WAG In case you were too young & missed it ..

[Taurus]

 

[Jen H.]

I weep every time!
Wish it had her floor music though...
So dynamic!!!

 

[GymEB10]

That floor routine shows (even without the music) the crazy genius of Geza Pozsar (now choreographing for Japan, I believe). That bar routine is just flat out crazy.

The most amusing moment for me is the brief shot near the end of Tourischeva, looking dejected, seeming to be thinking, "What is it with all these f*****g little pixies? Flip, flip, flip. Where's the art?" Between the dominance of Nadia and Nelli Kim, Tourischeva got only an individual bronze and two silvers, her only gold being for team competition. Korbut wasn't much of a factor in '76 as she had been in '72, but she was there, too, serving to punctuate (along with über-pixie teammate Filatova) the dramatic change in the direction of WAG for the next 25 years.

 

[GymEB10]

Here is the FX routine with music and live sound (terrible picture, though). Still in the age of piano accompaniment. The choreography was way ahead of its time.

 

[GymEB10]

While we're at it, for anyone too young to remember, before Nadia in '76, there was Olga in '72. Olga Korbut almost single-handedly delivered gymnastics to the American public as an ultimate glamor sport, complete with unbelievable acrobatics, joy, crushing disappointment and irresistible melodrama, and eventual triumph.

Though it occurred over several days, if it could be boiled down to one single key moment, that moment would be when Olga first performed the Korbut Flip backwards off the high bar in the team final; from that moment, gymnastics was changed forever. This clip (though cheesy and clichéd at times) shows the highlights, and includes the original ABC commentary by Jim McKay and Gordon Maddux. Korbut was a last-minute replacement and was neither known nor expected to be a factor. But during podium training, when Maddux noticed Korbut's unorthodox bar moves, he got the ABC cameras to take notice of her performance in the team competition. During her bars routine, Maddux is clearly beside himself in amazement, by the end able to sputter no more than, "Oh my...wow!" (Korbut and Maddux became good friends and are close to this day).


Within 24 hours she was a household name in the US, UK and around the world, and her subsequent meltdown on bars in the all-around was heartbreaking. She rebounded in event finals and eventually won two individual golds and a silver, plus team gold. Gymnastics arrived on the map, on the sports page, on the TV there because of Olga in the '72 Olympics. We wouldn't have cared about what Nadia in '76 if there hadn't been Olga.

 

[GymDad9.9]

While we're at it, for anyone too young to remember, before Nadia in '76, there was Olga in '72. Olga Korbut almost single-handedly delivered gymnastics to the American public as an ultimate glamor sport, complete with unbelievable acrobatics, joy, crushing disappointment and irresistible melodrama, and eventual triumph.

Though it occurred over several days, if it could be boiled down to one single key moment, that moment would be when Olga first performed the Korbut Flip backwards off the high bar in the team final; from that moment, gymnastics was changed forever. This clip (though cheesy and clichéd at times) shows the highlights, and includes the original ABC commentary by Jim McKay and Gordon Maddux. Korbut was a last-minute replacement and was neither known nor expected to be a factor. But during podium training, when Maddux noticed Korbut's unorthodox bar moves, he got the ABC cameras to take notice of her performance in the team competition. During her bars routine, Maddux is clearly beside himself in amazement, by the end able to sputter no more than, "Oh my...wow!" (Korbut and Maddux became good friends and are close to this day).


Within 24 hours she was a household name in the US, UK and around the world, and her subsequent meltdown on bars in the all-around was heartbreaking. She rebounded in event finals and eventually won two individual golds and a silver, plus team gold. Gymnastics arrived on the map, on the sports page, on the TV there because of Olga in the '72 Olympics. We wouldn't have cared about what Nadia in '76 if there hadn't been Olga.

I was a wee lad back in '72 but I remember how huge Olga was and you are 100% correct that Olga set the stage for Nadia. I also remember Mark Spitz and the U.S. men's basketball team being robbed of the Gold against the Soviets (who are the Soviets???)

Unfortunately, my most vivid memory is of the slaughter of 11 Israeli national team members.

 

[MILgymFAM]

That floor routine shows (even without the music) the crazy genius of Geza Pozsar (now choreographing for Japan, I believe).

He's actually semi retired but coaching in California.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

That floor routine shows (even without the music) the crazy genius of Geza Pozsar (now choreographing for Japan, I believe).

The choreography was way ahead of its time.

Wow, you are the first person I have ever seen with so much excitement and praise for Pozar choreography...

 

[gymdog]

Wow, I'm surprised and happy that Olga survived that floor routine. That second pass is not okay at all. So mind boggling in so many ways.

 

[GymEB10]

Wow, you are the first person I have ever seen with so much excitement and praise for Pozar choreography...

The first ever? That's hard to believe.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to sound as if I'm gushing about Pozsar, but I recognize his place in history. In addition to the whole "perfect 10.0" thing, part of what made Nadia the sensation she was her cutesy image, which was pushed to the max in that floor routine. The choreography was quite a bit more "performance" than dance, compared to most routines of the day. The Russians were doing some of this to an extent with some gymnasts, too, but Nadia's routine is just non-stop, over-the-top, play to the crowd, change style and tempo every few seconds, kitchen sink stuff. The routines of gymnasts like Tourischeva and Kim still relied mostly on dance moves drawn mainly from (or inspired by) classical ballet, with the same separation between the performer and the audience (the difference being classical dance is witnessed, and the audience is ignored until the conclusion, whereas the style used by Nadia plays to the crowd and tries to get them involved during the performance).

What I meant by Pozsar's "genius" is that he took Nadia's strengths and emphasized them, staying away from where she wasn't as strong. If Nadia had tried to do a routine like, say, Tourischeva, her tumbling would still be there, but much of the dance would have merely highlighted her relative lack of grace and refinement. Ungureanu's routine (presumably also choreographed by Pozsar) was much different from Nadia's, much more traditional, yet very well suited to her individual style and capabilities. And Nadia's really is a non-stop, roller coaster ride of a routine.

By "ahead of its time" what I mean is that Nadia's routine was rather unusual for the period, but with the era of pre-pubescent pixie gymnasts that Nadia ushered in, many FX routines imitated this girly, cutesy style to match the capabilities of the tiny young gymnasts who came to dominate the scene. I don't particularly like the style (and Dominique Moceanu looked pretty silly still trying that in 1996--e.g. lying on the mat swinging her legs and shaking her ponytail), but I see it as highly influential. I much prefer the elegance of Bogey or Khorkina or the raw power of Produnova, but it seems to me Nadia's style was more memorable in the perception of the casual viewer for about 20 years. And I imagine that for a number of club choreographers trying to make something distinctive for ten and twelve year-olds to do on floor, it is a tempting direction, compared to hours upon hours of dance training to master traditional moves.

All of this is, of course, just my opinion, and I don't claim to be an expert. And I may be overstating it a bit.

 

[GymEB10]

Wow, I'm surprised and happy that Olga survived that floor routine. That second pass is not okay at all. So mind boggling in so many ways.

I cringe every time I watch that move, too. She just about tanked it, and was pretty lucky to walk away.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

Without Pozsar this montage would probably not exist.

Yes the routines are high energy and the kids are performing them with lots of energy, but that does not always equal good choreography or something that is pleasing to watch. Olga's 72 routine played to the crowd before Pozsar came along.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Without Pozsar this montage would probably not exist.

Yes the routines are high energy and the kids are performing them with lots of energy, but that does not always equal good choreography or something that is pleasing to watch. Olga's 72 routine played to the crowd before Pozsar came along.

I had to stop about a minute and a half in!

 

[GymEB10]

Yes the routines are high energy and the kids are performing them with lots of energy, but that does not always equal good choreography or something that is pleasing to watch. Olga's 72 routine played to the crowd before Pozsar came along.

Yes, Olga did, absolutely. And I wouldn't be one bit surprised if it was Olga's routine that gave Pozsar and the Karolyis the idea to play up the crowd-pandering performance over traditional dance with Nadia. I didn't say Nadia was the first to do so. Olga's '72 routine has a fraction of that compared to Nadia's, which is dominated by it.

Hey, I get it that you don't like Pozsar's work. I'm not particularly a fan, myself. But his unusual choreography helped to make Nadia a into a star, not just a master technician, and it was well-suited to the shift to younger, smaller gymnasts that was underway. Was he innovative and influential? I'd say yes. Was that good thing? I personally don't think so. I don't care for that style, as I said before, but I still recognize his influence in that event for years to come.

 

[GymEB10]

@Pineapple_Lump
You're obviously a longtime fan/observer with wide knowledge. You don't have any other comment on this subject (Nadia & Olga, for those too young to remember), other than trying to make me look foolish? That's disappointing. Learning from the knowledge & opinions of those who know the sport much better than I do is one of things I like best about boards like this.