Which of these SP by Mao is your favorite?

This is my companion poll to the LP one. It was another hard decision
But I think Nocturne is her best SP because it brings out the elegance and beauty of Mao's skating. Although Fantasia is a close second because the music is so powerful.

Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra!

I simply adored Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra, though Nocturne is a very close second for me!

It was a close tie for me between Nocturne and Clair de Lune. In the end, I think her glorious WTT SP pulled me toward Clair de Lune

Of course Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra! Nothing can beat that.

This is way too difficult!

Er...for me, this is a four way race between Nocturne, Fantasia, Clair de Lune and the Masquerade SP (Nats version).

Clair de Lune it is!

Yeah, this is EXTREMELY difficult!

It's like a virtual tie between 'Fantasy for Violin & Orchestra' and 'Clair de Lune' (WTT version) for me...but the first time I saw 'Nocturne,' it was so perfect.

I give up, I can't pick!

Hmm, it's between Fantasy, (WTT) Clair de Lune, and Nocturne for me. I think I just ended up choosing Fantasy because it was the one I watched most recently (I literally rewatched it about an hour ago) and I was so amazed by it even after seeing it so many times.

For me ,definitely 'Nocturne'. And oddly enough, I like 2007 World Version best especially ESPN version(well,absolutely despite that pop).

Seems like everyone is having a hard time picking just like I did.
Tianrushui, did you place your vote for Nocturne, cause it looks like it still only has one vote from me. Nocturne nees me more love....

clovera wrote:

This is way too difficult!
Er...for me, this is a four way race between Nocturne, Fantasia, Clair de Lune and the Masquerade SP (Nats version).

Me too~!
I love 'Fantasy for Violin & Orchestra' soooo much, but now I pick Masquerade(Nats version). I simply adore the slst
Who can skate to same music(with LP) as differently as that except Mao?

This is too difficult... i'll abstain for the meantime.

I love them all so much! But Fantasia was the best for me.

"Masquerade" (Nationals).

Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra
The music is beautiful and the step sequence makes me go WOW! every time I see it.

But to make things clear - I love all of Mao's SP
I just think that I love Fantasia the most

defin FANTASIA for me. the music is lyrical, powerful, complex and the tempo perfect for a successful SP. also suits mao to a tee. her lyrical style, her speed and i think one of her best step sequence choreographed. it also is very passionate and the most adult of her music selections. i love it so much i bought the track on itunes and listen to it alot.

I chose Clair de Lune. I think not so many people can do that and Mao's SP at WTT
is really graceful, some kind of refined Nocturne. This show Mao's ability very much.
I don't like Clair de Lune in GP because she had to stop for a while after 3F-3L.

In fact, my favourite song is Fantasia and when I heard it first time, I thought who
wrote this music? Very beautiful and melancholy tone. And this music suits that
fan spiral very much. It made my cry and Mao's step is gorgeous too but I think though
it stole my heart. There's still many point that she didn't do it great comparing to
her choreography in Clair de Lune.

It is hard for young skater that they should beware not to choose Mao's music like
once I saw Turandot program from Shizuka and no skater choose it now. I also
like Kim too but less than Mao and I think her Scheherazade is also memorable
but lots of Kwan dejavu so it's shameful that Wilson choreograph that.

I had a REALLY hard time choosing between Nocturne or Fantasia, because both of them embodied who Mao is as a skater so well, although in very different ways.

Chopin's Nocturnes are lovely to listen to, because there is that element of the melancholy in addition to the lightness. With Mao in that pink dress with the layered skirt, she reminded me of a fairy dancing across the ice. It's sweet, almost heartbreakingly so, because like Tristesse ('So Deep Is the Night'), it conjures up images from times long past, and nostalgia for those more innocent times.

Fantasia, on the other hand, has the ability to hold you immobile in your seat. It's a combination of the music, the choreography and Mao's skating. And I agree with BowbowDaijin - the music is so suitable for Mao's fan spiral. That's the part where your heart stops for an infinitesimal moment and the breath catches in your throat and you simply marvel at the sheer brilliancy of it all. And then, of course, the step sequence. Gorgeous.

So, I made the tough decision and chose 'Fantasia' as my favourite SP of Mao's, simply because this piece and Mao seems to be very much intertwined. I know that 'Fantasia' originally comes from the movie 'Ladies in Lavender', but whenever I hear this piece now, I see Mao's SP in my mind.

You guys have definitely helped me make up my mind--it's definitely "Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra" for me. (By the way, it is "Fantasy" and not "Fantasia"--thanks to Mao, I bought the "Ladies in Lavender" soundtrack, so I just checked. )

I absolutely adore Joshua Bell (the violinist), and the song is just perfect. And I agree with chineseteacup, the step sequence was simply GORGEOUS. At 2008 Worlds, where she hit that arabesque right on the correct beat--amazing! And those twizzles where she'd throw her arm up and pull it down quickly--those are my absolute favorite!

There's just too much to appreciate!

Thanks for pointing it out Batsuchan. Dunno why it's listed as "Fantasia" in wikipedia and her fansites. But since most people seem to familiar with "Fantasia", I'll just keep it that way.

This was even harder than the LP poll! I have liked most of Maos SPs better than her LPs, actually. I think she usually uses better music in her SPs for some reason. They always seem to suit her even better than her LPs

Masquerade is my least fave, although it's not bad, and I like it much better as a SP, than LP. Maybe the fact that the I was never crazy about the Masquerade LP, and that I had to watch it before the Masquerade SP had something to do with my liking to the SP. Carmen was cute, but not my fave either.

Nocturn was one of her best ones so far, but Clair de Lune was better IMO. I really really love her Clair de Lune program, BUT.... it's a close second to Fantasy! If I had to choose one Mao program to watch for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Especially when she did it at worlds. I wish Mao would bring this program back so badly! And I agree with you all, about the step sequece. It was just superb.

Star85 wrote:

This was even harder than the LP poll! I have liked most of Maos SPs better than her LPs, actually. I think she usually uses better music in her SPs for some reason. They always seem to suit her even better than her LPs

That was exactly what I thought!

It's kind of strange, though, isn't it? I'm so used to thinking of Mao as an LP skater (as opposed to someone like Yu-Na, who is known for her SPs), but when I think about it, there are way more SP's of Mao's that I absolutely adore.

But, then again, Mao has had many more EMOTIONAL and MEMORABLE long program PERFORMANCES. But from a purely, "do I love the program itself or not" point of view, I have more SP's that I absolutely adore.

Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra (2007-2008)
I love this short program. Music, Costume,... Everything matched Mao. It was dramatic and moving. This Voting tells us how good it was.