U.S. Ladies [#30]: Cover Girls

[Karen-W]

Is Alysa Liu Guaranteed any senior Grand Prix’s this season? Besides a host spot?

No. The lack of a junior season is going to really affect the juniors who are old enough for seniors next season with regard to GP assignments.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

No. The lack of a junior season is going to really affect the juniors who are old enough for seniors next season with regard to GP assignments.

That sucks. I wonder how many Russians this affects

 

[Sylvia]

Link to the GSD thread discussing potential Grand Prix assignments: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/grand-prix-2021-22-season-potential-assignments.108185/

Since Alysa is a reigning (2020) Junior World medalist, she could qualify for 2 GP assignments up front?

ETA:

Quotes from Bradie and Karen in the TeamUSA.org WTT Day 3 recap article that's linked in the World Team Trophy thread in GSD:

Still, her score of 133.19 points was her season’s best, and her fourth-place finish contributed nine points to Team USA’s total.
“That was the way I’ve been training this program every day in practice,” Tennell said. “Especially after worlds, with my boot breaking and all of the other issues I had, I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to come here and that I skated well. It was so much fun to skate for fans again.”
... Overall, she [Karen Chen] was encouraged by her 2020/2021 campaign.
“It’s definitely a different trajectory than previous seasons I’ve had, just in a sense that each time I have competed, I’ve been putting out much more solid performances and not so much flopping around the ice,” Chen said.

“Definitely, getting a triple Axel is, I would say, top priority for me,” said Karen Chen. “Now that it is off-season, I can finally start working on that, since I won’t need to do as many program run-throughs. That’s my biggest goal, getting a triple Axel and working on my jump consistency and cleanliness, and then working on the Olympic programs.”

 

[Jammers]

To bad Ting Cui was injured for so much of this Olympic cycle because i think she was just coming into her own at the end of the 2019 season and i could have seen her passing up skaters like Amber and Karen and made a move to make the Olympic team. Instead with the exception of Alysa we are left with the holdovers from previous Olympic cycle.

 

[kalle]

Did Nagasu ever officially announce her retirement? It seems as she is still pretty much involved in skating and that she has recovered most of her triple jumps post surgery. I see no clear leader in the current crop of American skaters (I do have hopes though that Alysa will regain top form) so If Nagasu wanted to make a 4th bid for an Olympic spot, it would not be completely unrealistic (and a great story to follow!)

 

[Sylvia]

Did Nagasu ever officially announce her retirement? It seems as she is still pretty much involved in skating and that she has recovered most of her triple jumps post surgery.

Mirai's updates and recent articles are being posted in her fan thread (sounds like she is happy living in Boston and has moved into the next phase of her life there): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...return-to-olympus.103245/page-33#post-5965950

ETA:

Mirai celebrated her 28th birthday on Friday (April 16) in Palm Beach, Florida where she and Gracie skated in a show: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNy0xkqrX0C/

 

[cheremary]

Came across this post by Eddie Shipstad. Looks like Alysa has been training with him, Christy Krall, and Massimo Scali in Colorado Springs the last two weeks.

Eddie Shipstad

Amazing two weeks of training with Massimo Scali, Christy Krall, and the amazing Alysa Liu in Colorado Springs!! What an honor to be a part of her training team in the Springs.

www.facebook.com

 

[Maximillian]

Did Nagasu ever officially announce her retirement? It seems as she is still pretty much involved in skating and that she has recovered most of her triple jumps post surgery. I see no clear leader in the current crop of American skaters (I do have hopes though that Alysa will regain top form) so If Nagasu wanted to make a 4th bid for an Olympic spot, it would not be completely unrealistic (and a great story to follow!)

I don't think my nerves could handle this...so even though she's been my post-Sasha favorite (yes, that's how long she's been around!), much like Sasha, I'm okay with her moving on...

 

[Sylvia]

Misha Ge has choreographed Amber Glenn's new SP: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0kgDdpKYc/
He has made a "special arrangement" of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwUeij_HRdA
Amber's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0rhsmLB8P/

Always such a honor to work with the incredibly talented @mishage8 ! His artistry on & off the ice amazes me every time. Can’t wait to keep evolving both of my 21/22 season programs with you @mishage8 #Circles #Experience

She previously had said she's planning to keep her "Rain in Your Black Eyes " FS from this past season.

ETA that Angela Wang skated to this version of "Circles" as her 2017-18 FS (choreo. by Charlie & Tanith White).

 

[Sylvia]

Violeta Ushakova (2018 U.S. novice bronze medalist & 15th in her senior national debut earlier this year) is skating to "Circles" for her FS, choreo. by Olga Ganicheva: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2xEzzLFst/
She previously had thanked Ilona Melnichenko in February for choreographing her SP in Colorado Springs.

Congrats to Pooja Kalyan who recently mentioned in an Instagram story that she has been admitted to Brown University. She has Brown listed in her profile (I assume she may be deferring one year since a class year is not included?): https://www.instagram.com/poojamkalyan/

 

[tony]

Glenn skating to Circles is the most predictable thing ever. Now that we've moved on from everyone using Experience, why not let the majority of skaters use the one with vocals?

 

[Sylvia]

Came across this post by Eddie Shipstad. Looks like Alysa has been training with him, Christy Krall, and Massimo Scali in Colorado Springs the last two weeks.

Eddie Shipstad

Amazing two weeks of training with Massimo Scali, Christy Krall, and the amazing Alysa Liu in Colorado Springs!! What an honor to be a part of her training team in the Springs.

www.facebook.com

Jeremy Abbott visited his home state and was there with Alysa too: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNpz8h3LFfF/

Photo of the 3 current & past U.S. national champions posing at the World Arena Ice Hall rink on April 9: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNdB-M-Lqj-/

 

[Wyliefan]

Hanna Harrell's FP will be Turandot, choreographed by Misha Ge.

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[Sylvia]

Karen recently shared a "lil photo dump & ... a jumble of words reflecting on my season(s)!": https://www.instagram.com/p/CN8Ir6BHBC0/

this season has been incredibly special for me. after 2018 Olympics, i honestly had no idea if i wanted to continue in this sport & when i finally made up my mind, i pushed myself a bit too fast too soon which led to a stress fracture which took me out of competition for a whole season. being off the ice made me realize a few things, one being that i still love skating sm & two being that there is more than skating. the following season, i made the decision to apply to colleges & try prioritizing my goals a little differently. this led to a tough year of attempting to balance a full load of classes @cornelluniversity while training full time, but i seriously don’t regret it. that year of experimenting with my limitations made me realize that i can’t prioritize skating & school while expecting myself to excel at both, hence this year i took a leave of absence to focus on skating & give myself the best chance of making the Olympic team. this was yet another hard decision, because i loved being on campus & having that college life, but i knew that the competitive years i have in this sport are limited! i’m extremely thankful that my hard work & perseverance has payed off during this unconventional season & v excited to keep this momentum flowing into the Olympic season! thank you so much for all the continued love & support! i will always give it my all!

Yesterday Alysa shared 3 photos from her photo shoot with Team Toyota: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN80LbHrhJT/

Before Bradie competed at Worlds, the Vitamin Shoppe ("an omni-channel specialty retailer of nutritional products") announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement with her: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...kating-champion-bradie-tennell-301254636.html

Benoit Richaud shared an Instagram story a few days ago of Lindsay Thorngren in her New Jersey rink (he didn't say if he is choreographing for her). Richaud currently is in the NYC area for edge & choreography classes.

ETA:

Hanna Harrell's FP will be Turandot, choreographed by Misha Ge.

Ge revealed earlier this month that he also has choreographed Hanna's SP to Franz Liszt's Liebestraum so he's on a classical music roll with her. Hmmm, I wonder which version of Turandot? (please not the Vanessa-Mae violin one )

 

[AxelAnnie]

Alysa looks so lovely. Not at all like a little child

 

[Sylvia]

Polina Edmunds' podcast episode this week [Feb. 9] is with Ting Cui:

Ting Cui

I chat with 2019 Junior World Bronze Medalist Ting Cui about where she's been! Following two injuries, Ting talks about her recovery and comeback process. We talk about mental headspace during training post-injury, her coaching situation, and her plans for the future!

art19.com

ETA that at the time of this conversation, Ting mentioned she is working with Paul Wylie in Lake Placid, NY.

Ting also mentioned She intends to compete in the fall, has all her triples back, but not yet consistently or in combination. She missed a lot of ice time with two ankle injuries.

I really enjoyed the interview with Ting. So glad she intends to compete in the fall. I sure hope she stays injury free. I didn’t know she had TWO serious foot/ankle injuries. She was one of my favorites....such a lovely and talented skater. Also love that she is temporarily training with Paul Wylie in Lake Placid.

Ting's latest Instagram stories indicates she is in the class of 2025 at Middlebury College in Vermont (I checked online and it's about a 1.5 hour drive between Middlebury and Lake Placid).

 

[clairecloutier]

New article on Audrey Shin from Figure Skaters Online:

Audrey Shin: 'As long as I stay consistent in my training, I have a shot of making it [the Olympic team]' - Figure Skaters Online

Last spring, like every one else, Audrey Shin was unable to skate for two months due to the shutdown of all non-essential businesses, caused by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, the 17-year-old from Northport, New York has found herself off the ice again-- but this time, just for a...

figureskatersonline.com

She talks about her progress with quad toe and triple Axel, and her new long program.

 

[Sylvia]

ETA: Claire beat me, haha!

Excerpts from Audrey's Q&A:

Drew [Meekins] is choreographing my free skate. My program isn’t really quite done yet. It is going to be Moonlight Sonata, but it’s not the typical Moonlight Sonata. In the beginning, it is like the basic one [original composition] and then we added many cool details to it. So there will be voices and lyrics, and there’s a poem in it. I don’t want to spill too much yet. It’s really cool, and I’m super excited about it. So far, the choreography has been so much fun to make with Drew.

I have been working a lot on my triple Axel and quad toe. It is pretty close. I would say the closest I have got in my triple Axel is a quarter [under], so like a Q. The quad toe I have been landing a lot more, except obviously I need to work on not getting under-rotations. I’m really excited about these two jumps. I have worked on them for a while, but I finally had the time to really work on them these past few weeks. So I’m really excited to see how the jumps turn out, and I hope I can start adding them to my programs.

 

[Wyliefan]

It is going to be Moonlight Sonata, but it’s not the typical Moonlight Sonata. In the beginning, it is like the basic one [original composition] and then we added many cool details to it.

Oh honey, you have no idea how typical that actually is. Good luck to her, though. I do like her skating.

 

[SmallFairy]

Skating to the original Moonlight Sonata is what is not typical these days (((Beethoven)))

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Oh honey, you have no idea how typical that actually is. Good luck to her, though. I do like her skating.

Who is skating to this horse of war?

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Skating to the original Moonlight Sonata is what is not typical these days (((Beethoven)))

Indeed.

it is like the basic one [original composition] and then we added many cool details to it. So there will be voices and lyrics, and there’s a poem in it.

The USFSA must intervene immediately. This sounds like an idea from one of those unkempt French ladies of the late 1990s.

I feel light-headed and may faint.

-BB

 

[Marco]

Maybe they will add some breathing noises, some phone ringing etc. to the music and that will likely get them sky-high PCS.

 

[Vagabond]

Even Beethoven gets bad covers!

(((((Beethoven)))))

 

[Sylvia]

Misha Ge has choreographed Amber Glenn's new SP: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0kgDdpKYc/
He has made a "special arrangement" of this song [to "Circles"]

Violeta Ushakova (2018 U.S. novice bronze medalist & 15th in her senior national debut earlier this year) is skating to "Circles" for her FS, choreo. by Olga Ganicheva: https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2xEzzLFst/

Violeta and Jimmy Ma skating to her "Circles" music: https://www.instagram.com/p/COOHyJ0lHkk/
Jokester Jimmy's solo clip ("... I’m just making fun of how many people use this piece "): https://www.instagram.com/p/COOGVYHjV1n/
Amber's exchange with him in the comments section of his post is

 

[melanieg]

Steps from Mia Kalin's new SP to Waltz of the Flowers! Ilona Melnichenko was tagged in it, so presumably she is the choreographer?

 

[Sylvia]

...Ilona Melnichenko was tagged in it, so presumably she is the choreographer?

Thanks! Was Melnichenko's name untagged later? Based on Mia's IG, she visited Colorado Springs in March so perhaps that's when she had her SP choreographed?

Fingers crossed that Mia will be able to make her JGP debut later this year.

 

[Sylvia]

For anyone who's interested, results for the 2021 U.S. Championships Series for the Novice, Intermediate, and Juvenile levels were posted a few days ago alongside videos of the top four placements.

https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...ntermediate-juvenile-competition-central.aspx

Skaters I really enjoyed: Soho Lee, Elyce Lin-Gracey, Cayetana Gonzalez, Jessica Jurka, Jiaying Johnson, and many more.

I've copied out all the event results & top 4 video links (3 posts) in this thread in Kiss & Cry that's currently open to all, including a new Fan Zone article on the Novice Ladies winner, 12-year-old Katie Krafchik: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-2021-us-nationals.107891/page-3#post-5962945

 

[zigzig]

I've copied out all the event results & top 4 video links (3 posts) in this thread in Kiss & Cry that's currently open to all, including a new Fan Zone article on the Novice Ladies winner, 12-year-old Katie Krafchik: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-2021-us-nationals.107891/page-3#post-5962945

Thanks for this. Love watching emerging skaters and always keeping fingers crossed that my favorites continue to grow and develop.

 

[Sylvia]

Copying over this excerpt and @bladesofgorey's reply from the Benoit Richaud thread in GSD:

Benoit Richaud made a trip to the NYC/NJ area last week to teach Edge & Choreography Classes for skaters of all ages.

... he has choreographed programs for Bradie Tennell ... and Lindsay Thorngren (for the first time).

That's great news, imo he's the perfect choreographer for Lindsay. Can't wait to see what he's designed.

Based on her and Richaud's IG stories the past few days, Bradie has made the trip to beautiful Brig, Switzerland to continue working with him.

ETA:

Bradie was featured skating in the first 30 seconds of USFS' short teaser video for 2021 Virtual Skating Showcase ("full performance will be released this summer"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOfKn85uveY