Best actors on ice

[withwings]

IMHO Plushenko was really a good character skater. Aleona Leonova was not outstanding but she was quite good, too.
Hanyu- outstanding.

IMO there are skaters who were much more than actors- they skated from the deeply inside. And there were skaters who tried to be and were actors. And there are skaters who can skate only themselves. Different gifts given to diferent people.

Kurt Browning of course a pinnacle of an actor-skater.

 

[withwings]

Nobunari Oda

( his Charlie Chaplin)

 

[mikeko666]

Daisuke Takahashi is one of the Best!

Agreed. The guy is a chameleon.

I would like to add Akiko Suzuki.

 

[Jeanie19]

Josee Chouinard......

The Sweater is iconic.

 

[el henry]

IMHO Plushenko was really a good character skater. Aleona Leonova was not outstanding but she was quite good, too.
Hanyu- outstanding.

IMO there are skaters who were much more than actors- they skated from the deeply inside. And there were skaters who tried to be and were actors. And there are skaters who can skate only themselves. Different gifts given to diferent people.

Kurt Browning of course a pinnacle of an actor-skater.

Very much so about different gifts

This is why I didn't mention Toller. As wonderful and as present on the ice and as innovative as he was on the ice, he was always Toller. You knew he was Toller. As opposed to a skater like Jason: Irish dancer, Holocaust survivor, Middle Ages warrior: different personas.

As well as all the other "Actors", just mentioning the ones I know best.

 

[MCsAngel2]

Evgenia and Kurt. And, not so much an *actor* as a vessel of musical interpretation, Toller.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I've got to add Maia Usova to this list.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

And Torvill/Dean, Robin Cousins, Gary Beacom.

 

[roemerr]

Let's not forget Scott Hamilton

 

[lyverbird1]

Another two votes here for Ashley and Javi.

 

[Skate88]

I do not understand why coaches think skaters have to act. They are NOT actors. They are skaters. THink of Kwan who rarely acted on ice. She just skated to whatever the music inspired. No fake characters (well she did have a few programs but most were not character driven). Jason Brown also often just skates to the music. To me all the very best memorable skates are almost always pure and simple and skated to the music and not trying to tell a specific story but rather, trying to elicit an atmosphere. Of course a skater has an inner vision and scenario but this is very different from attempting to portray a character from a play etc. I find this incredibly irritating actually - I mean all the dying Carmens???EEK

 

[elbkup]

In some instances it is impossible to separate the story… skating becomes metaphor and theater, stunning if well choreographed .. Jason Brown’s Tristan & Isolde

2015 Worlds - Jason Brown FS B.ESP

youtu.be

The Peggy Fleming Trophy is ideal for expanding skating to musical expression though I think
I would like to see more jazz pieces there in future.. McCoy Tyner’s piano jazz interpretation has possibilities for experimentation with steps and movement

When Sunny Gets Blue

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupWhen Sunny Gets Blue · McCoy TynerToday And Tomorrowâ A Verve Label Group Release; â 1963 UMG Recordings, Inc.Rel...

youtu.be

 

[rugbyfan]

I do not understand why coaches think skaters have to act. They are NOT actors. They are skaters. THink of Kwan who rarely acted on ice. She just skated to whatever the music inspired. No fake characters (well she did have a few programs but most were not character driven). Jason Brown also often just skates to the music. To me all the very best memorable skates are almost always pure and simple and skated to the music and not trying to tell a specific story but rather, trying to elicit an atmosphere. Of course a skater has an inner vision and scenario but this is very different from attempting to portray a character from a play etc. I find this incredibly irritating actually - I mean all the dying Carmens???EEK

I don't think skaters have to act - many of my favourite programs are not at all about acting - Virtue and Moir's Mahler is one of my go to programs and I don't think it is about acting at all. Sometimes, however, skaters can act and really convey a part - going back to your Carmens for example, Katarina Witt epitomised Carmen for me to the extent that even when I watch the opera if it is badly done I think of how it is not her sort of Carmen. I was wondering about programs and skaters who did make you think/ believe the character.

 

[formersk8ter]

Gordeeva (and, to a lesser extent, Grinkov).

 

[Skate88]

I don't think skaters have to act - many of my favourite programs are not at all about acting - Virtue and Moir's Mahler is one of my go to programs and I don't think it is about acting at all. Sometimes, however, skaters can act and really convey a part - going back to your Carmens for example, Katarina Witt epitomised Carmen for me to the extent that even when I watch the opera if it is badly done I think of how it is not her sort of Carmen. I was wondering about programs and skaters who did make you think/ believe the character.

None With the possible exception of themes as opposed to characters - meaning a person in love, or a battle etc. I always watch how the skaters are relating to the music rather than thinking about a character. I think that the best skaters do not need to portray anything because their skating speaks for them. An added persona is not necessary and for me usually irritating. Yuzuru comes to mind in that I think he was in fact skating to some character or theme but I never cared - he just skated from the heart and moved me. No character to relate to and I didn’t need one. Look at Janet Lynn for pure skating - from the second she stepped on the ice. For me that’s what skating is about. You can already guess that the current emphasis on quads also irritates the heck out of me because, again, that is NOT skating - it is gymnastic ability which has nothing to do with skating and preselects for a certain gymnastic body type. BUT that is ANOTHER story entirely! Anyway, I just watch skaters who move me and who draw me in . If they happen to have a character they are modelling on, if they move me anyway, it is never due to portrayal of a character. I could also reference Torvill and Dean’s iconic Bolero Olympic skate - no need for a story. Sure, there was the matador /cape thing, but no one cared - they were just poetry on ice . I think most skaters now think they have to tell a specific story as opposed to just a mood. It’s a current trend and was not the case 40 or so years ago. You tube is wonderful for revisiting iconic skaters - take a look at Robin Cousins for another pure skater….ANyway, it a skater needs or likes to skate to a character, of course that’s fine. It just isn’t necessary . I wonder if there are any judges on this forum who could comment on this. I would be willing to bet that they don’t count if a skater is telling a story - they are looking at the quality of the skate and how it relates to the MUSIC rather than if a skater can ACT or not. NO one wins on ACTING. THis would be a terrific thing to chat about with friends over dinner at a competition! Always interesting to get diverse opinions!!

 

[SunnyCA]

The ability to act is supremely important only in ice dancing and that discipline probably should even not be in Olympics. Skaters who managed to create truly memorable programs were Sasha Cohen, Alina Zagitova, Philippe Candeloro and Yagudin.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

The ability to act is supremely important only in ice dancing and that discipline probably should even not be in Olympics. Skaters who managed to create truly memorable programs were Sasha Cohen, Alina Zagitova, Philippe Candeloro and Yagudin.

Try again. Ice Dance is the hardest of the disciplines.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

The ability to act is supremely important only in ice dancing and that discipline probably should even not be in Olympics. Skaters who managed to create truly memorable programs were Sasha Cohen, Alina Zagitova, Philippe Candeloro and Yagudin.

That's like saying rockers and counters shouldn't be in the Olympics Technique is really important to ice dance too, not just interpretation (a.k.a. 'acting').

There may be a few ice dancers who try to cover up poor technique with theatrics, but on average they have better skating skills than singles skaters. Unlike the dancers, singles skaters can get away with unclear edges and scratchy turns as long as they have a couple of quads and a dramatic facial expression.

I can understand if your objection to ice dance in the Olympics is based on judging issues - the fact that they've dropped real technical stuff like patterns in favour of wantonly scored choreographic elements, the existence of a pecking order etc... It obviously needs improving. But just because something is subjective/unfairly judged doesn't mean it's not a sport, otherwise we might as well ditch the other skating disciplines too (do you believe Cohen/Zagitova/Candeloro/Yagudin never experienced score inflation?), plus gymnastics and synchronised swimming while we're at it.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

That's like saying rockers and counters shouldn't be in the Olympics Technique is really important to ice dance too, not just interpretation (a.k.a. 'acting').

There may be a few ice dancers who try to cover up poor technique with theatrics, but on average they have better skating skills than singles skaters. Unlike the dancers, singles skaters can get away with unclear edges and scratchy turns as long as they have a couple of quads and a dramatic facial expression.

I can understand if your objection to ice dance in the Olympics is based on judging issues - the fact that they've dropped real technical stuff like patterns in favour of wantonly scored choreographic elements, the existence of a pecking order etc... It obviously needs improving. But just because something is subjective/unfairly judged doesn't mean it's not a sport, otherwise we might as well ditch the other skating disciplines too (do you believe Cohen/Zagitova/Candeloro/Yagudin never experienced score inflation?), plus gymnastics and synchronised swimming while we're at it.

Thank you for standing up for us ice dancers (who also skated singles LOL).

 

[pohatta]

Some of the early Rahkamo & Kokko programs were quite controversial in their theatricality.

Rahkamo & Kokko (FIN) - 1990 World Figure Skating Championships, Free Dance

Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA - 1990 World Figure Skating Championships, Ice Dancing, Free Dance - Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko of Finland finished in 6th ...

www.youtube.com