Your kidding. Well like I said he does not work for Kimmie. That was one of the worst SP ever too me!! All along I was thinking Lori was the worst.
Lori Nichol did the LP, Nikolai the SP.
Each of these choreographers has a unique approach to working with a skater. And, to some extent, when you watch a skater who has worked with these choreographers, I think you can distinguish who choreographed which program. NM prefers big bold dynamic body movements, esp in the upper body..sometimes we have referred to his footwork seq including "helicopter arms". Not necessarily a bad thing, just characteristic of his style. (Much in the way David Wilson chooses to have his skaters stroke their faces in their prgms...just a signature element.) LN will let the skater use the music to their advantage, not necessarily working against it, but thinking of Shen and Zhao, who have worked with Lori Nichol for many seasons now, thinking back to several of their programs with her.....just "enough" choreography, not too much. working with each note of the music, but only when necessary.
Kimmie has not found that comfort zone with either choreographer at this point, though she has found "snipets" esp her footwork seq in her LP this year, particularly at US nationals. It was the highlight of her prgm. It is refreshing to see a skater utilize/approach the footwork sequence as a total element within their program, ensuring that it is a dynamic and memorable portion of their program.
Does NM do "ground work"? Absolutely, if you think of him as actually setting a program and that is groundwork! Coverage of the ice, momentum, spins, spirals, set up through the jumps, changes in tempo of skating, footwork sequences, etc. And yes, he does work on specific elements like jumps. He will time a skater's jump pattern to see how that will affect choreography. So, he does break down a program to the very basic elements. That is ground work!
