Bizet's opera of Carmen tells the story of an unscrupulous, wild woman who uses all her powers including the power of seduction to get whatever she wants and when she no longer wants it, she throws it away. Carmen was a narcissistic user of people. To me, Zueva's choreography is the perfect interpretation of Carmen, how anyone would think it is too in your face" is totally beyond me. This is a masterpiece of choreography performed and presented by the world's best ice dancers. Period.
Very nice explanation. I didn’t know that, however after watching again I definitely can say, they didn’t give any emotion here, except great scarring, I found it boring :(
@@joannaw2745 I respect your opinion, but being honest I saw the opposite. Like the announcers say, their skate was aggressive and passionately in character. Look at their facial expressions and the aggressiveness going into their moves and transitioning between sections of the FD. Look at Scott's yell, and Tessa's arm flicks and leg movements during lifts, all of which were in character and timed perfectly.
No matter how demanding or intricate the lift, he sets her down like he's handling a piece of fine, delicate crystal - as soft as a feather, as gentle as a whisper. Artistry, pure and simple.
Just heard Scott wanted to skate the original “sexy” version of this at the 2014 olympics. Have to agree it would have been incredible! I say come back in 2020 with a revamped version of this. They will be 32/34 not that old. Some tweeking from their new coaches and look out! Keep that roar at the beginning it’s everything!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Like any obsessed VM fan, I've watched all of the phenomenal Carmen performances many times. And Tessa is just magnificent. It's "her" skate for sure given the title role, but the more I watch the more I appreciate what an exceptional partner Scott is here. If you just focus on him you can see how perfectly he matches and supports her without grandstanding -- and his skating is impeccable. Bottom line they are a sublime team and undoubtedly GOAT. Noticing all of this just brings me an even deeper appreciation. ❤️❤️❤️
before 2010, scott used to be the center of attention. after 2010, the focus on the team became more balanced, and even going tessa's way. she really started to bloom, presence and facial expression wise, during their second quad which really helped them clinch their 2nd olympic gold in 2018
STUNNING, even though there were tiny mistakes. It captures the jealousy, rage and sexuality of Carmen perfectly (complaining that it's too sexual is like complaining that sugar's too sweet btw) and to this day, Scott's ROAR at the beginning still has me shooketh haha
At 2:54 if you slow it down they are slightly out of sync on the twizzles. Also at the end of that twizzle sequence I think Tessa loses her balance a bit, but I'm not sure. They're small mistakes and to see them I had to look at them in slow motion. Overall I think its incredible and I struggled to find things that are obviously wrong.
I've loved this program for 6 years (I discovered it in 2014), yet I was today years old when I discovered that the roar at the beginning of the dance is Scott and not something from the music...
Pure perfection... I don't know why they didn't finish in first place?! This is one of their best performances... For me, they are and always will be, THE BEST!!! Greetings from Slovenia!
Beautiful and romantic pair. No one can beat them in terms of gracefulness, elegance and timing. They may not be a couple in real life but for the fans they will remain as one. Thanks for uploading these videos. Watching from the Philippines
This dance is a Masterpiece indeed! My fav FD of theirs!They are a once in a lifetime Ice dance couple... LEGENDS indeed! I actually had to watch this video again to recover from how borring the Worlds were this year without them !Surely missed them tons! Could they like NEVER retire?I don't think I want to OR can watch Ice Dance without them...
I’m old enough to Remember Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean British couple. They were the original ground breakers. Times were very different then. Watching this couple reminds me of that time. Made me watch ice dancers again.
2021 and still here. It is a MASTERPIECE 👏 It shows how great Marina is as a choreographer but (to me) more importantly - how incredibly good Virtue & Moir are. GOATS. Real legends 🔥 I miss them so much, ice dancing is not the same without them 😢 UPDATE: december 2023 and still here 🙃
Mmk..I've said it 100 times but it bears repeating...if they're not in love..they should be. Their skating is flawless..& sooo emotional...I'm not convinced that they're not in love. All the years of staring in each other's eyes while everything else is flying by you. That is INTENSE!!
Enchanting. Just if I could like this performance literally a 1000 times. How on beat they were OMG. 5:35 that was beyond awesome. I love Tessa and Scott.
Magnificent! A passionate performance, the most stunning, imposing Carmen I ever saw on ice from a really Gold pair of artist/athletes! Thank you Tessa and Scott!
This stunning routine not getting a gold medal in any of the main competitions (Worlds, $CC, GPF) is a clear crime against sport and artistry. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
I'm Russian. Tessa and Scott are my all time favourites - since Lobacheva and Averbukh retired (btw, Ilya Averbukh's been doing some cool choreo for Russian skaters). Ever since 2010 Tessa and Scott are the best, there's so much special about them, sort of chemistry coming to the surface every time they skate. Their technical and acrobatical skills are so impressive! I love this pair and I'll support them throughout the Sochi marathon.
Unfortunately Tessa had made a little mistake during the twizzles in the SD the day before. But this Carmen will be remebered forever. I'm Italian but really can not understand how anyone can compare this Carmen to Cappellini-Lanotte's routine. The FD of Anna and Luca was nice, do not say no, but already seen a thousand times before. Here we see a masterpiece, new, unconventional, performed by two living legends, with, in addition to extraordinary technical skills, a charisma that is rarely seen on the ice.
+Elena Pagliaretta SON D'ACCORDO ! Have you ever seen amongst the all : Tessa & Scott Star on Ice 2010 Japan symphony n.5 ? If not I really suggest you & everyone to do so .
This was hardly a masterpiece. Carmen is overused no matter how you spin it. So Tessa wore a black costume - big deal. By the way, a twizzle error is more than "a little mistake". Its a major element of the SD. Agreed it was a bit unconventional which I'll give them credit for, but not one of their best in my opinion. However, this was better than their Sochi program. That was mediocre at best.
Book Worm So you know the big deal was neither the costume colour, nor the previously used music. It was the choreography and how these two skated and interpreted it. This program was way ahead of it's time, and this Carman was not like any Carman you have seen before. It's provocative, daring, dark, gritty and sexy. It's not your run-of-the-mill sugarplum offerings.
You can't take your eyes off them! You just can't. The moment they took the ice, you just knew they had a story to tell. And what a story it was. Kudos to everyone who had anything to do with this program: the coaches, choreographer, costume designers, and of course, Scott and Tessa. These two brought the characters to life and then some! Wow! What a treat, even after all these years!
I don't follow skating and find ice dance a bit boring. I do remember watching skating with my grandmother years ago when Kurt Browning skated. One lady that I did enjoy was Sasha Cohn...I thought she was just amazing and I remember could not watch when she attempted her jumps as I was so afraid she would trip and I wanted her to win. Lol. I also still remember my grandmother's beautiful smile when she watched skating ..it gave her joy.
Carmen is one of my fave programmes of theirs but it didn’t really get the recognition it deserved...I think 1) it was ahead of its time and a style that not everyone likes, and so it was a mixed bag in terms of audience and judge reaction 2) they made mistakes sometimes in its execution Their Moulin rouge routine in 2018 was like a more polished toned-down version of carmen (and my all time favourite)..I really wished they performed Carmen at least once during their comeback. It would have been nice to compare how far they’ve come and see this programme done now that they’ve reached their full potential :)
Oh my goodness! Shades of Moulan Rouge from 2018 Olympics! Although I am a Gabriella and Guillaume fan, I think that Scott did the best complex lifts. He was a fierce competitor.
At 0:21 I thought that it was Scott trying to adjust the dress of Tessa and I was like “Damn Scott, slow down you are in a competition” and then I realised it was Tessa
i read somewhere that marina zoueva crafted the programs of all her olympic teams for sochi (shibs, d/w, v/m) to the liking of the russian nation. v/m - glazunov d/w - rimsky-korsakov and shibs - michael jackson!
I love watching this then remembering that at this same competition Gilles and Poirier were doing Marry Poppins and Weaver and Poje The Sound of Music. But then at the most recent Olympics They were doing Moulin Rouge, James Bond, and Je Suis Malade. I guess what I’m trying to say is look what happens in time 🤣
It's enlightening to read these comments months after the event, and realize how many people have no understanding of the mission of "art." Many filter their take on the performance through the lens of patriotic fervor, many judge it against the absolute standard of their own moral code, and many judge this performance (or V/M's body of work) according to how well the fantasy created by the artists reflects the fantasy destination of their own lives. V/M are only trying to recreate and interpret Bizet's story on ice skates, in four minutes. It's art, and is entirely subjective. The only question should be whether it is faithful to the story of the opera. In my reading of it, Carmen is promiscuous, licentious, has a violent lability of mood, and manipulates weak men for her own gratification. In all likelihood she has Borderline Personality Disorder. Early on, her seductive behavior is represented by several of the Kama Skatra lifts and poses. Then note the sudden mood change at 4:30 (of the recording, not the performance). Up to this point Jose has been fairly passive, responding to Carmen's manipulations with alternating joy, frustration and confusion. At 4:30 a series of subtle hints occur in rapid succession, each of which might be missed in the flow of a one time drive-by observation of the performance, but the overall effect is a smooth depiction of a sudden borderline mood shift. For the preceding minute or so Jose is happy, increasingly so until, at 4:10 they reach a climax of emotional intimacy. Big mistake, Jose. That's the classic trigger for a violent Borderline mood shift. There's a sense of unease brewing in Carmen until, at 4:30, the dam breaks. First, Jose makes the horrible realization that something -- can't put his finger on it -- is wrong, reflected in his face. Next, Tessa mimes the the kind of physical, nonverbal cues that stereotypically signal an impending Borderline explosion: the series of three slow, deliberate steps in place, like a bull pawing the ground before charging. Then her face gives it away with a savage look of blind rage, followed by the downward strike with her right arm, breaking Jose's hold on her. She turns her back to him, and he reflexively tries to salvage what he thinks is an ordinary misunderstanding by putting his hands around her waist. Carmen holds her head, squeezing it, confused about what's happening to her (Borderlines have no control over these episodes), and she kicks out against nothing in particular. I th.ink this is the point in the libretto where she has just stabbed a co-worker, and she's still holding the knife. She turns to face Jose, and takes a swipe at his head with the knife. A physical fight ensues -- Scott mirrors Tessa's martial movements, symbolizing the instinctive ability Borderlines have to manipulate their partner into bypassing negotiation and reason, and into a no-holds-barred fight. I could go on, but you get the idea. This is art, and art is entirely subjective. At one end of the spectrum of opinion, art's job is to confront people and offer them the chance to consider alternate versions of truth. At the other end of the spectrum is the Elvis (Presley, not Stojko) on black velvet school of art. Just remember, If I say it's art, it's art to me. I only get concerned when a group gets enough political power to tries to ban art they don't like. The American south (America's Albania) is notorious for doing this. No one can be criticized for expressing an opinion. As long as you say " I feel that this is too graphic..." and not "this is too graphic...", you're being honest, and no one can say you DON'T feel that way. I feel differently, but the same rules apply. You can't say I'm immoral, just that you don't like my taste.
I remembered that I was one of who particular questioned the approach of that emblematic piece Carmen by Bizet into their choreograohy from this ice dancing partnership! How full and wrong I was!!!
Difficult number! Can’t say I love it, and it is is not a crowd pleaser, but it is true to the that tumultuous story! Phenomenal skating and true to character story telling.
Took me forever to find this dance after seeing the tiny clip of it in the montage made for them with Blue Rodeo’s song “Pull Me Through” after the 2018 Winter Olympics. 😁
