I don't know what else to say on the subject of Gracie's Firebird program other than this. As a former professional dancer I can promise that there are lot of things in Gracie's Choreography that come straight from the ballet. Including the "Squat" which I still can't believe is what some people call it. Can you seriously imagine Lori saying..."Ok Gracie.....Squat!!" Just the thought of it makes me laugh. Why don't some of you have a look at the pieces from the ballet and you'll get a better picture of what Gracie, Frank, and Lori are going for.
Have a look at this clip from the actual Ballet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC6MmmLKEmA
Some of you may find the choreography a bit odd. However, Ballet isn't for everyone and trust me when I say. I'd rather perform Firebird a thousand times before I ever do another "Modern Dance" ........I remember a dance where we started as a Tree, then some of the dancers "fell off" as leaves and died. They had to lay there for 3 minutes while some of us ( Me ) turned into birds and flew away and the final group fell to the ground and become the "Roots" before 1 dancer came out dressed in a green leafy costume and began the new life of the tree.
You never saw an audience more confused. We got "Courtesy Claps" every night for that dance. It was embarrassing.
While I enjoy ballet, I have a feeling that not all ballet things can be done on ice, and what looks well while done by a ballet dancer may not look so well when done by someone who is not so well trained and does it while skating.
The comparison does not flatter Gracie at all - i just look at the ballet dancer's arms, and then at Gracies and cry =(
I dunno, for me it is more a combination of skater and choreo, not each one by itself. Kinda like if you gave Mao's short of this season to Radio to skate to it. I like both skaters and the program, but imho it woudn't work well.