Skating fast to slow music

[Mathman]

How do choreographers approach this challenge?

Here's Kamila Valieva at her peak skating fast and vigorously to a series of extended whole notes. Did she pull it off? I think she did!

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Here's Jason Brown at full artistic maturity.

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[Diana Delafield]

How do choreographers approach this challenge?

Here's Kamila Valieva at her peak skating fast and vigorously to a series of extended whole notes. Did she pull it off? I think she did!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

Here's Jason Brown at full artistic maturity.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

The skater has to be someone who actually listens to and feels their music. They have to have consistent, impeccable timing for the elements that are fitted into the space, so to speak, between the strong beats that are the punctuation for the choreography.

 

[gkelly]

By "skating fast" do you mean skating/moving quickly (more/shorter duration movements in the same amount of time) and how/whether this can be a successful choreographic choice when the music is not quick?

Or do you mean "skating fast" in the sense of moving across the ice at more miles/kilometers per hour (or feet/meters per second) while the tempo of the movements is slower to match the slower rhythm of the music?

 

[Mathematician]

I think speed in glide is always a virtue. I see what you mean though with the choreography as well. I think more complex and varied choreography is also a virtue always. If you maintain rhythm most importantly and understand the musical beats it will work anyways. You can fit as much in between as you want. There is also the general pathos of the music to consider which I think could be your main point. The speed or variety of choreo per time compared to musical atmosphere. In that case for slow neoclassical as Kamila uses there you can be quick or varied with the choreographic elements themselves as long as you maintain a consistent line and smooth transitions. IMO.

Mozart said the music is in-between the notes. To be honest I have no idea what he meant by that. However I can see how it would apply to choreography. It is about the transitions and their sharpness or fluidity which are most important to the pathos of your performance. Rather than the "speed" so to speak of the elements themselves as you put it. As well as your general emotional expression. i.e. Kamila should not be smiling, laughing and prancing around in this program. That sort of choreo as I said would suggest sharp transition. However just jumping alone in this program clearly works fine with the right transition, and smooth exits are one of her fortes. So it is about the way you construct the holistic choreographic structure and line rather than just looking at the speed of time-based-variety of elements.

Of course certain elements are also not conducive to certain themes. Though thats not your question.

 

[Mathman]

By "skating fast" do you mean skating/moving quickly (more/shorter duration movements in the same amount of time) and how/whether this can be a successful choreographic choice when the music is not quick?

Or do you mean "skating fast" in the sense of moving across the ice at more miles/kilometers per hour (or feet/meters per second) while the tempo of the movements is slower to match the slower rhythm of the music?

To me, both are interesting. In the Valieva clip that I posted, I was most aware of how fast she was zipping along the ice. For Jason Brown it was the "chock full of quick movements" that caught my eye.