Political programs in figure skating

[gravy]

As someone who watched and liked the "Missing" program when the Duchesnays were actually skating, I feel the need to point out that it was not all *that* bold a political statement (which has nothing to do with the bold avant-garde skating style of the Duchesnays).

"Missing" was a big Hollywood movie. Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, big stars at the time, go looking for their son, who is disappeared in Chile. It was nominated for best picture (back when you didn't have 85 best picture nominees), best actor and best actress. Maybe not everyone in the US of A was completely familiar with the movie or the story behind it, but it was not some obscure indy flick. And I believe Christopher said the program was inspired by the movie.

Just a thought.....

Fair enough! I think this a sport, however, in which skaters insist on using the same music and telling the same story over and over and over again that anytime a program deviates even a little bit from the norm it kind of stands out.

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While not a political program, Weaver and Poje's Addiction program was another one with a message.

Unlike Missing, Addiction failed in that I found the program to be awful, with or without the backstory.

They were so much better when they simply "danced on ice" to good music.

Addiction was when I wrote them off as a team I cared about.

They'd been on thin ice with me for a while. This was the nail in the coffin.

There. That ought to liven up the thread.

Harsh.

But I have to agree. It's difficult to fathom that post-Sochi WeaPo are the same team that brought us "Je Suis Malade" and "Maria de Buenos Aires" which were incredible.

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I'm not sure if it's a political statement but Jeff Buttle's free skate from 2008 Worlds uses music from a film about the Armenian Genocide/Holocaust (which IMO is not taught well enough in lower/high schools) and he's dressed in a costume that's very similiar to a traditional Armenian garment. It's an awesome program.

 

[4everchan]

re jeff's

i was not following skating as much in those years except for WC so I am not sure if he mentioned anything about the genocide. Of course, there is the Raf connection to Armenia... but one thing surfaces up again, it's the soundtrack of a very popular Canadian film called Ararat

so did he use it because of the film, or the music of the film, rather than for political reasons? I would think so.... yet as I said, I didn't hear the interviews about this program.

I think most skaters/choreographers know better than to make statements about events they have absolutely no relation with.

 

[TontoK]

Harsh.

But I have to agree. It's difficult to fathom that post-Sochi WeaPo are the same team that brought us "Je Suis Malade" and "Maria de Buenos Aires" which were incredible.

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The tango program especially was fantastic. They earned a fan then. Je Suis Malade... not so much, but it was still definitely better than Addiction. That program bordered on being artistically unwatchable.

 

[CoyoteChris]

I think if it's done well it can be appropriate. My only wish is that Evgenia's olympic programs do not include George W. Bush clips.

What? No Trump Tweets? No Obama telling Putin (when he thought the mic was dead) about how he can do more for Putin once he is re-elected? No Regan? No Kennedy?

 

[plushyfan]

I forgot about that one; it was actually front page news on CNN for a couple of hours! I think the outrage was due to 2 things: the glorification of suffering as you say but also because she's a high profile personality as someone married to one of Putin's buddies. I believe Ilinykh & Katsalapov did a Schindler's List program with Elena dressed as a prisoner when they were juniors and no one cared about that.

This!!! :agree:

Katarina Witt. Was she a Stasi ( simlar to KGB in East Germany) agent?

 

[TontoK]

What? No Trump Tweets? No Obama telling Putin (when he thought the mic was dead) about how he can do more for Putin once he is re-elected? No Regan? No Kennedy?

OK, I think a program with someone like James Earl Jones reading Trump tweets would make a great comedy exhibition routine. Now it couldn't be mean spirited, but it could definitely be funny.

Of course, what do I know about taste? The next Ave Maria program I see should be done in costume based on a Flying Nun habit.

I want to see Swan Lake done is such an over-the-top fashion that it becomes an embarrassment for anyone else to use it.

If you're going to do a warhorse, add a little flair to it.

 

[Ares]

OK, I think a program with someone like James Earl Jones reading Trump tweets would make a great comedy exhibition routine. Now it couldn't be mean spirited, but it could definitely be funny.

Of course, what do I know about taste? The next Ave Maria program I see should be done in costume based on a Flying Nun habit.

I want to see Swan Lake done is such an over-the-top fashion that it becomes an embarrassment for anyone else to use it.

If you're going to do a warhorse, add a little flair to it.

Maybe they try to add a little flair to their warhorses but fail to make any impact

 

[ffloweer]

A favorite of mine is the Duchesnay's first "Missing" free dance which centered around the repression and forced disappearances of many citizens living in several South American military dictatorships during the 70s and 80s (another example of the many horrifying dictatorships can be found here). Choreographed by Christopher Dean and based on a show program he did with Jayne, the program uses incredibly powerful and haunting Chilean folk music featuring some of the most iconic instruments of the Andes like the pan flute. The title of this program comes from a film by the same name that focuses on Pinochet's Chile. The music and choreography starts off slowly and takes the audience from a place of sadness and sorrow towards an aggressive and desperate state of being as if they're on the run or looking for somebody... and finally ending in a pose that almost represents freedom or closure. The Duchesnay's garnered 5 perfect 6.0s in artistic impression and won the free dance at the 1990 World Championships. It's a pretty chilling performance and one of my all-time favorite programs in the sport.

This is such a beautiful program! It's deeply moving for me, especially because today in Argentina it's the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (el Día de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia) in wich we commemorate the last dictatorship and all the people who went missing during this period (around 30.000 people). The interesting thing about this program and what makes it work, I think, it's how the theme is understated, it's not literal and obvious, instead playing through the music and the intensity of the choreography. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

 

[skatingfan4ever]

This might not count as political, but it's certainly about soldiers going to war and what it can mean for them and for loved ones left behind. Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy skating to "Leningrad" by Chris de Burgh. I saw this program on TV during 2008 Worlds and was incredibly moved. Here it is from a different event, with no annoying commentary to destroy the atmosphere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5o3DZk9Nt8

ETA: Actually, this is from 2008 Worlds, mostly no commentary and very different camera angles than the one I already posted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BWUHaFal8Q

 

[Weathergal]

Konstantin Menshov said that his 2014-2015 FS was dedicated to journalists covering wars.

Here's his 2014 TEB performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C33RQLo0By0

 

[petitebrie]

Because it hasn't been mentioned yet: the Duchesnays' free dance was also inspired by Christopher Bruce's Ghost Dances. You'll recognise a lot of the choreographic elements, and the costumes are similar as well.

 

[janav]

This!!! :agree:

Katarina Witt. Was she a Stasi ( simlar to KGB in East Germany) agent?

No, she wasn't. I remember reading quite a detailed story about Stasi monitoring her from a quite young age. Apparently, they employed sort of 'soft' approach towards her. They didn't want her to defect so they allowed her to tour in the West for instance. Obviously it were the late eighties, the Wall was coming down but still, pretty uncommon for a citizen of the Eastern bloc (you are Hungarian, you may know what was and wasn't common more than I do but then again, from what I understand, the situation in Hungary differed a lot from GDR). I'll try to find a link to that story, it was in German but it was very interesting read.

 

[plushyfan]

No, she wasn't. I remember reading quite a detailed story about Stasi monitoring her from a quite young age. Apparently, they employed sort of 'soft' approach towards her. They didn't want her to defect so they allowed her to tour in the West for instance. Obviously it were the late eighties, the Wall was coming down but still, pretty uncommon for a citizen of the Eastern bloc (you are Hungarian, you may know what was and wasn't common more than I do but then again, from what I understand, the situation in Hungary differed a lot from GDR). I'll try to find a link to that story, it was in German but it was very interesting read.

:thumbsup:

 

[CoyoteChris]

No, she wasn't. I remember reading quite a detailed story about Stasi monitoring her from a quite young age. Apparently, they employed sort of 'soft' approach towards her. They didn't want her to defect so they allowed her to tour in the West for instance. Obviously it were the late eighties, the Wall was coming down but still, pretty uncommon for a citizen of the Eastern bloc (you are Hungarian, you may know what was and wasn't common more than I do but then again, from what I understand, the situation in Hungary differed a lot from GDR). I'll try to find a link to that story, it was in German but it was very interesting read.

Thanks....very interesting...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...eal-Katarina-Witt-was-willing-accomplice.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132214&page=1

 

[Seren]

I think Katerina's program is a good example- it was subtle but beautiful. I think these kind of programs can work when skaters focus on the emotion- not trying to overact to get their message across.

 

[elbkup]

Sister's Keeper.... Katarina Witt

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Bf9AL4cN4

Reposting this here... Very moving... Wish I could remember who posted it in an earlier thread discussing the appropriateness of Evgenia's 9/11 tribute. It was given as an example of how political programs can be tastefully done.

 

[lappo]

Sister's Keeper.... Katarina Witt

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Bf9AL4cN4

Reposting this here... Very moving... Wish I could remember who posted it in an earlier thread discussing the appropriateness of Evgenia's 9/11 tribute. It was given as an example of how political programs can be tastefully done.

Thanks for this! I think that it will be hard to see a well done competitive political program under the current rules...the previous system, with all its flaws, allowed much more creativity to choreographers and much more space for meaningful movements; now with all the required elements the programs are basically a rush from one to another, with some gesture of sorts in the resting times. I simply don't think that the actual system will produce anything similar to D/D or Witt 94 programs and if I were a skater and would like to make a point about something I would make use of an exhibition (see S/S 2008, previously posted).

 

[gravy]

This!!! :agree:

Katarina Witt. Was she a Stasi ( simlar to KGB in East Germany) agent?

No, she wasn't. ESPN aired an awesome special called The Diplomat about 4 years ago that talked a lot about her past in East Germany. It was actually Ingo Steuer who was a Stasi informant who spied on Katarina Witt; it's one of the reasons why the German federation had blacklisted and refused to pay him when he was coaching Savchenko & Szolkowy. Former Stasi in reunified Germany are essentially persona non grata.

This is such a beautiful program! It's deeply moving for me, especially because today in Argentina it's the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (el Día de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia) in wich we commemorate the last dictatorship and all the people who went missing during this period (around 30.000 people). The interesting thing about this program and what makes it work, I think, it's how the theme is understated, it's not literal and obvious, instead playing through the music and the intensity of the choreography. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

No problem! It's nice to know that Argentina has a Remembrance Day for victims of the dictatorship.

This might not count as political, but it's certainly about soldiers going to war and what it can mean for them and for loved ones left behind. Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy skating to "Leningrad" by Chris de Burgh. I saw this program on TV during 2008 Worlds and was incredibly moved. Here it is from a different event, with no annoying commentary to destroy the atmosphere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5o3DZk9Nt8

ETA: Actually, this is from 2008 Worlds, mostly no commentary and very different camera angles than the one I already posted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BWUHaFal8Q

Haven't watched this in forever! I love this program.

 

[Ares]

No, she wasn't. ESPN aired an awesome special called The Diplomat about 4 years ago that talked a lot about her past in East Germany. It was actually Ingo Steuer who was a Stasi informant who spied on Katarina Witt; it's one of the reasons why the German federation had blacklisted and refused to pay him when he was coaching Savchenko & Szolkowy. Former Stasi in reunified Germany are essentially persona non grata.



No problem! It's nice to know that Argentina has a Remembrance Day for victims of the dictatorship.



Haven't watched this in forever! I love this program.

I didn't know that Ingo was a spy :eeking:

 

[CoyoteChris]

I didn't know that Ingo was a spy :eeking:

This is pretty interesting....it is from Wiki....but his case STILL isnt dead, it seems.....
Stasi activities and legal battles[edit]
In the 1980s, Ingo Steuer was an informant for the Stasi, the East German secret police. His activities included circulating information on his countrymen. Because of this, he has been a controversial figure in Germany. Prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics, an investigation by the National Olympic Committee determined that his involvement was so severe as to exclude him from the national team. The matter eventually went to court, where a judge ruled in Steuer's favor. At the 2006 Turin games, however, he was forbidden to wear the German team clothes. Savchenko/Szolkowy were encouraged to find a different coach, and Steuer was denied accreditation at several events. Savchenko/Szolkowy eventually went to court to appeal against this decision, and the judge ruled in their favor.[15] At the 2010 Vancouver games, he was allowed to wear German team clothes and associate with the team.[16][17]

In June 2010, the Frankfurt Landgericht rejected Steuer's lawsuit against the Bundeswehr, however, in March 2011, the Brandenburg Oberlandesgericht ruled in his favor; the Bundeswehr may appeal to the Federal Court of Justice of Germany.[18]