End of June Inspiration: Carolina Kostner's 2012 World Championship Freeskate

Admittedly I have never been much of a Carolina Kostner fan. But this season something changed. Carolina, who used to be frustrating to watch because of her inconsistent performances, was suddenly consistent, confident, and smooth. At the 2012 Worlds in Nice, Carolina displayed a radiant freeskate to Mozart that emanated sophistication, control, grace, and joy. Carolina finally rose to the occasion when it mattered most, winning the first gold medal in women's figure skating at the World Championships for Italy.

Congratulations, Carolina!

End of June Inspiration: Ashley Wagner's "Black Swan"

As we say goodbye to the month of June this weekend---and what a lovely month it's been, by the way--I'd like to share Ashley Wagner's "Black Swan" freeskate from the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships. As the championships took place in city of Nice, France, also called Nice la Belle, which means Nice the Beautiful, this sparkling 4th place performance by Ashley is the perfect way to say "au revoir" to June!

Homage to Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig: Part 4

Despite a mistake on the opening side-by-side jumps, this performance to "Tosca" and "Nessun Dorma" exhibits the quintessential subtlety, beauty, and incredible lifts that Amanda and Mark became known for. This program resulted in a podium finish for Amanda and Mark at the 2010 Cup of Russia.

Enjoy!

Click HERE to view video.

Sunday Inspirations

We all need a little Michelle Kwan in our lives...

Friday Inspirations

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker's "Slumdog Millionaire"

Two-time U.S. Champions Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker entered the 2009/2010 Olympic season equipped with an imaginative new freeskate to the exotic, powerful "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, choreographed by the ingenious Sarah Kawahara.
Here, skating at the 2009 Cancer.net Skate America in Lake Placid, NY, Keauna and Rockne were far from flawless, but it's the only video I can find of this program. Later in the season, the duo was again far from flawless at U.S. Nationals in Spokane and finished a bitterly-disappointing 5th at the Olympic Trials. Coming in as the reigning U.S. Champs, they had been expected to be a lock for the team.

Despite this program being a work-in-progress here, I feel strongly that this is one of the most inventive and intriguing pairs freeskating routines that I've seen in a long time. The music is driving, bold, yet sensuous in parts, and the choreography is fresh and interesting. Rockne is a brilliant skater, as he flows over the ice with reckless abandon. Though unfortunately Keauna and Rockne split after this season, I'm glad they left their fans with this novel work to remember them by. I appreciate the vision that Sarah Kawahara had for this program and the commitment to the choreography and performance by Keauna and Rockne.

Enjoy!

Homage to Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig: Part 3

Amanda and Mark skated this beautiful program to the soundtrack of "Love Actually" at the 2010 Worlds in Torino, Italy.

Enjoy!