aftershocks
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Funny thing I suppose, but I agree to some degree with both of you.
There's no need to put skaters in 'permanent boxes,' but I don't think BittyBug was necessarily doing that with her wonderfully expressed viewpoints. Jason is definitely about performance and entertainment and bringing the audience in, but he's also very musical and lyrical with wonderful stretch and expressive qualities that tell a story. I think Jason can do anything, but I can see why he might be deemed as a Broadwayesque kind of skater. Jason has great range and ability, and it will be interesting to see what he might be able to tap into and explore further in his skating (without being too caught up in or hampered by everyone else's urgency for him to master quad).I'm simply in love with Alexander Johnson. It would be so cool to meet him in person. It seems that Alex loves singles skating, even though he probably could also excel as an ice dancer. I love watching Alex on the ice, period. He definitely challenges himself with every program. He's very musical and expressive and he takes risks. How lucky are we that Alex achieved a breakthrough skating to Eleanor Rigby with the help of his former coach/choreographer, Tom Dickson. Theirs was a match made in heaven. I look forward to seeing what Alex will be competing this season. I don't care if he ever jumps, because for me it's the way he moves on the ice, no matter what maneuver. I commend him for working hard to develop all of the harder jumps that were eluding him. I don't know if he's ever worked on going for quads, and to me that's not important. I just hope he continues to hone all the wonderful skills he's got and work on overall technical consistency rather than pressing the tech envelope. I want Alex to continue pressing the creative envelope.
Timothy Dolensky is another skater who is also very musical. Like Nathan, Tim plays piano. He's also a very skilled spinner. I think Tim has the capacity for greater growth in his skating (re consistency, confidence and pushing the envelope technically and artistically). Tim strikes me as shy, but passionate. I think his still waters run deep. I'm not sure whether to say that Tim and Alex are solely modern dancers in terms of figure skating. But I can see why it's possible to characterize them that way based on how they both move over the ice. I think both of them could also skate quite beautifully to classical ballet themes.
Nathan has a solid background in ballet, and he could have been a ballet dancer. In some of his junior programs, we can definitely see the artistic, graceful, lyrical qualities of Nathan. However, he purposely began to focus more on the technical aspects of jumping as he was making the transition to seniors and seeing the lay of the land (i.e., Boyang Jin aceing quad-triple and landing on the World podium as a newbie senior). Nathan has excellent technique, but he could develop softer knees and also better posture on his landings (more erect and less falling forward). I think skating and flying through the air on the ice spoke to Nathan more than being a ballet dancer. There's actually a bit more freedom for Nathan to express his personality in skating, than in ballet. I wouldn't categorize Nathan in terms of style because he's new and different, and he's still quite young. Nathan is fresh and exciting, and I wish him well on his journey. I hope he can rise to another level as a skater in a way that accesses all of his extraordinary talents, beyond being mainly known as The Quad King. Certainly the sport would benefit if that happened.
I think Jason, Nathan, Timothy and Alex all have great range and unique on-ice and off-ice personalities. They are all fun to watch. U.S. men are always exciting (that includes Vincent, Sean, Jimmy, et al). Past and present.
on the floor at the idea that jazz hands would be anything but inappropriate in The Question Of U which was Jason's prince programme.
coming after Rippon's blazing performance
). Go figure that the final music cut which is more upbeat, kicks in for the last half minute or so, but by then it's too late.
As far as Jason reworking jump technique and acquring the quad, that is obviously a longer term enterprise understandably. Meanwhile, he needs to maintain his competitive confidence and select music and choreo more authentic and enhancing to who he is. Jason is a great storyteller on the ice, but he has to be fully motivated by the music, and it has to be something with a lot more depth and substance.
