More and more Americans followed suit. Actually, the Russian style dates back to the 1890's when extravagant ice festivals were an upper-class diversion. The aristocratic skaters were choreographed by famous ballet masters from the Kirov and Bolshoi. And so, what could have stayed a rather clunky duckling metamorphosized into a liquid swan. I guess the wider sports public has finally come to appreciate the uniqueness of skating's hybrid of competitive sport and art.
Classical ballet can seem a tad fusty and undaring after watching a major skating tournament.
No dancer can remotely leap as high, revolve in the air, spin or travel as fast as a skater. But then, on the other hand, ballet artists never fall on their butts. To be honest, that is part of the fascination of the sport. Even the very best performers are guaranteed to take a really juicing pratfall with some degree of regularity. The tension of waiting for the inevitable provides a sort of guilty-thrill aspect.