Program Meanings | Golden Skate

Program Meanings

tokoyami

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 9, 2018
I'm one of those people who enjoy a program much more when I know the story it's telling or the meaning/theme behind it.

Does anyone have any sources of skaters/coaches/choreographers explaining the theme/meaning/story behind some recent programs? Like is there an explanation for Rika's FS? I know about Yuzu's programs this season but I figure this thread would be a good place to file any research/media interviews/sources for any new skating fans!
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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Oct 25, 2012
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Great idea for a thread! :bow: :clap: :points:

Although it is obvious what some routines are about, for others it can be hard to work out just what the story they are trying to tell is.

And I think the first routine you asked about in your questions is the perfect example of the latter.

Like is there an explanation for Rika's FS?

I don't know for sure, but with a name like "Child Of Nazareth", I would assume the piece is about Jesus' early life.

No idea how you get the image of a wee falla training as a carpenter from what we see on the ice, though.

But, she's not the first to try. For example, Jonny Weir did his Free Skate to it in the 2006-07 season:

2007 World Championships FS

Regardless of whether the story is brought across in what we see, it is great music for a skating routine! :agree:

CaroLiza_fan
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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Aug 12, 2014
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United-States
I'm one of those people who enjoy a program much more when I know the story it's telling or the meaning/theme behind it.

Does anyone have any sources of skaters/coaches/choreographers explaining the theme/meaning/story behind some recent programs? Like is there an explanation for Rika's FS? I !

Rika's FS is to "A Beautiful Storm." I can see ripples of rain as she skates. There are small nuances in her skating that express sublimely every note of the music, every rolling arpeggio, every trill, every musical sound simulating water or another element of a beautiful storm. Rika does not let one of these tiny moments get lost. She elevates her own brilliant skills even higher with her artistry.

Rika evokes the storm, with every crackle of lightning, every suddenly snatched heartbeat, every moment of glidng on.

Well, that's my take, anyway. :) Here's the music and the composer/pianist/violinist's representation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulYQOszNig8

I like this idea for a thread!

ETA 12/6: This post refers Rika Kihira's FS for this season. Here it is skated at NKH, in case anyone hasn't seen it yet; it's such a treat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIYz8n6otCc
 

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
I like the thread too!
I will start with Polina T. programs for 2016/7 competitions. The SP music is Light of the Seven, choreo by Daniil G. It tells the story of an artist who does not like what she is painting and keeps destroying her works but in the end she manages to create a perfect masterpece and kills herself. The FB music is February and this is Eteri T. explaination (she choreographed the program): "A free program about love. We came up with a very interesting beginning. It has become popular to take a photo or a selfie on the topic «I follow you» (watching you), when someone is standing with his back to the camera, holding out his hand for going after them. That’s what starts any program Pauline.And then … love. She leaves, he returns it, she follows him".
I remember reading several interviews of Averbuck about the meanings of Medvedeva programs and one of Bourne about Hanyu (glorious) 2017 LP "Hope and Legacy" but I cannot find them right now.
Also, a question to you all: do you like it more when a skater tells a story (or play a specific character) or when he/she try to convey the feelings of the music?
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
I like the thread too!
I will start with Polina T. programs for 2016/7 competitions. The SP music is Light of the Seven, choreo by Daniil G. It tells the story of an artist who does not like what she is painting and keeps destroying her works but in the end she manages to create a perfect masterpece and kills herself. The FB music is February and this is Eteri T. explaination (she choreographed the program): "A free program about love. We came up with a very interesting beginning. It has become popular to take a photo or a selfie on the topic «I follow you» (watching you), when someone is standing with his back to the camera, holding out his hand for going after them. That’s what starts any program Pauline.And then … love. She leaves, he returns it, she follows him".
I remember reading several interviews of Averbuck about the meanings of Medvedeva programs and one of Bourne about Hanyu (glorious) 2017 LP "Hope and Legacy" but I cannot find them right now.

None of that was portrayed in those programs.

For the best programs, you will not need a superficial narrative to guide you through or appreciate them. It will be apparent through the choreography, the interpretation, the performance, and the skater themself whether through the use of a clear body line, a commanding presence, or telling facial expressions.

https://youtu.be/Kh3iW4I39DI
 

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Thank for replying, I agree with you, though I would have used another example because in the case of Sasha FP there was already a story well known to the public while the programs I mentioned above have been created with an indipendent storytelling in mind. One can ask though if such a storytelling is even needed, though (example: I haven't heard any meaning about Anna S. SP but I really appreciate it the way she skates it; same with Rika Kihira FP mentioned before; also, I liked Polina 2017 SP even without knowing the story behind).
I watch several American dance competitions and it always strike me that they praise so much the storytelling on a lyrical music that doesn't have one already embedded, so it must be a trend of the moment. Whether people find it effective also in figure skating is my question.
 
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
I watch several American dance competitions and it always strike me that they praise so much the storytelling on a lyrical music that doesn't have one already embedded, so it must be a trend of the moment. Whether people find it effective also in figure skating is my question.

Not found it effective in dance shows, not found it effective in skating. I don't particularly see the narrative being too effective in that one painting FD this year, for instance.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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Also, a question to you all: do you like it more when a skater tells a story (or play a specific character) or when he/she try to convey the feelings of the music?

Yes. and Yes. :luv17:

My favorite program that tells a story is Ashley Wagner's Moulin Rouge. It's a perfect evocation of Ashley's own journey; it's about her joy, discouragement, struggle, and despair in moments, and then rising to a new challenge, with newfound freedom in her own artistry and accomplishments. "One day I'll fly away", right before Ashley's signature jump, a triple loop, gives me chills every time (3:15). The movie's story dovetails perfectly with Ashley's; and in this case the voice-overs and lyrics contribute to the meaning of the program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlreW_RerW4&t=2s I love Kurt Browning's commentary after the program ends.

Some skater has said that a story for a program is only for herself, to find access to better showing the emotions of the music. I like that idea too.

Duet, Sunday Afternoon. Gabriella P. and Guillaume C. evoke perfectly the ideas of a duet and romantic love. Two individuals, both capable in themselves, creating something entirely new by pairing their passion. By both people being equally devoted to creating a new being: a duet, and/or a new entity: a couple. G & G's technique and emotional expression are equally dynamic, but the technique disappears into expressing the emotion. Divine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TQ1Bb4e5iA
 

figurefan0726

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 21, 2016
Ashley’s La La Land was about her journey. She was like Mia (the girl from La La Land). Both moved to LA to pursue their career and dreams.
 

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”
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Dec 29, 2013
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I really have zero preference whether the skater is creating a specific story or just literally interpreting the music. I always find the stories fascinating myself and think it adds a nice perspective though and so as it happens :biggrin: ......Anastasia Tarakanova did an interview which just came out in which the interviewer asked about her programs. Not sure if this is the direction the thread was intended to go but it’s fascinating to read directly from the skater’s mouth the feelings they wish to convey.

What do you express in the programs of this season?

“Free program is a story about unrequited love. Beethoven loved one woman very much and thought it was mutual. She married another, but he still hoped that she had feelings for him. When he realized that there was nothing, he experienced severe disappointment - "No, you do not pay any attention to me."

At the end, I start a walk of steps in which he shouts, as it were: “How is it that I did everything for you, and you still love another!”

The short program is tango, passion. I have to bewitch all the judges. I play with them, yes, I play ... Although I’m only 14 years old, but I have to break down stereotypes. It seems to me, no matter what your age. Either you are a good actor or a bad one. Yes, it is difficult to express what you do not yet feel that you are unfamiliar, beyond the power of your age. It is much harder than expressing what suits you.

But why not show it all, try it? I want to break down stereotypes.”

Translated by GS Member Owl62 :bow:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/s...a-Tarakanova&p=2273608&viewfull=1#post2273608
The whole interview is amazing IMO and very insightful.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
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May 19, 2018
It makes me so sad how many people don't like Zabiiako/Enbert's rhythm dance! Alexander Nevsky is regarded by many as the greatest Russian national hero and is a saint of the Orthodox Church. People still name their kids after him to this day.

This was the big battle that if he hadn't won, there might not be a Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_on_the_Ice

Here's his page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nevsky

And here's a list of the cathedrals named after him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nevsky_Cathedral
 

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Bringing other sources for the OP.
Averbuck interview on Medvedeva 2017 LP (Extremely loud % incredibly close): https://fs-gossips.com/ilia-averbukh-evgenia-medvedevas-program-is-about-human-values/
Medvedeva on her 2018 SP (Chopin's Nocturne): ""My short program is a flight of the soul, and I want to convey the purity of its essence. From the very beginning of this program, I stand with the closed eyes, and people hear the beating of my heart, and then I seem to come out of my body, take a step, as if I see myself from the side, fear in my eyes and misunderstanding of what is happening. It may sound cruelly, but it is the step of a person's soul from the body during the state of clinical death. Let it be tough, but I say this so that people understand the image that I want to convey. "
The skater noticed that at the end of the short program her own breath was heard. "In this program, I seem to re-learn this world and that other one that is also luminous and there is no fear in it .At the very end of the speech, I return to my body and I hear my breath, specially recorded for this composition, "- said the figure skater."
Alsp Medvedeva about her 2018 FP (Anna Karenina): http://fs-gossips.com/evgenia-medvedeva-about-her-anna-karenina-free-program/
 

tokoyami

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 9, 2018
Thank you for the replies! I intend for the thread to be sort of a masterlist of sources so I will be updating my OP with the sources when I'm not lazy!
 

lappo

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
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