Sombreuil

I know- it wasn't til I watched Evita and Phantom recently that I realised how much gets overlooked for the marquee songs - and I don't really like ALW, I was keeping someone company who is a major fan and needed a distraction. Then I thought about ST and got the disc out. Is it all chance and the coach/choreographer/ occasional skater who really cares about the music? Because if so that's relying on the personal tastes of a group of musical amateurs and the music they happen to have been exposed to/ discovered. Professional musicians can't make the final decision but they might be able to offer other options for consideration?

Noooooo- I have so much respect for Johnny but for anyone but him a little of his courageous fashion sense goes a long way. We don't want a dads best shirt either- just get whoever designed PotO2 on speed dial.

Amazing opening and Mao looked as though she was having so much fun with it

@kaeryth I remembered your comment that you thought Machida might have been influenced by him- in my hunt for memory lane on YouTube I was reminded that it was in the era of compulsory figures, and I think I saw somewhere that Machida's coach was a great believer in them - that might be part of the resemblance, the muscle memory of the tight control needed to do them successfully.

Thank you for this - I really need to learn how to link this stuff

Yatagarasu's posting of John Curry's Olympic programme made me go and look for more about him- found a video of part of a documentary called '50 Golden Days' about him winning Europeans, Olympics, and Worlds in the same season. He originally decided not to go to the world championships but changed his mind feeling that despite the Olympic medal he wouldn't really be regarded as a true champion if he wasn't willing to put himself out there for the last big competition of the season. (Mr Fassi was annoyed with him for his u turn as he hadn't trained for several weeks).

And he could put back the cross rolls

If he must recycle let it be the EX- though I really like the idea of purpose made EX pieces that don't have the constraints of the competition ones- we would never see extended hydroblades or a delayed axel in competition.

I don't understand why everyone seems to default to film scores for musicals when there are recordings of stage versions with usually better (though less photogenic) singers.

He was either injured or recovering from surgery that whole season. You can trace the progress of his recoveries and relapses in the performances- for example at Japanese Nationals he leaves out the beilman, modifies the layback out of the Ina Bauer, and is unable to bow as usual at the end of the performance- he went straight to hospital afterwards for surgery missing the gala and Machidas r****ment announcement. I have a soft spot for this programme even though I'm not a fan of the musical. It is Yuzuru Hanyu at his most dogged and determined. i don't really think he'll redo it - that was an awful season and I can't imagine he would want to revisit it. I was a bit startled to wake up to a Phantom frenzy - we all need some real news to chew over!

I had 'Epiphany' or 'A little priest' in mind - cut with some of the opening and incidental music. I much prefer Sondheim to Lloyd Webber. I almost put this in the post about PotO on the main thread but didn't and now I'm glad- I've woken up to a frenzy of reaction over there- we are all badly in need of some real news !

I'm not sure if you mean American football or soccer, but they're as bad as each other. If the articles whereabouts comes back to you I would be interested to read it.

I was on the main thread talking about the possibility of PotO being reused and criticising the dopey lovers when another tortured anti hero with good dramatic music and a pair of irritating lovebirds occurred to me- what do you think of Sweeney Todd- it would certainly be a contrast to Chopin!

I remember it very well and we are in agreement on that smug b Lysacek too. Silent bigotry in sport exists pretty much across the board- I think the diving fraternity might have cracked it but that's something I only look at sporadically- a real fan would know whether it's real or on the surface ok but underneath as bad as ever. There is a lesbian couple in the UK hockey team, but in the main sports people keep their heads down until after r****ment, which is entirely understandable and extremely sad.

Arguably a PotO would be a 3 too - it wasn't ever skated as he intended, constantly altered to allow for illness and injury. Watched the film last weekend- there's a lot of music there to choose from and though it's not a musical I like ( it was someone else's pick) I've been watching GPF 2014 and he had a really nice cut ( as you would expect) and it had a beautiful flow to it- he reconciled me to the music. But he'd have to be the phantom not one of the dopey lovers.

Have faith- apart from when he was persuaded to do NDP has he chosen badly?

I too wonder whether feeling fit after two illness and injury filled seasons (2014-16) will make him rethink- after thinking he might have to give up, the prospect of no more skating having been faced, he could be more motivated to keep going as long as he doesn't get injured.

Nor do I- anyone would think that it was compulsory for every pair/dance team to be in a romantic relationship with each other. Obviously it happens, but look at Davis and White- childhood friends who probably see each other in a fraternal rather than romantic light, I don't recall anyone saying they had no chemistry.

That was pretty much how I felt when I discovered Yuzuru Hanyu after CoC 2014- I had liked other skaters in a casual way but he has been the only one to make me feel the way John Curry did when I was young. It's the seamless elegance of the performance, the lines, the apparently effortless transition from one element to the next.

I'm probabaly old fashioned but I tend to think of it as their job to bother and it annoys me when they don't.

Totally agree - I'm sure JW would have had more success if it weren't for prejudice- at least those Neanderthal commentators were open about it and could be tackled - not much you can do about the ones that keep quiet, especially if they are in positions of power. It's very depressing that in 30 years so little progress was made and 40 years on Radford is subject to such idiotic comments. Reminds me of an interview I read with Rupert Everett who was asked how he could play a romantic lead in 'An Ideal Husband' when he was gay - his response - " Its acting" - I feel the word 'stupid' was there albeit unspoken.

Yup that's them- very irritating- I'm sure the BBC is paying them enough to at least have a look at the top 20 and get their facts right

Me too- it's hard to relate a translation script to the video- thank you.

Katherine Downes is a waste of space as a sports presenter- says too much and reveals her total ignorance and lack of research. I quite like Robin Cousins as a commentator but he doesn't do his homework either - I wish he'd just talk about what's in front of him and leave out the background stuff that he hasn't actually read up on.

The first skater I ever saw- sort of spoiled it for me in a way because at the time no one else blended the elements into a performance the way that he did, and he went pro as they did in those days and you didn't see him any more (no YouTube fan cams) There were also critics who didn't think he was 'athletic' enough, too 'artistic', this is 'supposed to be a sport' - you can imagine, and being gay was a big problem and continued to be for a long time (look at Brian Orser). It didn't take long for the gold medal euphoria to fade and the knives came out- the tabloids were horrible, and the mainstream press weren't exactly supportive. When I think of him I always wish he had lived to see Johnny Weir dealing with the media- love him or hate him he's uncompromising in a way that was unthinkable for JCs generation because of the attitudes of the time and not possible for JC personally because he didn't have the supportive family background that breeds that resilience and self belief that enables a person to stand up to deeply prejudiced opinions and take them on. I think he would have loved it.