Prince Ice World 2010

Thank you for the clips, kirakira! They were very interesting.
I uploaded them here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?srz2z51169jfy88
http://www.mediafire.com/?77q4wb9bk4w2308
In case they got removed from YT.

Mao's Ballade looks even better than at The Ice, IMHO. It becomes more and more polished with every performance. It looks like Mao added some choreo right after the I spin, too.

I enjoyed the clips from the practice before the show, too (in the second video). They really show that Mao is trying to change her technique. Look at the single flip and the triple flip after that. Not only Mao does her best not to drop the torso, but also to use just the toepick to launch the jump (instead of getting down in her knee so far that almost a full blade makes contact with the ice). This will eventually help Mao to have more speed out of the jump - the longer the toepick/blade stays on the ice, the more speed the skater looses (and there's a risk of messing up the take-off if the skater enters the jump with too much speed).

I wonder if someone could translate what Mao says about her jumps and goals? There's a phrase that I find interesting, but I'm not sure if I understand it correctly. (In the first video, from 8:00)

Oscilla wrote:

I enjoyed the clips from the practice before the show, too (in the second video). They really show that Mao is trying to change her technique. Look at the single flip and the triple flip after that. Not only Mao does her best not to drop the torso, but also to use just the toepick to launch the jump (instead of getting down in her knee so far that almost a full blade makes contact with the ice). This will eventually help Mao to have more speed out of the jump - the longer the toepick/blade stays on the ice, the more speed the skater looses (and there's a risk of messing up the take-off if the skater enters the jump with too much speed).

Thanks for your explanations, Oscilla! They're really helpful. Mao seems to pick things up very quickly so I'm hoping that as she continues to rework her jumps, her new technique sticks and her old habits stay at bay, even in pressure-filled competition settings when she might try to rely on her muscle memory. It may take some time to get to that stage (where it's natural for her) but I think it'll actually be really interesting to watch the progression as it's happening.

Thank you Oscilla for sharing your comments and observations about Mao's progress. I must admit that I'm just a casual fan of FS, and I only started watching because of Mao, so I'm not really good with technical stuff. So I'm happy to know that Mao is trying to break her old habits, which I think is a very admirable thing to do because it takes a lot of patience and willpower to do so.

Mao Asada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPf3LThLXwo

Evgeni Plushenko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snWWrM_yTyo

kirakira wrote:

Mao Asada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPf3LThLXwo

Evgeni Plushenko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snWWrM_yTyo

god it makes me so happy to see Mao so happy, her smile makes anyone´s day.

Mao looks like a princess with the blue dress and that brilliant neclace, she is beautyfull.

i really love the new exibition, thanks for posting the videos.

The baby blue (?) dress and necklace looks like it could've been a costume for her Masquerade Waltz program. It surely reminded me of her first costume for that SP last season... that is, I thought it was the same thing.

Thanks kirakira!

Mao's exhibition is just breathtaking . And you can see how much better her flip has gotten! She hesitates less and doesn't slow down before she launches her toe pick into the ground anymore .

Thank you again kirakira!

I love her blue dress and newer EX. I can see her improvement. It's not much, but it makes a difference~!

Her exhibition becomes more refined each and every time she performs
I love that pic you posted, clovera! Kanako and Kozu working as Mao's hair stylists!!

maowataiyo wrote:

I love that pic you posted, clovera! Kanako and Kozu working as Mao's hair stylists!!

I'm grateful for all the backstage Mao-Kanako-Kozu clips and photos, that's for sure.

ETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyBArxMsTig (Kanako's EX at PIW Okazaki)

This should cover all the PIW Okazaki clips, for now...

Kanako is a cutie! Her exhibition reminds me of the gypsy-themed number Belbin & Agosto did a couple of seasons ago.

Takahiko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA7ZGuGx6xk

kirakira wrote:

Cuuuute!!!!

And her Ballade perf in this event is the best I've seen of her so far.
She just continually amaze me!!