Whether or not you are a fan of figure skating, you might have heard of Jason Brown, a two-time Olympian and national champion, who grew up in Highland Park. He's now making his mark in the sport in a new way.
The most beautiful skater I've ever seen in my 82 years on this planet. Not a Nathan Chen, athletically, of course, but a force and picture of delight on his own. I wish him the best on his new road to even greater success.
Jason brings skating back to the days when the sport was not all about the jumps. He reminds us of the artistry and the finesse as well as the athleticism and he tells a story on the ice. He’s one of my favorite skaters. And - yes - I can remember watching his “Riverdance” routine when he did it in competition for the first time and I was spellbound. I still enjoy watching it.
@cak813 Don't get me wrong. If he's just naturally like that I suppose there is nothing he can or should do about. He's not going out of his way to attract attention with his wardrobe as Johnny Weir is won't to do. I liked the original "Irish Jiggers" who did "Riverdance" but never saw Jason do it on the ice. I'll see if I can locate a video of it. Thanks.
@cak813 I watched his Riverdance 2014 routine ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Vsen2ZMwWTo.html and it was quite original and must have required a great deal of stamina. He got a standing "O" and that was not just because he was a wearin' o' the green. Great performance!
@@vernonfrance2974 Jason’s Riverdance routine is easily found in You Tube. And while costumes can add to a routine, in the end it’s about the skating. Jamie Salé and David Pelletier had extremely simple costumes for their Olympic gold medal “Love Story” routine in 2002.
If you want to see proof of Jason's impact on the sport, watch some of the Junior Grand Prix competitors. Artistry is very much as important as the big jumps. THANK YOU to Jason for all he does.
Jason, you have VALUE on and off the ice. On ice, there's no one like you. I am certain you will be in the hall of fame at some point. Off ice, you are a gentleman and kind hearted. How do I know that? You made a HUGE impact on my daughter when you sat with us at dinner at a Chinese restaurant at a G2C camp In Hampton Va. (Audrey W, your mom, myself, my daughter and her friend shared a table ) You also worked on my daughter's choreography. Trust me, you're value comes from your heart. We love you!
My heart sank a little when I heard him say he felt, "worthless?" No see, "Worthless --Jason" is an oxymoron. Cognitive dissonance personified. Jason, you ARE gold, silk & elegance woven into a eye-pleasing beautiful tapestry of artistic fluid glass flowing into our minds & souls. Bring us back there, where Ice skating excellence is expressive, flowing, grounded on ice in a way that all our senses can be aroused, entertained & suspended in a moment time. Thank you and continue to be the change that you want to see. Blessings.
What must be really tough as an Olympian, is, just one mistake can take all that training away from you so quickly. He's obviously always going to be in the top 3-4 best male figure skaters of all time. Who can say that about anything they do. He seems like a really nice person, and those who train with him are so fortunate to have him. I wish him well in life.
A longtime fan of figure skating and of Jason. He's one of the top all time great skaters in skating. Jason is admired and loved by coaches, fans, and fellow competitors.
Now, that I have to take my grand daughter to ice skating lessons before she even starts school, makes me marvel at the dedication and effort that has to be put in just to skate good ...and then to become an olympian, that amount of work and training puts most sports out of business!!!!
I know people are in love with quads and with skaters who can squeeze many of them in a program, but Jason is by far my favorite US skater. His artistry on the ice has no comparison and he really is pushing the sport artistically. I really hope to have the opportunity to see him in a show some day
He is very important to skating, because even though he doesn’t have the technical elements aka quad jumps he has everything else and I mean that. Everything else being better than everybody else.
So glad to see the importance of artistry returning to figure skating. For a while there it seemed as if all the skaters could do was work up to and prepare for all sorts of “axels” … jump spin, jump spin, jump spin, etc., etc. They didn’t have time for artistry; all their effort and power went into the jumps and rotations. I found figure skating to be very uninspired then, and actually lost interest in watching it. Thanks, Jason!
International judges do respect Jason and show that in component scores; component scores are incredibly subjective and that's where additional points can be earned.
But they still underscore him in component or mark someone who we all know isn't on his level with the same component score, and in some cases higher. I rooted for Nathan Chen because of his athletic prowess but they would score him on the same level as Jason in component marks. It just made me want to distance myself from the sport that I love so much and turned me into a casual observer unless Jason was skating. Over 50 years of following the sport that I loved so much and watching it turn into a jump fest was so painful. Fortunately, we are beginning to see artistry come back on the junior level which I pray holds up once they move to seniors.
I started skating when Janet Lynn was the hometown celebrity, and often saw her at the rink. Jason's skating keeps up the artistry of Janet Lynn, and the era of figure skating as being as much artistry as athleticism. Doing a quad isn't special anymore. But the artistry (and yes, the incredible and iconic Riverdance is a huge piece of that) that Jason continues to expand is very special.
@@vernonfrance2974you don't understand how difficult those artistic movements are.....the deep knees, the curves on the ice, the flexibility.......the balance....it is much harder than you can imagine......even other skaters have said it is just as difficult as jumping .......it is just a different kind of difficulty........
@@LostintheTwilightZone I agree and I am not complaining about it but it is like comparing two different sports. One emphasizes leaps and the other doesn't. For now, the former is the standard for International Competition.
@@LostintheTwilightZone I agree. I'm sure you are right that they are difficult but just as figure skating no longer credits the tracing of figures on the ice, it has gone on to what some consider valuing the performance of leaps and bounds rather than more aesthetically pleasing glides, whirls, twirls and what some may think represents movements that are suitable to girlish girls. So far, the leapers hold sway with the international judging panels scoring evaluations. To their credit, IMO, they have not allowed the backward flips that I believe look very awkward.
Love to watch Jason! I never want to look away. His 2022 Olympic programs were great and I thought better than the top 3. It is all about the jumps but honestly, after a triple, I can't really see a quad. And after each trick, which all seem to be the same, they don't really connect the moves, they just flap their arms til the next jump. I been watching amateur and professional skating since I was 16. Honestly, it became boring to me once the quest for the quad was the focus and artistry. I don't care for the scoring system... Well, I don't like seeing it on screen... It is a checklist of what skaters are planning. Can't the judges just watch without knowing what is coming? Score what they see? I mean, I always found it exciting to watch skaters miss a trick, then come back later in program and throw it in and do it great. That is true skill to figure out where to put it in and keep the program on point. There are so many missing elements these days.
I REALLY enjoyed this programming and support for this marvelous, inspiring young man. He is so right, brave, and HIMSELF, to bring the performance aspect of skating, the emotion and storytelling and enjoyment of doing it and watching it, coupled with superb technique, to all of us. I love the joy in him, and the courage, and the heart of him!❤️
Toller Cranston was performing like this in the 70s, he brought art to skating but was really never taken seriously. It is great to see all these years later that is being encouraged.
Jason Brown and Sasha Cohen are my all time favourite skaters. They are just SO special. In terms of artistry, musicality, expression, and feeling, to me they are unmatched. Love them to bits.
Yes don't try and copy. Forge ahead with your own strengths and you might even resemble parts of the ... one and only Jason brown, whom I personally know from my figure skating ⛸️ days to be one of kindest, most athletic amazing people I have ever met. His remarkable ability, performance, presentation and so much more open our eyes to excellence. You go Jason. Always 💜💜💜 🖤
This perform/compete concept was first seen, in my [dim] memory during a Very short (before Jason Brown was ‘a thing) period in which ‘professional Olympic eligible’ competitors competed in IMPROV. It was Wonderful. It was short lived. I’ve wondered why it was short lived. As the years passed, and I grew jaded, I figured it was down to that power/money/ (base line) jobs thing. Heck, if a pro could throw it down in the moment? .. who needed choreographers? Greed had to be a factor> Skaters, fab or not, learned ‘how to do it’ from the folks who taught them. There is Always room for that. I hope Jason’s approach will help bridge that unnecessary gap.
Jason is magical! If only the sport could realize that his artistry is what the sport should be… since the implementation of the point system (brought on by the Russian cheating)..the sport is all about jumping… it is no longer “figure” skating…it is jump skating…under the 6.0 judging system I’m sure Jason would have been an Olympic Champion…in my opinion he is the best true “figure “ skater in his competitive era!
Jason is a reminder of what skating should be. The sport has been skewed toward the power jumpers. I find nothing appealing about them. Give me the artistry that Jason brings--it reminds me of Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, Christopher Bowman, and the others who skated in the decades before who could throw in gorgeous jumps and beautiful storytelling.
