What's your favorite Sasha Cohen SP and Sasha Cohen Free Skate?

[Japanfan]

No equals at what? Yes, she was a superior jumper. But she never had the line, the stretch or the flexibility that Sasha did. Her overall artistry is seriously over-rated in my opinion. She usually looks like she is in pain when she is trying to "emote."

You'd have to ask Kurt what he meant by no equals, but I would assume it referred to everything about Yuna's skating, including her artistry. I agree with you about Yuna's artistry.

And by the way, you are taking issue with something I never said. I said no skater today can match her artistic impression, meaning no currently competitive skater.

Okay. I think of Yuna as a skater of today because she is still doing shows.

 

[Japanfan]

And if Sasha lacked transitions, it shows how meaningless transitions are to overall artistry or presentation.

Transitions contribute to artistry because they function as the thread that weaves a program together, as opposed to a skater just going from one element to another.

Presentation, not so much. There have been skaters with great presentation under 6.0, like Yagudin and Candeloro. And of course Michelle Kwan.

However, having a more complex program characterized by transitions and difficult probably makes presentation more challenging as there is less time for posing or acting. In light of that one has to admire Patrick Chan's presentation skills.

 

[Marco]

I love most of Sasha's short programs, less so the 2000 Nationals and 2010 Nationals short programs simply because she only skated them well once each but she was not yet / no longer at her peak. I like Malaguena the best.

On her free programs, I like 2001 Dark Eyes the best, closely followed by 2000 Mendelssohn. So musical.

 

[MR-FAN]

I meet a lot of people who haven’t seen figure skating and are curious about it, and to this day the first program I show them as an “intro” to the sport of Cohen’s 2004 Worlds SP to Malagueña.
Never fails to impress

 

[UGG]

I really am not comprehending how Yu Na made it into a topic about Sasha. They never even competed together...

 

[kwanatic]

Of course I hated Sasha when she was competing because her name wasn't Michelle Kwan.

However, once I got back into watching the sport after Michelle's departure I developed a real appreciation for Sasha as a skater. Her nerves weren't always the best and there are many gold medal she likely would have won if she'd held it together...but MAN was she gorgeous to watch!

Her flexibility, her lines, her extension, all of the wow! moves she had in her arsenal... She really raised the standard when it came to the aesthetic of American skating and her influence on the generation coming behind her was very apparent in skaters like Caroline Zhang, Mirai Nagasu and Alissa Czisny. Sasha's spins were the best in the field during her time and her I-spin is still the best IMO. I would place her spiral second to Michelle's (MK's had more ice coverage, better edge control and power IMO) but it's a very close 2nd. The extension Sasha got on that move and the effective way she used it was brilliant. Also her Charlotte was the best at the time.

Sasha had wonderful presentation and artistry from a very young age and an amazing command of the ice as well. She was a very talented skater and she definitely made her mark.

It's hard for me to pick a SP of hers b/c she had so many amazing ones, but I'd have to go with Malaguena as my favorite (show-stopping jaw-dropper, for sure). Dark Eyes and Sentimental Waltz are tied for 2nd. I really loved her Carmen FS (especially from nationals in 2002) with Swan Lake coming in 2nd.

 

[DannyCurry]

Looking back, I think I really liked all of her SP, but if I had to pick one it would be Malaguena. Her performance at 2004 Worlds was perfect. I liked fiery Sasha (more than the lovely 'ballerina' one). That said, Sentimental Waltz was lovely, and for the long I would still pick Swan Lake. The opening version at Campbells truly impressed me (and worried me too, as I was a die-hard MK fan) and I enjoyed her serpentine footwork at Lalique. Also, even though I do prefer TAT's versions, I didn't mind Robin Wagner's one either (minus the music cuts) because the split (though it was not attractive) into the Charlotte was cool.

I also agree with the poster who mentioned it was too bad she was undertrained in 2010. Even though Espana Cani was just recycling Dark Eyes/Malaguena, I loved her spiral sequence, especially the split into the COE spiral with a forward Charlotte. Yeah, give me splits and good Charlotte and I'll be happy (which is why I also enjoyed her Charlotte into the (shaky) 3 sal in her Moonlight Sonata).

 

[Sylvia]

Bumping up this 2018 thread because I just came across this December 1994 holiday exhibition performance of a 10-year-old Sasha that was uploaded in October 2020 on Hurd Video's YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGUZEWvCrHQ
Excerpt from the caption under the video:

... Sasha had been skating for three years when this video was recorded. Even at this age it was apparent that she definitely had the "It Factor." Her artistry, flexibility and connection to the music on the ice were always a joy to me personally...

 

[AxelAnnie]

Marshall's Swan Lake...I was there and and she won.

Any Romeo and Juliet. others should not be allowed to do the I spin.... haven't seen one done with her straight leg or the change of direction she can do while holding one skate above her head. She also has a forward scratch spin to beat the band. Oh and that back Charlotte.