Chapter 84 The Ethereal Nature of Human Emotions is Universal
Starting from the youth group, Yang Yiyan not only attracted a group of mothers as fans, but also gained the attention of some figure skating commentators and seniors. As a result, Xia Yuezi gradually entered the public eye and gained some international fame.
At least the commentator at the Russian station still favored Yang Yiyan. The previous athlete's technical movements were replayed on the big screen, and his voice echoed in the stadium.
"Yang Yiyan, a Chinese athlete, had a somewhat disappointing performance today. Since the beginning of this season, she has made frequent mistakes on 3A, but her mentality has not been greatly affected. In particular, her emotional appeal is something that is hard to see even in the adult group. I am already looking forward to her performance in the next competition."
The camera panned to the waiting area for a few seconds, and the commentator chuckled twice: "The score is out, 73.47. Considering that one of the moves was a mistake, this score is not bad."
Xia Yuezi looked at the program's content score of 30.67, recalled Yang Yiyan's intense performance on the ice, and nodded silently.
Perhaps due to the added bonus of an Olympic bronze medal and a World Championship silver medal, Yang Yiyan is no longer an unknown and easily defeated athlete in the senior group. This season, her treatment has finally improved significantly.
As a trial competition at the beginning of the season, the judges in the B-level competition are always strict with their scores. Her short program score was 31, not to mention her fall in the free skate.
There were some mistakes in this short program, so getting this score is normal. Let's see if the score can be raised again in the second half of the season.
The physiotherapist was already waiting backstage. She skillfully picked up a jar of ointment, warmed it in her palm, and then applied it to the athlete's foot.
Yang Yiyan's ankles had long been deformed. She started practicing 3A from the youth group, and even with the best care, her ankles couldn't withstand the pressure of high-intensity training.
During the off-season, she sprained her ankle and was taken to the hospital by her coach for X-rays and an MRI. The results showed a grade II ligament tear. Considering that Yang Yiyan was an athlete and the condition was not serious, the doctor did not perform surgery immediately and opted for conservative treatment to allow her to recover slowly.
Xia Yuezi stopped her training for a while to let her rest. When they met again, her weight and figure had increased dramatically. It was quite a struggle to get her back to weight.
After a long time, Xia Yuezi guessed that the competition was over, and then she saw the staff come to inform Yang Yiyan to pick up her small medal.
She pulled a staff member aside and asked in a low voice, "Where is Yang Yiyan ranked this time?"
"second."
The staff members probably had never left Russia and had never had proper English communication training; their Russian-accented English had a heavier "r" sound than the other athletes.
This result was roughly in line with Xia Yuezi's expectations.
Polina has always been criticized by figure skating fans for being unpredictable, but she has almost never made a mistake in the short program. On the contrary, she has learned the essence of Mao Nan in the free skate, with both her upper and lower limits being amazing.
Watching her free skate, she was so engrossed in the ice that she pinched her philtrum to prevent herself from fainting at any moment.
What surprised her was Park Young-rye. This South Korean skater had completely risen from the ashes. Without participating in any B-level practice, she directly defeated a group of skaters with all five majors in the first competition of the new season and won a small medal in the short program.
Looking at the final score sheet and rankings, Xia Yuezi saw that Yang Yiyan was six points behind Park Young-ri, but Polina was more than two points ahead of Yang Yiyan. As long as the two of them didn't suffer a spectacular fall during their free skate, they should have no problem getting on the podium.
The fact that they couldn't beat this score also reveals something: the Russian Ice Hockey Federation probably thinks Lyubov is no longer reliable and is preparing to promote Polina as the number one player in the new season.
Xia Yuezi could understand this, after all, Russia has a strong talent pool, and there are not enough international competition slots for both adult and youth groups every year.
This situation became even more severe after the Sochi Winter Olympics, but this also meant that "early fame" athletes were no longer enough for them; they wanted to "become gods at a young age," indirectly harming batch after batch of girls.
Thinking of this, Xia Yuezi looked at Polina with a hint of pity. After all, once her junior sister was promoted to the next group, this girl's treatment plummeted from the number one position to the point where she might not even be considered for the number three position.
In addition to his increasingly serious injuries, if it weren't for the unreliable 3A, he probably wouldn't even be able to snag a spot to compete abroad. He's a typical example of someone who's used and then discarded.
Because of Yang Yiyan's performance in the short program, Chinese figure skating fans watching the live broadcast of the free skate were trembling with fear, and they started various posts on forums to pray for her.
After Park Young-rye came on stage, Yang Yiyan followed her out from backstage and stood in the aisle to warm up.
Xia Yuezi stood nearby with a thermos and tissues in hand, and then heard a familiar piece of music.
She listened carefully for a while, then raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at the ice.
Park Young-rye's free skate program this season is not a classic piece, but rather a K-pop piece unique to South Korea.
Choosing this song was actually a disadvantage for her, but Xia Yuezi felt that the song was surprisingly suitable for her.
"Into the New World" is the debut song of the famous South Korean girl group Girls' Generation. However, this song was not buried by the assembly-line boy and girl groups that followed. Instead, it was called "South Korea's second national anthem" because the song was too ahead of its time and full of power.
A group of teenage girls, full of colorful dreams and expectations, longed to stand on the stage and see flowers and applause coming for them, and they did just that, just like Park Young-rye in her youth group days.
Later, Girls' Generation underwent various changes, with most members focusing on individual development, and some even fading from public view. However, their return as a group caused a sensation, which is consistent with Park Young-rye's current situation.
More importantly, the lyrics of this song perfectly capture Park Young-rye's psychological journey from drowning to emerging from the lake.
This song, which once caused a sensation, achieved a score of 195.42 under Park Young-rye's meticulous performance, directly securing a podium spot.
This marks her return to the podium at a Grand Prix event after many years.
The KC zone, also known as the KC zone, stands for "kiss and cry," meaning that every moment the contestants spend here, whether it's laughter or tears, will be recorded.
Park Young-rye's new coach is an elderly white woman, and she is currently hugging her coach and sobbing uncontrollably, showing emotions she has never displayed before at the Olympics.
Perhaps influenced by Park Young-rye's show, or perhaps because the two top contestants were about to stage a spectacular showdown, the atmosphere in the venue reached a terrifying level.
When Yang Yiyan took the stage, Xia Yuezi could hear a cacophony of noise from the audience. Some girls were calling out the contestants' names, while others were shouting encouragement with all their might.
Her free skate program was chosen by Xia Yuezi and is selected from Debussy's "Afternoon of a Faun". This piece is inspired by the poem of the same name by the French symbolist poet Mallarmé and uses melody to outline a fantasy scene.
Xia Yuezi also sang this piece and offered some suggestions during the arrangement.
Yang Yiyan skated Debussy's "Clair de Lune" in the youth group. Both pieces are intended to showcase the ethereal and dreamlike nature of music. While there are performance models for "Clair de Lune" that can be referenced, the performance of "La Faunus in the Afternoon" is more challenging and presents something more mysterious.
The enchanting string music began, much like the dreamlike music in old Chinese cartoons. Yang Yiyan moved slowly, turning and raising her hand to leave, as if the illusion had not yet fully formed. Then she gradually increased her speed, slowly venturing deeper into the dream.
Any ice skating fan who follows Yang Yiyan will know that whether it's the short program or the free skate, the 3A is always her first jump.
During the sixth training session, Yang Yiyan jumped over the 3A twice, once with a somersault and once with a fall.
Many people, including Xia Yuezi, were on tenterhooks, fearing that she might make another mistake on this jump.
"Whoosh—"
The skaters on the ice rink quickly took off and tightened their bodies, their leg muscles faintly visible, but they were still unsteady when they landed.
Xia Yuezi clearly saw Yang Yiyan's right knee sway inward, causing her entire body to lean forward. Yang Yiyan slid to the side with the momentum, her left hand bracing against the ice, barely managing to avoid falling.
Xia Yuezi stood on the sidelines, tapping her fingers on the barrier, thinking that she would have to talk to Yang Yiyan when she got back, and hopefully remove the jump from the show later.
Otherwise, the vicious cycle of "wanting to jump but not being able to" will continue to bother her, which may make her nervous before other jumps, thus affecting her basic skills.
Yang Yiyan bit her cheek and continued her encounters with the fairies in the illusion. The sounds of the French horn and the double reed gradually became sweet and passionate, immersing her completely in this love story.
A sixteen-year-old girl doesn't have much contact with boys. Training and studying fill her life, leaving her no time for romance. At most, she might experience romantic fantasies during puberty.
However, "The Afternoon of a Faun" was originally a fantasy of the faun during his afternoon nap. If he had actually been in love, he probably would have had a hard time grasping the nuances of the performance.
After a set of footwork, the music gradually changed tone. Yang Yiyan walked forward with small, quick steps on her ice skates, her smile fading, replaced by a look of confusion and bewilderment, just as a dream was gradually fading away, and Pan wanted to keep the fairy in the dream.
Yang Yiyan leaped lightly, completing the last jump of the program in 3 seconds, followed by a bent-over spin, which made the skating fans in front of the screen feel a little like crying.
Since Yang Yiyan developed a back problem, Xia Yuezi has gradually reduced the number of times Biellman appears in the choreography. Chinese figure skating fans are aware of their star player's back injury and feel sorry for her.
After all, many people only knew Yang Yiyan because of her Pearl Bellman pose, and it's inevitable that they'll feel a bit empty now that she's gone.
Xia Yuezi gradually relaxed and stood on the sidelines, clapping along with the audience.
She still remembers how Yang Yiyan lacked confidence before telling Teacher Mi her song selection, which forced her to have a talk with her after the training session.
"The difficulty of 'The Afternoon of a Faun' lies in showing different emotions in different scenes. You can use 'Moonlight Sonata' to glide through the tranquility and beauty of the first half. As for the confusion and emptiness in the second half, you can recall the state of self-analysis you had before."
"There are only so many kinds of human emotions, and the emotions expressed during performances are often the same. Although this is not a good method, you can try anything that can make your performance smoother."
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