If MK had to re-use an old program(s) what should it be?

[Googoo]

If MK decided to re-use old programs (SP and LP), which would you like to see? Lets say if it is : a)For an exhibiton or tour b)For the 00-01 season c)For the 2002 Olympics

[taf2]

I never felt that either Ariadne or Taj Mahal was ever developed to their fully potentials, and I would love to see both of them brought back for future seasons. I know Michelle takes pride in introducing 2 new programs each year, but Ariadne definitely hasn't been overexposed, and I want to see a clean Taj Mahal.

[Karin]

...Rachmaninoff for sp...my all time favourite!!! Nothing can top that in the romantic sense!!! ...Salome for lp...not my fave...but still love it...it's what won her her first world title...I would love it if Michelle did Salome again for the 2002 Olympics as a memory and symbol!!! + it would be so much mature!!! ...Winter/On My Own/Dante's Prayer/One More Time...anyone one of these!!! !!! You know what I would like???...a program about Michelle's life!!! A program starting with the lullaby representing MK's birth...then changing music...gradually portraying herself...her ups and downs...and climbing back up...and flying!!!

[Googoo]

Karin, you would like to see Salome at Olympics eh? Interesting. Why is that? Do you feel as if it is very exciting and Olympics-y? I would LOVE to see her re-skate this program because I know it would be EVEN BETTER and it was so awesome!

[Karin]

Salome is not my favourite...Lyra Angelica and Taj Mahal are!!! But may be it's because Michelle was still a little girl trying to be mature back in 96!!! I think that if Michelle re-uses the program...it would be amazing, fantastic, awesome, and wunderbar...as we say in German!!! I think something like Salome, or Taj Mahal is better for the Olympics...it's more passionate and dramatic...So why did I choose Salome over Taj Mahal???...it's a symbol of victory!!! Think of the commentators..."and this program is very meaningful for Michelle. This is the program she used to win her first world championships. And what a different and more mature feeling she does Salome with now!!!" It's more special bringing a program like that than just anything...not that anyone of her programs are any less. I love everything Michelle does. But I kinda do want Michelle to do Salome for 2002...definitely a great idea IMO!!!

[Googoo]

Yeah Salome would be better for Olympics, in terms of meaningfulness, than Taj Mahal. But why must an Olympic program be passionate and dramatic? Why not simply joyful (like Lyra-style) Any other programs you guys would love to see MK skate to again?

[Joshua]

If Michelle reused a program without changing it, choreography-wise, I'd pick: Short:Rachmaninoff Long:Lyra Angelica Exhibition:Dante's Prayer But if we were talking about reusing a program and including changes choreography-wise, I'd pick: Short: DOD Long: Taj Mahal Exhibition: still, Dante's Prayer

[Karin]

No...not that an Olympic program must be passionate and dramatic...no no and no!!! I love joyful programs like Lyra...but didn't it lack spark compared to Salome??? Instead of having a program soothing the judges...have something denoting fire and victory. I know U may disagree!!!

[Googoo]

This is fun. Karin, I don't think lack of spark was the "problem" the Olympics seeing as how she got straight 5.9's for both the SP and the LP. I think if she had a triple triple combo that would have done it perhaps.... Is it the emotional high's and low's in the program that you think add to Salome's power? Joshua-- what would u change about DOD and Taj Mahal?

[Karin]

IMO MK lacked some spark like Frank said... It wasn't as exciting as Nationals!!! I still remember me thinking the 4 minutes went by slow...I thought it was because I was watching it live!!! But no, even now, I think the Nagano performance was too peaceful 4 that particular evening. I don't think it was the 3/3...tara just got lucky skating after Surya...no offence or anything. Will & Grace nailed it prrrrrrrfectly!!! BTW, did you see what I responded to you on the other thread???

[Karin]

We are online the same time...conversing back and forth...wish MKGA chat was still going huh???

[Googoo]

Okay but if Mk had skated faster and in a more exciting way do you think that she would have had higher technical scores?? Higher artistry marks?? (They wouldn't have given the first skater 6.0's!) No way. Yes I saw your response about your bud Val! Too bad MK can't have an event where she skates to all her major programs over. How fun would that be?

[Karin]

too bad MK was the first skater...no 6.0's definitely. Lucky tara skated afer Surya...N with her "O"s on her mouth after a jump...and her fake scream at the end...that got the judges...she got really lucky!!! It's not the "slow" thing that prevented MK that night...just lady luck on tara's side...but no more...hope Michelle will get gold in 2002!!! Also glad how things turned out...tara keeps on getting snubbed while MK honoured!!! People saw the true sides of both these girls!!!

[Googoo]

N E Way Karin, Salome at 2002 for the LP? But Rach for the SP? Would that be too much of a contrast?

[yingshan]

SP: Rach (The best choreographed SP Michelle has ever skated) LP: Salome (The best choreographed LP Michelle has ever skated) Exhibition: Dante's Prayer (The best choreographed exhibition she has ever skated) Rach and DP are fairly recent. I really would like to see MK skate Salome again. With her current speed and maturity, it'll be a performance for the ages. Plus, these are her "lucky" programs. She was never defeated while she skated Salome (in LP) or Rach (in SP). So why not re-use them for the Olympics? :-)

[Stagebabe]

A reused exh.: I would right now say The Red Violin. Can that really be re-used though? OK Otherwise I would say Winter with Michelle lending her considerably more developed skating and chorographical talent to it now. I think this would be alright for 00-01 but for the Olys nothing short of new would make me happy! It is her Oly year, she ought to do something joyful and exciting, but new! SP:I would love to she her do Romanza now that she has matured. Maybe also DOD. That had some great moments that never got enough view time. LP: I think all of her LP's sit just fine the way they are, but how about EOE expanded, if possible to make another joyful LP?!

[Googoo]

Yingshan-- good point about those two being the "undefeated" programs. Hmmm, 2 votes for Salome.

[Joshua]

I really don't know what I would change about DOD or Taj Mahal. I only picked them because Rach and Lyra were just too well put together programs. I would really like to see Michelle reinvent Romanza and Salome only I don't want her to use them as Olympic programs because I didn't find them as enjoyable as DOD nor Taj Mahal.

[Karin]

Duh!!!...that's what I really meant 2 say...stupid me...I said a symbol of victory...Just make it lucky programs!!! I am so supersticious...I can be funny!!! Besides, a new interpretation and same choreography...with changes in jumps...would be great 4 Salome IMO!!!

[blizzard]

I wouldn't want to see her re-use a competitive program. B/c look forward to her new programs every season. BUt for an exhibition I would definately pick 'On My Own'

[Joshua]

Oh me too. I always look forward to new MK programs. I thought this was just a "what-if" situation.

[kwanette]

I agree with taf that TM and Ariane both have more life in them....As much as I loved Rach, I think DOD has dramatic moves, particularly the footwork part. TRV would be my choice for the ex. We only saw it once, although I have seen it 50 times on tape!

[skatingfan]

For exhibition - Green sleeves, I cried everytime I watch it, I know a big part is due to her placing 4th, and she deserves to be on the podium. Yet she skated that with such lightness and joy. She is all grown up now, I still miss the little Michelle Kwan a bit, and Green Sleeves bring back a bit of the youner Mk, just like EOE in the last season brought back a spark of the younger Michelle, of course she added so much more to it last season. 00-01 season, and olys 2002, I really hope that she will introduce new programs. One of her sp I want to see her bring back but not in an eligible competition is DOD. I think that program is the best choreographed sp. The footwork, the drama etc is wonderful. I think Lori did her best music editing for DOD. Even though I love Rach #3 the best for sp, I kind of want Michelle to retire that and let that go down in history as the best skated sp in U.S. history, by recycling it, to me takes away some of the original magic. I also want to see Mk bring back ARiane, and TM, but not for competition. TM is excellently choreographed, and Lori's music editing for TM is only topped by DOD, IMO. LA will always be my most fav lp, and I hope Mk will retire it for the same reason. Let the legend of Rach #3 and LA grow.

[GinnySmith]

SP--Rach LP--Lyra Exhibition-East of Eden I would love to see her skate East of Eden in person at COI because I love the music so much. Dante's prayer and Red Violin are close seconds, but if I can only pick one, then I'll take East of Eden. Fate of Carmen is another short program that I really like and wish she had more opportunity to fully develop it. The trouble is, all of her programs and music are great so I go back and forth--can't make up my mind!!!!

[Magenta]

I love all of Michelle's program from 1996 to present. But here are my favorites and thought that it would be nice if it can be revamped and put together as her Oly 2002 package. 1) Rach for her sp with the 3flip as her single triple jump. This program has the joy and uplifting effect. 2) East Of Eden for her lp with addition of more difficult triple combination jumps like: 3lutz/3toe; 3flip/3toe and perhaps a 3axel. The EOE music is so enchanting; it is powerful, sweet and "grand" effect especially at the finale part of the program. It is very well choreograph, good ice coverage and she just simply looks so beautiful in the ice, skating to this number. She would need a new custom though, perhaps yingshan can design for her. (seeing a smile from yingshan...) 3) A lengthen and more dancy "Romanza" as her exhibition program. I'd like to see her do this number again at 20! I can imagine that it will be more of a "sexy" effect than the cutie-cute effect when she was 16. Again, with new custom and not the old one.

[yingshan]

Magenta, for promoting my designs! Yeah, a big smile from me. :-)

[Kara]

when i first put in cherie's tape and was looking at a childlike newly-turned-13 year old mk waiting to begin skating to i had no idea what...and out came the softest sweetest beginning notes of eoe, *I CRIED*. it was so poignant to me that there she was, so undeveloped as a person and a skater, skating her little innocent heart out to that breathaking music when we now know how much has happened in her career to enlighten (or you could even say jade) that innocence. and yet this different michelle still skates to that same music today, sorta showing how she's still the same inside. and the fact that she used it again in '96 world exhibitions, another hugely poignant moment in her career - her first performance as world champion - adds to the meaning of the program for me. it's like that music is really the backdrop of her career and of her...oooh, almost like the soundtrack of her life!!! she used it at different stages in her career: in her first senior comp, her first world champinship, and in the first season following her olympic-whateveryouwannacallit:)...like her rebirth after that first stage of her career, the one getting ready for '98. -just very meaningful times that make the program even more meaningful than it would've already been with her skating and the music on it's own. so, my point is that for an exhibition, i would *LOVE* for her to keep bringing this program back as she's done, with little revisions here and there, whenever she feels it's appropriate. actually, i'd like her to do all new programs until 2002 and use eoe as her exhibition there (maybe after she has just been "crowned" olympic gold medalist...now that would REALLY have me crying!) and use it again on tour the final yr of her skating career as a fairwell. what do you guys think:)??? about the other programs, ita that it would be *wonderful* to see a more mature salome, and nice to see a fully developed and cleanly skated dod, carmen, and ariane. i don't think she would ever use these again in competition, but if it's the "what if" scenario, those would be my picks. btw, cool topic:)!

[itisinsane]

ITA with those who said LA and Rach should be retired into legend. The only time I'd want to see her skate to that music again is like her last season as a pro skater--THAT would make me cry. I'd love to see Salome again, just b/c I only got to see it twice, I don't have it on tape, and I don't remember it that well. I love Romanza -- I'd like to see the Kwan spiral put in it. I'd love to see DOD and TM again, as well -- clean and more mature. I think the only one that would be really good for the Olympics is Salome. I don't know why, but I just can't see Ariane as an Olympic program. And as for exhibition, EOE all the way--she could re-invent that number ten thousand times, and it would always be beautiful.

[Susan]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet and maybe I am all alone in this but I would love to see Romanza again! In '96 she was adorable and I thihk the Michelle now can make it incredibly sexy and beautiful. Plus I just adore the music! I have been wishing that she goes back to "romantic" music again....

[Joshua]

You don't consider "One More Time" as romantic music?

[Karin]

Joshua!!! 1more time...contemporary...Rach romantic...classical

[Cris]

taj mahal is definitely my favorite. i would love to see her do that perfectly. i think it's the best combo of music & moves. every move is interesting & exciting.

[taf2]

Love this thread, but I am going OT and replying to Karin who said the Olympic performance wasn't as exciting as Nationals. You have to remember that at Nationals, virtually all of the audience is made up of Americans who are watching American skaters. In other words, all of the audience is rooting for all the skaters, so the dynamics there is totally different from Worlds or Olympics. IMO, the performance wasn't inferior, the audience was. Also adding to the excitement at Nationals was the fact that we hadn't seen Michelle skate for a few months & no one knew what she could do. However, none of this should have been a factor for the judges. Those who thought Michelle was too slow, behind her music, ahead of her music, lacking spark, etc will not be swayed by my opinion, but when people compare the two performances, it bothers me because to me it's like comparing apples & oranges. (Watch Salome at Skate America & then at Worlds-almost identical performances but totally different atmosphere.)

[Deetlebug]

What a fun topic!! One of the things I like best about Michelle (and her team) is that they constantly strive to bring out new programs each year that are better than the previous year's programs. Because of that I don't really want to see any of her programs "repeated". However, she has been very successful with her revival of her East of Eden program. I love the revised program even more than the initial program. So in that vein I would say that I would like to see the following (all with appropriate changes in music and choreography).... 1. Her Rach program (with the same ending music) brought back as a new long program. 2. Her Taj Mahal program brought back as an exhibition program. 3. And her East of Eden program brought back as a new short program. Other than that, I want to keep seeing new programs from Michelle. 8-)

[mano]

I'd say all of them, but Taj Mahal and Salome are right up there on my list. ITA on seeing Ariane in all its technical and artistic potential met. Honestly I would like to see MK just have a program on ABC that features her skating to all her programs from the past (exhibitions, lp/sp) and see how her interpretation would be like, knowing what we know of her artistry today. She did wonders with EOE, I wish for more of the same from her other programs. Imagine what a fully mature MK would do to a program like Salome in a different costume that says "I'm a temptress, hear me roar!!!" LOLOLOL (Apologies to Catfight2 et al, just cover your eyes through my post.) Though I have faves, I would rather see new material every year from MK 'cause I want to see what world she takes me to next. ;0)

[MichelleFan]

Hard choice! SP: DOD- except I didn't really like the part in the footwork where she did all the turn-thingies on one foot, then another. (Not explaining this very well, am I?...) LP: Taj Mahal, maybe Ariane with a little different choreography; I like the music of Rondo Caprisso *Spelling*...? =( but only if there's different choreography. Exhibition: Dante's Prayer, EOE

[badhairday]

Hi, I finally found this board! After hearing from other posters talk about this site in FSW, I was lucky there was a link from Heather's HP... :) Taj Mahal, in my opinion is the most beautful program that I've ever seen, so I would definitely like to see this performed again. I also like the music to East of Eden. ... it's so powerful... does anybody know where I can get this music on CD? For the short program, it's a fight between Romanza, Rachmaninoff and then DOD...

[Rene]

Taj Mahal and Romanza I would love to see now. About the crowd, Nagano was DISMAL. You've probobly heard me boo hoo about this before so I'll stop. I always look forward to events skated in the US or Canada because I know ALL the skaters will give better and more exciting performances because of the electricity in the building. I've decided that the judges gave Michelle silver because they could not stand the thought of her possibly retiring and depriving them of 4 more years of the best skater they've ever seen. Plus they could get rid of TL(sorry it just slipped out)