Helene Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 From the NYT on synchronized swimming (emphasis mine): Twelve teams made the final round, but the Russians dominated from the start. Made up to look like sinister adult-size dolls with exaggerated painted-on eyelashes, they won the final on Tuesday with an intricately scary routine — all staccato kicks and aggressive slashing arm movements — set to the theme song from the 1977 horror film “Suspiria,” in which a young dancer realizes that her ballet school is being controlled by witches and that there is no escape. and The French went with “Swan Lake” and the traditional duality-of-nature struggle, while the Czechs decided “to show the fight between the classical and modern styles of music,” said Sona Bernardova, a Czech swimmer. Link to comment
Lynette H Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 You might be intersted in this on the BBC website for its sheer difficulty - its the gold medal performance on the high bar. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18903127 Link to comment
dirac Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 I think the greatest athletes in the Olympics are the horses. The sheer number of different skills and level of difficulty for eventing is amazing. Compare them to track and field. Humans practice for years jumping the exact same hurdles the exact same distance apart. Equestrian jumping courses are different every time. The numerous jumps are different hights, different widths, and made of varied materials. They add all kinds of visuals to distract them, and....the horses see the course for the first time in the competion! Not to mention they also do dressage, very complicated "dancing" which has no relation to what a horse does naturally. I am in awe. And they're taking chances, too. Such beautiful and sensitive animals, and it's moving when you think of the partnership between horses and human beings over the centuries (in which the former have often suffered). I like the cross country eventing best, but the dressage is fascinating for the seemingly invisible interactions between horse and rider. Thank you for that link, Lynette H. That's just awesome. Also thanks for chiming in, jsmu. Very instructive. Exciting race in the women's open swimming marathon in Hyde Park. Link to comment
dirac Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Another awesome performance from Bolt. His act is getting a bit old, though. Q&A with Ashton Eaton. Link to comment
JMcN Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Mo Farah - double gold medallist. It's been one of the most fantastic races I have ever watched. It must have been one of the most awesome experiences ever to have actually watched the race in the stadium. Link to comment
Drew Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Another awesome performance from Bolt. His act is getting a bit old, though. I haven't found it so...I guess since he IS really so great and I thought the fist bump to the volunteer standing behind him before the 200 meter was hilarious especially because the volunteer seemed to think so too. In interviews it's clear, though, that he is more self-conscious than four years ago--as one would expect. I also like the classy way he has stopped mid-interview on occasion to stand silent while a national anthem for another medal winner has been playing. Oh and the Jamaican men just this minute blew away the world record in the 4X100 relay. I was very happy, too, when the American women did the same last night. Link to comment
dirac Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 "If you can do it, you ain't braggin'." It's certainly true that Bolt has always had a warmth and generosity of spirit that take the edge off what might otherwise be hotdogging of the more irksome kind. After a certain point it seems a mite childish and Bolt's no longer a kid, but it could be me. (And I can't help thinking that a female athlete of any country would likely be pounded for such braggartry, but men are allowed greater leeway to act out in such ways.) He certainly has learned the value of Madonna's injunction, "Strike a pose." Link to comment
Drew Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Very true that no woman could 'get away' with Bolt's showiness. But I am willing to give him a lot of leeway--he has been so great for track and field. Link to comment
dirac Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 No doubt about that. Unfortunately his sport doesn't seem to know what to do with him. Mo Farah's second race was just as amazing as JMcN says. Wow. Link to comment
Helene Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Anchoring a team to a WR when the second-place US team ran faster than any other US team is the third part of Bolt's extraordinary accomplishment, two Olympics in a row. Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 From the NYT on synchronized swimming (emphasis mine): Twelve teams made the final round, but the Russians dominated from the start. Made up to look like sinister adult-size dolls with exaggerated painted-on eyelashes, they won the final on Tuesday with an intricately scary routine — all staccato kicks and aggressive slashing arm movements — set to the theme song from the 1977 horror film “Suspiria,” in which a young dancer realizes that her ballet school is being controlled by witches and that there is no escape. Just PERFECTION! Link to comment
sandik Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Another point of view on the dance component in floor exercise here Basically, women’s gymnastics is trying very hard to have it both ways—to maintain an air of grace, via dance or something like it, while growing increasingly powerful. And most of the time, it works. I think it’s still a beautiful sport, only now it’s more badass. Link to comment
dirac Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 I much prefer the traditional ending to the men's marathon, with the race finishing in the Olympic stadium. Closing ceremonies a bit of a snoozefest. Eric Idle, who was actually singing, saved the evening, along with the nuns on rollerblades and the kickline of Roman legioniaries. Did anyone see Darcey Bussell or did I miss her bit? Link to comment
Drew Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I only watched part of closing ceremonies and I thought I had, very unfortunately, missed Bussell who has always been a favorite of mine. But I gather from various complaints registered by others on Twitter that NBC cut Bussell and the section of closing ceremonies choreographed by Wheeldon. Apparently being a great dancer--whether modern dance (as in Akram Khan) or classical ballet (as in Bussell)--disqualifies you from American television. Link to comment
sandik Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 But I gather from various complaints registered by others on Twitter that NBC cut Bussell and the section of closing ceremonies choreographed by Wheeldon. Apparently being a great dancer--whether modern dance (as in Akram Khan) or classical ballet (as in Bussell)--disqualifies you from American television. Again? This is ridiculous! Link to comment
mimsyb Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Yeah, another snoozer! Well, not exactly as it was VERY LOUD! I was sort of hoping the Brazilians would bring in Marcello to do a killer Samba, but alas, that was not to be. One can only hope in four years time........... Still no Sting or Stones! Obviously geared to the younger set. zzzzzzzzzzz Link to comment
kbarber Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 But I gather from various complaints registered by others on Twitter that NBC cut Bussell and the section of closing ceremonies choreographed by Wheeldon. Apparently being a great dancer--whether modern dance (as in Akram Khan) or classical ballet (as in Bussell)--disqualifies you from American television. Again? This is ridiculous! Further irony is that one of the guys dancing with Darcey, Nehemiah Kish, is an AMERICAN. Link to comment
sandik Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Still no Sting or Stones! Obviously geared to the younger set. zzzzzzzzzzz I was wondering about the Stones -- they're still intact, still touring, and still making rock and roll. I don't think it's an age thing per se, or they wouldn't have had all those cover bands playing classic rock. I winced when I heard they were bringing in the Spice Girls, but I have to say that watching them motor around the stadium on top of those taxis was actually quite whimsical. Still, if they can have the Spice Girls, can't they have the Rolling Stones? Link to comment
dirac Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 Well, who needs Darcey Bussell when you can have Russell Brand lip-synching "I Am the Walrus"? I think the pop music was intentionally slightly less geriatric this time around, not more so. They had The Who and probably deemed that sufficient. Seemed to be trying for a sort of spanning-the-generations effect. I too was disappointed by the Brazilian sneak preview, but at least they have several years to get it together. Link to comment
hayden Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Sat through that whole ceremony waiting for Darcey Bussell and of course NBC cut it. Furious Link to comment
California Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 This site showing Bussell's performance has just been sent out by Twitter from several dance organizations. Scroll down toward the end to see the link to her performance. http://deadspin.com/.....inks-ray-davies Link to comment
JMcN Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I was reading earlier today that the choreography had to be really simplified at the last minute because of the rake and slipperiness of the performance surface. A lot of British ballet lovers are bemused as to why the BBC thinks that the RB has 200 female dancers. I also read that the only RB participants were Darcey's cavaliers. Apart from that there were some dancers from ENB, some students from RBS and the rest of the dancers had been chosen at auditions held all over the country. I thought the extinguishing of the cauldron was very moving. My personal favourite moment was right at the end when the cameras were panning around the departing athletes and there was the wonderful Mo Farah trying on one of the bowler hats with the light bulbs on top. For those of us suffering from post-Olympics depression, Adidas have issued a small film of some of Team GB singing "Don't stop me now"! A tweeter has also posted a link to this article about the BBC commentary of the Olympics: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-10/the-bbc-goes-gaga-for-the-olympic-games I must admit that I hadn't really been looking forward to these Olympics as much as usual because I felt quite remote from them. Train fares and hotel prices in the London area were sky high and I just decided not to bother. I have, however, been glued to the TV for the past 2 weeks and loved every minute of the Games. I feel quite bereft today and am not sure how to fill in the time till the Paralympics start on 29th August! Link to comment
Helene Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 This site showing Bussell's performance has just been sent out by Twitter from several dance organizations. Scroll down toward the end to see the link to her performance. http://deadspin.com/.....inks-ray-davies Click the little diagonal arrows on the bottom right of the video, since the video editing is a bit ?? at times, and be careful what you wish for. Not even the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, and Paris Opera Ballet have 200 ballerinas. Was the corps a punk homage to Ashton's chickens in "La Fille mal gardee"? Link to comment
dirac Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 Well, that's the Olympics I understand it went over well. I thought the extinguishing of the cauldron was very moving. At least you got to see it properly, JMcN. That was the occasion of one of NBC's worst cuts. I really don't think their coverage was that bad overall but last night was pretty awful and I expect the network to get an earful. Link to comment
Drew Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I find it hard to believe the Olympic organizers did not want to have the Stones and probably the Police/Sting too. My guess is that the former at least cost too much money (even to cover). For myself I would have preferred a closing ceremony that was a little less exclusively a big pop concert at least as shown on NBC. However, I am probably not the target demographic. Link to comment
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