Originally Posted by
DesertRoad
There is no dichotomy between being a figure skater and a dancer, figure skating is absolutely one of the many, many forms of dancing there are. You can dance on a boat, you can dance on a goat. You can dance on a moat, you can dance on Paul Vogt. The confusion that comes in, I suspect, is because of the very thing the thread title is about: music. Let's face it, there are a lot, A LOT of successful skaters who aren't particularly musical.
Does this mean figure skating isn't a form of dancing, or a good form of it? Hell no! There are many other kinds of dance forms where musicality is not the priority. Watch a breakdancing competition, where tricks are prized. Or, ballroom competitions where couples seem to delight in using clashing music. I once saw this couple do a mambo or some such to an acapella rendition of the American anthem. It made no freaking sense musically. And then there's ballet. Oh yes, the hallowed form that's supposedly the ur-source of dancing. Classical ballet is a set of rigidly defined movement and angles, where toe points and exact extensions are paramount, and repetition is not only OK but necessary because there are only so many moves. To quote myself, "seeing dancers repeat a rond de jambe to the same three note motif in the score is as edifying as watching jazzercise". The emphasis on form and technique can overwhelm an honest expression of music in any dance style. Figure skating isn't alone in succumbing to that.
And now, an appraisal in defense of Michelle Kwan. No, Kwan was never the most graceful, flexible or powerful of skaters. But I do think she was one of the most musical skaters ever. It's in the nuance of her movement, her edging (an important part of expressing music in skating), and yes, her facial expressions. Facial expression absolutely does count in expressing music and mood. It's the loudest part of body language. Kwan has always been masterful at expressing the mood of the choreography and music. Her Salome was pleading, possessed and built tension until the final cathartic release. And that was just her start. Years later, I was fully sold on her ability as an interpreter of sound when she did her one and only performance of Miraculous Mandarin. There, she revived the seductress archetype, but with some actual sexuality, flaunting perverse joy in every flick of the wrist and seductive shoulder roll. The music built, and she mimed the death throes in perfect harmony to the disharmonious music. Even in her less dramatic outings, Kwan has always been one with the phrasing of the score. She may not have skated to the vast variety of moods music can create, but she skated to quite a few of them and did exceptionally well. I would absolutely call her a great dancer.
..Now it's everywhere ; singles , pairs..I can't help imagining the poor kids gorming away into a mirror for hours, trying to perfect it.
Ballet is a lot more dynamic than that. Choreography has only become more imaginative in the world of ballet in the past century. It's funny because I used to think figure skating was too rigid and was sort of stunted as a art form compared to ballet because it's a competitive Olympic sport and figure skating shows take a backseat. But I've since come to change my mind and appreciate the excitement and drama that being an Olympic sport gives to figure skating.
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