"The Cutting Edge" & some questions....

[Mathman]

OT, but I love the name "Staci Loop!"

[Olympia]

It's rare to find a dancer with Mikhail Baryshnikov's acting skills. Other dancers who've acted were awful, including Leslie Browne in The Turning Point and Julie Kent in Dancers. She was better by the time they did Center Stage, but still not strong. Lynn Holly Johnson had years of acting experience before Ice Castles. Not many skaters have that.

Good point, Pixie...though I don't agree with you about Leslie Browne in Turning Point. I thought she was very convincing at conveying a character, though certainly her character wasn't very deep, so her job wasn't too demanding. You're certainly right about Baryshnikov--what a Renaissance man! Both his acting and dancing style are so unadorned and naturalistic, extremely emotionally convincing. White Nights always delights me. It doesn't hurt that the guy is total eye candy, even today.

Gee, maybe he could play the skating coach in the movie we're casting now! (Well, I'm casting one. Feel free to join me!) Too bad there isn't a skater with the electrical fizz of Ann-Margret, a fabulous actress who started out as an ingenue who could dance. I've seen Tara Lipinski act, and alas, she gave me the impression that she was reciting her lines.(Perhaps she's improved?) Maybe Sasha could convey some degree of sparkle. My suspicions are that Mao Asada would be a great little actress: she has that quicksilver face. As for men, don't Kulik and Yagudin have some acting aspirations and experience?

Sigh; this will take a bit more thought.

[silverpond]

I think the actors did learn to skate so they could perform scenes on the ice, but not to the level that they could skate the programs with advanced skills.

It's not necessary to be a world-class figure skater (a la Sonja Henie) for an actor do his/her own skating in a film, but a much higher level is required for a skater/actor portraying a competitive skater than what can be learned in a year or two. I guess it partly depends how you define "world class."

For example, Lynn Holly Johnson who starred in the original Ice Castles, Taylor Firth who starred in the recent remake, Juliana Cannarozzo and Kirsten Olson who played supporting roles in Ice Princess all competed at U.S. Nationals, but not all of them internationally. They mostly did their own skating in those films, but there were some moves for which skating doubles were brought in anyway.

I would describe "World Class" as being skilled enough to represent your country at the World Championships or Olympic Games. IMHO, that's the highest elite level.

There are plenty of wonderful competitive skaters who dedicate years of their lives to conscientious, dedicated training to their sport, who never qualify for the above-mentioned competitions. They are still great skaters, of course, and I salute them!