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- Sep 14, 2008
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Given that we have now reached one of the lowest points ever for skating-as-art, I thought it would be interesting to question what IS art to you in figure skating? A recent a video about "Why is Modern Art so Bad?" (it includes a figure skating reference) sparked my drive for talking about this subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNI07egoefc
"If we are to be intellectually honest, we all know of situations where professional expertise is acknowledged and depended upon. Take figure skating in the Olympics, where artistic excellence is judged by experts in the field. Surely we would flinch at the contestant who indiscriminately threw himself across the ice and demanded that his routine be accepted as being as worthy of value as that of the most disciplined skater. Not only has the quality of art diminished, but the subject matter has gone from the transcendent to the trashy."
I believe Art in figure skating first begins with creating movement that has purpose. Dance (skating) serves to convey emotions and ideas that the human self is not able to tangibly express is any other way. If you tell somebody "I am sad" or "I am happy", they will have some kind of broad understanding about your present state but they themselves will not feel what you are feeling. Through art we open gateways that allow people to understand each other and our existences more fully, or to heighten our day-to-day existences into something greater. Dance movement is like a foreign language that is partially understandable by everyone. When we see people move their bodies in a specific way, something is conveyed to us. As the language of skating movement is studied more and more, we begin to understand a greater complexity and range of meanings.
The next consideration is of course the music. Every piece, every section of music in existence has a dance (skating) movement that "works" with the music. It's not any one particular movement but rather a tapestry of different possibilities out there that can be used with the music. Utilizing this specific language of movement is both intrinsic and learned. Everything has an unknown "recipe"; interpretation of music is about creating a "recipe" of movement which serves to illuminate and enrich the music. The quest is to discover the best possible transference of sound into image, to discover the hidden combination of choreography that magically unlocks the music like a rosetta stone. There is also the possibility of skating inverse to the music, which would be something like a comedic performance to Swan Lake.
The final element of Art in figure skating is the pure expression of the skater themselves. Their energy, their timing, their look, and the way they interact with the audience. We are each a unique instrument and there are different nuances and levels of understanding and conviction every individual brings to a performance. This will almost always vary at least a tiny bit between performances for each individual skater as well.
----
So, why is skating in such a bad place right now? It's because the above qualities are largely missing from performances. They are missing because they are not rewarded and not understood well enough by the institution of competitive figure skating to being with. Doing a combination of a bunch of difficult rockers and counters and loops on the ice often has little/nothing to do with creating an idea or conveying music. Never doing more than two crossovers in a row may be technically difficult but it has little to do with trying to discover the secrets of the music and how to best present it. Since skaters are so busy doing all of those movements, in addition to being forced to do too many jumps and too many unnecessary spin positions, it's hard to find enough time to express oneself. Taking "breaks" on the ice to actually emote is virtually a crime anymore, even if it is brilliant. Performance, Choreography, and Interpretation are supposed to still be rewarded, but they actually aren't.
Since the art is no longer being rewarded, competitors focus mainly on the technical. Since they focus mainly on the technical, people care less and less about the sport. All activities in life are engaged in because they are entertaining or impressive or educational or stimulating. Skating performances currently do not often invoke much imagination or emotional involvement or make people feel like they are being transported. What is left now is mainly a surface-level enjoyment of watching people do difficult moves and that novelty for the sake of itself wears off quickly.
Choreographing a skating program used to be a journey. Sarah Kawahara described her process exactly as that - it is something which must be continually worked on and discovered. Choreography has now become more like a list, with a brief choreographic passage at the start of the program before a very predictable sequence of moves will occur.
As is advocated in the video above for "Why is Modern Art so Bad?", we must work to improve artistic standards. The sport needs it. When I have more time I will post analysis of specific skating performances in the current era, how they fail, and how they could be improved (even within the constraints of the current scoring system). I invite everyone to talk about what they want to see more of in skating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNI07egoefc
"If we are to be intellectually honest, we all know of situations where professional expertise is acknowledged and depended upon. Take figure skating in the Olympics, where artistic excellence is judged by experts in the field. Surely we would flinch at the contestant who indiscriminately threw himself across the ice and demanded that his routine be accepted as being as worthy of value as that of the most disciplined skater. Not only has the quality of art diminished, but the subject matter has gone from the transcendent to the trashy."
I believe Art in figure skating first begins with creating movement that has purpose. Dance (skating) serves to convey emotions and ideas that the human self is not able to tangibly express is any other way. If you tell somebody "I am sad" or "I am happy", they will have some kind of broad understanding about your present state but they themselves will not feel what you are feeling. Through art we open gateways that allow people to understand each other and our existences more fully, or to heighten our day-to-day existences into something greater. Dance movement is like a foreign language that is partially understandable by everyone. When we see people move their bodies in a specific way, something is conveyed to us. As the language of skating movement is studied more and more, we begin to understand a greater complexity and range of meanings.
The next consideration is of course the music. Every piece, every section of music in existence has a dance (skating) movement that "works" with the music. It's not any one particular movement but rather a tapestry of different possibilities out there that can be used with the music. Utilizing this specific language of movement is both intrinsic and learned. Everything has an unknown "recipe"; interpretation of music is about creating a "recipe" of movement which serves to illuminate and enrich the music. The quest is to discover the best possible transference of sound into image, to discover the hidden combination of choreography that magically unlocks the music like a rosetta stone. There is also the possibility of skating inverse to the music, which would be something like a comedic performance to Swan Lake.
The final element of Art in figure skating is the pure expression of the skater themselves. Their energy, their timing, their look, and the way they interact with the audience. We are each a unique instrument and there are different nuances and levels of understanding and conviction every individual brings to a performance. This will almost always vary at least a tiny bit between performances for each individual skater as well.
----
So, why is skating in such a bad place right now? It's because the above qualities are largely missing from performances. They are missing because they are not rewarded and not understood well enough by the institution of competitive figure skating to being with. Doing a combination of a bunch of difficult rockers and counters and loops on the ice often has little/nothing to do with creating an idea or conveying music. Never doing more than two crossovers in a row may be technically difficult but it has little to do with trying to discover the secrets of the music and how to best present it. Since skaters are so busy doing all of those movements, in addition to being forced to do too many jumps and too many unnecessary spin positions, it's hard to find enough time to express oneself. Taking "breaks" on the ice to actually emote is virtually a crime anymore, even if it is brilliant. Performance, Choreography, and Interpretation are supposed to still be rewarded, but they actually aren't.
Since the art is no longer being rewarded, competitors focus mainly on the technical. Since they focus mainly on the technical, people care less and less about the sport. All activities in life are engaged in because they are entertaining or impressive or educational or stimulating. Skating performances currently do not often invoke much imagination or emotional involvement or make people feel like they are being transported. What is left now is mainly a surface-level enjoyment of watching people do difficult moves and that novelty for the sake of itself wears off quickly.
Choreographing a skating program used to be a journey. Sarah Kawahara described her process exactly as that - it is something which must be continually worked on and discovered. Choreography has now become more like a list, with a brief choreographic passage at the start of the program before a very predictable sequence of moves will occur.
As is advocated in the video above for "Why is Modern Art so Bad?", we must work to improve artistic standards. The sport needs it. When I have more time I will post analysis of specific skating performances in the current era, how they fail, and how they could be improved (even within the constraints of the current scoring system). I invite everyone to talk about what they want to see more of in skating.
