The floor exercise is the closest thing in women's gymnastics to a fashion show. Aside from leotards (often an interesting topic of discussion on their own) when a gymnast presents a floor routine, she is showing a one minute and 30-second work of art roughly equal to a designer's collection at Fashion Week.
Even if the gymnast herself didn't do the choreography, on the mat she seems both designer and model, and gymnastics aficionados eagerly await the "spring collections" to see the new looks on the event.
Floor, with musical interpretation and lots of room for pretty poses and lyrical movement, is a marker of artistic growth (or in rare cases, artistic regression). Here's part I of a rundown of the new floors of 2011...
Gymnast: Beth Tweddle, Great Britain
Old music: "Sherlock Holmes" (watch it here)
New music: Cheery British TV pop (watch it here)
After doing a fairly dark "Sherlock Holmes" last year, the 2009 World floor champion asked for something a bit more cheery that she could enjoy competing to. Her coach Amanda Redding came up with this original number, which accompanies a British news program, and choreographer extraordinaire Adriana Pop gave it life.
Better than before? My favorite Tweddle floor is the pseudo-mideval carnival mix from 2009-2010, but this isn't bad either. It was nice to see her branch out a bit artistically with the dramatic "Sherlock Holmes," but what would be even nicer is to see a bit more interaction with the music itself.
Tweddle's strained Achilles/bars-falling-on-her/concussion before Europeans limited her training on floor, and she herself said she probably didn't do the routine justice. We'll look forward to seeing it again in the fall.
Gymnast: Sabrina Vega, USA
Old music: A tango, with Middle Eastern accents (watch it here)
New music: Something a bit darker, with Middle Eastern accents (watch it here)
Vega, who comes from a family of dancers, has said she wouldn't mind having a new floor routine every season, and for the past few years coach Teodora Ungreanu (remember her marvelous choreography in an era that, um, wasn't so marvelous for Romanian choreography?) has made this happen.
Better than before? This year's piece is a bit darker, the poses more pronounced. Vega's best quality on floor is her musical interpretation, which makes just about anything she dances to worth watching.
Gymnast: Jiang Yuyuan, China
Old music: A popular Chinese song (watch it here)
New music: Something vaguely similiar, but not as special (watch it here)
Jiang Yuyuan had the routine of a career in her 2008 Olympic music, which she carried off with charming choreography that somehow managed to as cute as she is yet also fairly sophisticated. She returned to the routine last year and it helped her win a silver medal in the all-around at the 2010 Worlds.
Her new program (which she showed at a meet or two in 2010 before switching back to her old routine) was last seen at the Wild Rose Invitational in Canada in March, isn't nearly as interesting.
Better than before? No. Delightful as her old routine was, many gymnastics fans -- perhaps even the expressive Jiang herself -- were itching to see her try something new. The choreography that was brand new in 2008 looked like more of an afterthought for this gymnast in 2010. It's always interesting to see a gymnast walk away from a signature piece in order to blaze new trails, but the new routine seems more like an artistic regression lacking Jiang's signature spark.
This routine reminds me of what Cheng Fei tried in 2007 and ditched for something with a lot more excitement during the Olympic year.
Gymnast: Aliya Mustafina, Russia
Old music: "Hijo de la Luna" (watch it here)
New music: A Spanish-inspired tango (watch it here)
The 2010 World champion debuted a much-anticipated routine at the American Cup and performed the routine of her career during the qualification round at the European Championships.
Better than before? In the choreographic sense, yes. In the music sense, no. It's hard to top a piece like "Hijo de la Luna" which brought a sense of epic-ness to Mustafina's 2010 floorwork.
Gymnast: Sandra Izbasa, Romania
Old music: "Kalinka" and "Hava Nagila" (watch it here)
New music: "Tango Amore" (watch it here)
The Olympic floor champion has positioned herself well (maybe for a repeat floor title) since recovering from her 2009 Achilles tear, and her past two floor routines have shown an artistic maturity that her pre-Olympic exercises lacked.
Better than before? I think so (but you don't have to listen to me). Both routines are artistically mature and both very good.
Gymnast: Nastia Liukin, USA
Old music: "Dark Eyes" (watch it here)
New music: "Tosca Symphony" (watch it here)
The Olympic all-around champion debuted her much-anticipated new music/choreography (sans much tumbling) for the Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular that aired earlier this year.
Better than before? Yes.This routine, as Liukin herself has said, is more "her," as custom Nastia as it gets. I hope we'll eventually get to see it in competition.
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