Figure Skating Stories

So I tried to post something on literature and art and me and Van Gogh and the public vs. the private/personal etc. etc. etc. but it deleted!
SO-
I don't feel like writing about that again. Maybe another time. Jess and Sa-we can talk about it at Starbucks with Ms. Milton this summer;) hehe-but Shira prob. won't be able to make it...oh well.
Anyhooo-
So having skated twice today(once in the a.m. and once in the p.m.), once on monday and getting ready to hit the ice tomorrow again in the a.m., skating is one my mind. (Shut up Jess and Flubs-stop laughing!!)
So I've been thinking a lot lately about the different elements of the sport. It's hard, trying to figure out (hehe-"figure") what to focus on, how to divide your time. And the question arises: is the purpose the program, or the elements themselves? Is the accomplished figure skater one who's jumps, spins and edge quality is superb, or is there an additionaly element involved that deems one "good".
Many may recall my frustration with the recent Olympic results. The men were fantabulous for the most part (aside from the beautiful Evan Lysacek's disasterous short) but the women left much to be desired. So much so that the practically unheard of Shizuka Arakawa snatched the gold medal with a very technically easy program compared to what should be expected of the gold medalist. But what bothered me most about her performance was not the lack of difficulty, although that is quite furstrating, but what I said was "she didn't tell a story".
Skaters are not just trained machines that are meant to land solid jumps and spin blalanced and quickly when called to. If that were the case skating would be just like any other sport: immense athletic strength. But a skater is more than that. They must combine all of the above and use it all to create a story on the ice. Sasha Cohen IS Juliet and Michelle Kwan IS Salomi, on the ice. These passionate interpretive performances require nothing short of pure artistry.
And I think in a sense I see this theme in life in general. It is not enough to merely "perform well", and specifically when reffering to Judaism, it is not enough to be the perfect Brisker and be "mekayem all of the shitos" and all of their technicality to the hair. Not that I necissarily think that that is even part of the equation. But for those that that happens to resonate within their religious spirit. We have to tell stories. Our lives need to be compelling, engaging. At the risk of the technicality sometimes. And to quote Krak/Shana and myself-since we both blurted this line out simultaneously one late Shavuos night in a little apt. on Rechov Amram Gaon-sometimes that's a risk you just have to take.
So the big question is: what do I skate to? The classic Romeo & Juliet, the theoretical "Man in the Iron Mask", which I still refuse to see (the movie) bc I want the music to have abstract and personal significance to me, not tied down by the actual story, or some grand piece of truly abstract classical music...perhaps tchaikovsky...?
Sorry this post isn't so cerebral. I'm just spewing about what's running through my head lately in the more active realm of my life...