Plushenko to Skate Romeo and Juliet Program | Golden Skate

Plushenko to Skate Romeo and Juliet Program

Taan

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 27, 2003
Plushenko to Skate Romeo and Juliet Program
http://en.ria.ru/sports/20120622/174184298.html
The seven-time European champion, 29, is in Italy working with Japanese choreographer and former skater Kenji Miyamoto on the program, Mishin said.

“I suggested to Zhenya [Plushenko] to work with Japanese choreographer Kenji Miyamoto, he’s making him a free program to the music of Romeo and Juliet,” Mishin said.

“It’s working out very well. I’m very satisfied with Zhenya’s mood and working condition.”
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
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Dec 16, 2006
Which R+J will he use? Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Rota, or the R+J soundtrack?

ETA- Nevermind. He's using Rota.
 
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OS

Sedated by Modonium
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Mar 23, 2010
I am really looking forward to this program just for the comparison. For the simple reason Hanyu did an amazing Romeo and Juliet this last season which I thought set a really high bar for ambition, for the range of emotion it encompasses. Wasn't it choreographed from a Russian couple? (Sorry can't remember the choreographers name.) Romeo and Juliet is of course the ultimate love story in the English Language by William Shakespeare, and the sound track he has performed to was also written by the English film composer Craig Armstrong.

And now, his hero Plushy is doing another version of Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by a Japanese based on the original classic film version. The credits basically swapped nationality. Talk about art cross all boarders and the ultimate cultural exchange. Nino Rota is probably the greatest old school Italian film composer of all time, and of course Romeo and Juliet is set in Italy. It should be really interesting to see what they can come up with. I am ready to be dashed by Plushy! Though Hanyu has set the bar high, theoretically Plushy can show him how it should be done? Or will he not able to meet the 'standard'.

I am looking forward to see the battle of the Romeos... who will be better?
 
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noskates

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Jun 11, 2012
Guess I'm skeptical! Having a beautiful piece of music won't make up for a lack of grace and fluidity on the ice.
 

seniorita

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Jun 3, 2008
Great pic, thanks for posting it! I dont know if I m most thrilled for Camerlego's sp or Miyamoto's Lp:love: Anything new is exciting anyway!
 
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Violet Bliss

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Nov 19, 2010
I hope Plushenko is not portraying Romeo. A 29-30 year old Romeo romancing and marrying 14 year old Juliet in secret is worse than unpalatable to me.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Normally I'd agree with you, SF, but this is the magic of theater: if it's done right, the age melts away. i know that the Zeffirelli movie (the one with the Rota music) cast young teenagers in the leads to match Shakespeare's original intent, but two of the best performances of this pair were Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in the ballet (with Prokofiev's music), and (I finally got to see this!) the old MGM movie with a thirty-year-old Norma Shearer and a forty-year-old Leslie Howard. (In the ballet, Fonteyn, older than Nureyev by quite a bit, was at least in her forties.) There's a magic realm in which these portrayals work perfectly, and it's especially effective in less literal performing arts, such as opera, ballet, and skating. So I'd give him a look before worrying about Juliet's age, unless Plushy actually skates with a fourteen-year-old partner. Besides, he might decide to portray, say, Mercutio or Tybalt. (By the way, the Mercutio in the MGM movie was an aging but amazing John Barrymore. It's worth a look!)
 
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Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
He could do the reduced shakespeare company's version... it's my favorite take on that story anyway.
 

Violet Bliss

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Nov 19, 2010
Maybe the magic of theatre revived the young couple and they lived on to at least 30 years old.

It doesn't concern me if a 50 year old marries a 100 year old or a 25 year old marries a 50 year old. But a 30 year old with a child bride, behind her parents, just no!
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Certainly true, SF. But I'm assuming that if Plushy is 30 or so on "stage," so to speak, any Juliet we imagine him skating with would also be around that age. I wouldn't imagine him with a "baby ballerina" as his Juliet...ugh.
 
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DianaSelene

Medalist
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Aug 2, 2011
I think some people are making too big a deal out of the character he is portraying. It does not matter- he is just skating to the wonderful music. This is not pair skating so he is going to do it alone. There won't be any kissing or anything else on the ice.
 
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Violet Bliss

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Nov 19, 2010
The role of Romeo belongs to the likes of Rippon and Hanyu, not the old master. I don't want to see Rippon and Hanyu reprising the role ten years from now either.

I've been scarred watching aged rock stars singing their teenage hits.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
so does that mean all the pairs and ice dance teams were also wrong? I think it's undue attention, looking for a reason to dislike. I'm no fan of Plush's, but this will probably be one of the least controversial programs he's ever done.
 

Violet Bliss

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Nov 19, 2010
Romeo and Juliet is a story of young love. Plushenko should have done it ten years ago as a plausible impetuous young lad in love.

I don't know which 30 year old have done the program in Pairs and Dance. I would actually have less qualm about an older couple (mid 20s or older) performing it as it would be theatrical as Olympia said. Without a partner, then a 14 year old girl is the love object per original story. Variations of the story such as West Side Story don't have Juliet so young and would have been more open to a great range of age for the roles.

Of course, I don't know if Plushenko is actually going to portray Romeo. I hope not.
 

noskates

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Jun 11, 2012
I just can't imagine him plowing around the ice doing quad upon quad skating to that beautiful music - no matter whose version it is.
 
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