another thing I don't get

[calimac]

Gymnastics. I read an article about the return of Simone Biles, whose performance was described as so fabulous that I watched the video. Fortunately it was only two minutes.

Several times she runs across the mat and does flips through the air. I'm sure this is very hard to do, but I am too ignorant of gymnastics to be able to discern what makes her so much better than all the other gymnasts who do the same thing. The flips are too fast for me to follow anyway.

That's a problem for me with a lot of fields of artistic endeavor, including acting. I can't tell the difference between excellent work and merely good work. (In classical music, I can tell the difference. In fantasy literature, I really really can tell the difference.)

But that's not what really baffles me. In between runs across the mat, she prances around, waving all four limbs about. Is that part of the gymnastic routine or is it just posturing?

Comments

[kate_schaefer]

As a former really lousy gymnast, I can say, no, that's not just posturing. That's some high-class body articulation.

The moment that really makes it for me is when she springs up from a kneeling position to her tippy toes. The flips are amazing, but that knees to toes maneuver is awe-inspiring.

[wild_patience]

Kate, I was very impressed by that particular maneuver as well.

[wild_patience]

Non-gymnast here: it's obvious, watching this, that the choreography is just as intense and heavy as any ballet. When she's just "waving her arms about," those are all rehearsed, graceful movements meant to lead the eye to particular places. Her flips and twists and turns are incredible to watch, and they're all multiples each time. Like Kate, I was blown away when she went from kneeling to tip toes. It's a different art form from ballet, but if she knew the names of the ballet moves, she could easily move into that world - except they may reject her for being too muscular.

[adrian_turtle]

But that's not what really baffles me. In between runs across the mat, she prances around, waving all four limbs about. Is that part of the gymnastic routine or is it just posturing?

They all do that. It's part of the routine, and they get scored on how well they do it. There was a time when gymnastics involved less tumbling and more dancing, and it was actually required to pause between the tumbling runs and show off how well you could dance. (I remember hearing it was a little daring to show off any dance skills but ballet, but people did.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAnZId1lGlI

Over the years, the sport came to put more emphasis on tumbling. Flips are exciting to watch, and it's easier to compare "a double flip with a twist" with "double flip" instead of comparing "smooth arm extension" with "slightly wobbly arm extension." The best gymnasts of the 20th century (I mean the best in the world) couldn't do flips like gymnasts on today's college teams. So they spend more time on the flips, and getting a running start to flip, without making the overall routine any longer. It means the "show off your dance moves" has to get squeezed into a very stylized 8 seconds rather than 30 seconds that looks like dancing.