Skating for Life

[FSWer]

Say,I surously hope ALL Skating is not going to end up this way this year...and I'm not sure if anyone else caught this or not. But Skating for Life was supposed to be on ABC. today 4-6pm. But instead got replaced by a stupid Football Game. Did anyone else notice this on ABC.?

[dbny]

I was at work all afternoon, but my husband said he saw some of it on either FOX or NBC, so I don't think it was cancelled.

[Nicki]

Almost all of the skating coverage we are getting this year will be on NBC. They have the broadcast rights to Skate America and the US Nationals, and are also showing most of the show skating we get to see, including today's broadcast of Skating For Life.

I too had to work today, and since it aired at the same time as Skate America on CBC, and I can only Tivo one show at a time, I chose Skate America. Perhaps someone who watched the Skating For Life broadcast would be willing to give us a review.

[yfbg722]

I taped Skating for Life. It was on NBC from 4-6. I haven't watched the whole tape because I've been a little preoccupied with Skate America but what I did see I didn't love.

It sort of looked like the show had really just been thrown together. In fact, a lot of the performance looked to me like there had been no rehearsal. I wondered if perhaps the skaters were just choreographing on the fly.

Probably many of you will disagree with me - and that's okay. It's just MHO:giveup:

I can honestly say I enjoyed Skate America more which unusual for me because I usually like shows better than competitions. In any event, it was really nice to have so many choices this weekend!

[Skittl1321]

I agree yfbg722, while I was happy to see skating on TV again, I found many of the performances to be very unentertaining- the skaters were just going through the motions, and pretty basic ones at that. I hate to divide it by age, because I realize there are some limitations that 15+ years can put on a skater, but it seemed like Jeffery Buttle, Emily Hughes, Inoue and Baldwin and even Sasha Cohen were really the only ones putting effort into their routines. (And Sasha is known for doing an entire show where she won't jump, but she did actually jump, and she's a fantastic show skater). I was very impressed with Emily, who has never really caught my eye before- I had no idea she was so flexible, and she hung onto all of her jumps (unless they retaped...)

Rudy Galindo's opening performance was nothing but posing and shaking his butt, and Jozef Sabovick actually stopped for almost four 8 counts just to snap his finger and wait for a music cue! The other skaters might not have/want to do (i'm leaning toward have) the triple jumps, but there is something pretty impressive about a huge single, and we didn't see any of those. And while Galindo's backspin at the end group number was incredible, we really didn't see much spinning either. HECK- even gliding can be impressive if you do something with it, but I didn't feel like many of them did. Toe runs are only entertaining for so long.

Then again, maybe everything interesting was done while the camera was on the singer (who I do like), but it would drive me crazy when you'd hear the audience cheer while we were watching her dancing to her band.

[FSWer]

That's kind of weard. As when I checked it said it was on ABC. ch. 8. But when I checked BOTH 8 and 3 I found everything replaced by a dumb Football Game.

[Isk8NYC]

Just watched this recording. (My DirecTV DVR records ANYTHING that says "figure skating." That includes The Simpsons and The Office episodes, lol. In any case, it was on NBC, not ABC)

I think that, of all the skaters, Emily Hughes was the most energetic and prepared. I know she, like everyone else, repeated elements from routine to routine, but I really enjoyed her performances and music choices. Especially that beautiful change-edge spiral and all those clean jumps! I rewound and watched the backward charlotte spiral-into-LAYBACK move several times, just to be sure it wasn't editing together. Later, she did that move again and it was awesome!

Have to say that Sasha's last costume (not the finale one) was perfect for her. It just floated and complemented her skating, which is still lovely to watch. Too many victory spirals, though, I felt like she was "flashing" the audience. (Glad the cameras were always filming from BEHIND her! lol)

Jeffrey Buttle did a great job - I enjoyed his jumps and spins, but most of all, I still have footwork envy. (Not to mention his musicality) It's as if the ice just jumps up and carries him along willingly! lol

Inoue and Baldwin were great, even though I really don't like the "throw the girl around" shtick, haha. They work well together, although I think they left out a lift at the beginning of one program - something strange happened there and looked like they skipped something.

Thought Steven Cousins' routines were stilted and kind of repetitive. I love russian splits, but c'mon - how many can you put in one program? If the rink size was an issue, do a delayed axel or a death drop.

Sylvia Fontana was very nice to watch, but I wasn't thrilled with the songs she skated to themselves. Still, she did a wonderful job of interpreting them and her footwork was nice. She does something strange with her shoulders on back crossovers that always distracts me from her skating; not sure what it is, but I think she might check the shoulders backwards. Guess it's a demonstration of skill, but it just looks awkward to me.

Jennifer Robinson was also very good and on top of the music and her jumps looked great. (I don't think she missed any, but I could be wrong.) I especially liked her bouncy footwork sequences - I'd love to see her ice dance with Buttle. That would a fun show - have them all mix up their usual routines. Couldn't hurt much.

Really missed Rudi Galindo's routine because most of it was ignored in favor of the singer/band shots. Too bad - he's usually fun and exciting. From what was said above, guess I didn't miss much other than posing.

I agree about Jozef Sabovick's stand and snap routine - yawn.

I don't remember who it was at the end, but one of the guys came out and did a butterfly then Emily Hughes took up a challenge and did FOUR HUGE ONES in a row! It was a "in your face" moment which no one else probably noticed but me, lol.

RANT: Hated the focus on the singer/band at all the wrong moments. Did we really need to see her waving like a child doing "bye bye" over and over instead of whatever the crowd was enjoying on the ice?

[Mel On Ice]

I have to say I hate that this is the only skating that is currently on television - I despise the format. I wish they would figure out a picture-in-picture method of showing the skaters and the concert, so I can concentrate on watch the SKATING. And if I don't like the artist they feature, I'm forced to endure their shrieking for the sake of skating - where are the more modern artists, those who have had a hit in the 2000s. Are we to assume a figure skating concert isn't at the top-most of John Mayer, Pink or Katie Perry's agenda? And, exhibitions don't hold the same suspense as competition.

Steven Cousins is by far one of the least interesting skaters on the pro circuit - he is neither Scott Hamilton nor Kurt Browning, but seems to think so. I must admit I was happier to see Rudy still invited to shows than to actually see him skate - as we are a week apart in age, he convinces me that I can still do it, at least until my sixth month...

And I must say it sounds like I may be the lone fan of Josef's program. I have wanted to skate to this Whitesnake song since I was in LTS since it had a sexy, loose groove, but given how truly filthy the lyrics are, I never had the guts. I was jumping out of my chair, and it was one of the few programs I actually enjoyed. The standing around and finger snapping went with the music and the groove. God bless Josef for being unconventional and picking some awesome rock music.

[Isk8NYC]

The Jonas Brothers are performing at Kristi Yamaguchi's special to be shown later this year.

Should be interesting - the screaming at their concerts is almost constant. We'll never know we missed something good on the ice; the camera will probably pan to the ever-important screaming, crying fans. (Reminiscent of The Beatles' early US concerts/performances.)

Picture-in-picture is a very good idea. So is the editor choosing intelligently which artist to show - the musician or the skater. So many times in Skating For Life, they showed the musician waving to someone in the audience while something else was going on on the ice, or the skater doing crossovers while the singer was rocking out in the background.

PS - congrats on the soon-to-be baby Mel!

[Mel On Ice]

I wish I could pay Glade not to run that crazy woman lying about her candles.

[Nicki]

The Jonas Brothers are performing at Kristi Yamaguchi's special to be shown later this year.

Should be interesting - the screaming at their concerts is almost constant. We'll never know we missed something good on the ice; the camera will probably pan to the ever-important screaming, crying fans. (Reminiscent of The Beatles' early US concerts/performances.)

Picture-in-picture is a very good idea. So is the editor choosing intelligently which artist to show - the musician or the skater. So many times in Skating For Life, they showed the musician waving to someone in the audience while something else was going on on the ice, or the skater doing crossovers while the singer was rocking out in the background.

PS - congrats on the soon-to-be baby Mel!

Kristi's special was already shown on the 9th, and you were right about the cameras. They almost seemed more fixated on the musical acts then on the skaters. All of the singers were doing dance moves while they sang, which seemed unecessary to me since there were skaters there interpreting the music. I wish they would decide to go back to using pre-recored music for these events, so that the cameras can focus entirely on the skaters.

[Mel On Ice]

I finally watched Kristi's special and yesterday's special. They seem to be so much better than past specials, but I still found myself fast-forwarding past most of the musical acts because the camera work was irritating.

Kristi's special: Nice surprises for me were Sale and Pelltier, they are so fluid a pair and every moved melds from one to another. I couldn't help but be charmed by Weiss skating to his daughter's singing. Decent skating from Viktoria Petrenkko, Matthew Solomon, and Isabelle and Rocky's daughter.

Yesterday's special: I love a looser look from Sasha! Enjoyed Ryan Bradley, B&A and Mirai, but oddly disappointed in Evan and Kimmie. Enjoyed the modern artists, but the camerawork! Argh!

[Isk8NYC]

Kristi's special was already shown on the 9th, and you were right about the cameras. They almost seemed more fixated on the musical acts then on the skaters. All of the singers were doing dance moves while they sang, which seemed unecessary to me since there were skaters there interpreting the music. I wish they would decide to go back to using pre-recored music for these events, so that the cameras can focus entirely on the skaters.

I went to a JB concert this summer and they were very entertaining and well-rounded (sing, dance, work the crowd). I have preteens, so I'm a bit biased - I don't wanna see gyrations.*

In my experience, these music-and-skating events rarely sell out. (This one was probably the exception.) Usually, there are more than a few empty seats. I've noticed that they always set up the stage area for the musical performers at the far, narrow end of the arena, thinking they'll have room for the non-existent crowd. Perhaps they should plan to set up the stage area at center ice, and only sell the seats across from the stage. The skaters can enter from the far end without squeezing past the raised dais. The cameras can easily show BOTH the musicians and the skaters at the same time, without switching back-and-forth.

They'll never do it because they really believe they'll sell out the house, but it makes more sense to me.