Goodies from Netflix

Apparently commercial figure skating compilation DVDs a.) exist, and b.) are on Netflix. Mwhahahaha.

Anyway, I ran across this program Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman did back in 2004-05 and...eh, the music doesn't do much for me, but JUST LOOK AT IT.

In addition to the opening "yep, just going to flip my partner all around my body like she's a scarf or something, no big" move, check out the lift at 0:26, where he turns around between throwing her in the air and catching her, how is that even possible OMG. Apparently it's called "fly high say bye," and they got it from Brasseur and Eisler, which...yeah, these two kind of are (were? not sure if they're retired or not) the new B&E, with all their fearless, death-defying tricks. (B&E, I have to say, were always the one pair I was genuinely frightened to watch. Half the time I had to look through my fingers.)

Also, while I rarely notice this sort of thing, I really have to say that John Zimmerman is an exceptionally good-looking man. I want to, I don't know, paint him or something.

This DVD also had a program by Kitty and Peter Carruthers, who of course I knew of because Peter was and probably still is the commentator du jour of just about every eligible event aired on ABC, but I'd never actually seen them. And they were fun! They vamped around (heh) to organ-y music I associate with vampire films and possibly Bugs Bunny, which Google assures me is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. They did a cool traveling death spiral that I didn't even know was possible, and now I wonder where it's gone. I'd love to see it more often. They had some nifty-looking skating in between the tricks, like a sequence where they pull each other into bigger and higher waltz jumps. The big jumps and other tricks are nice, no doubt, but I miss the in-between stuff that's gotten shafted with increasing focus on tricks. Sigh.

There was also Torvill & Dean's exquisite "Bridge Over Troubled Water", which is just...wow. Words can't really express how lovely it is.

Roca & Sur's incredible "The Prayer" was on there was well, although I've already seen it approximately 5,823 times. Watching it after that T&D number makes it very obvious that Christopher Dean choreographed it. He really likes his instant-replay-like dramatic repetition, as well as choosing one or two thematic moves to repeat across the length of a program. Not that both aren't incredibly effective, mind, but it's kind of amusing to realize I can sometimes pick out a Dean program without prior knowledge now. "Oye Como Va" is another obviously-Dean program. And it is fan-frickin'-tastic. R&S always did so well with Dean choreography. (Or when they stole liberally from Torvill and Dean. Though I suppose that concept is not exactly earth-shatteringly original. And this is probably heresy, but Renee and Gorsha's is way more entertaining.)

On second thought, I'm not sure I would've pegged "Casi Un Bolero" as Dean, though it is also very lovely and R&S do it so beautifully. (Presumably Meno & Sand did a competent job with it as well, although one really can't tell since the camera operator and editor chose to focus entirely on Gorsha and Renee. Given how much more ice dance than pairs this number was, and how much it was right in R&S's wheelhouse and, er, less so in M&S's, this was probably wise.) That was always my favorite Rumba to dance to.

Right, now I'm just rambling, so off I go to attempt something productive.

Things to do with a fiddle

I know I said I was off to do something productive, but I just ran across Gaelic Storm's version of "Cecilia," and it is a trip. You should listen.

ETA: Also The King's Singers cover. Although whereas Gaelic Storm's is actually good, this one...does not work very well. But it is kind of hilarious.