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- Aug 7, 2003
I was watching this movie called Center Stage, and one of the actors that played one of the ballet dancers looked just like Ilia Kulik. Was that him or am I losing my mind?
was Ilia Kulik in this??
- Thread starter BravesSkateFan
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- Jul 26, 2003
Yep, that's him.
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- Aug 7, 2003
HA! I knew it. I'm not crazy. LOL
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- Jul 11, 2003
Kulic is not a dancer; he is a skater! It looks like he's dancing in the film but it is a body double.
He was, however. imo, quite good at acting in his part.
Joe
He was, however. imo, quite good at acting in his part.
Joe
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- Jul 26, 2003
I agree. It's really hard to seem natural in a group as a secondary character. He seemed right at home in the role.Joesitz said:
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- Jul 26, 2003
Ilia's Dance Double
The place in the movie where they used a dance double for Ilia was at the end in that big classical ballet number - you could undoubtedly tell that. Any of the screens of class and dance within a dance class were actually Ilia who has had ballet training but admittedly is not a trained dancer. He joked that he was teased that in the class stuff he looked good from the waist up but since skaters don't spend their ballet time concentrating on their feet, his unpointed (compared to real ballet dancers) toes were often out of the shot!! Apparently the dancers joked with him about that. Just for the record, Ilia's last name is spelled Kulik.
The place in the movie where they used a dance double for Ilia was at the end in that big classical ballet number - you could undoubtedly tell that. Any of the screens of class and dance within a dance class were actually Ilia who has had ballet training but admittedly is not a trained dancer. He joked that he was teased that in the class stuff he looked good from the waist up but since skaters don't spend their ballet time concentrating on their feet, his unpointed (compared to real ballet dancers) toes were often out of the shot!! Apparently the dancers joked with him about that. Just for the record, Ilia's last name is spelled Kulik.
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- Jul 11, 2003
Hi Antilles - Studying ballet doesn't make one a ballet dancer. In the close ups during the film, Ilia knew how to pose as a ballet dancer would, but as far as partnering and dancing intricate ballet step = that would be difficult for him. No matter he looked good in the film.
BTW, ballet dancers study at least 10 years of grueling repititious moves striving for perfection before they are even considered for a part in the Corps de Ballet. What a skater can get out of studying ballet is a good turn out of the knees and nice placement of the arms which is what makes prettier skating.
Joe
BTW, ballet dancers study at least 10 years of grueling repititious moves striving for perfection before they are even considered for a part in the Corps de Ballet. What a skater can get out of studying ballet is a good turn out of the knees and nice placement of the arms which is what makes prettier skating.
Joe
There were many Ilia scenes I liked in the movie very much, but my favourite is the Salsa dancing one.... Ilia was really great in that. It was very funny as in the next day they were throwing those sponges toward each other as they were washing the mirrors.
Marjaana
Marjaana
N
nthuz
Guest
If a skater is lucky enough to have a ballet teacher who understands skaters and their needs, he/she will not be working on turnout....of the knees, feet, or hips. Placement of the arms is mostly up to the skater's choreographer.
What a skater should be getting from a ballet class is core muscle strength, body awareness and balance, flexibility, and proper posture.
Forced turnout is not a good thing for skaters. They need strong hip flexors and turnout can make the ligaments too loose.
What a skater should be getting from a ballet class is core muscle strength, body awareness and balance, flexibility, and proper posture.
Forced turnout is not a good thing for skaters. They need strong hip flexors and turnout can make the ligaments too loose.
Nthuz,
ITA. Great analysis. Although skaters need external hip rotation for spread eagles, they pretty much need 180-degree turn-out and they basically either have it or they don't. But I agree that's not for a ballet teacher to instruct a skater in. It's the place of the skating coach because the way a skater achieves the turn-out for a spread eagle is different than the way a dancer uses turn out. Skaters work mostly with the hips in parallel and as you said, with hip flexion (bent forward for stroking). Too often ballet teachers think ballet is the be-all end-all technique for any athlete and they try to turn the skater (or whatever athlete) into a ballet dancer, which is wrong. What ballet can do best is just what you said, develop core strength and I would add awareness of body movement, how to stretch out and become exapansive as a skater.
One thing I do think is that ballet can help skaters learn to move their arms from deep in the back, which also strengthens the core integrity, IMO. You're right that the choreographer or coach sets the arms, but a good ballet teacher can train a skater how to initiate arm movements from the spine and to connect the spine to the center.
But to try to make skaters into ballet dancers, no. You're so right; it does more harm than good.
Rgirl
ITA. Great analysis. Although skaters need external hip rotation for spread eagles, they pretty much need 180-degree turn-out and they basically either have it or they don't. But I agree that's not for a ballet teacher to instruct a skater in. It's the place of the skating coach because the way a skater achieves the turn-out for a spread eagle is different than the way a dancer uses turn out. Skaters work mostly with the hips in parallel and as you said, with hip flexion (bent forward for stroking). Too often ballet teachers think ballet is the be-all end-all technique for any athlete and they try to turn the skater (or whatever athlete) into a ballet dancer, which is wrong. What ballet can do best is just what you said, develop core strength and I would add awareness of body movement, how to stretch out and become exapansive as a skater.
One thing I do think is that ballet can help skaters learn to move their arms from deep in the back, which also strengthens the core integrity, IMO. You're right that the choreographer or coach sets the arms, but a good ballet teacher can train a skater how to initiate arm movements from the spine and to connect the spine to the center.
But to try to make skaters into ballet dancers, no. You're so right; it does more harm than good.
Rgirl
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