On the subject of new, and everything being it.
new [noo, nyoo]
Adjective, newer, newest.
- of recent origin, production, purchase, etc.; having but lately come or been brought into being: a new program.
When the off season began, it was “in with the new”. New music, new costumes, new choreography, and new elements. newnewnew.
Needless to say, it was a little daunting.
You forget choreography, you fall … a lot, your new dress gives you wedgies and your partner skates over your hair.
New does not always mean easy or better, it just means new.
Within a world of new, we choose to stay together, stay grounded, and with the help of our coaches, continue to persevere through any struggles that come our way; including all that is “new”.
At this point in our season, I find that it’s a lot about persevering. The ‘off’ season was short lived, and now we flick the ‘off’ switch to ‘on’ as we prepare for our first Challenger competition of the season – Salt Lake City, and our first season on the Grand Prix circuit, where we will compete at Skate America and Rostelecom Cup.
Danny and I recently finished attending Champs Camp, in Co. Springs. I like to think of it as my first Champs Camp, because it was the first time I actually experienced skating in it – last time I stood by the boards and watched. I had just gotten off of crutches and was trying to pretend that I could stand for that long without help. I couldn’t.
This time, I did a lot more than that.
This time, we won the pair jump competition and skated both programs.
Debuting programs for the first time is not always easy. We develop them daily, and the music gets stuck in our heads as we try to sleep at night. A short isn’t just a short, and a long isn’t just a long. Somewhere along the line, we put a piece of ourselves into the music, and the choreography becomes a part of us. 24/7 they are our passionate projects that start as an awkward combination of transitions and elements and evolve into the perfect algorithm. We are never just going out there and ‘doing a program’ we are putting a piece of ourselves on the ice, to be judged.
Our short program this season is set to “Espana Cani” and our free I skate is to “Music of the Night”, a duet by Barbra Streisand and Michael Crawford. We love our programs, and as always, think they are our best programs yet.
Along with all of our hard work on our programs, we have been working diligently on doing something we were unable to consider last year – increasing our technical content. Last season we were forced to try and become as good as we used to be, and this year we plan to be better than we ever have been. That might sound confusing, but I promise, it’s simple.
And for a little while, it might not be perfect.
But it’s just new.
Tarah
PS: My Blog will be put on overdrive during the season. That means a new blog every 2 weeks to give an intense look into the life of a skater.
Have a question about training, competing or anything else that you think SERIOUSLY needs some delving into during one of my posts? Do your noble duty as skating fan and write in/tweet us your suggestion so we can make this blog happen!
