Favorite YouTube Skating Video

[dbny]

This is inspired by ouijaouija's post of a Sasha video in her thread about not getting to skate enough.

It's really hard to choose, but here's my favorite: Kurt Browning - Nyah (http://youtube.com/watch?v=LCh3kvaSC70)

What's yours?

[dbny]

I just realized that this thread, strictly speaking, does not belong in this forum, but, moderators, can we keep it here to get the skaters' favorites as opposed to the fans' faves?

[Tessa]

This is too funny that you posted this today. In order to get myself psyched for my lesson today I spent at least an hour last nite watching old videos on YouTube!!! So this is in the right forum after all.:D I don't have a favorite performance yet -- I'll check back in when I do. I revisted OOOOOs Ladies from 1980 on to decide who really should've won.

PS my lesson bit the big one but more on that in another thread:frus:

[WeirFan06]

I haven't perused youtube all that much, but I would say Kim and Brent's 2006 Free Dance. It's one of the most entertaining free dances I've seen recently. Plus she's from my hometown... so I gotta represent :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=664k3L1ym3E

[icedancer2]

Oooh, great topic! I have lots of favorites, but these are a couple of mine:

Ilia & Katia Casi un Bolero from SOI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpDZf82KYhA)

Naomi & Peter 2001 OD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0kpNKk5GZU)

[Morgail]

This is my current favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDYZ-VCQqWs
Kurt Browning's Triptico. I want his footwork skill:bow:

[skatingsis]

This is inspired by ouijaouija's post of a Sasha video in her thread about not getting to skate enough.

It's really hard to choose, but here's my favorite: Kurt Browning - Nyah (http://youtube.com/watch?v=LCh3kvaSC70)

What's yours?

Love Kurt Browning Casablanca 1994 olympics and worlds 1993! Best long I have ever seen

:bow:

8O

[Casey]

Totmianina & Marinin at 2004 Skate America
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YfX-sPtVCmg

It tears me up every time I watch it, but I find it encouraging because everything worked out. Totmianina recovered quickly, and though Marinin required months of therapy to get back to normal, they went on to win the 2006 Olympics. All in all it's a very amazing story.

[flippet]

This is inspired by ouijaouija's post of a Sasha video in her thread about not getting to skate enough.

It's really hard to choose, but here's my favorite: Kurt Browning - Nyah (http://youtube.com/watch?v=LCh3kvaSC70)

What's yours?


Nyah is wonderful. It's all about excellent and relevant choreography. Nothing annoys and bores me more in skating than "choreography" that has little or nothing to do with the music, and is pretty much jump, jump, jump anyway. Basically, if you can turn off the sound and play other music, and the program makes just as much sense, then you need to scrap it and start over. :roll:

I'll take a look for my fave video.


Speaking of great choreography (and I love the music), Kurt's Ain't No Sunshine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_9iGZuIvog&NR).

Okay. This has got to be one of my all-time favorites. Singin' In The Rain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au24KFE43S4).

Another oldie-but-goodie: Antares (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGy-scUXONw&search=kurt%20browning%20figure%20skating).

I love this one: Ilia Kulik, Baseball Cap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tileKDK4eg&mode=related&search=).

The opening of this one is great: Ilia, Blues for Narada (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQnQI-BjgOk&search=ilia%20kulik%20christopher%20dean%20men%27s %20figure%20skating).

This one's fun: Ilia, Rockit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBSKUG4Ma3o&mode=related&search=ilia%20kulik%20christopher%20dean%20men%27s %20figure%20skating).

[dbny]

No fair, flippet! You listed SIX! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[flippet]

Sorry. :lol: (noi'mnot)

I'm probably not done yet! Although, if I keep going, I might just list all of YouTube, so.....maybe I should stop for now. :)

[dbny]

Sorry. :lol: (noi'mnot)

I'm probably not done yet! Although, if I keep going, I might just list all of YouTube, so.....maybe I should stop for now. :)

How about this: YouTube - Kurt Browning Index (http://youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=kurt%20browning&search_sort=&search_category=0&page=4)

[Casey]

Totmianina & Marinin at 2004 Skate America
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YfX-sPtVCmg

It tears me up every time I watch it, but I find it encouraging because everything worked out. Totmianina recovered quickly, and though Marinin required months of therapy to get back to normal, they went on to win the 2006 Olympics. All in all it's a very amazing story.
This one is easier to watch and tells more of the happy side of the story. :) From the 2006 Olympics:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TxG_T-r3ZOA

[black]

Just to lighten things up a bit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1T61vX4wm4 :lol:

The more "well-to-do" skaters might want to skip this one... 8O:roll:

[je]

Longtime lurker popping up late to add

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaW3Qn159qc

It's Paul Wylie skating to Bach, choreography by Lar Lubovitch. The program flows seamlessly.

Johanna, whom some of you know from rssir

[Bill_S]

Welcome, Johanna!

Looks like RSSIR is giving lots of people technical difficulty - myself included. Glad to see that you found this forum.

Another former RSSIR frequenter...

[jazzpants]

Hi, Johanna!!! Welcome to skatingforums!!!

Looks like we have a LOT of RSSIR defectors here!!! :P :lol:

[je]

Thanks, guys. I've lurked here forever, but I have a hard time keeping up with posts, and tend to wait to read threads til they're done. Maybe I can apply myself though and stay on top of things. I haven't had any trouble with rssir, but it's so very quiet there these days.

Johanna

[dbny]

Longtime lurker popping up late to add

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaW3Qn159qc

It's Paul Wylie skating to Bach, choreography by Lar Lubovitch. The program flows seamlessly.

Johanna, whom some of you know from rssir

Many, many thanks for showing me a side of Paul Wylie that I didn't know existed and that I love. What a beautiful program!

[je]

If you haven't seen him skating to Touch Me (choreo. also by Lar Lubovitch), that's another fabulous program. And completely different from the Bach. I don't have a link, but I bet it's on youtube, too.

Johanna

[das_mondlicht]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEPOLBlB9BU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OlEPgkVrrU

Katherine Healy, my all time favorite. Her spotting spin doesn't attract me much; everything else is just delightful to watch.

[flo]

By far my favorite:
1995 Gordeeva & Grinkov "Vocalise"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEngqZv0RRE
Then Boitano's eagle program to Elegy for Harp and Strings.

[icedancer2]

Well, I don't know if we're allowed to post more than one, but I was finally getting around to making DVDs of my VAST skating-video collection this weekend, and, starting with my favorite Olympics (1988) made me re-visit this program for about the millionth time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4G7mVyOltg&mode=related&search=

Love that Boitano, and he has certainly continued to evolve as a skater (IMHO).:bow:

[SkatingOnClouds]

Just to lighten things up a bit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1T61vX4wm4 :lol:

The more "well-to-do" skaters might want to skip this one... 8O:roll:

LOL, loved that one!

Does anyone know, can you download Youttube videos, I'd love to be able to download them onto my MP4 to show others at the rink.
We don't get any skating coverage on tv here, except the Winter Olympics, and 4 years is a long time between drinks.

[Helen88]

I feel your pain - the only skating we get up here in the UK is the Worlds, Euros and Olympics - if Eurosport don't decide the foot ball would be more interesting...
Too many favourites to list, but I love Shizuka Arakawa's Exibiton programme at the 06 Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWqQYAfnaEM

[je]

LOL, loved that one!

Does anyone know, can you download Youttube videos, I'd love to be able to download them onto my MP4 to show others at the rink.
We don't get any skating coverage on tv here, except the Winter Olympics, and 4 years is a long time between drinks.

You can download them.

First, find the file in your browser's cache. (In Firefox (for Mac), which I use, the cache is in the library folder.) To make it easy to find the file, right after I've loaded the video, I look in the cache folder and sort them by date, so the one I want is the most recent one of the right size. On my computer, the name is always something with mixed letters and numbers, never something called say Cache1, which also appears.

Then rename the file with the extension .flv

Finally, you need software to play it with. I use VLC media player, which is free.

Johanna

[flippet]

I use a Mozilla Firefox extension to download videos. (This one (http://javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php), although there are many to choose from.) And then, like je said, you'll need to rename the saved file's extension to .flv, and download an FLV player (http://applian.com/flvplayer/?src=VideoDownloadPlay) to play them. (You can convert them to Windows Media files as well, but I've forgotten how.)

[Hannah]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEPOLBlB9BU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OlEPgkVrrU

Katherine Healy, my all time favorite. Her spotting spin doesn't attract me much; everything else is just delightful to watch.

Ah, wow, I love it! High-level skating is pretty much always impressive, but it certainly isn't always as beautiful.

[Hannah]

Just to lighten things up a bit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1T61vX4wm4 :lol:

The more "well-to-do" skaters might want to skip this one... 8O:roll:

One of my favorite things about this video is the commentators! :lol:

[icedancer2]

[Just to lighten things up a bit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1T61vX4wm4 :lol:

The more "well-to-do" skaters might want to skip this one... 8O:roll:

My favorite thing about this video is that I was there and it was HILARIOUS!!!!

[Team Arthritis]

I finally got around to watching Browning's Singing in the Rain - WOW that's my new favorite cause that's how I wanna skate!:bow:
Lyle

[doubletoe]

I finally got around to watching Browning's Singing in the Rain - WOW that's my new favorite cause that's how I wanna skate!:bow:
Lyle

Hear hear! Flippet, thank you SO much for posting that because I didn't even know it existed! I'd venture to say it is THE BEST SKATING PERFORMANCE EVER!
Oh, um. . . Does this mean I can't blame wet ice for my bad skating anymore? :roll:

[shutterbug]

I finally got around to watching Browning's Singing in the Rain - WOW that's my new favorite cause that's how I wanna skate!:bow:
Lyle
One of the young adults at my home rink is using Singing in the Rain for an interpretive test program and trying to recreate some of Kurt's footwork. Lots of fun to watch. :)

Here's my inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwnU01Ilhmc

Even with the couple of flubs at the end (he choreographed the program the morning of the performance), watching this always makes me want to skate. Great song, great skater.

[flippet]

Hear hear! Flippet, thank you SO much for posting that because I didn't even know it existed! I'd venture to say it is THE BEST SKATING PERFORMANCE EVER!
Oh, um. . . Does this mean I can't blame wet ice for my bad skating anymore? :roll:


Yeah, I know, right?! I'm sure they must have simply *destroyed* that rink with all the water on it (I'm thinking mostly of the rain spouts....those must have caused some major holes in the ice!). I wonder if they had to melt and start from scratch when they were done, or if it was 'repairable' without, and how long it took!

That's actually part of an entire Kurt Browning special that had a lot of unique and interesting performances. I know a couple more from the special are on YouTube, but I don't know if they all are. I love the whole special, and I'm so thankful for YouTube for preserving it and sharing it. My taped copy was getting pretty worn, and I was starting to worry for it!

One of the performances is a takeoff on the Bogey/Bacall stuff, with Kurt and Josee Chouinard, and filmed in black and white. Adorable.

[Isk8NYC]

Yeah, I know, right?! I'm sure they must have simply *destroyed* that rink with all the water on it (I'm thinking mostly of the rain spouts....those must have caused some major holes in the ice!). I wonder if they had to melt and start from scratch when they were done, or if it was 'repairable' without, and how long it took!

That's actually part of an entire Kurt Browning special that had a lot of unique and interesting performances.That's incredible; thanks so much for posting it, Flippet!

[doubletoe]

Yeah, I know, right?! I'm sure they must have simply *destroyed* that rink with all the water on it (I'm thinking mostly of the rain spouts....those must have caused some major holes in the ice!). I wonder if they had to melt and start from scratch when they were done, or if it was 'repairable' without, and how long it took!

And then you need to figure that they had to do more than one take of some of the shots, so there's even more raining and draining they had to do. I imagine the shots where Kurt was doing his triple loop and triple toe might have been filmed first, before the water got too deep (since the rain kept falling and--presumably--adding to the layer of water on the ice). At least that would have been my request if I were Kurt!

[dbny]

I found this (http://www.kurtfiles.com/program.php?id=67): "Kurt's repeatedly cited this as one of the
highlights of his career, skating through simulated rainfall on a set
specially constructed to resemble the actual movie scene. The "rain"
was warm so as not to freeze Kurt, but quickly melted the ice, so that
filming had to be stopped every 30 seconds to squeegee all the excess
water off the ice. Kurt's suit also quickly became waterlogged and
heavy, making it more difficult to skate in. However, Sandra Bezic
has said that Kurt had the time of his life throughout the 10 hour
shoot."

[doubletoe]

I found this (http://www.kurtfiles.com/program.php?id=67): "Kurt's repeatedly cited this as one of the
highlights of his career, skating through simulated rainfall on a set
specially constructed to resemble the actual movie scene. The "rain"
was warm so as not to freeze Kurt, but quickly melted the ice, so that
filming had to be stopped every 30 seconds to squeegee all the excess
water off the ice. Kurt's suit also quickly became waterlogged and
heavy, making it more difficult to skate in. However, Sandra Bezic
has said that Kurt had the time of his life throughout the 10 hour
shoot."

Wow! I'm assuming the whole 10 hours wasn't the same day??8O

[flippet]

so that
filming had to be stopped every 30 seconds to squeegee all the excess
water off the ice.

I don't think I knew the 'every 30 seconds' part, but at the end of the original special, there's footage of everyone wielding the huge squeegees. Kind of cute.

While surfing for more Kurt stuff, I found some old Kurt/Kristi Yamaguchi Aladdin stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0nS2gkOuow&NR). I haven't watched it yet, but it looks, um, well.....let's just say that I hope it's watchable!


edit...the link is to the second part of six(?).
The video quality is poor, and of course it's pretty cheesy, but shirtless Kurt is always watchable. Yum. :yum:

[Isk8NYC]

This is a "history of skating jumps" video with Scott Hamilton. It must have been produced for TV - includes photos of famous jump pioneers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNH49SjoWjw

[Isk8NYC]

This is amazingly clear footage of Ulrich Salchow performing outdoors.

My favorite part is when the dog wanders partially onto the ice - roflol!
The things we've missed out on in our high-tech, walled rinks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwcC66lPgRM&feature=related

[TimDavidSkate]

Mine right now is YUKA SATO's Spartacus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOcSjJ-bfCQ)

[xofivebyfive]

I just love Caroline Zhang's exhibition from this year even though I don't really like her very much haha.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=_EkSeyX1QY8

[doubletoe]

I just love Caroline Zhang's exhibition from this year even though I don't really like her very much haha.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=_EkSeyX1QY8

She's not really my favorite either, but this was a great program for her (and you sure can't argue with 45 revolutions in layback position! Damn!)

[kander]

She's not really my favorite either, but this was a great program for her (and you sure can't argue with 45 revolutions in layback position! Damn!)

That was an interesting spin. It looks like she's found a way to twist her body around to "pull in" in unusal positions.

[doubletoe]

That was an interesting spin. It looks like she's found a way to twist her body around to "pull in" in unusal positions.

You mean. . . like these? LOL! OK, so it's not actually Caroline, but I see a Cirque du Soleil Ice show in her future . . .
http://www.pilotguides.com/images/content/destination_guide/asia/china/central_china/c_china_gymnasts.jpg

[AgnesNitt]

David Jenkins, 1960 Olympics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcwhiI76Sqk&NR=1
It's his grace and athleticism that makes me like this performance more than modern ones with more jumps and more complicated footwork. I love his arm potisions, masculine but graceful at the same time. Every time I watch it I'm reminded of someone maneuvering around a 1960's cocktail party with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in another. Sophisticated, smooth, urbane. And that one foot flying victory ending, never seen anywhere else.

When you watch it be patient, he doesn't appear until after the nuns.

[Skittl1321]

David Jenkins, 1960 Olympics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcwhiI76Sqk&NR=1
It's his grace and athleticism that makes me like this performance more than modern ones with more jumps and more complicated footwork. I love his arm potisions, masculine but graceful at the same time. Every time I watch it I'm reminded of someone maneuvering around a 1960's cocktail party with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in another. Sophisticated, smooth, urbane. And that one foot flying victory ending, never seen anywhere else.

When you watch it be patient, he doesn't appear until after the nuns.

That was really incredible- the jumps were just amazing, maybe it's because the posture is so different, but you just don't expect to see them as big as they are. What was the flying victory? I watched until the end, but only saw a flying sit spin?

My favorite video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXUBegblcA4 a 1993 Haydenettes program. Have teams gotten smaller since then? They seem HUGE.

[AgnesNitt]

What was the flying victory? I watched until the end, but only saw a flying sit spin?


After he finishes the sit spin, he does this one foot glide with arms upraised, with the free foot in an arabesque position, then comes to a one foot stop. It's just a little maneuver, but it just adds a polish to the ending. Maybe I've seen girls do this, but it's such an unusual move for a man (sort of like seeing a guy do a lay back spin) that it really stood out for me.

[Thin-Ice]

My favorite video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXUBegblcA4 a 1993 Haydenettes program. Have teams gotten smaller since then? They seem HUGE.

This video doesn't even do that program justice. That was the first year I went to "Precision Nationals"... and it was just electric in that building during the entire senior competition. Hayden was/is REALLY good.. but so were many of the Junior teams and even some of the Novice teams were amazing. Funny how much the sport has changed in 15 years. This "French-themed" program wouldn't get much in the way of IJS points now.. and would be considered a low-level program.

Yes, teams are smaller now. I believe at one point senior teams were allowed to have 32 skaters, but because that favored areas where it was easy to recruit synchro skaters, the number was cut back to 24 (which is what the Haydenettes have in this program). A few years later, international competition started, and to encourage countries that didn't have as many skaters or couldn't afford to send as many skaters to international competitions, that number was cut down again to 20.