- Joined
- Mar 28, 2014
I've basically had nothing but politics on my mind lately and with the world championships coming up, I've been frequently muddling both things together for whatever reason and even had them popping up in my dreams. 
Anyway, I was curious to ask you all: what are some figure skating programs you like (or dislike) that are either inherently political statements or simply bring awareness to a political issue?
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.
Another program is Katarina Witt's free skate from the Lillehammer Olympics when professionals were allowed to return to amateur competition. Right in the midst of the Siege of Sarajevo, the city that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics where she won her first Olympic title, Witt paid tribute to the suffering people in the capital whose lives had become a living nightmare. Skating to a rendition of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" that featured her own voice humming at the beginning, Witt closed out perhaps the most notorious figure skating competition in history with an extremely powerful program with jumping mistakes that really did not end up affecting the emotional impact it had on people around the world.
Last, an obvious choice when it comes to making political statements is Anissina & Peizarat's free dance named "Liberty" at the 2002 Olympics. Skating to "Liberta'' by Jean-Claude Petit with spliced-in excerpts of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic "I Have a Dream" speech, Marina represented freedom while Gwendal wearing a costume covered in ropes represented humanity oppressed. The program reflects the concept of American freedom and the struggles to acquire it. This free dance starts with Marina posing as the Statue of Liberty while Gwendal is laying at her feet because he is being held down as a prisoner of numerous bonds; it finally ends with both skaters posing as the Statue of Liberty because the struggle and search for freedom was successful and Gwendal has been liberated. Some people thought the program was gaudy and inappropriate especially since only a few months had passed since September 11th. Despite this minor drama, they ended up winning the Olympic title in a very close 5-4 split over the Russians, Lobacheva & Averbukh.
Any other thoughts on these programs? Or do you have any examples you're interested in talking about?
Do you think it's appropriate to create programs that make political statements in figure skating? Or is it something that skaters should strive to avoid?
Anyway, I was curious to ask you all: what are some figure skating programs you like (or dislike) that are either inherently political statements or simply bring awareness to a political issue?
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.
Another program is Katarina Witt's free skate from the Lillehammer Olympics when professionals were allowed to return to amateur competition. Right in the midst of the Siege of Sarajevo, the city that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics where she won her first Olympic title, Witt paid tribute to the suffering people in the capital whose lives had become a living nightmare. Skating to a rendition of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" that featured her own voice humming at the beginning, Witt closed out perhaps the most notorious figure skating competition in history with an extremely powerful program with jumping mistakes that really did not end up affecting the emotional impact it had on people around the world.
Last, an obvious choice when it comes to making political statements is Anissina & Peizarat's free dance named "Liberty" at the 2002 Olympics. Skating to "Liberta'' by Jean-Claude Petit with spliced-in excerpts of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic "I Have a Dream" speech, Marina represented freedom while Gwendal wearing a costume covered in ropes represented humanity oppressed. The program reflects the concept of American freedom and the struggles to acquire it. This free dance starts with Marina posing as the Statue of Liberty while Gwendal is laying at her feet because he is being held down as a prisoner of numerous bonds; it finally ends with both skaters posing as the Statue of Liberty because the struggle and search for freedom was successful and Gwendal has been liberated. Some people thought the program was gaudy and inappropriate especially since only a few months had passed since September 11th. Despite this minor drama, they ended up winning the Olympic title in a very close 5-4 split over the Russians, Lobacheva & Averbukh.
Any other thoughts on these programs? Or do you have any examples you're interested in talking about?
Do you think it's appropriate to create programs that make political statements in figure skating? Or is it something that skaters should strive to avoid?
, thanks.
