
How much time between nationals an 4cc? 2 weeks? I hope Isabeau recovers in time to train hard for worlds. A podium is doable there for her.

But being in that Colorodo altitude has slowed a lot of great athletes including football players.
 

Wyliefan

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Isabeau is taking program music suggestions!
 

Allskate

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She just says "Fun program music suggestions?" and has a space where you can type something in.
Thanks. Interesting that she used the word "fun." I wonder if she is looking for music for a Stars on Ice program. I had been thinking that I'd like to see her skate to something ethereal, but that doesn't sound like what she's looking for right now. "Fun" sounds more like Pink's "Never Gonna Not Dance Again."
 

Allskate

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It looks like Jason Brown and Isabeau have been enjoying the sights and weather in Japan. I'm glad they're grabbing a little time to relax.


ETA: Isabeau's coach said that Isabeau was sick at Four Continents but is doing well now:

Another coach, Yulia Kuznetsova, set aside any doubts around her charge, 15-year-old Isabeau Levito, after the American teen opted out of the free skate at Four Continents last month.

"We recovered after Four Continents; she feels healthy and perfectly ready now," Kuznetsova told Olympics.com. "She got sick that day [of the free skate]; she's human. But she's fully ready to go now. We're excited for this." [/unquote]

 
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Frau Muller

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I agree with Dave & Jonathan of The Skating Lesson’s WTTrecap that this is the time for Isabeau to get more expansive, ballet-stylized music, especially for the 23/24 FP.

I just watched PBS’ telecast of Ballet Hispanico’s DONA PERON (chor. López Ochoa/mus Peter Salem…not Webber!!!) and found this modern tango tune during the brothel/dance hall scene…in this clip, most prominently at the .35-second mark. Wouldn’t this be a grand, quick-footwork tune for Isabeau or another top lady with musicality or flow? Go to the .35-sec mark.


(No - not for Piper & Paul, please!)
 
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mtnskater

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Her Swan short program (that she won junior worlds with) was devine. Would love more ballet inspired programs from her. There really aren’t any other competitors right now with that style and emphasizing it would help her stand out even more.

I could see a more sassy high energy short and a ballet inspired free. So proud of Isabeau for such a successful first senior season. Can’t wait to see how she evolves as a skater.
 

Allskate

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I agree with Dave & Jonathan of The Skating Lesson’s WTTrecap that this is the time for Isabeau to get more expansive, ballet-stylized music, especially for the 23/24 FP.

I just watched PBS’ telecast of Ballet Hispanico’s DONA PERON (chor. López Ochoa/mus Peter Salem…not Webber!!!) and found this modern tango tune during the brothel/dance hall scene…in this clip, most prominently at the .35-second mark. Wouldn’t this be a grand, quick-footwork tune for Isabeau or another too lady with musicality or flow? Go to the .35-sec mark.

I disagree with them that Isabeau does not like her music and programs from this season, that they are not who she is, and that it was just her coach, mother, and grandmother who put the music and programs on her. (Kind of hypocritical of Jonathan to say this after saying that it would not be his place to say what aria connects to a singer.) She has talked about how much she absolutely loved her programs this season (and it was not PR speak in the mixed zone) and I do see her having a connection to her programs, especially the short. Actually, more of a connection than some of the other women in the final flight at Worlds and WTT. Having said that, it doesn't mean that she doesn't or wouldn't connect and like other kinds of programs as well.

I do like her doing ballet-style programs, but she can do other types of programs as well.

I can see why you like the idea of her using some quick music because it gives some energy to the program. I actually like a mix of slower and relatively quicker music, especially in the LP (though not quicker than she can match with the skating).

In some parts of her programs, I'd actually like to see her use some slower music segments or other musical emphasis to highlight some of her moves and hold them for longer. She has beautiful positions in her spirals, but her programs this year didn't hold the positions for that long and aren't as integrated into the music as they could be. Ditto for her Ina Bauer. Some of this may be because she is using them as an entrances into jumps, but I think she could do more with them choreographically and it would boost her scores a little.

She has posted some videos of a longer spiral and longer Ina Bauer on her Instagram, and I would love to see these in a program:



I also would love to see her experiment with different kinds of music - different kinds for each program - and different choreographic elements, including some single jumps. Maybe a slide spiral. I did like the choreography in her short program this season. But, like most skaters, she would benefit from working with a variety of choreographers. She must have met Rohene Ward at WTT. Plus, I assume she'll be working with a choreographer for SOI (Jeff Buttle?), and maybe some of the SOI skaters can introduce her to or suggest some choreographers.

I could see a more sassy high energy short and a ballet inspired free. So proud of Isabeau for such a successful first senior season. Can’t wait to see how she evolves as a skater.
ITA that she has had a fantastic debut international senior season. I also loved "The Swan" and would be happy to see her do another program with something very balletic (or with an ethereal or lush feeling) in one program and something quite different with a spunkier feel and more dynamics in the other program. Maybe something that can be kind of character-driven. I seem to recall that she said in an interview that she draws from a book character to get into fierce and aggressive mode when she is skating. Maybe she can bring that into a program. The music itself doesn't have to come from a character piece such as a soundtrack (though the Enola Holmes suggestion is a good one) or opera or ballet. She can make up the character herself a la Chock and Bates.
 

icefan13

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I’m going to chime in here with a vote for more ballet-inspired programs from Isabeau! I just went back and listened to her interview on Polina’s podcast, and it was kind of nice and refreshing to listen to her talk about her love of classical ballet. There just isn’t as much “ballet on ice”these days. 🙂

Either way, it’s going to be fun to watch her grow and develop her style in the coming years because of how important the artistic side of skating is to her intrinsically.
 

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