Gotta love the Seitz and the Mustafina dismount. That's one of those things you've just gotta love about Aliya, how she'll just pull out a randomly different routine every now and then to keep you on your toes. And as always, the classic Aliya swing.
Roxana Popa, 2014 Blume Memorial
Oh, how I miss pre-hey-your-ACL-is-torn-by-the-way Roxana. Her bars work especially was super exciting, and all the connections in this routine just make it so dynamic. There's just so much flight and movement between the bars in this routine! And the inbar Geinger in its pure form.
Rebecca Tunney, 2014 Europeans EF
Long live the Church+Bhardwaj! There's just so much flight and not a second of wasted time in her routine.
Lisa Katharina Hill, 2014 Stuttgart World Cup
Another routine with a Bhardwaj- unique transition work is a pretty sure-fire way to get on this list! I also love her long combination into the Gienger combining pirouettes, transitions, and different kinds of circling elements. There's just so much variety in this routine!
Brenna Dowell, 2014 P&Gs, Day 1
There is just so much in this routine! I'm a fan of everything but the kitchen sink bars routines, and I love how much variety and excitement she is able to pack in. All of the combinations are just amazing, and the Tweddle+Ezhova especially!
Amelia Hundley, 2015 Pan Ams EF
I just really love the way Meals works bars. I find there to be something Aliya-esque in her swing. She never seems to be fighting with the apparatus, and it almost seems as if time has slowed slightly while she performs.
Shang Chunsgong, 2015 Worlds TF
You've just gotta love a good ol' release fest. And it's especially nice with Shang's gorgeous eponymous skill. I also like that she's got some good ol' pretty Chinese one-armed pirouettes going. I was never a pirouette fest fan, but I do wish they hadn't disappeared so much. Shang's issue on bars is her swing can sometimes be a bit labored, but that wasn't a problem here.
Fan Yilin, 2015 Worlds EF
Such a difficult routine and so well done. Lots of movement between the bars, pirouettes, and a great inbar Gienger! Definitely my favorite of the reigning world champions.
Becky Downie, 2016 Europeans EF
So many fabulous releases and combinations! And with Becky's beautiful presentation to top it off. This is a monster of a routine. The Chow+Shang is so breathtaking, but then, so is everything else in this routine.
Jessica Lopez, 2016 Sao Paulo World Cup EF
So many inbar Giengers this quad! One thing I love about JLo's bars is how she works and turns through inverted grip. And her lovely open Jaeger! I also love her double front, there's just something so compact about it.
Ruby Harrold, 2015 Worlds EF
And my favorite UB routine to end! Both a Maloney+Bhardwaj and a Van Leeuwen+Zuchold. The Zuchold is just the ultimate of cool transitions (which, in case you can't tell by now, I'm a sucker for). Not pristine, but just plain cool.
Plenty of routines which have been major buzzes in the gymternet and from top gymnasts didn't make event finals, but still deserve a mention.
Roxana Popa
Won't embed, sorry. I love this one SO much more than last years. The composition was fine last year, but she's just not the super-bubbly performer you have to be in order to pull that one off. This dramatic flair is more for her. I love how Roxana incorporates the Spanish-style guitar! This routine can get just a bit dull in the middle at around 0:53 when she's obviously resting and keeps hitting poses with the accents of the music, but it isn't really ugly, just fairly uninteresting. My favorite part is the low-to-floor interpreting the slow music. Some really cool shapes and flowing movements. I also love how she ends it with a flourish of her wrist! The choreography isn't super intricate, but it is nice to watch. A good effort. And on another note, THAT MEMMEL!!!
Giulia Steingruber
Gorgeous dynamic routine. I especially love how varied her wrist and hand positions are. They really create a flowing impression and add to the intensity. A unique and slightly innovative routine, one which suits gymnastics in 2014. This routine had elegance, power, strong expression, and an assertive aura. Can you tell I love it? Too bad about that double back.... This proves you can combine power and beauty, and I really think this kind of routine should be more encouraged. I love her switch from slow choreography to quick movements after the DLO. Giulia does a great job of combining flowing and staccato movements to create a really dynamic routine with great forward motion.
Alla Sosnitskaya
I'm not feeling this one for Alla. To me, she just looks a bit gangly and awkward out there. This music and choreography require a gymnast who can go out there and own the arena, and Alla really isn't doing that here. She is just ever so slightly stiff and really doesn't connect with the performance or the audience. At parts she even looks like she isn't really trying to sell it. And this is the kind of routine you really have to sell. The short bit at 0:43 is always the best part of the routine- she has a little slinkyness which I think Russia should try to capitalize on in the future. I think this routine could be fabulous, but it really, well, isn't right now. They either need to work her on performance quality or work a different angle for her when they compose her floor routines.
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
I can't figure out if I love this or hate this. More to the point, I can't figure out if I love it in spite of the fact that I hate it. It's definitely a Marta-only routine! The music change is kind of bizarre. I have some very unfavorable opinions about the music change requirement. Surely there was something more jazzy they could have used? It's not an especially intricate choreography, but it works fine with the music. The ending is definitely the highlight of the routine, and where she does the best job of reflecting the Pink Panther music. I think this one just about works, and for her performance quality alone. I prefer her 2012 routine.
So, how do these routines stack up? Giulia's was definitely on of the best so far, I'd say. Roxana also did a lovely job. Marta and Alla are sort of in the same situation music and choreography-wise, but with very different approaches to their performance. Alla had decent choreography but moved without real presence while Marta had somewhat uninspired choreography and was only really able to pull of her routine because of the personality she infused into it. If you took Alla's routine and had Marta perform it, I think it would be something fabulous. Aside from Giulia, I'd say these ones were all fairly average.
