Deniss Vasiljevs Lambiel 2.0

[arakwafan2006]

Let me just say, i think that Stephane Lambiel's 2006 Olympic short program is one of the best ever... like EVER ever. I'm also a fan of his Carne Cruda and of course Poeta program. He came to the world stage as an amazingly interesting and unique skater and went on to become a beloved champion.

I just watched Deniss' short program at Lombardia and i did not even realize i was watching a Lambiel student ( where have I been) but immediately, the refinement, the music and the movements reminded me exactly of Lambiel. The transitions, not just an illusion into a spin but real choreography from this young man. When i looked and saw that Stephane was the coach i remembered hearing that SL had a top level skater and put two and two together.

My question is as it pertains to a choreographer reproducing themselves in a program VS creating a style for a skater that is organic. I literally feel like I am watching Sl skate when I look at Deniss although his movement is light years ahead of many of the men he cant match in the jumps. I don't know how far Lambiel can take this man technically but the way he has cultivated the movement of the skater is sort of in the way that Tom Dickson has but in a more classical way.I do wonder if he is unable to stop himself from recreating himself in other skaters. Still, who the hell would mind seeing lambiel in every generation? lol.


What are your thoughts on the matter of choreographers recreating themselves VS helping a skater arrive at a style that is unique to them without looking like the choreographer at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWYcvXw55X0&t=210s

 

[shine]

To me Deniss skates with genuine expressiveness and a natural elegance and I really don't get the feeling he's trying to copy someone else, so I'm fine if his general style resembling Lambiel, who also happens to be my favourite male skater ever!

 

[arakwafan2006]

To me Deniss skates with genuine expressiveness and a natural elegance and I really don't get the feeling he's trying to copy someone else, so I'm fine if his general style resembling Lambiel, who also happens to be my favourite male skater ever!

I am not playing semantics here but I don't think that Denis is deliberately copying Stephanee as in not bothering to be organic i just think that Stephane's influince is so heavy, and not bad but so heavy until Deniss is literally looking like him. It's just in the way that in the 2000's all Tarasova/Morozov programs looked the same ( in a not so pleasant way though).

I remember that Sarah Kawahara was interviewed and she said that the toughest thing is not choreographing it the way you would do it but in a way that looks good on the skater. It's just that Stephane's skating looks great on Deniss LOL.

The beginning movements of the program...the arms, the posture through the back. DAMN it was amazing!

What if someone like Max Aaron learned how to move across the ice years ago from Lambiel... i digress.

Like you, i'm all for more skaters looking like Stephane. He managed to master movement

 

[briancoogaert]

It's so good to watch a naturally elegant skater with Lambiel's influence. This is his talent. He doesn't copy Lambiel. He has his own strenght, with Lambiel's influences.
From the first second, you see Lambiel has worked with him on choreography, posture... But Deniss gives something else to that content. Wonderful skater.

 

[dinakt]

Interesting thread.
Deniss always had amazing, very individual musicality, spins and charm. And when he teamed up with Lambiel, I felt it was not that he started imitating Lambiel, but rather that two skaters with very similar strengths and feeling for the ice, from two different generations, found each other and teamed up.
I think, so far, Lambiel (whom I love and who is a creative genius) does have a tendency to recreate himself in choreography (thinking of Daisuke's EX number here from years back). But at this point, I think there's no harm. There is so much Deniss can learn from him, and their style are similar enough that it does not seems forced. Now, in my ideal world Deniss has a LONG career (barring injuries, he's from a small Federation and he is very creative and very young- he can go on for many more years), and at some point he branches out into something new... but this year is not that year. He just turned 18.

 

[zebraswan]

You can look at Deniss's older performances before Lambiel started to coach him - he was just the same, although he is becoming more refined now. Lambiel and Takahashi were/are his favorite skaters so the influence was always there. He is just 18 years old and he will obviously develop his own style more as he gets older. But does it really matter? Javier skates like his idol Kurt Browning, Shoma skates like his idol Daisuke, etc. Does anyone hold it against them?

I am quite ok with skaters emulating Stephane if they have the goods to pull it off. And honestly, as a HUGE Stephane fan, I think Deniss is more talented at this age than Stephane was as a teen (I believe Stephane's best work came after he retired - maybe an unpopular opinion).

 

[dinakt]

You can look at Deniss's older performances before Lambiel started to coach him - he was just the same, although he is becoming more refined now. Lambiel and Takahashi were/are his favorite skaters so the influence was always there. He is just 18 years old and he will obviously develop his own style more as he gets older. But does it really matter? Javier skates like his idol Kurt Browning, Shoma skates like his idol Daisuke, etc. Does anyone hold it against them?

I am quite ok with skaters emulating Stephane if they have the goods to pull it off. And honestly, as a HUGE Stephane fan, I think Deniss is more talented at this age than Stephane was as a teen (I believe Stephane's best work came after he retired - maybe an unpopular opinion).

Though I agree with your main point, I do not think Javi is like Kurt, or Shoma like Daisuke But then again, I think Deniss is his own man, as well.
I appreciated that Stephane gave Deniss a completely different "Tosca" cut from his own.

 

[Seerek]

I don't know, I kind of thought he always had intangible quality when he came onto my radar 4 years ago (thanks to Ziggy for the recommendation back in the day).

It was channeled somewhat in a different way during the Benoit Richaud years (and Richaud is now doing choreography for many skaters, I'd like to think partially due to the good reviews for Deniss' prior work).

 

[rfisher]

To me Deniss skates with genuine expressiveness and a natural elegance and I really don't get the feeling he's trying to copy someone else, so I'm fine if his general style resembling Lambiel, who also happens to be my favourite male skater ever!

Deniss had that before he went to Lambiel as a coach. All they've done is refine him as he matures.