Was Michelle Kwan invited to skate for the Queen in G/B?????

[Mistyeyed]

Just wondering out loud because I didn't see her name on the list.

[Lee]

The skaters on the list all appear to have some connection with IMG -- like having done SOI or CSOI (except Sasha -- don't know what her connection is, if any). Does Michelle have any connection to IMG? That may explain things...

[TracyPA]

John Nicks, Sasha's coach, is a native of England. Could this be her connection in skating at a British event? I'm sure she will do very well. I just hope it is televised!

[Cerulean]

The Queen has impeccable taste, and naturally chose Sasha :wink:

[Rogue]

Uhm - have you seen her hats?

[Blue Ridge]

[quote:1bd11ab7a2="Rogue"]Uhm - have you seen her hats?[/quote:1bd11ab7a2] :lol:

[Jimmy Hoffa]

I doubt it. Europe is above Michelle Kwan, right? :roll:

[Oracle]

I'm inclined to think it has to do with her COI contract & not being available. She's scheduled to appear in Spokane on July 31st & seeing that I have tickets....she'd better be there!! :lol:

[Cerulean]

LOL Rogue :lol:

Maybe she has a Gala cordinator with impeccable taste.

I can see Sasha in London :lol:

[Mistyeyed]

Yes, Sasha is lovely to watch. I was just thinking though that the Queen will miss a real treat by not getting to see Michelle skate. I wonder if D's son's will be in attendence. If so, lucky little Sasha.

[Blue Ridge]

I think this thread is hilarious. :lol: :roll: :lol:

[loveskating]

The information I have is that who skated was up to Christopher Dean, period.

[icenut84]

loveskating - where did you hear/read that?

[Jinx1983]

[quote:c33d22d77d="icenut84"]loveskating - where did you hear/read that?[/quote:c33d22d77d]

The voices in her head, told her, of course.

[Jim D]

[quote:da35f91b7c="Jinx1983"]
The voices in her head, told her, of course.[/quote:da35f91b7c]

[color=red:da35f91b7c][b:da35f91b7c]Jinx1983[/b:da35f91b7c] please spare us the sarcasm. ... You might want to read the posting etiquette section listed under [b:da35f91b7c]FAQ[/b:da35f91b7c]. … Your post has little to do with the topic under discussion and would seem to be a personal attack upon and/or disparagement of another member. ~ Jim D ~ [/color:da35f91b7c]

[loveskating]

Hi icenut84:

I can't recall,but I believe it was in an article when the news first came out...I don't save articles, LOL, but one never knows what will become controversial, eh? I noticed it, I think, because I adore Torvil & Dean and I thought it was fitting that Britain's very great skaters would be able to choose the participants. I could be mistaken, but I don't think so.

BTW, I note your sig...I so LOVE Torvil and Dean, and their Bolero remains my favorite ice dance of all time. Whew, what a great moment that was in figure skating! Personally, I just wish the rules in ice dance would go back to that time so that the ice dancers could do things like that...things that leave absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind. Sigh.

[icenut84]

[quote:855723be5a="loveskating"]BTW, I note your sig...I so LOVE Torvil and Dean, and their Bolero remains my favorite ice dance of all time. Whew, what a great moment that was in figure skating! Personally, I just wish the rules in ice dance would go back to that time so that the ice dancers could do things like that...things that leave absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind. Sigh.[/quote:855723be5a]

Me too. I don't think Bolero would even be allowed now, with all the rules. Personally, I think the idea of side-by-side step sequences in ice dancing is a step in the wrong direction! lol. Yeah it showcases their footwork, but they can do that anyway without being seperate, and it's not exactly dancing together. I would have thought it was even more difficult to have step sequences in holds etc, so I have no idea why they did this. Hmph. Ah well, at least I've got my tapes :mrgreen:

[AxelAnnie22]

As to who was invited, and who wasn't............. I suspect that the people who were invited are the people who are there! An opportunity to skate under the direction of Torvil and Dean at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Queen of England comes along..........well, not since Queen Victoria! It simply isn't one of those things you pass up!

[loveskating]

[quote:042d51eaf1="icenut84"]Me too. I don't think Bolero would even be allowed now, with all the rules. Personally, I think the idea of side-by-side step sequences in ice dancing is a step in the wrong direction! lol. Yeah it showcases their footwork, but they can do that anyway without being seperate, and it's not exactly dancing together. I would have thought it was even more difficult to have step sequences in holds etc, so I have no idea why they did this. Hmph. Ah well, at least I've got my tapes :mrgreen:[/quote:042d51eaf1]

I know I am drifting the thread, but I totally agree... I think the sbs footwork is "pairsifying" ice dance...where the emphasis ought to be truly on the dance aspect, and dance that is innovative. Probably most of the holds in Bolero would be illegal now, for goodness sakes...and they were so innovative and emotional and meaningful. It burns me up.

I also loved Klimova (ooops, said "Krylova" before...i always do that, hanging head sheepishly for mistake) & Ponnamarenko's Romeo & Juliet, which was under basically the same rules as Bolero, before the big rule change.

[Ellyn]

[quote:64d70ddfe8]Bolero remains my favorite ice dance of all time. Whew, what a great moment that was in figure skating! Personally, I just wish the rules in ice dance would go back to that time so that the ice dancers could do things like that...things that leave absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind. Sigh.[/quote:64d70ddfe8]

Absolutely no doubt about what?
Torvill & Dean won just as convincingly in 1981 when they were doing a traditional ballroom-style big band medley and other teams were more experimental as when they started to experiment by bending the rules and expectations that existed at that time. The rules or the choice of program style/theme were not the reason there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they deserved to win -- the quality of their skating technique, athleticism, and by 1984 their originality and presence on the ice were just that much better than everyone else competing at the time.

Well, I could write a whole history of rule changes in ice dance over the past 20 years and how rules have affected the range of artistic expression available to the ice dancers. This thread is hardly the place for that, though.

Basically, the rules have had to balance a tradition of ballroom dancing on ice, at times with official insistence on social dance themes as the only acceptable ones; a need to be able to compare the technical and musical expression abilities of the teams in meaningful ways; and a desire on the part of the dancers themselves to be creative and innovative. Personally I prefer rules that focus on the technical aspects for judging and leave the choice of theme up to the dancers. Which is more the case now than it was in 1984. Heck, in the mid-80s dance teams were being told they couldn't skate to classical music because that was considered to be pair skating! Same with lifts above chest (or was it already shoulder) height.

Step sequences in dance holds *are* required elements.

The advantage (from a point of view of judging technique) of also including side-by-side steps is that it allows for a better assessment of unison, it forces both partners to do difficult steps (often one partner has a lot more difficulty than the other in the closed-hold sequences), and it forces them to do the turns unassisted which gives a better indication of skating ability (for example, a move like the rocker in the Rocker Foxtrot is a medium easy step with a partner holding you up and medium difficult as a solo step).

The dance spins I could do without; I don't think they add much to what had traditionally been considered ice dance *technique*.

[quote:64d70ddfe8] I also loved Klimova (ooops, said "Krylova" before...i always do that, hanging head sheepishly for
mistake) & Ponnamarenko's Romeo & Juliet, which was under basically the same rules as Bolero,
before the big rule change. [/quote:64d70ddfe8]

Klimova & Ponomarenko's Romeo & Juliet was a pro number, with props (candles) and all. It was under basically NO rules. Of course they could do anything they wanted.

Are you thinking of the Bach number with which they won the Olympics in 1992?

[loveskating]

Hi Ellyn:

I meant "no doubt" about who actually outskated whom. Guess I'm looking for the situation in which the crowd is pleased and the skating comports with the standards and the judges give the win to the crowd favorite and even the other skaters are moved. Torvil & Dean's Bolero was certainly such a moment. I admit, I'm weary of all the controversy over who won what in ice dance (and otherwise) so maybe I'm just lapsing into nostalgia?

Wasn't Torvil and Dean's Bolero program seen as very political, rather feministic? Perhaps too political at that time? I seem to recall some such controversey? There were also complaints, so it was said, about "everyone dieing on the ice"? In any case, IMHO, while I loved every program I ever saw them do, BOlero was a masterpiece as a program, and very well skated too.

As for K&P's Romeo & Juliet, I really don't know, but I'm sure you do...from your posts, I would rely on you. After a few years and without video tapes it gets to be a blur ...

I don't understand ice dance much...I could never learn all those patterns, for instance, much less all the holds. Its just my perception and opinion that somehow the athleticism of ice dance has taken over the emotional appeal of ice dance since the rule changes for 1994...and it seems to me that the SBS footwork is an example of that. I can see, however, that the sbs footwork helps the judges differentiate, which IS hard in ice dance.

[icenut84]

[quote:55000e7b43="loveskating"]There were also complaints, so it was said, about "everyone dieing on the ice"?[/quote:55000e7b43]

T&D were the first to do that (with Bolero), and then I think it became something of a fashion for eligible skaters, lol. I think Bestemianova/Bukin did it a few times, and of course Katarina Witt "died" at the end of Carmen. I remember reading something about that a while ago, about everyone doing those kinds of things, and Chris Dean saying "We died first!" :lol: