Thoughts About Choreography

[snowflake]

Footwork? How quickly you forgot the great Kurt Browning

Besides him.

I remember this fascinating guy. He could do his whole step sequence on one foot IIRC(a bit unlucky here though) His choreography and costumes were often special. I think he made a lot in his programmes himself.

I tend to fall for the ones with different moves/styles/choreo, like Klimkin, Abbott and Jeanette(now a choreographer himself as told in another thread) Could be that these skaters have a lot of own choreo ideas.

(Btw I think this clip tells a bit about the "old days": the comments, the baseball/hockey/basketball results rolling in front of his feet and D leaving kiss&cry in protest(I think you get disqualified for doing that nowadays)

[Tonichelle]

ESPN always runs the sports scores underneath whatever is playing... it wasn't a slight to men's figure skating.... US skaters get a mention in their news ticker if they've won something.... no need to get offended by it.

[1795]

Jeremy Abbott is the only skater licensed to do choreography/ footwork.
simply the best.

[janetfan]

Any thoughts on skaters and their new music & programs for this important upcoming Olympic season?
Who might seem different from last season(s) and who might seem to be the most changed?

Will we see a much different looking Mao this season and will she be able to skate a consistent SP? Will she be a dramatic looking Russian Diva? I heard she has new fondness for furs so maybe Tat has gotten Mao to "see the light" so to speak

Johnny and his new "Spanish" SP may look totally different from what we have seen in the past? Is his love affair with bland New Age music over or will his LP be just like previous seasons? Will Wilson's CoP driven choreo give us a new look Johnny, and will he show us some good transitions in his choreo?

What about Caroline and Mirai? How about a more happy, smiley Caroline and a more serious and somber Mirai? Is this in the books? I don't think it is necessary but I have read comments about both of them suggesting a change was needed in their on-ice personnas.

Jeremy imo, has very interesting music and I expect to see some very interesting choreo from him.

Will Yuna change her jump layouts for this season or can we count on her to come out, circle the ice twice and lift off into her majestic 3F/3T? Maybe it is better not to mess with something hat has been close to perfect since her junior years.

Will Plushy and Sasha offer much new or will we see something close to their 2006 choreos? It appears that might be partially true judging from their music choices.

Has Lori still managed to find new and interesting ways for so many skaters to get from point A to point B in the race against the clock to rack up points that is the accepted style of skating under CoP? Will we see anything resembling Michelle's more fluid style of skating again?

[Tinymavy15]

I don't see Yu-na changing much. Why should she? She found a combination that puts the judges in the palm of her hands and that the audience loves as well. I see both her program having the same (or very similar) layouts and content as last year.

I am excited to see Johnny do something new. I think he has used a Spainsh themed piece before...I think it was his first season as senior..possibly 2003, but i could easily be wrong on that.

From what I have seen of PLushy in shows since 2006 he looks pretty much the same. not expecting much change.

We have seen a version of Sasha's moonlight, so we have an idea of what that will look like. I guess she will have to take out some of that beautiful chreography for competition to make room for jumps :( :(

[siberia82]

Perhaps we are thinking of Fedor ANDREV (however it's spelled)

It's spelled Andreev. You're just missing an "e".

[hikki]

Watch out for Kenji Miyamoto. He's choreographed for Daisuke, Miki, Akiko Suzuki, Mao, etc, mostly exhibition programs.

Unfortunately the big name skaters go for better-known choreographers for their competitive numbers. It'd be nice if coaches and choreographers from Japan had international recognition. For that to happen, you'd think the Japanese federation would promote talent of their own.

On a side note, I'm nervous about Mao - Tarasova! I still can't decide they work well or not.

[evangeline]

Watch out for Kenji Miyamoto. He's choreographed for Daisuke, Miki, Akiko Suzuki, Mao, etc, mostly exhibition programs.

Unfortunately the big name skaters go for better-known choreographers for their competitive numbers. It'd be nice if coaches and choreographers from had international recognition in Japan. For that to happen, you'd think the Japanese federation would promote talent of their own.

On a side note, I'm nervous about Mao - Tarasova! I still can't decide they work well or not.

I agree! Choreographers like Lori Nichol and David Wilson are very talented, but it's boring when EVERYONE whips out one of their programs....there's so much talent out there. That's why I love skaters like Stephane Lambiel, who really goes outside the box and hires people like Antonio Najarro for choreography.

And I too am worried about Mao and Tarasova. On one hand, Tarasova choreographed 'Por una cabeza', which was a really splendid vehicle for Mao. On the other hand, 'Masquerade Waltz' was a bit of a clunker. Rachmaninoff's 'Bells of Moscow' is NOT an easy piece to skate to and I'm a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. I have a feeling that reactions are going to be extreme: it's either going to be a masterpiece or a bomb.

[Ladskater]

There is a miriad of answers here for your questions. In the past - Karen Magnussen, Dorothy Hammill, Janet Lynn for example - most skaters' coach would choreograph their programs and find their music. Today the choreography field of figure skating has really developed. There are some wonderful skaters who have left the competitive scene and have become choreographers. David Wilson of course springs to mind as one of my favorties and one of the best. Also Christopher Dean and Sandra Bezic as well as Lori Nichol.

No, I don't think it's any different under the new judging system. Although sometimes the choreography seems to be more demanding - a David Wilson program for instance really challenges the skater.

I am looking forward to seeing Jeff Buttle's work. I think he has a lot of talent in that area. I hope he will get a chance to work with some of the skaters.

[siberia82]

I am looking forward to seeing Jeff Buttle's work. I think he has a lot of talent in that area. I hope he will get a chance to work with some of the skaters.

Does anyone know who else Buttle is working with this season besides Andreev and Tommy Steenberg? This article mentions that he "will design the routines for at least five skaters", but the journalist only included Steenberg's name. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs...article975687/)

[shine]

The best? Well, you already mentioned the most famous guys. Nobody said Morozov, which is almost funny. And nobody mentioned the best of all for me, Tom Dickson.

Tom Dickson