How Much Does Choreography Cost?

Meoima · Jun 4, 2014

Hello everyone, I am just curious how much often a choreographer charge skaters?

I've heard there are choreographer in the US that charges $15k a program (I assume it's the long). Is that price supposed to be the highest?

Famous choreographer like Tarasova, David Wilson... I wonder how much they charge, might be much higher than the lesser known choreographer, I suppose.

Thank you in advance.

MK's Winter · Jun 4, 2014

I have ready that skaters cans pay up to 3,000 for a short program and between 5-7 thousand for a free skate. I have to find that source though.

Sam-Skwantch · Jun 4, 2014

The amounts will vary most definetely. At my rink the cost of the ice is around $250 an hour to get the rink to yourself. Fortunately our skating club and ice rink are intertwined and when a coach I'm close to asked...he got the ice donated for multiple nights to choreograph for a pair that went to nationals. Where you are...who your coach is and the amount of time to develop the programs can and will vary. A lot.

I assume after a few late night sessions as was the case above the program can be successfully practiced at regular and cheaper normal freestyle times reducing any extra expenses. In the case of a rink that doesn't donate ice, most I would assume, the cost of the coach and ice time will add up. 5hrs alone at full price is $1250 plus coaching fees...around $400-$500 and you haven't even practiced it yet.

40hrs of practice ice at $12 an hour $480
Coach for half of the time ~$75 $1500
10hrs private ice and coach ~$2500

That's about ~$5000 just for a lower level pairs team that my rough estimation comes to. I can't speak of elite skaters but my guess is while ice price is somewhat similar. They are not paying coaches around $100 per hour :slink:

Meoima · Jun 4, 2014

I've read somewhere else that Brian Orser charged Yuna around $110 per hour and he said he charged the cheapest price in the field. I bet he charges higher now. :think:

Anyways I am not surprised if Tarasova or David Wilson or Lori charge $15k per long program, though.

OS · Jun 5, 2014

Meoima said:
I've read somewhere else that Brian Orser charged Yuna around $110 per hour and he said he charged the cheapest price in the field. I bet he charges higher now. :think:

Anyways I am not surprised if Tarasova or David Wilson or Lori charge $15k per long program, though.

Oh I am sure Orser's agency IMG made sure of that. Can you imagine a company like IMG getting $11 per hour for Hanyu's coaching lesson? He probably got a percentage of Hanyu's earnings too in accordance to his complaints as an Olympic level coach = Frank Carroll style (even it took him 3 decades of illustrious coaching career to earn it).

Now I am really curious if Carolina got discount for her Ave Maria consider her Scheherazade.

Meoima · Jun 5, 2014

os168 said:
Oh I am sure Orser's agency IMG made sure of that. Can you imagine a company like IMG getting $10 per hour for Hanyu's coaching lesson? He probably got a percentage of Hanyu's earnings too in accordance to his complaints as an Olympic level coach = Frank Carroll style (even it took him 3 decades of illustrious coaching career to earn it).

As far as I know, Hanyu hasn't signed any contract with any agency, so I don't know how Orser's agency work with him. AS for Hanyu's earnings, I am sure JFS would never let anyone else but them get a percentage of the kid's earning.
JFS invests in their top skaters, in turn they get quite a big share from their skaters' earning. Some say it's up to 20%, even 50% (but this number might be too big). Some Japanese fans have said they were often worried about their beloved skaters' income. :slink:

os168 said:
Now I am really curious if Carolina got discount for her Ave Maria consider her Scheherazade.

I hope the costume designer charged her no fee for the disaster called Scheherazade.

OS · Jun 5, 2014

Meoima said:
As far as I know, Hanyu hasn't signed any contract with any agency, so I don't know how Orser's agency work with him. AS for Hanyu's earnings, I am sure JFS would never let anyone else but them get a percentage of the kid's earning.
JFS invests in their top skaters, in turn they get quite a big share from their skaters' earning. Some say it's up to 20%, even 50%. Some Japanese fans have said they were often worried about their beloved skaters' income.

Good for Hanyu to stay independent or got out of any contract IMG may desperately want him to sign. DO NOT SIGN with IMG Hanyu, especially when your supplier (Orser) is already signed with them, so you can have true freedom and bargaining power instead of boxed into a corner like Mao. I read on Chinese boards there are news reports in Japan that between JSF and IMG takes huge amount of Mao's earning, it amazed me what a huge amount, more than 50%. These kids are young and vulnerable, fairly easy to be exploit by big businesses.

Skater Boy · Jun 5, 2014

I thought somewhere on this board the fees were as high as $20,000 with Wilson type choreographers including a couple of trips back to fine tune. Fortunately there are some newer talented choreographers like Buttle, Bourne though they are moving up as well as Krylova and her partner etc. I just hope skating is not too overly influenced by money to develop skill that would be sad.

gkelly · Jun 5, 2014

os168 said:
Oh I am sure Orser's agency IMG made sure of that. Can you imagine a company like IMG getting $11 per hour for Hanyu's coaching lesson?

Do coaches who have agents (because of their performing careers) give a percentage of coaching fees to the agencies? I never heard of that. Do the agencies have anything to do with the coaching jobs?

He probably got a percentage of Hanyu's earnings too in accordance to his complaints as an Olympic level coach = Frank Carroll style (even it took him 3 decades of illustrious coaching career to earn it).

That's possible. Some elite coaches do make arrangements with elite students to receive a percentage of the student's skating-related income -- in which case they would probably not also be paid hourly but perhaps in some kind of monthly deal.

I'm not sure about the exchange rate between US and Canadian dollars, but within the US $110/hour would be a high but not very top rate -- which would depend not only on the coach's credentials (primarily base on their own or their students' results) but also the cost of living in the area where the rink is located. There are definitely some elite coaches who charge more, but I don't think I've ever heard of more than $150/hour for a lesson.

Some published coaching rates:
http://icehousenj.com/figure-skating/figure-skating-coaches/

For choreography, what the skater pays will depend on who's doing the choreo under what kind of arrangements.
If the choreographer is also (one of) the skater's coach(es), often just normal hourly lesson fees.
The choreographer might also charge for cutting music and for off-ice prep time.
If it's a choreographer hired just to set a program or two with no other ongoing relationship with the skater, they might charge a flat fee per program.

Then the skater also needs to pay for ice time -- can the choreography process take place on a normal practice session or do they need private ice time? -- and travel and accommodation expenses for the choreographer to come to them or for them to go to the choreographer.

pointyourtoe · Jun 5, 2014

Kwan once paid Morozov 20k for an emptyass program and a footwork sequence :sarcasm: :hb:

Her Vera Wang costumes cost up to 15k each
Frank got a percentage of her total earnings in addition to his coaching fees :slink:

desertskates · Jun 6, 2014

I wonder if Ashley got a refund for Romeo and Juliet?

AsadaFanBoy · Jun 6, 2014

I thought Ashley's Romeo and Juliet was great. She just couldn't make it work for her. I think there were endurance issues from how her performances looked.

VirMo · Jun 6, 2014

Meoima said:
I've read somewhere else that Brian Orser charged Yuna around $110 per hour and he said he charged the cheapest price in the field. I bet he charges higher now. :think:

Anyways I am not surprised if Tarasova or David Wilson or Lori charge $15k per long program, though.

Well Orser wasn't really known for coaching at the time.. I am not sure he had really any coaching experience before taking in Yuna.. and $110 per hour doesn't sound cheap at all. I don't think at the time Yuna's family was as well doing as they are now.

Icey · Jun 6, 2014

Skaters ought to be required to do their own choreography and, as in other aspects of their skating, judged on and given points for it.

makaihime · Jun 6, 2014

Icey said:
Skaters ought to be required to do their own choreography and, as in other aspects of their skating, judged on and given points for it.

Lol, that is a terrible idea. It's a disaster waiting to happen

Also, many skaters rely on the income from choreographing as a side job.

BlackPack · Jun 6, 2014

os168 said:
Now I am really curious if Carolina got discount for her Ave Maria consider her Scheherazade.

Meoima · Jun 6, 2014

Icey said:
Skaters ought to be required to do their own choreography and, as in other aspects of their skating, judged on and given points for it.

I am sure we would be forced to witness many disasters. :biggrin:

Even the judges wouldn't stand it I suppose.

karne · Jun 7, 2014

Icey said:
Skaters ought to be required to do their own choreography and, as in other aspects of their skating, judged on and given points for it.

So let's crown Joshua Farris the World Champion and have done with it already then shall we?

gkelly · Jun 7, 2014

If skaters use the same program for a full year and practice at their home rinks in the off-season developing the programs they will use in competition, there would be no way to police which ones got outside help on the choreography and which did it completely on their own. That's not a rule that could be enforced.

There could be an improv competition where skaters hear music for the first time and have to come up with choreography to that music that day, isolated from coaches or other advisors. But 1) you still wouldn't know who came into the competition with preplanned moves to adapt to whatever music they were given, on which they had gotten outside advice; 2) choreography put together in less than a day would likely be less effective than choreography planned and practiced over months.

And also 3) choreography designed to include all the difficult elements required in a competitive short program or freeskate will almost always be less effective artistically than choreography whose primary purpose is artistic effectiveness.

Icey · Jun 7, 2014

Choreography/Composition; which is the arrangement of all movements according to the principles of proportion, space and music (e.g. idea, concept, unity, pattern, phrasing, originality, design). Skaters are in effect being given points for something they themselves did not do. That does not strike me as fair.

Sorry, still not convinced skaters should not do their own choreography. How fair is it that some skaters have the resources to afford the best choreographers, while others don't? The playing field needs to be leveled. And so what if disasters occur, they already do occur in other areas. The skaters will survive that and the fans will too. As to skaters who would cheat, I suspect most would eventually get found out and, hopefully, banned from skating.

At least, the name of a skater's choreographer could be kept anonymous so as not to contribute to judging bias.

How Much Does Choreography Cost?

Meoima

Match Penalty

MK's Winter

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

Meoima

Match Penalty

OS

Sedated by Modonium

Meoima

Match Penalty

OS

Sedated by Modonium

Skater Boy

gkelly

pointyourtoe

desertskates

AsadaFanBoy

VirMo

Icey

makaihime

BlackPack

Meoima

Match Penalty

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

gkelly

Icey

Similar threads

Connect with us