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Sunday, December 31, 2006

New Year's Weekend Figure Skating Blogging: The Iconoclasts
Posted by Jill | 7:29 PM
Back in the heyday of my figure skating fandom, I wasn't like most fans, worshipping the good little boys who did what they were told and didn't rock the skating boat. I always preferred the rebels, the bad boys, the iconoclasts, those who marched to a different drummer.

Some of them, like Allen Schramm and the late Robert Wagenhoffer, have slid into obscurity, with nothing readily available of their work. But in recent years, especially since the infamous Ice Dancing Scandal of 2002, figure skating -- Johnny Weir notwithstanding -- has largely returned to the lackluster, rule-bound discipline not seen since the elimination of compulsory figures. But as we head into the 2007 competitive season, it's worth a look back at some of the luminaries of skating rebellion -- People like Paul and Isabelle Duchesnay, whose 1988 jungle-themed free dance shocked the judges and is alas, nowhere to be found online. But in the 1989 World Championships, they committed the unforgiveable sin of using props and music that included vocalizations in an original dance:





Women's skating never quite lent itself to rugged individualism, but Debi Thomas, as the first African-American national champion, shocked some by eschewing adorable little skirts in her 1988 Olympic short program:




Note especially Katarina Witt's snippy little applause as the marks are read. Meow! Of course we all know what ended up happening, but for these three minutes, Debi Thomas ruled the skating world.

As a segue into a look back at the men who rebelled, it's worth a look at this exhibition from the 1994 NHK trophy by TWO iconoclasts, French heartthrob Philippe Candeloro and Surya Bonaly, whose relative lack of artistry and outrageous hair and costumes gave judges fits, but whose sheer athleticism was loved by audiences:





In men's skating, no one has ever been more of an iconoclast than Canadian Gary Beacom, who pitched a fit at the 1984 Olympics after believing his compulsory figures were judged unfairly. He went on to a successful professional career, during which he spent some time in an American prison for tax evasion. This program, if you can stand the inane Dick Emberg commentary, is the most emblematic of a style never imitated OR duplicated:





If you think that's easy, try it yourself.

But among male skaters, the rebel di tutti rebels had to be Christopher Bowman. A walking Behind the Music episode, this guy was blessed with unbelievable talent AND sex appeal -- and threw it all away on white powder. Aggressively straight in a fey sport, he reveled in his reputation -- until his inability to keep his head on straight cost him his career.

THIS is what he was able to do on the way to finishing 7th at the 1988 Olympics with a $950/day cocaine habit:





But this exhibition program from the 1992 Olympics is Bowman in a nutshell:





Happy new year, everyone.
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