Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness (2022) s01e05 Episode Script
Why Don't You Love Figure Skating as Much as I Do?
Michelle Kwan, my most ultimate favorite
figure skater of all time, is it you?
Yes, it is, in my magical realness.
Do you wanna see my off-ice Axel?
Absolutely.
Pretty impressive. I would give it
a 6.0 if they still scored that way.
Really? You're so kind.
You're like my all-time
fairy godmother of figure skating.
I've never been called that before.
I kind of like it.
I mean, Michelle, you know I've been
obsessed with figure skating since
the beginning of my life.
I just wish more people shared my passion.
Here comes Tonya Harding.
It's 1991.
I'm four.
Tonya Harding goes out
and shocks the world.
Now the question is whether
she will become the first American
to attempt and
complete a triple Axel jump.
She lands a triple Axel.
-Good girl! Isn't that great?
I could not believe it!
What a moment for this young lady.
Since then, I have been suffering
from figure skating fever
for my whole life.
And you know what?
America used to have it too.
Figure skating fever!
Everyone was suffering from
figure skating fever right along with me,
and just like the times change,
it was swept away.
I don't know what happened,
but I need to know.
Is it because we
don't realize how hard it is?
Could it be a subjective scoring
system that's overly complicated,
that's probably unfair and
classist that no one understands?
Is it because there's
just not enough access to
figure skating rinks in America, period?
Is it because you haven't
seen me attempt a single Axel?
Why don't you love
figure skating as much as I do?
There's so much about
figure skating that people don't know.
You need to stoke their interest,
get them curious.
You know what? You could be the
captain of the figure skating cheer squad.
Me? Where do I start?
Start simple.
Teach them the basic elements.
Okay, I'm gonna call my coach Eliot,
we gotta get on the ice,
but first, I need a gorgeous outfit.
Can I borrow that dress?
I'm, like, six inches tall.
If you finish this time with me
and you are not
as obsessed and not suffering
from figure skating fever as bad as I am,
then I will refund you your
month of Netflix, honey.
Oh, Mama Kwan, I love you so much.
I'll see you later. Ciao!
If people understood the sheer strength
and bravery and unadulterated power
that figure skating takes,
they would respect it
and love it and watch it so much more.
-Can you break down the jump for us?
-Yeah.
Eliot Halverson is my figure skating
coach-slash-choreographer
and really figure skater extraordinaire.
She is a three-time
American figure skating champion.
Skating is all on edges.
Everything we do is based on a circle.
And sometimes it's not a full circle.
It could just be a half of a circle
but you're still on the circle.
She's the perfect person to show us
all the components of a program.
An edge jump is when we use the edge
and we find the rock of our skate,
and we press into the circles,
as we were talking about,
to launch ourself into the air.
There are pick jumps,
I have this big one in the front
that I can use to hurl my body
up into the air using the toe pick.
And then, after the rotation,
you also have to find your toe
before you rock down
to the flat of your blade to land.
Ugh! So there's so much
mechanics going on here.
Yes.
So a crossover is something
we learn pretty early on in skating.
You see crossovers on TV
when you see the skaters
crossing their foot over the other.
This is just like a building block
and the easiest way
for skaters to gain speed.
The thing that differentiates
all the jumps is just that last moment
before you take off into the air.
Differences from jumps can just be
which leg is crossed in the front.
-Yes.
-Which angle your foot
-is leaning into the ice
-Outside edge
-dictates the difference.
-or an inside edge.
-Right.
-Outside.
-Inside.
-Totally.
We need to learn the different jumps
because there is six, including the Axel.
Here's the hierarchy of jumps.
First, there's a toe loop.
Single toe loop is a pick jump.
So I'm gonna be using my toe to slam
into the ice and catapult me into the air.
Then slightly more
difficult is the Salchow.
This is an edge jump.
Stunning!
A bit more difficult
than that is the loop.
Another edge jump.
Then we have the flip.
She is taking off
backwards from her single flip
and she lands
backwards from her single flip.
Then we have the Lutz.
She's coming in, she finds her back
outside edge, and she lands.
The main difference
between a Lutz and a flip
is the edge you're taking off from.
For the Lutz, it's an outside edge.
And then ultimately, we have an Axel.
She's gonna turn around. She's
taking off forwards, landing backwards.
Beautiful landing,
fully rotated, absolutely stun.
Now, all five of these jumps
are just a single revolution each.
The Axel takes off
forward but lands backwards,
so an Axel is the most difficult jump,
and they are all graded as such.
-Can you show us a double of anything?
-Probably not.
-You can. I've seen you do it.
-I really don't know.
-I'm gonna fall. I think--
-No, you're not.
-I--
-Don't say that!
-
-Woo.
-Hi.
-Jonathan, meet Jonathon.
-Hi, Jonathon. I love your name.
-Hi, how are you? Thank you.
I need help on the ice to really, like,
push my boundaries with my jumps,
so I definitely need to be
harnessed in by a figure skater
who is stronger than me
and can hold myself up.
-Do you have a background in
-Pairs.
Pairs. Which is great.
So, you're used to lifting people.
Yes. Spinning them up,
swinging them around.
Eliot assured me
that Jonathon was, and I quote,
"a six foot four, brawny figure skater."
I'm clearly much bigger
than Jonathon, which is stunning.
I mean, I love my curves,
I love my swerves,
but to hoist all 11 inches off the ice
to do those one-and-a-half rotations
takes some strength.
-Do we want to just go for an Axel?
-Yeah, should I?
-Yeah.
-Am I gonna kill you?
-No, you're gonna be good.
-Okay.
I've never done a
single Axel before but I'm gonna do one.
-Heel city?
-Okay. Very heel city.
Wow! Jonathan, that was good!
Oh, Jonathon,
you didn't totally catch me.
I'm laughing because it's so real.
It looks like a real fall on an Axel.
-You're really--
-It was a real fall on an Axel!
It is so much harder
than it looks, but it's so fun.
I mean, the feeling of being on
the ice is the most freeing feeling
I've ever had.
-Wow! Ow!
-Whoa!
So good.
Really?
Honestly, all of it was better.
You, like, did step up and over.
Are my hips bruised? Yes.
Are they fractured? Thankfully not.
I've never seen you rotate
like so tight in your life.
-Oh my God.
-Can we hug?
Yeah.
That was really good!
I'm sorry, did you just
ask me what my top favorite
figure skating looks of all time are?
Number three.
What wasn't special
about Kristi Yamaguchi's
1992 Gold Medal-winning outfit?
The shoulder pads,
the length of the skirt, all that leg.
You better work!
Two.
Michelle Kwan,
1998 Nagano Long Skate outfit
designed by Vera Wang.
She's so stunning. She's so simple.
She's so perfect. It's a classic.
Number one.
Surya Bonaly, 1994
World Championships, Long Skate Program.
Her outfit was this
gorgeous little pink number.
She was a trailblazer and said, "I have
amazing legs. I'm not wearing tights."
But then she took off
her silver medal in protest
because she believed she deserved gold,
and I have to say, I second that opinion,
and it was her attitude that made
that pink dress pop off the TV screen.
I love Surya Bonaly and her style
more than anyone's of all time
because she marched
to the beat of her own drummer,
and I really respect that
in a figure skater.
Something about this is making
me feel like I'm in a Russian spy movie,
except for, I'm American
and so is everyone else here,
and really I just want to learn
if there's any mysteries or controversies
in the way that figure skating is judged.
-Hi, Shawn!
-Hi.
-How are you?
-Good. How are you?
Thanks for coming to meet me.
-Nice to meet you.
-Oh, my gosh.
Now that we've
learned about the jumps, it's time to
learn about how they're scored
and the rest of the program, honey.
I don't think the casual viewer
of figure skating really understands
what is being judged
in a figure skating program.
You are a incredible
figure skating expert.
You are a judge, and you also were
a competitive figure skater, so you--
-I was. A hundred years ago, but, yes.
-You lived a lot of figure skating life,
and so I want to pick your brain
about figure skating.
I think once people
really understand the judging
and how figure skating
is scored and tallied,
they'll have more
enjoyment watching the sport
and be more engaged in the competition.
Figure skating as a whole has, like,
kind of ebbed and flowed in popularity
in the United States,
-but in the '90s, it was, like--
-Huge.
-The biggest. Nothing bigger.
-Yeah.
And then in 2002, there was,
like, a massive judging scandal
that did change the way
that we score figure skating.
And I think that that led
to a lot of the confusion
of people kind of like not understanding
exactly what they're looking for.
What does, like, a new fan
of figure skating need to understand
about judging in figure skating
-to still appreciate the sport?
-Yeah.
The judging scandal wasn't
the, the exact reason for the change,
but it was all kind of
happening at the same time,
so it helped propel it forward.
The 6.0 system was basically putting
everything that you do into two marks.
-Right.
-There was a technical and artistic mark.
The new system,
the current system, I should say,
'cause now it's not quite so new anymore,
gives the skater a value
for everything they do,
from the connecting steps
to the actual jumps,
spins, lifts, turns,
all of that kind of stuff.
So every single element on the ice
is getting a score for, like, something.
Exactly.
All right, my skating students!
The International Judging System
is super complicated,
so here's a quick breakdown
of what you really need to know.
Each elite level
figure skating competition
has two different kinds of scores,
the technical score
and the program component score.
The technical score
covers things like jumps, spins,
the gorgeous choreographic sequences.
You can track it in
this fierce little box in real-time.
And if you shutter your pants,
you get points deducted.
But the real drama happens
during the infamous "kiss and cry"
at the end where you find out
the program component score.
The program component score
is made up of five categories,
skating skills, transitions, performance,
composition, and interpretation of music.
And that's added to the technical score,
and the person with the
most points is the winner, baby!
So, has it taken me decades to learn
everything I know about figure skating?
Yes, but that's half the fun.
This is just a gorgeous jumping-off point
for you to become obsessed, honey!
Speaking of technical elements and
learning how to understand scoring better,
and amazing American figure skaters,
I invited Gracie Gold here.
-Oh, great.
-Yeah.
She's just skating over there,
so let's just take a little gander.
Great.
Gracie Gold,
the 2014 US National Champion.
She's also a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist,
and she's also
the 2016 US National Champion.
She is an incredible figure skater.
I am a huge fan of hers.
Yes!
Gracie Gold,
National Champion, Olympic medalist,
and someone who just
does not travel on your backspin.
Oh, I only travel to see you.
Oh, my God, thank you for
traveling to see us and being here.
Wait, do you guys
know each other from way back?
-We do.
-Yeah.
Oh my God!
Why don't you show us a few moves
to break down some of the things
so that we can better
understand judging figure skating?
-I'd love that.
-Okay, let's do it.
I love that "skatery" skate
when they go to do things.
Like that confident, like,
"I'm going to do something" skate.
-Crossover.
-Now she's doing a lunge.
Oh my God, I'm obsessed!
Nice.
Wow! So clean!
So then, like, the evaluation of that
would be what did she
look like pre-take-off,
-how far did she cover across the ice
-Major ice coverage.
-how high she got
-Very high.
how seamless and quiet the landing was,
and then, how her body
looked actually in the air.
That grade of execution was, it was chef's
kiss, it couldn't have been any prettier.
-Thank you.
-So I have to run.
Don't leave us!
Thanks so much, Shawn.
-Wanna get foodies and keep hangsies?
-A little snacky-snack?
All right, let's go. Come on.
We're gonna have snackies!
-Snacky-snacks?
-I love snackies. That was so pretty.
I am honored to have
one-on-one time with Gracie Gold.
Can I just, like, go skating
with Gracie Gold every day
in the middle of this
outdoor figure skating rink?
I would go skating with you every day.
Figure skating is still run by humans,
so there's still a certain amount
of human judgment, human error
that can seep its way into the scores,
just like that's always been the case.
And I wanna hear what a
competitive figure skater like Gracie Gold
has to say about this judging system.
If a component judge,
like, hated pantsuits,
could a judge, like,
come for a skater a little bit extra
'cause they don't like
the way their outfit is?
So this is like the quiet part,
right, that's not said out loud.
And I don't in no way,
like, no one, like, blames the judges,
so to speak, but they're not robots.
Like, they're human with preferences
and, like, bias towards whatever.
Can someone, like, go through judges',
like, scores and be like,
"This seems inconsistent,"
and then like submit it or something?
Um, does that skater wanna compete again?
Oh.
You don't wanna
be the one causing, like, a stink
because it is a
little bit an elitist sport.
I remember when it was a huge deal
to so many people that I spoke out about,
like, my mental health and the way
that the sport that we're in affected it.
Just the concept to me that no one
previously had said anything
about an eating disorder was mind-blowing,
because it's like
the elephant in the room.
Like, you need to be in a tiny dress
with millions of people watching,
like, being perfect.
You know you have to
be quick, lightweight, strong
All these things factor into it.
Like the possibility
of an eating disorder
Probable.
That white, perfect like
Like the Gracie Gold smile that,
like, my friends make fun of me for that.
The ice queen, it's not
Authentic all the way.
Yeah, but I'd love for people,
like the general public,
to start watching and start following,
because if you
actually look into the sport,
it's full of really interesting people,
and how everyone came into the sport,
and how they leave and what they do in it.
It's way more interesting.
It's not just biased judges,
sparkly dresses,
or whatever anyone wears.
It requires grit.
Grit, determination,
you need perseverance.
And you also need to be able
to, like, will the impossible.
Like, you hurl your body
into three revolutions
and then land on a blade that is
like an eighth of an inch thick.
It is beyond hard.
-I love you so much.
-I love you more.
Could we do, like,
a Gracie Gold classic big smile
but with the realness through?
-I want more of like an authentic smile.
-Oh, I can, I can do both.
-Let's do it.
-It's all like the dead eyes or not.
Ooh-hoo-hoo! I really hit it.
There's no one home.
They were two fierce,
young Olympic hopefuls
fighting for the last spot on Team USA.
She had a nickname
that rhymed with "rich."
It's not like her nose was perfect.
And she also had a nickname
that rhymed with "rich."
Jonathan Van Ness and Eliot Halverson in
-Toe pick.
Toe Pick.
Rated LS for people who love skating.
Don't quit your day job, sis.
In theaters never.
So, I wanna play,
like, a true or false game
with a three-time national champion,
-which is you, and I'll be the asker.
-Mmm. Oh. Uh-huh.
Is figure skating as popular
in the United States as it was?
No. No, no it's not.
A lot of that, I think,
is because there were
a lot of superstars in the '90s that were
We had Kristi Yamaguchi.
-Mmm, Michelle Kwan.
-Michelle Kwan.
-Tara Lipinski.
-Tara Lipinski.
But also the whole Tonya Harding
and Nancy Kerrigan thing.
And I do think that it's,
like, disappointing that
part of what catapulted
female figure skating into the
international spotlight,
at least for the United States
-Yeah.
-was an attack,
which for young queer me,
that went over my head.
I think that was a time when
skating really was
a part of this, like, Americana,
Rockwell, perfect little
American princess storyline.
And I think that
that has really shifted over time,
and it might have been because
of the Nancy-Tanya situation.
That kind of dented
who we were supposed to be rooting for.
What does it take
to become a world champion?
A lot of it is luck.
There's so much luck to do with it.
To be a successful skater,
you have to win the lottery.
Your parents have to have the money.
The visual picture of what a skater
looks like and who they are as a person
is a huge factor in the amount
of success that they can reach,
and how squeaky clean
and perfect of a person you are
and there's not much wiggle room for that.
It's one of the uglier sides of skating.
There are a lot of ways
that the federations
and the judging system
can hold it against you
and can keep you down
for all of these external factors.
Because of those elitist institutions
that are, like,
already built into the sport,
I do think it makes it harder
-Absolutely.
-for Black skaters,
for skaters that don't
have the economic means.
The sport has a very homogenized,
whitewashed, history to it.
-It is a sport that has a past of racism.
-Yeah.
It has a past of homophobia.
Completely.
-Has a past of transphobia.
-Completely.
Yet, I love
Me, too. To my bones.
I love the sport so much, and I really
believe in the sport's abilityto change
and to adapt to the world,
and I think that there are the right
people involved in the sport now
who want to change the sport.
I put myself in that category.
I want to create more opportunities
for Brown and Black skaters.
I want to open the doors
to gender-nonconforming skaters,
and I know that they are on the horizon
and that the future of skating looks a
lot different than what it does right now.
Hello!
-Hello! How are you?
-Hi!
I'm so excited to finally
meet you both in the flesh.
In order for figure skating to flourish
and in order for more people
to get passionate about it,
more people need
to do it in the first place,
and that's where Diversify Ice
and Figure Skating in Harlem come in.
We have a preconceived notion
of what a figure skater should look like.
Many minorities do not
see themselves fitting in that mold.
For me, this is a very personal story.
Um, my family did not have
enough money for me to skate,
so even when I was skating, I made sure
I caught the bus after school, you know,
to save my parents time
and money to get me to the rink.
I would skate on public sessions
and work on my jumps and spins there
instead of the very
expensive freestyle sessions.
At the recreation level, it can cost
a couple thousand dollars a year but,
on the competitive level,
it's about 50 times that.
Yeah.
You're talking about skates, about blades.
They don't come together.
You're talking about
thousands of dollars. Also, competition.
Those are not free events.
-It's the costumes, the choreographer.
-The coaching.
We're trying to get these kids
the tools and resources
so that they can go through the sport
without being priced out of the sport.
No matter how many barriers
there are, there is a pathway,
there's a team here
that's here supporting you
and gonna help you achieve your dreams.
What's happening?
There's the Mabel Fairbanks
Skatingly Yours scholarship
that recently just came out.
She is the first skater of color,
coach, in figure skating
that really broke down barriers.
She wasn't even allowed to come to an
ice rink because of the color of her skin.
So it's really
important that we honor her,
'cause she really fought through
to make sure that more skaters
can come in the sport. Yeah.
And the ripple effects of the racism
within figure skating, it still exists,
and also the classism,
as far as access goes.
-And it holds so many folks back
-Yeah.
but it does affect more Black and
Brown skaters and we don't want this.
We want more people skating, to have
the opportunity to celebrate this sport.
That's exactly what you're doing.
And you have so much talent
out here, I can't even stand it.
-Can we meet some of your skaters?
-Yeah. Yes.
Caleb's come through
the Diversify Ice Foundation.
He is such a huge talent.
Whoo.
You better work, Caleb! That was so good.
Awesome.
You're gonna be able
to do a quad someday.
Hopefully, if my legs aren't burnt out.
Who's your favorite
figure skater of all time?
I like Midori Ito.
Uhh!
-1994 World Champion.
I'm not ready for the
Midori Ito reference out of you
at all of how many years old?
-Twelve.
-You are so cool.
-So go practice more jumps.
-Thank you for having me.
Oh my gosh, you're so welcome.
It gives me more hope
that there is youth, American youth,
who is still currently
obsessed with figure skating
at the same levels that we were
when I was their age in the '90s.
All right.
-There we go!
-Yeah!
So, yes, there are still Americans
who have figure skating fever, honey
Yes, and then hug that circle.
Okay, put your arms up, all right?
who wanna figure out
how to get to the World Championships,
who wanna figure out
how to get to the Olympics.
There we go.
Yes!
Who wanna toe pick
our way back on that podium!
-I love it.
My leg is burnin'!
Oh, Jonathan, did you live
your best figure skating life?
It was amazing!
Figure skating has always meant so much
to me because it represented an escape.
It represented a place
that blended artistry and athletics
and power and femininity and masculinity.
Figure skating is everyone's.
It's everyone's sport and art
to enjoy and to get involved
and to celebrate.
Now, let's see
that double toe Walley.
Anything for you, queen. Uh!
-Ah!
-Bravo! Whoo!
I may never be cured
of my figure skating fever.
Yay, Jonathan!
+5 GOE, Jonathan!
Yeah!
Do you have figure skating fever yet?
Hey you, get off the ice!
figure skater of all time, is it you?
Yes, it is, in my magical realness.
Do you wanna see my off-ice Axel?
Absolutely.
Pretty impressive. I would give it
a 6.0 if they still scored that way.
Really? You're so kind.
You're like my all-time
fairy godmother of figure skating.
I've never been called that before.
I kind of like it.
I mean, Michelle, you know I've been
obsessed with figure skating since
the beginning of my life.
I just wish more people shared my passion.
Here comes Tonya Harding.
It's 1991.
I'm four.
Tonya Harding goes out
and shocks the world.
Now the question is whether
she will become the first American
to attempt and
complete a triple Axel jump.
She lands a triple Axel.
-Good girl! Isn't that great?
I could not believe it!
What a moment for this young lady.
Since then, I have been suffering
from figure skating fever
for my whole life.
And you know what?
America used to have it too.
Figure skating fever!
Everyone was suffering from
figure skating fever right along with me,
and just like the times change,
it was swept away.
I don't know what happened,
but I need to know.
Is it because we
don't realize how hard it is?
Could it be a subjective scoring
system that's overly complicated,
that's probably unfair and
classist that no one understands?
Is it because there's
just not enough access to
figure skating rinks in America, period?
Is it because you haven't
seen me attempt a single Axel?
Why don't you love
figure skating as much as I do?
There's so much about
figure skating that people don't know.
You need to stoke their interest,
get them curious.
You know what? You could be the
captain of the figure skating cheer squad.
Me? Where do I start?
Start simple.
Teach them the basic elements.
Okay, I'm gonna call my coach Eliot,
we gotta get on the ice,
but first, I need a gorgeous outfit.
Can I borrow that dress?
I'm, like, six inches tall.
If you finish this time with me
and you are not
as obsessed and not suffering
from figure skating fever as bad as I am,
then I will refund you your
month of Netflix, honey.
Oh, Mama Kwan, I love you so much.
I'll see you later. Ciao!
If people understood the sheer strength
and bravery and unadulterated power
that figure skating takes,
they would respect it
and love it and watch it so much more.
-Can you break down the jump for us?
-Yeah.
Eliot Halverson is my figure skating
coach-slash-choreographer
and really figure skater extraordinaire.
She is a three-time
American figure skating champion.
Skating is all on edges.
Everything we do is based on a circle.
And sometimes it's not a full circle.
It could just be a half of a circle
but you're still on the circle.
She's the perfect person to show us
all the components of a program.
An edge jump is when we use the edge
and we find the rock of our skate,
and we press into the circles,
as we were talking about,
to launch ourself into the air.
There are pick jumps,
I have this big one in the front
that I can use to hurl my body
up into the air using the toe pick.
And then, after the rotation,
you also have to find your toe
before you rock down
to the flat of your blade to land.
Ugh! So there's so much
mechanics going on here.
Yes.
So a crossover is something
we learn pretty early on in skating.
You see crossovers on TV
when you see the skaters
crossing their foot over the other.
This is just like a building block
and the easiest way
for skaters to gain speed.
The thing that differentiates
all the jumps is just that last moment
before you take off into the air.
Differences from jumps can just be
which leg is crossed in the front.
-Yes.
-Which angle your foot
-is leaning into the ice
-Outside edge
-dictates the difference.
-or an inside edge.
-Right.
-Outside.
-Inside.
-Totally.
We need to learn the different jumps
because there is six, including the Axel.
Here's the hierarchy of jumps.
First, there's a toe loop.
Single toe loop is a pick jump.
So I'm gonna be using my toe to slam
into the ice and catapult me into the air.
Then slightly more
difficult is the Salchow.
This is an edge jump.
Stunning!
A bit more difficult
than that is the loop.
Another edge jump.
Then we have the flip.
She is taking off
backwards from her single flip
and she lands
backwards from her single flip.
Then we have the Lutz.
She's coming in, she finds her back
outside edge, and she lands.
The main difference
between a Lutz and a flip
is the edge you're taking off from.
For the Lutz, it's an outside edge.
And then ultimately, we have an Axel.
She's gonna turn around. She's
taking off forwards, landing backwards.
Beautiful landing,
fully rotated, absolutely stun.
Now, all five of these jumps
are just a single revolution each.
The Axel takes off
forward but lands backwards,
so an Axel is the most difficult jump,
and they are all graded as such.
-Can you show us a double of anything?
-Probably not.
-You can. I've seen you do it.
-I really don't know.
-I'm gonna fall. I think--
-No, you're not.
-I--
-Don't say that!
-
-Woo.
-Hi.
-Jonathan, meet Jonathon.
-Hi, Jonathon. I love your name.
-Hi, how are you? Thank you.
I need help on the ice to really, like,
push my boundaries with my jumps,
so I definitely need to be
harnessed in by a figure skater
who is stronger than me
and can hold myself up.
-Do you have a background in
-Pairs.
Pairs. Which is great.
So, you're used to lifting people.
Yes. Spinning them up,
swinging them around.
Eliot assured me
that Jonathon was, and I quote,
"a six foot four, brawny figure skater."
I'm clearly much bigger
than Jonathon, which is stunning.
I mean, I love my curves,
I love my swerves,
but to hoist all 11 inches off the ice
to do those one-and-a-half rotations
takes some strength.
-Do we want to just go for an Axel?
-Yeah, should I?
-Yeah.
-Am I gonna kill you?
-No, you're gonna be good.
-Okay.
I've never done a
single Axel before but I'm gonna do one.
-Heel city?
-Okay. Very heel city.
Wow! Jonathan, that was good!
Oh, Jonathon,
you didn't totally catch me.
I'm laughing because it's so real.
It looks like a real fall on an Axel.
-You're really--
-It was a real fall on an Axel!
It is so much harder
than it looks, but it's so fun.
I mean, the feeling of being on
the ice is the most freeing feeling
I've ever had.
-Wow! Ow!
-Whoa!
So good.
Really?
Honestly, all of it was better.
You, like, did step up and over.
Are my hips bruised? Yes.
Are they fractured? Thankfully not.
I've never seen you rotate
like so tight in your life.
-Oh my God.
-Can we hug?
Yeah.
That was really good!
I'm sorry, did you just
ask me what my top favorite
figure skating looks of all time are?
Number three.
What wasn't special
about Kristi Yamaguchi's
1992 Gold Medal-winning outfit?
The shoulder pads,
the length of the skirt, all that leg.
You better work!
Two.
Michelle Kwan,
1998 Nagano Long Skate outfit
designed by Vera Wang.
She's so stunning. She's so simple.
She's so perfect. It's a classic.
Number one.
Surya Bonaly, 1994
World Championships, Long Skate Program.
Her outfit was this
gorgeous little pink number.
She was a trailblazer and said, "I have
amazing legs. I'm not wearing tights."
But then she took off
her silver medal in protest
because she believed she deserved gold,
and I have to say, I second that opinion,
and it was her attitude that made
that pink dress pop off the TV screen.
I love Surya Bonaly and her style
more than anyone's of all time
because she marched
to the beat of her own drummer,
and I really respect that
in a figure skater.
Something about this is making
me feel like I'm in a Russian spy movie,
except for, I'm American
and so is everyone else here,
and really I just want to learn
if there's any mysteries or controversies
in the way that figure skating is judged.
-Hi, Shawn!
-Hi.
-How are you?
-Good. How are you?
Thanks for coming to meet me.
-Nice to meet you.
-Oh, my gosh.
Now that we've
learned about the jumps, it's time to
learn about how they're scored
and the rest of the program, honey.
I don't think the casual viewer
of figure skating really understands
what is being judged
in a figure skating program.
You are a incredible
figure skating expert.
You are a judge, and you also were
a competitive figure skater, so you--
-I was. A hundred years ago, but, yes.
-You lived a lot of figure skating life,
and so I want to pick your brain
about figure skating.
I think once people
really understand the judging
and how figure skating
is scored and tallied,
they'll have more
enjoyment watching the sport
and be more engaged in the competition.
Figure skating as a whole has, like,
kind of ebbed and flowed in popularity
in the United States,
-but in the '90s, it was, like--
-Huge.
-The biggest. Nothing bigger.
-Yeah.
And then in 2002, there was,
like, a massive judging scandal
that did change the way
that we score figure skating.
And I think that that led
to a lot of the confusion
of people kind of like not understanding
exactly what they're looking for.
What does, like, a new fan
of figure skating need to understand
about judging in figure skating
-to still appreciate the sport?
-Yeah.
The judging scandal wasn't
the, the exact reason for the change,
but it was all kind of
happening at the same time,
so it helped propel it forward.
The 6.0 system was basically putting
everything that you do into two marks.
-Right.
-There was a technical and artistic mark.
The new system,
the current system, I should say,
'cause now it's not quite so new anymore,
gives the skater a value
for everything they do,
from the connecting steps
to the actual jumps,
spins, lifts, turns,
all of that kind of stuff.
So every single element on the ice
is getting a score for, like, something.
Exactly.
All right, my skating students!
The International Judging System
is super complicated,
so here's a quick breakdown
of what you really need to know.
Each elite level
figure skating competition
has two different kinds of scores,
the technical score
and the program component score.
The technical score
covers things like jumps, spins,
the gorgeous choreographic sequences.
You can track it in
this fierce little box in real-time.
And if you shutter your pants,
you get points deducted.
But the real drama happens
during the infamous "kiss and cry"
at the end where you find out
the program component score.
The program component score
is made up of five categories,
skating skills, transitions, performance,
composition, and interpretation of music.
And that's added to the technical score,
and the person with the
most points is the winner, baby!
So, has it taken me decades to learn
everything I know about figure skating?
Yes, but that's half the fun.
This is just a gorgeous jumping-off point
for you to become obsessed, honey!
Speaking of technical elements and
learning how to understand scoring better,
and amazing American figure skaters,
I invited Gracie Gold here.
-Oh, great.
-Yeah.
She's just skating over there,
so let's just take a little gander.
Great.
Gracie Gold,
the 2014 US National Champion.
She's also a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist,
and she's also
the 2016 US National Champion.
She is an incredible figure skater.
I am a huge fan of hers.
Yes!
Gracie Gold,
National Champion, Olympic medalist,
and someone who just
does not travel on your backspin.
Oh, I only travel to see you.
Oh, my God, thank you for
traveling to see us and being here.
Wait, do you guys
know each other from way back?
-We do.
-Yeah.
Oh my God!
Why don't you show us a few moves
to break down some of the things
so that we can better
understand judging figure skating?
-I'd love that.
-Okay, let's do it.
I love that "skatery" skate
when they go to do things.
Like that confident, like,
"I'm going to do something" skate.
-Crossover.
-Now she's doing a lunge.
Oh my God, I'm obsessed!
Nice.
Wow! So clean!
So then, like, the evaluation of that
would be what did she
look like pre-take-off,
-how far did she cover across the ice
-Major ice coverage.
-how high she got
-Very high.
how seamless and quiet the landing was,
and then, how her body
looked actually in the air.
That grade of execution was, it was chef's
kiss, it couldn't have been any prettier.
-Thank you.
-So I have to run.
Don't leave us!
Thanks so much, Shawn.
-Wanna get foodies and keep hangsies?
-A little snacky-snack?
All right, let's go. Come on.
We're gonna have snackies!
-Snacky-snacks?
-I love snackies. That was so pretty.
I am honored to have
one-on-one time with Gracie Gold.
Can I just, like, go skating
with Gracie Gold every day
in the middle of this
outdoor figure skating rink?
I would go skating with you every day.
Figure skating is still run by humans,
so there's still a certain amount
of human judgment, human error
that can seep its way into the scores,
just like that's always been the case.
And I wanna hear what a
competitive figure skater like Gracie Gold
has to say about this judging system.
If a component judge,
like, hated pantsuits,
could a judge, like,
come for a skater a little bit extra
'cause they don't like
the way their outfit is?
So this is like the quiet part,
right, that's not said out loud.
And I don't in no way,
like, no one, like, blames the judges,
so to speak, but they're not robots.
Like, they're human with preferences
and, like, bias towards whatever.
Can someone, like, go through judges',
like, scores and be like,
"This seems inconsistent,"
and then like submit it or something?
Um, does that skater wanna compete again?
Oh.
You don't wanna
be the one causing, like, a stink
because it is a
little bit an elitist sport.
I remember when it was a huge deal
to so many people that I spoke out about,
like, my mental health and the way
that the sport that we're in affected it.
Just the concept to me that no one
previously had said anything
about an eating disorder was mind-blowing,
because it's like
the elephant in the room.
Like, you need to be in a tiny dress
with millions of people watching,
like, being perfect.
You know you have to
be quick, lightweight, strong
All these things factor into it.
Like the possibility
of an eating disorder
Probable.
That white, perfect like
Like the Gracie Gold smile that,
like, my friends make fun of me for that.
The ice queen, it's not
Authentic all the way.
Yeah, but I'd love for people,
like the general public,
to start watching and start following,
because if you
actually look into the sport,
it's full of really interesting people,
and how everyone came into the sport,
and how they leave and what they do in it.
It's way more interesting.
It's not just biased judges,
sparkly dresses,
or whatever anyone wears.
It requires grit.
Grit, determination,
you need perseverance.
And you also need to be able
to, like, will the impossible.
Like, you hurl your body
into three revolutions
and then land on a blade that is
like an eighth of an inch thick.
It is beyond hard.
-I love you so much.
-I love you more.
Could we do, like,
a Gracie Gold classic big smile
but with the realness through?
-I want more of like an authentic smile.
-Oh, I can, I can do both.
-Let's do it.
-It's all like the dead eyes or not.
Ooh-hoo-hoo! I really hit it.
There's no one home.
They were two fierce,
young Olympic hopefuls
fighting for the last spot on Team USA.
She had a nickname
that rhymed with "rich."
It's not like her nose was perfect.
And she also had a nickname
that rhymed with "rich."
Jonathan Van Ness and Eliot Halverson in
-Toe pick.
Toe Pick.
Rated LS for people who love skating.
Don't quit your day job, sis.
In theaters never.
So, I wanna play,
like, a true or false game
with a three-time national champion,
-which is you, and I'll be the asker.
-Mmm. Oh. Uh-huh.
Is figure skating as popular
in the United States as it was?
No. No, no it's not.
A lot of that, I think,
is because there were
a lot of superstars in the '90s that were
We had Kristi Yamaguchi.
-Mmm, Michelle Kwan.
-Michelle Kwan.
-Tara Lipinski.
-Tara Lipinski.
But also the whole Tonya Harding
and Nancy Kerrigan thing.
And I do think that it's,
like, disappointing that
part of what catapulted
female figure skating into the
international spotlight,
at least for the United States
-Yeah.
-was an attack,
which for young queer me,
that went over my head.
I think that was a time when
skating really was
a part of this, like, Americana,
Rockwell, perfect little
American princess storyline.
And I think that
that has really shifted over time,
and it might have been because
of the Nancy-Tanya situation.
That kind of dented
who we were supposed to be rooting for.
What does it take
to become a world champion?
A lot of it is luck.
There's so much luck to do with it.
To be a successful skater,
you have to win the lottery.
Your parents have to have the money.
The visual picture of what a skater
looks like and who they are as a person
is a huge factor in the amount
of success that they can reach,
and how squeaky clean
and perfect of a person you are
and there's not much wiggle room for that.
It's one of the uglier sides of skating.
There are a lot of ways
that the federations
and the judging system
can hold it against you
and can keep you down
for all of these external factors.
Because of those elitist institutions
that are, like,
already built into the sport,
I do think it makes it harder
-Absolutely.
-for Black skaters,
for skaters that don't
have the economic means.
The sport has a very homogenized,
whitewashed, history to it.
-It is a sport that has a past of racism.
-Yeah.
It has a past of homophobia.
Completely.
-Has a past of transphobia.
-Completely.
Yet, I love
Me, too. To my bones.
I love the sport so much, and I really
believe in the sport's abilityto change
and to adapt to the world,
and I think that there are the right
people involved in the sport now
who want to change the sport.
I put myself in that category.
I want to create more opportunities
for Brown and Black skaters.
I want to open the doors
to gender-nonconforming skaters,
and I know that they are on the horizon
and that the future of skating looks a
lot different than what it does right now.
Hello!
-Hello! How are you?
-Hi!
I'm so excited to finally
meet you both in the flesh.
In order for figure skating to flourish
and in order for more people
to get passionate about it,
more people need
to do it in the first place,
and that's where Diversify Ice
and Figure Skating in Harlem come in.
We have a preconceived notion
of what a figure skater should look like.
Many minorities do not
see themselves fitting in that mold.
For me, this is a very personal story.
Um, my family did not have
enough money for me to skate,
so even when I was skating, I made sure
I caught the bus after school, you know,
to save my parents time
and money to get me to the rink.
I would skate on public sessions
and work on my jumps and spins there
instead of the very
expensive freestyle sessions.
At the recreation level, it can cost
a couple thousand dollars a year but,
on the competitive level,
it's about 50 times that.
Yeah.
You're talking about skates, about blades.
They don't come together.
You're talking about
thousands of dollars. Also, competition.
Those are not free events.
-It's the costumes, the choreographer.
-The coaching.
We're trying to get these kids
the tools and resources
so that they can go through the sport
without being priced out of the sport.
No matter how many barriers
there are, there is a pathway,
there's a team here
that's here supporting you
and gonna help you achieve your dreams.
What's happening?
There's the Mabel Fairbanks
Skatingly Yours scholarship
that recently just came out.
She is the first skater of color,
coach, in figure skating
that really broke down barriers.
She wasn't even allowed to come to an
ice rink because of the color of her skin.
So it's really
important that we honor her,
'cause she really fought through
to make sure that more skaters
can come in the sport. Yeah.
And the ripple effects of the racism
within figure skating, it still exists,
and also the classism,
as far as access goes.
-And it holds so many folks back
-Yeah.
but it does affect more Black and
Brown skaters and we don't want this.
We want more people skating, to have
the opportunity to celebrate this sport.
That's exactly what you're doing.
And you have so much talent
out here, I can't even stand it.
-Can we meet some of your skaters?
-Yeah. Yes.
Caleb's come through
the Diversify Ice Foundation.
He is such a huge talent.
Whoo.
You better work, Caleb! That was so good.
Awesome.
You're gonna be able
to do a quad someday.
Hopefully, if my legs aren't burnt out.
Who's your favorite
figure skater of all time?
I like Midori Ito.
Uhh!
-1994 World Champion.
I'm not ready for the
Midori Ito reference out of you
at all of how many years old?
-Twelve.
-You are so cool.
-So go practice more jumps.
-Thank you for having me.
Oh my gosh, you're so welcome.
It gives me more hope
that there is youth, American youth,
who is still currently
obsessed with figure skating
at the same levels that we were
when I was their age in the '90s.
All right.
-There we go!
-Yeah!
So, yes, there are still Americans
who have figure skating fever, honey
Yes, and then hug that circle.
Okay, put your arms up, all right?
who wanna figure out
how to get to the World Championships,
who wanna figure out
how to get to the Olympics.
There we go.
Yes!
Who wanna toe pick
our way back on that podium!
-I love it.
My leg is burnin'!
Oh, Jonathan, did you live
your best figure skating life?
It was amazing!
Figure skating has always meant so much
to me because it represented an escape.
It represented a place
that blended artistry and athletics
and power and femininity and masculinity.
Figure skating is everyone's.
It's everyone's sport and art
to enjoy and to get involved
and to celebrate.
Now, let's see
that double toe Walley.
Anything for you, queen. Uh!
-Ah!
-Bravo! Whoo!
I may never be cured
of my figure skating fever.
Yay, Jonathan!
+5 GOE, Jonathan!
Yeah!
Do you have figure skating fever yet?
Hey you, get off the ice!