Popular ethnic music in Figure Skating?

[ladyjane]

Alexander Abt skated to Artsakh by Ara Gevorgyan. He is an Armenian composer.

Alexander Abt on Reels

www.facebook.com

I still think that's one of the best programmes with music ever, and it was - I believe - self-choreographed too! I think someone else skated to this music as well, but I can't recall who.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Yes, but that happened way before I started watching skating, so I don't remember

. And Satoko's 'Egyptian Disco' for Arab music.

About cultural appropriation, I believe all kinds of ethnic/folk music deserve to be respected and performed with respect to the place of origin, be it Indian themes, Japanese music, or a polka. Which is one of the reasons why I didn't really enjoy some renditions, like Gubanova's take on Indian music, as I felt she wasn't making much of an effort. (I might be mistaken there, but that's for a native to say)

The only problem with the bolded part is Egyptian doesn't equal Arab. It's been anthropologically and genetically proven that they aren't the same thing. Hence why when I mentioned C/B's Egyptian Snake Dance above, I said the next closest thing. Just saying...

 

[surimi]

I still think that's one of the best programmes with music ever, and it was - I believe - self-choreographed too! I think someone else skated to this music as well, but I can't recall who.

I can only think of Ryuju Hino who skated to Artsakh for sure, but I'm pretty sure there were several others. Oh, and Slavik Hayrapetyan skated at least two programs to Armenian music, IIRC.

I've also remembered Kondratiuk's 'Magnificent Century' program, which might not be ethnic but the series is Turkish. I don't think anyone's used that one before.

The only problem with the bolded part is Egyptian doesn't equal Arab. It's been anthropologically and genetically proven that they aren't the same thing. Hence why when I mentioned C/B's Egyptian Snake Dance above, I said the next closest thing. Just saying...

I stand corrected, thanks.

 

[labgoat]

Michelle Kwan Taj Mahal Worlds 1997 - beautiful Lori Nichol choreography

 

[DancingCactus]

As long as the choreo, costume etc is authentic to the music and you can see that they put some thought into it, I don't care who performs to music from what country or culture.

All this wailing about cultural appropriation seems to be a very North American thing.

What even is authentic Japanese music? Anything composed before 1853? Personally for me it's 90% crappy pop music. Video game soundtracks are probably more authentic to modern Japanese culture than shakuhachi.

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

I think one must research very well to properly perform with any music from any country/tradition/culture that is not his or her own and he/she is not very familiar.

 

[Minz]

I agree with some others here that you have to be very careful with what you’re skating to.

Lest we get a repeat of the disaster that was the ‘Aboriginal’ program from a few years ago.

 

[Diana Delafield]

We could use a folk dance themed rhythm dance/short dance again!

Anyone who uses Scottish music should get John Kerr to choreograph like he did his and Sinead's 2008 short program. (Complete with his bike-shorts-under-the-kilt costume )

 

[mikeko666]

Denis Ten and Yuma Kagiyama 'Vocussion' is a good example too.

Lori Nicole used the piece for Denis Ten first. I love the feeling of central Asia.


Daisuke Tahakahashi's 2011-2012 SP to In the Garden of Souls by VAS, which has middle eastern influence.

 

[Mathman]

Do you want authentic Asian etc music by composers from those countries? Not music "in the style of"? I'm thinking of Madama Butterfly, or the modern version Miss Saigon, although I'd have to look up who has skated to those. (My partner and I used Butterfly, but you want someone more recognizable.) Elvis Stojko's 1994 Dragon freeskate comes to mind particularly.

I wouldn't think that this sort of thing would be regarded as ethnic music. Turandot, for instance is right in the heart of Italian classical opera. As far as I know the opera is supposedly set in China, but the story is really Persian (Turan was a region in the Persian Empire and Tuaandot means "Turan's daughter.") But the music irself has nothing to do with the musical traditions of either of these cultures.

We would not feel that a skater was honoring Japanese music if she skated to "I have a little list" from The Mikado. (Interestingly, the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta is really making fun of British politocal and societal customs and drudged up Japan as a foil only to avoid getting in trouble with Queen Vucoiria. )

 

[Mathman]

with his bike-shorts-under-the-kilt costume

Are you saying he's not a true Scottsman?

 

[Diana Delafield]

Are you saying he's not a true Scottsman?

Needless to say, he definitely is, by ancestry and birthplace (he's a distant relative of mine and I helped support their skating financially from their teens on, during their competitive years). The etiquette rule is for men to wear underwear beneath the kilt when in public either in windy weather or when engaging in activities like dance or sports when the kilt might swing too high. Being John, he made a joke out of it with the bike shorts (and flashed a few of the fans as they were leaving the ice at the end )

 

[Andrina]

Not sure if already been mentioned.

When it comes to ethnic music in figure skating, I immediately think of Inti Illimani and the "Missing" free dance by Duchesnay.

 

[el henry]

I don't know that there is "wailing" about appropriation, at least nowadays. I do think respect is critical.

Let's face it, skaters are not usually doing their own choreo. So it is up to the choreographer to respect the culture, to communicate the respect, and to trust the skater.

I consider Alvin Ailey ballet using spirituals from the African American experience to be "ethnic", and certainly not the usual fare for skaters. One would not immediately think of a nice Jewish boy from Chicago as a skater who could communicate that message. But he was entrusted with that music by a Black choreographer who had a mentor at the Ailey company and who thought that skater could indeed communicate his vision.

And a legendary skate was born.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Just clarifying in case my previous post wasn't clear, I think it's fine for skaters to use music from other ethnic/cultural groups. I'm just pointing out why some of them might be reluctant to choose such music, because of 1. the extra effort required to give a respectful interpretation and 2. worry about judges not liking anything that they don't recognise (i.e. the usual motivation for picking a warhorse). Couple this with the fact that there aren't a lot of skaters from small skating federations who can represent their own musical traditions and you have an explanation for this (fairly unintentional) bias in music genres.

Also, as with anything cultural, it depends on which countries hold 'soft power' in the prevailing era. Bollywood is popular enough to cross cultural boundaries. I think traditional instruments like oud and gamelan tend to appear in more classical/highbrow genres (though do correct me if I'm wrong, metal/rock oud would be cool?) so younger people might identify less with them.

By the way I feel that the term 'ethnic' used as a standalone genre label is a bit like 'coloured' people, rather vague and outdated... (e.g. British is an ethnicity and white - or beige-pink - is a colour...) I don't mean to judge other posters since English might not be their first language, I'm just pointing out its connotations to me as a visible minority. Your mileage may vary when it comes to the politics of language (as with the skating 'ladies' vs 'women' debate).

 

[Mathman]

Needless to say, he definitely is, by ancestry and birthplace (he [Jphn Kerr] 's'sa distant relative of mine...)

I have a wee drap o' Scottish blood masell.

 

[Mathman]

()though correct me if I'm wrong, metal/rock oud would be cool?)

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

www.youtube.com

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I don't know the origin of the music, but Surya Bonaly had a cool short program she skated for a couple of seasons. Her most successful performance of it was at the 1994 Olympics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd-Yv7yDQBk

 

[TallyT]

Personally for me it's 90% crappy pop music.

Which does show the way other cultures are completely ignored or fetishised in (let me be tactful here) some parts of the West. There's a lot of wonderful Japanese and other Asian music - serious, media-driven and popular - drawing from their own influences as well as outside. (Oh and by the way, 90% of the music I - and I guarantee - you listened to and loved when young or even now is equally crappy to other people)

Video game soundtracks are probably more authentic to modern Japanese culture than shakuhachi.

I am a huge fan of Riley Lee, the Australian-born grand master of the shakuhachi (his music on youtube https://www.youtube.com/@RileyLeeMusic/playlists is stunning, he plays both Japanese and other culture's music exquisitely and the concert he did in my home town years ago is one of my most treasured memories). I am also a massive fan of video game and Asian (Japanese and Korean horror, Chinese fantasy) soundtracks - I would personally adore someone to skate to Ghost of Tsushima, which was co-composed by Shigeru Umebayashi who composed the soundtrack Seimei came from, as well as House of Flying Daggers which has been used by some skaters) and think that Asian film video and TV soundtracks are a source of fresh music that comes from other cultures and yet can be accessible to Western ears. And there are plenty of orchestral suites of media - including video - composers' work in many countries, Japan included (hey, there are whole concerts of Yuzuru's music! so composers like Umebayashi and Kenji Kawai and others wouldn't be hard to adapt.)

You might just as well say Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are more authentic to modern American culture than... well, anything else good or bad. Which is probably true...

 

[Mathematician]

I didn't imagine Artsakh as ethnic but since someone else mentioned it Adeliia's Artsakh is really moving. One of my favourite junior programs. Of course being half Armenian herself there was a strong political statement made with this program.



For some reason traditional Chinese music is relatively common in Russia.

Middle eastern themes are ubiquitous to an obnoxious extent in Russia. I dont understand the obsession. Won't even waste time finding examples because its overwhelming.

You also get a decent amount of Tatar/Caucasian themes in for obvious reasons if you want to call that ethnic. There have been some Kazakh programs too, also for obvious reasons.