Programs for Kirk, Sasha, Michelle 2004-5?

[sarahmistral]

Didn't Sasha use this at the Canadian Open in December 2002? I saw it listed as her LP on old notes on competitors on the goldenskate general page. I personally loved Hernando's Hideaway as an exhibition and feel that R&J would be a better competitive program. As for Michelle, something along the lines of last year's cuts of music, rather than warhorses; I think that as successful as she is selling programs and making them her own at this point of her career, it's nice to have a piece of music that you associate only with her rather than inviting comparisons. Although I heard somewhere that Oksana skated to The Feeling Begins in themid 90s, not sure. Also, what was the Red Violin program Michelle did years ago? I read somewhere that Aranjuez was also called The Red Violin...confused I am, indeed! Jenny Kirk, as nice a young woman as she is, as much of a fighter as she's proven to be, I just can't get worked up about, nothing against her personally, her skating just doesn't move me, strikes me as too frail. Maybe she can put her old ballet experience to use in a "swan lake" or something, though that music has been extremely overused by US ladies, and skaters ingeneral, of late. Maybe R&J would work for her as well, the movie music Sasha used, I mean.

Sarah

[Joesitz]

Sarahmistral = Very interesting and astute post. I agree Sasha's Hernando Hideaway was a gem and I also think her musical version of Swan Lake is a good competitite piece. There is little of the lake scene in it and more of the ballroom scene. I'd love to see B&S skate to that music or even S&Z, it is definitely a pair piece. I think though, Sasha is one for warhorses.

Michelle, generally is not into warhorses. Can't understand why she went along with Tosca. Although she did a good job to it at the Nats, I would have expected something more unusual from Michelle. Her Miraculous Manderin (Bartok) is a very modern piece which she did in the GP days. It was not well rehearsed but it gave a glimpse of the maturing Michelle which I really went for. At her present age, I think she could do a mind blowing skate to Miraculous Manderin, but I'm not sure the fans would go for some off beat music

Jenny Kirk - for me, is the perrennial bubbly skater like Tara and Oksana. Bouncing around to the music in assorted poses is her style. Die Fledermaus is the right champagne music for her. even her SP is bubbly. She might experiment at some point with say a Rach and see if she can have a more rounded style.

You'll excuse me, I hope, for being so opinionated but watching bodies flow over stages and ice to music has always been special to me. I could do a number on the boys, too.

Joe

[sarahmistral]

thanks, Joe...I for one would love to hear ("read") you do a number on the boys; I think some of them could use it. ITA on warhorses for Sasha--BOY is Malaguena overused, boy am I sick of it
(while on vacation, I was watching some mid 90's worlds ladies SP & LP, and my mother, whom I can seldom force into sitting still long enough to get her to watch any of my favorite skating routines, remarked of Maria Butyrskaya, oh, she always skates to Malaguena)
and I could watch her (Sasha's) rendition of it at Nats (and did, as a matter of fact) again and again and again!

About Michelle, as a person as devoted to music as you are to flowing movement across stages and ice, I got to thinking how cool it is to be introduced to interesting new music by great programs; conversely, I'd give anything for any of my favorite skaters to skate to the soundtrack from the movie "The Piano", but that's just me

Sarah

[Mathman]

Also, what was the Red Violin program Michelle did years ago? I read somewhere that Aranjuez was also called The Red Violin...

IIRC The Red Violin (the movie) was released in 1998 in Canada. I don't know whether Lori Nichol had access to the soundtrack before the movie was released or not. Anyway, as far as I know the first time Michelle performed the Red Violin it was at the 1999 Worlds exhibition. This was one of the the greatest performances of her career, in my opinion. It was a preview for her 1999-2000 long program.

I think the Aranjuez program also had some (different) music from the Red Violin soundtrack, performed by Joshua Bell, mixed in with the guitar music.

Michelle, generally is not into warhorses. Can't understand why she went along with Tosca.

About Michelle, as a person as devoted to music as you (Joe) are to flowing movement across stages and ice, I got to thinking how cool it is to be introduced to interesting new music by great programs.

ITA, Sarah. I loved the programs that Lori Nichol (the nicest person on ice, BTW) designed for Michelle, for exactly that reason. Lyra Angelica (harp concerto), for instance, is a work that I never would have heard of except for Lori and Michelle. I have read that sometimes Lori had to talk Michelle into using the unusual music that Lori found.

In a recent interview Michelle indicated that she relies a lot on the choreographer to choose the music for her competitive programs. That is, the music and the program tend to come as a package, rather than Michelle picking the music first and then consulting the choreographer to help her make a program out of it.

I thought that both the Red Violin and the Song of the Black Swan were programs where the performance was everything. When Michelle hit those triple-triples the way she did at Worlds in both 2000 and 2001, it made the music sound wonderful. When she was off, the music sounded dark and dreary. Probably the same thing with Tosca.

Mathman

[Matt]

I don't know if anyone has skated to it before (probably so), but I would love to see any one of them skate to "Pavane" by Gabriel Fauré. It's one of my favourite pieces of classical music. It's light enough IMHO to work for Jenny and even Michelle. It's would be too much of the same for Sasha

My thoughts:

Kwan: She needs something haunting and immensely beautiful. I say anything by Chopin (Nocturne in E Flat Minor) or Einaudi (a little known modern Italian composer for piano). She has a good record with movie soundtracks, so I might go for something from the "Cold Mountain" soundtrack; really haunting bluegrassy music.

Sasha: Piazzola. She's got that dynamic quality that makes me wonder why she hasn't skated to his music before.

Kirk: Incidental music from Broadway shows. I'd say more toward the Rodgers and Hammerstein era (or even the music from "Seven Brides...")

And finally, a thought. We know Jenny has skated to "Chicago". I'm curious...what about Emanuel Sandhu?

[Joesitz]

Matt - This is just my opinion.

I find Emmanuel's programs too choppy. I believe that is what causes his many mishaps and prevents him from showing his best. If he would cut out some of the posing and get more flow into his routines, he would defintely have less mishaps and be more of a serious contender. He's an excellent skater in search of a style. I believe he could use a strong choregrapher. I'd like to see him try a Rach for a change of pace and maybe he might discover another side to himself.

Joe