Figure Skaters Who Have Studied Ballet

[Ladskater]

Back in the day when I was a figure skater, ballet classes were greatly encouraged. I remember Karen Magnussen always took ballet and one could see the results when Karen skated, especially when she did her magnificent spiral all the way around the rink. She also did a wonderful Bauer move into a double axle. Karen was one of few skaters who could do spins and field moves in both directions equally well. Karen always looked poised and well centered throughout her programs. I'm sure it was due to all her ballet training.

Here is a clip of Karen

Karen Magnussen 1973 Worlds LP

High Qualityhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvYUd4vh3jE&fmt=18Gold medal　　　.

www.youtube.com

 

[mrrice]

I believe Jennifer Kirk studied ballet for a number of years.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Many take it as off ice from a young age, esp those who are in the elite.

 

[Amei]

Eteri's students take ballet or dance with some ballet time, Daniil's mom danced for Bolshoi worked there till she passed away, and I've seen pictures of Kolyada with Mishin's group doing ballet.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

It might be easier to ask "Which figure skaters haven't studied ballet?" since the list wouldn't be quite as long...

 

[iluvtodd]

Sasha Cohen?

 

[surimi]

Anastasia Gubanova for sure. I haven't followed her closely, but our commentators keep mentioning her graceful posture, and that she studied ballet at the prestigious Vaganova academy.
My own favorite, Sota Yamamoto, also takes private ballet classes regularly.
Like the posters above say, it appears many skaters learn ballet to improve their skating.

 

[mrrice]

Sasha Cohen?

It was clear to me when I saw Sasha, that she had either had ballet or gymnastic training. The flexibility in her Russian split jumps and beautiful spirals, were the best in the world. Her Olympic SP in 2002 was spectacular.

 

[Mathman]

Nathan Chen

Ballet West - Nathan Chen in The Sleeping Beauty | Facebook | By Ballet West | In a tour-de-force display of artistry and athleticism, Nathan Chen won the national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and secured his spot...

7,6 тыс. views, 236 likes, 56 loves, 21 comments, 69 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Ballet West: In a tour-de-force display of artistry and athleticism, Nathan Chen won the national title at the...

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[Mathman]

Sasha Cohen's mother, Galina Feldman, was a ballet dancer from Odessa in the Russian-speaking part of Ukraine, who immigrated to the United States. Sasha can speak Russian.

 

[flipsydoodle]

There are many skaters who go to ballet classes as an off-ice kind of thing, and there are a few rare ones who integrate ballet form and technique into their skating.

Most skaters IMO don't look like they've had any ballet training. A big part of the reason for this is that ballet can't be learned as an off-ice-twice-a-week-with-someone-who-knows-ballet kind of thing. To go anywhere with it, it takes serious study, for years and years, many hours a week, and is generally learned from a ballerina who has been in a ballet company. It's not just a matter of acquiring stretch and flexibility, but an integrated way to move. Poor posture and flexed feet are a dead giveaway that a skater hasn't taken ballet seriously.

Historically, several skaters have stood out for their ballet training: Caryn Kadavy, Toller Cranston, John Curry.

Above all, Katherine Healy. She was one of the top ballerinas in the world (from about 16?), starred in the skating movie Six Weeks, and was the skater featured in A Very Young Skater.

This will give you an idea about Katherine Healy, and what it looks like if you REALLY apply ballet to skating:

Prima!! - Katherine Healy

A tribute to skating and ballet prodigy Katherine Healy

www.youtube.com

Katherine Healy doing a number choreographed by John Curry:

Katherine Healy skating waltz John Curry choreography

Choreography by John Curry and Katherine Healy, all rights reservedThis was in 1989, when I was in the middle of my senior year at Princeton. I chose the mus...

www.youtube.com

 

[PaulE]

Thank you for the links @flipsydoodle. I dimly remember a previous discussion with some video links that took place here on Golden Skate—possibly involving JoeSitz who was quite a ballet fan as I recall.

 

[Princessroja]

As a dance teacher (ballet/modern/flamenco), I've often wished skaters would take modern* instead of ballet. There are some skaters who are so, so stiff. Modern would be ever so much better to help them to move their torsos fluidly and BEND. I find a lot of skaters look like they've had some ballet, but it doesn't necessarily help. Like @flipsydoodle points out, it's not something you can just take some classes in and get the look. I usually teach ballet to competition dancers, and they don't have the fluidity or refinement, even though they're taking more ballet than most skaters do. The ballet look takes years to acquire, and IMO it doesn't look good done halfway. I wish I could get most skaters in a room and have them do some Laban floorwork though...

Personally, as someone who considers ballet my "native language," so to speak, skating was very, very hard to shift into. They're completely different and frankly, my ballet training made it harder to learn to skate well, not easier.

*contemporary to those in Europe

 

[Tolstoj]

All russian athletes as far as i know they all do take ballet lessons.

The problem is always how committed you are to those lessons, how much the coaches care... look at Shcherbakova vs Trusova or Kolyada vs Samarin. Elegant vs sloppy but they technically all praticed ballet.

Chebotareva's students in Russia seems to be the one who take ballet more seriously than others in singles there, Moskvina too has always worked with famous ballet dancers and choreographers.

Most skaters at the top level do take ballet lessons cause it helps with the posture, not only for skating skills but when jumping too.

 

[Aklaus]

Emanuel Sandhu.
I consider him very gifted but with one exception he could never rely on his nerves.

 

[kolyadafan2002]

All russian athletes as far as i know they all do take ballet lessons.

The problem is always how committed you are to those lessons, how much the coaches care... look at Shcherbakova vs Trusova or Kolyada vs Samarin. Elegant vs sloppy but they technically all praticed ballet.

Chebotareva's students in Russia seems to be the one who take ballet more seriously than others in singles there, Moskvina too has always worked with famous ballet dancers and choreographers.

Most skaters at the top level do take ballet lessons cause it helps with the posture, not only for skating skills but when jumping too.

One thing to note is taking classes doesn't automatically mean you'll always be balletic. It's something that you have to consciously attempt to integrate into the performances, and work hard on the ice.

It's like jump rotation - doing it will teach you the feeling and awareness of the jumps, but you still need to focus towards it on the ice.