Michelle Kwan's "Song of the Black Swan" by Villa-Lobos

Perfection!!!

May Inspirations: Some of my Favorites

Meryl Davis and Charlie White's "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships:




Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy's "Out of Africa" by John Barry at the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships:




Quing Pang and Jian Tong's "Impossible Dream" by J. Hisaishi at the 2010 Winter Olympics:




Ilia Kulik's "Revolutions" from the 1998 Winter Olympics:



Surya Bonaly's 1994 Olympic Short Program:

Pure Magic: Yu-Na Kim's "Les Miserables" Freeskate at the 2013 World Championships

At this year's World Championships in London, Ontario, reigning Olympic Champion Yu-Na Kim gave the world one of the most magical skating performances in the last decade. Yu-Na's freeskate confirmed that the reigning Queen of skating is back and ready to defend her Olympic title next year in Sochi. Game on.

Enjoy Yu-Na's "Les Miserables" :

A Revelation: Denis Ten's 2013 World Championship Performances

Nineteen-year-old Denis Ten of Kazakhstan stunned the world when he threw down two incredible performances at this year's World Championships in London, Ontario. Ten first burst onto the scene and turned heads at the 2009 Worlds in Los Angeles, but since then has not lived up to his competitive potential. At Worlds, Ten proved that he is a force to be reckoned with as the Sochi Olympics loom.

Ten's two performances were not without flaw, but quite close. What's more, Ten's effervescence radiated throughout the arena. Patrick Chan, the winner of the event, had several major errors and still skated away with the title, causing many to question the reliability of the scoring system. However, regardless of what scoring system is used, the 6.0 system of old or the IJS system of the last decade, there have always been controversial wins. Skating is both sport and art, after all, and how can art be judged objectively?

In this case, Chan had a supreme short program and has the most experience and finesse, on paper, but Ten, though more inexperienced and a bit rough around the edges, stole the show and the hearts of the audience members. Gold medal or not, he created the most excitement at the championship and had the time of his life. I found myself clapping by the end of the freeskate. Sometimes the process is more important than the result. For Ten, his silver medal is as good as gold. For Chan, one has to wonder if his third world title-- and second very controversial World Championship win-- is not as sweet as an undisputed championship title.

Let's join in the Denis Ten discussion. New star of the future? What do you think of his skating? A contender in the upcoming Olympic season? Let's discuss!

Thursday Inspiration: Robin Cousins' "Impossible Dream" by Luther Vandross

Robin Cousins is one of the greatest artistic performers and entertainers in the history of the sport. The 1980 Olympic Champion from Great Britain has some of the best deep edges, soft knee bend, and most beautiful double axel and delayed axel jumps that I've ever seen. (Just watch his 1980 Olympic freeskate for proof!) I remember watching the video "Magic Memories on Ice" when I was about 10-years-old, and being transfixed by the clip shown of Robin's skating. I've since read his official biography, written by Martha Lowder Kimball and enjoyed watching other performances by Robin on You Tube.

As commentator Scott Hamilton said, "You know he's not just skating to the music, it's a part of him." Robin's musical expression, fluidity and mastery on the ice is evident in this powerful rendition to Luther Vandross' "Impossible Dream."

Everything Robin does is marvelous, from his double axel to his back spiral-backflip-back-spiral combination (at 3:30 in the video clip), to his toe-Arabian, to his scratch spin at the end. As Tracy Wilson said, "It's not the degree of difficulty of his moves, it's the way in which he does them that's so great."

This number gives me chills. Bravo, Robin! What an inspiration!

Katarina Witt's "The Girl in the Red Coat" Program to the Music of "Schindler's List" by John Williams

In the 1994/1995 season, Katarina Witt skated to the music from the motion picture "Schindler's List." She chose to portray the character from the film, the girl in the red coat. The girl portrays an important character in the film: the sight walking through the massacre of the Polish Jews in the Krakow Ghetto is used in the film to show Oskar Schindler's recognition of what the Holocaust really is; in that moment, a shift in his character takes places as he begins to change from a greedy war profiteer into someone who uses his power for good. The girl in the red coat is one of only two images in color in the black-and-white Academy Award-winning film.

In this video, Katarina skates in the 1994 World Professional Championship, what used to be an annual event held in Landover, MD. As commentator Sandra Bezic points out, Katarina knew her technical level wasn't enough to compete for the title in this competition, but she knew that in a nationally-broadcast event, she could use the platform to express herself and communicates a message about an important issue. Katarina recognized the irony of a German skating to "Schinder's List". She said that the German people are different today, but it's still important to remember what happened in the Holocaust; to never forget.

In this piece, Katarina portrays the girl in the red coat, all grown up, if she had lived. At the start of the program, the tangled movements represent the girl's past. The movements are done in the center of the ice, which represents her home.

In my mind, two programs of Katarina's that are works of art that tell a story and deliver a message are her 1994 Olympic freeskate to "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" by Pete Seeger, in remembrance of the victims of the war in Sarajevo, and this one to "Schindler's List." Both pieces are profound and will forever cement Katarina in figure skating history as one of the great artists and important figures of the sport. Katarina need not leave the ice to create an impact with her skating---her emotion and passion are felt in the simplest of movements, the simplest stroke of the blade, the reach of a fingertip.

Ode to Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Brilliance of Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor: Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig's 2010 Freeskate and Joshua Farris' 2013 Freeskate

I knew it was going to be a good day today when Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor played on the radio as I pulled out of the church parking lot. The sun was shining, my windows were down, and Rachmaninoff's music filled the air. What came to mind immediately was Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig's 2010 freeskate to the same music. I remember their unbridled joy at the end of their freeskate, and their reactions in the Kiss & Cry to making the Olympic team. Another great program to Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor was Joshua Farris' freeskate at the U.S. Nationals this year. Josh put himself on the U.S. figure skating map this year, and this impressive freeskate is one of the reasons why. The common denominator here is the magnificent music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. By far one of my favorite musicians, Rachmaninoff's music is perfect for figure skating, as it has power, passion, subtlety, intricacy, and presence.

I hope you enjoy the two selections to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor!

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig's 2010 Freeskate:



Joshua Farris' 2013 Freeskate: