Ranking the Warhorses: Bolero

Hi everyone! I starting on a new series leading up to the Olympic season! I'm going to be showcasing some of the best performances of all the warhorses! For those of you that don't know, a "warhorse" is an iconic piece of skating music, which, in some cases, is frequently overplayed.  For each song in the series, I'm going to list my top 10 performances for each song. As you can imagine, there are much more than 10 performances to each of these songs. We are starting this series off with a bang, with the very famous "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel.

Fun fact: I discovered that there are also other songs named "Bolero", most notably from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. However, Ravel's "Bolero" is the only true warhorse bearing this title.

We will now introduce Autumn's song hatred meter! On a scale of 1 to 10, we have:

1= This is my jam and everyone should skate to it
10= Dear God please put an end to this suffering

My rating for "Bolero" is 4. It's a bit repetitive, but I don't mind the music.

I'm going to start off with one that just did not work for me. Others may like it, but it was not my favorite...

Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (RUS)

It was an attempt to modernize this piece of music, and for me, it fell flat. Bolero just does not work with the synthesizers and techno beats. This is unfortunate because they were the only pairs team I could find that skated to it. And Ksenia actually smiled! Techno Bolero must be an alternate universe.
Bonus points for the random water polo ad in the video!

#10: Irina Moiseyeva and Andrei Minenkov (RUS)

Here's another interesting fact: Many credit Torvill and Dean with the first performance of Bolero, but that is not correct. The Russian team of Moiseyeva and Minenkov performed to it first, at the 1982 World Championships. Torvill and Dean's performance at the 1984 Olympics caused a lot of drama, particularly from the Russian judges and coaches, who decried it as a rules violation. Oh how times have changed...However, M&M's performance here was not entirely to Bolero. There was a portion of it where they danced to "Zorba the Greek", and it was quite entertaining, with a lot of intricate footwork.

#9: Evan Lysacek (USA)

Here we see Evan's serious face. This was a solid performance at the 2009 World Championships. This music suits his skating style quite well. However, there is one criticism I must address. If you have read Dick Button's autobiography "Push Dick's Button", or listened to any of his commentary regarding the IJS system, you will know how much he dislikes random flailing arms. I didn't notice this much before, but it definitely was a distraction from Evan's overall performance. But damn, those spins were fantastic!

#8: Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko (RUS)

Leonova and Khvalko's rendition of Bolero was a brave and dramatic choice. Sandra Bezic mentioned in the commentary that they were working with Alexander Zhulin on choreography, and his influence is evident here. Her comments that others don't go near it have been disproved, but it is something to consider. Once someone takes a program to a certain level of fame, why do skaters want to take it on? Their lifts in this program are amazing, particularly that one where she hangs on with no support. The costume choice is interesting to say the least...Overall, it was an interesting dance program, and they made it their own without attempting to copy Torvill and Dean.

#7: Vanessa Giuchi (ITA)

Vanessa is a skater that, for some reason, was not on my radar before. However, I found myself enjoying her skating a lot! I suppose she was the first skater in recent times to put the Italian ladies on the map, followed by Silvia Fontana and Carolina Kostner. Her costume is really cool and has a harlequin vibe to it. I also love any shots, especially at the Olympics, where skaters are overcome with emotion for skating well.

#6: Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS)

Hey guys, what happened to Elizaveta? I really enjoyed her skating, and she has such a fierce personality and presence on the ice. This seems to be a sad and disturbing trend among the Russian ladies skaters. They seem to get cast aside once the new up-and-coming skater comes along. Anyway, enough on that, let's watch this powerhouse! At her top form, like she is here, her technical ability is almost untouchable. However, like some strong technical skaters, she seems less focused (and possibly less interested) in the artistry aspect. That triple axel was freakin' flawless though.

#5: Evgeni Plushenko (RUS)

Oh gosh y'all, this one takes me back. I remember Plushenko in his days as the young challenger to Alexei Yagudin. It was an interesting time. And one of my friends thought he was really cute (I was more of a Yagudin fan myself 😉). But this was before "The Best of Plushenko" and "Sex Bomb" and the infamous Platinum Medal of 2010. He cut his teeth on the warhorses just like many of the other skaters. And that whole clip about not talking about being world champion because it's bad luck? That is just precious. You can see that back in 2001, he was already beginning to show his signature flare. I see what you're doing there with that hip wiggle, Plushenko...He has a lot of spunk and energy here, which later would be replaced with more finesse and deeper artistic expression. I had forgotten about it for a little bit, but back in the day then never mentioned Plushenko or Yagudin without mentioning their ongoing feud.

#4: Holiday on Ice "Festival"

This one is my wild card pick for the post. It's interesting to see Bolero being performed outside of a competitive setting, and with a group. A huge part of this number's appeal is the visual effects. Plus, these skaters show a lot of interesting skills and maneuvers. The weaving through all of the chairs was one of my favorite things. The lifts at the end were also fantastic! The skaters in this number are Brent Bommentre, Kim Navarro, Maria Girasemko, Andrey Moskvin, Jane Bugaeva, Jo Carter, Laurent Porteret, and Michael Solonoski.

#3: Michelle Kwan (USA)

Here we have Michelle Kwan trying her hand at the iconic Bolero. As you would expect, she definitely left her mark in this performance. She brings such grace and beauty to everything she skates to. I could not take my eyes off her in this performance. Her step sequence at the end was flawless!

#2: Carolina Kostner (ITA)

Carolina's performance is one of the few renditions of Bolero that stood out strongly to me. I have just recently noticed this, but there are some similarities in Michelle Kwan's and Carolina Kostner's skating style. I suppose this is because both of them have worked with choreographer Lori Nichol. Carolina's joy and enthusiasm is contagious here, and it was good to see her make the podium in Sochi in 2014. She has such beautiful flow and artistry here. Another thing to point out: while there has been a lot of discussion on the age of certain skaters, Miss Caro is now 30, and still out there doing her thing. Get it girl!

And here's #1, as you would expect...

#1: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (GBR)

A staple in the sport of figure skating. Torvill and Dean invented ice dance, invented Bolero, and invented dying on ice. [mic drop]

I hope you all enjoyed this! Stay tuned for more! I don't know which song I'm going to do yet, as there are so many to choose from!

- Icy Trails ⛸