How are choreographies handed to skaters?

[dorispulaski]

During the '92 Olympics, NBC broadcast a fluff piece of Kristi's work with Sandra Bezic. Sandra had worked a lot of it out in her head before Kristi arrived. They worked on it on the ice and when Kristi's coach came, she recorded Kristi's practice runs.

This fluff piece is on youtube! It is nearly 8 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEvsQBj0LLo

Torvill & Dean talk about choreography and choregraphing in this clip, another interesting piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTM2vU6dc0

For a while Chris would work programs out on the ice with Jayne and then transfer them to other couples. Missing was done like that:

Chris and Jayne skated Missing in 1988
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NJC_D8RLHQ

and Chris used it for Duchesnays in 1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRtg7VpawSA

Here's the Fallen Idols piece they worked on for Annenko & Sretensky:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COTn2f2VZfc

[PaulE]

Thanks for the links, Doris. My wife and I really enjoyed watching them.
PaulE

[Ladskater]

As you can see every skater, coach and choreographer approaches their method of relaying the choreography to the skater differently. I remember particularly learning set-patteren ice dances - although these are usually drawn out on paper I just watched the other skaters and also my coach (pro in those days) would teach us parts of the dance as we went along. Then we would put it all together. I also remember learning routines for club shows. Pretty much the same thing - the coach would go through the routine with us step by step and voila! we would know it by the time the show was to go on.

good question.

[Tonichelle]

Robin Wagner and Sarah Hughes had a fluff piece done about Sarah's Don Q program and how they chose the music/choreography/dress... I think it aired during that season's Skate America... can't remember

[Dee4707]

This may be a beginners' question:
How are choreographies handed to skaters?

Sorcerer, thanks for bringing up the question...I thought it was very interesting. One of the questions I always wondered about was music. Just a few times I thought ...that music is just terrible. How could that skater listen to it over and over again.

Dee

[Joesitz]

As you can see every skater, coach and choreographer approaches their method of relaying the choreography to the skater differently. I remember particularly learning set-patteren ice dances - although these are usually drawn out on paper I just watched the other skaters and also my coach (pro in those days) would teach us parts of the dance as we went along. Then we would put it all together. I also remember learning routines for club shows. Pretty much the same thing - the coach would go through the routine with us step by step and voila! we would know it by the time the show was to go on.good question.

Interesting that the choreographers must know the style of the skater before hand. In ballet, the choreography is already laid down. It is up to the dancer to do something with it. I think that's the difference between amateurs and pros.

Even in a Ballanchine ballet, like Emeralds, with no story to help the dancer, one will get different interpretations from different ballerinas to the Faure music.

[lcd]

It is exactly the subtle differences IMO that a different skater brings to a program or choreography ... that makes skating... and of course dance... a living breathing PERFORMING art.... I think that is what is so loved... Art by imagery has its own beauty... but the transfer of choreography.. and the changes that each performer/skating brings to it... even with each performance... is what keeps me tuned in.

[sorcerer]

I've learned a lot from the many knowledgable posts here, many thanks.

I also came to know recently that some choreographers make the movements beforehand and search for the appropriate music afterwards!
An this shows that change of music choice isn't so difficult even late in the season.
Old example: Shizuka in Torino 06.
From her previous music she picked up vibrations that didn't match her physical rythm, so she changed her music, so to say, at the last moment.

So maybe "Interpretation" in the PCS should, to be more exact, be changed to "Integrity with the Music".