Story telling

I was just rewatching Philippe Candeloro's great Olympic programmes in 1994 and 1998, and realised this man is a born story teller. Never mind that his jumps aren't always perfect (I bet there would be negative GOEs in the current system) but he sucks you in with his story telling. Whether it's the Godfather experiencing an emotional moment or a superb sword fight as one of the musketiers, you're always mesmerised. Is it the musicality, is it the expression, or the perfect choreography? I don't know, just that I'm seeing the film of the Godfather (one of them) before my eyes, and actually seeing the musketeer duelling instead of a step sequence. That's a real gift for a skater to have. Many try to do it, but most who do end up being bad copies.

I was wondering...I know of course ice dancers are pretty good at story telling too, especially if it's a love story, but what single and pair skaters can manage this? Make you totally forget about jumps and other technical things (although they're present of course) but still manage to hypnotise you because of the story telling? I remember Alexei Yagudin doing it in both his SP and LP at the 2002 Olympics (yeah, would have loved to have seen a sword fight on the ice between Alexei and Philippe with their totally different fighting (skating) styles) while Kevin Amoz (another French guy) also manages to pull you in.

Elvis Stojko could do it too (but not always). I remember his Columbus skate in 1995. Superb story telling. You could easily visualise this European investigator suddenly finding out there were already people present. a combination of film music and a skater being expressive. Or Rudy Galindo (1996) at his Nationals pulling you through Swan Lake.

This is not about good skating as such, but about the story telling. So, have you ever wanted to kill Scarpia yourself because Tosca (the skater) was abused, wished to stop José killing Carmen, wished to comfort poor Lucia before she got herself a knife and stabbed the one person who actually was innocent of any wrong doing, wanted to shrink before the might of Darth Vader in a Star Wars piece? I'm terribly interested, and also would like to get to know new stories, Of course, Ice dancers are worth mentioning too, just no love stories please. That's too easy when it's not a brother/sister dance team!

Paul Wylie was one of the best of all time at this.

Kurt Browning, Robin Cousins, Patrick Chan, Jeremy Abbott, Adam Rippon, Ryan Bradley, Dai Takahashi, Stephane Lambiel, Jason Brown, Nathan Chen

Kaetlyn Osmond, Mao Asada, Ashley Wagner, Yuka Sato

I was going to mention Chen Lu, "Butterfly LOvers" (1998 Oympics). I wanted to link it, but the music is muted out on all the You Tubes for copyright reasons.

Anyway, the story is a famous Chinese legend from the Jin Dynasty. It is basically the same story as Barbra Streisand's "Yentl." A young girl has a passion for learning and scholarship, but being a girl she is out of luck. So she dresses up as a boy and sneaks off to the University.

There she falls in love with another student, a boy who is also a promising scholar. But he is a bookworm who probably would not have been interested even if he had known she was a girl.

Well, etc., etc. But Lulu was marvelous.

Katarina Witt, Sasha Cohen, Johnny Weir, the Stieglers, Shen & Zhao, Gordeeva & Grinkov, Sui & Han . . .

I think it is totally unfair that we are not talking about ice dancers. Because there are many ice dance teams that are amazing at this and not all ice dance teams are amazing at this so why not celebrate the real experts at this skill, hmm?

Ice Dance said:

Katarina Witt, Sasha Cohen, Johnny Weir, the Stieglers, Shen & Zhao, Gordeeva & Grinkov, Sui & Han . . .

I think it is totally unfair that we are not talking about ice dancers. Because there are many ice dance teams that are amazing at this and not all ice dance teams are amazing at this so why not celebrate the real experts at this skill, hmm?

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Because the OP is interested in singles and pairs (which I need to see if my favs are on YouTube, so my answers come later)

Nothing is stopping you, and I mean this sincerely and not snarking, if you would like to know what posters think are good story tellers in Ice Dance, please start your own thread. That would be :cool2:

ladyjane said:

I was just rewatching Philippe Candeloro's great Olympic programmes in 1994 and 1998, ...

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I get my D'Artagnan fix about twice a year

Here's a shameless plug to the best story-telling voting polls for 2018-19. Gilles/Poirier - FD (Vincent), Sui/Han - FS (Rain in Your Black Eyes), and Papadakis/Cizeron - FD (Duet/Sunday Afternoon) are currently in the lead, respectively.

Ice Dance said:

Katarina Witt, Sasha Cohen, Johnny Weir, the Stieglers, Shen & Zhao, Gordeeva & Grinkov, Sui & Han . . .

I think it is totally unfair that we are not talking about ice dancers. Because there are many ice dance teams that are amazing at this and not all ice dance teams are amazing at this so why not celebrate the real experts at this skill, hmm?

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For info: I don't mind anybody mentioning ID teams, just rather not about romantic stories because those, in my view at least, are too easy in the case of ID (and that definitely doesn't mean there's no good skating to be had among those, of course there is). But examples in different story telling among ID teams are very welcome. For example the story of the Toreador and his cape by Torvill and Dean.

Romantic stories by single's skaters are challenging. I've already seen some nice examples of superb story telling in single's and pairs passing by already. Thanks folks for all your posts. And...looking forward to yours el henry!

gsk8 said:

I get my D'Artagnan fix about twice a year

Here's a shameless plug to the best story-telling voting polls for 2018-19. Gilles/Poirier - FD (Vincent), Sui/Han - FS (Rain in Your Black Eyes), and Papadakis/Cizeron - FD (Duet/Sunday Afternoon) are currently in the lead, respectively.

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Hm... I must say i disagree with those choices... I think people just voted for their favorite team/skater and without an idea what storytelling is about. For example, there is not a clear story to tell behind Papadakis/Cizeron program to say they are good storytellers, their approach in that program is different from to 'tell the story'. In Gilles/Poirer case recognition should be given to their choreographers first and foremost. While they are good in telling the idea behind the program they were much better in their Hitchcock program (and even in their Bond program) in that regard i think. I don't know whats the story behind Sui/Han program so i cant comment on that. But i agree that Candeloro's Olympic programs are perfect examples for good storytelling. In recent years Zhenya in Averbukh programs, like Caro and Ashley in some of their programs ('Ne me quite pas' and 'Mouline Rouge') are good examples for telling the story. Virtue/Moir in Carmen and Mouline Rouge too. Former USSR dance teams who based their programs more on a 'theater on ice' approach than on ballroom movements. To be a good storyteller i think two things should be fullfilled in first place. A program which calls for storytelling (not all the programs demands a storytelling) and second - skater's acting abilities (in combination with some personal characteristic as extraversion and openness for projection). If you call 'storytelling' everything you see on ice, then i can agree with people's choice

Baron Vladimir I agree with your point: this is a post about story telling, not about good skating. Because then I would have had Papadakis/Cizeron in first. But Vincent definitely fits the bill for me(and yes, their choreographers were fantastic in making this). whenever I see that programme Vincent's tortured mind as well as the painting itself come to mind immediately and not just through the music. To me, they are telling the story of this painter and his view of the World. One of those ID stories not covered by the romantic angle at all. I liked their Bond programme too, by the way, as an example of storytelling. Obviously, not all programmes should be examples of story telling (not all programmes demand that, while not all skaters can or need to tell a story) because that would get boring! It's just so nice to see some skaters/couples really tell a story with their skating - whether there's a duel and some sword fighting involved or not.

I agree with you that their story telling was good. But that good? I really didnt get that much of a 'Vincent' from Paul like i wanted to, especialy after watching Wiliam Defoe portrait of the same character in a recent movie. Im not saying skaters should be that good at acting but i think Paul could do more, knowing what he was able to do in a Hitchock program for example. In some of performances he looked more concentrated on doing the elements than doing that character.To try to portrait Vincent is not an easy task after all, and maybe i've just expected more from him (or anyone trying to be 'Vincent').

Yuna Kim's Scheherazade. The way she uses her arms and hands organically in consonance with the rise and fall of the musical structure, the range of emotions facially expressed, and most importantly the chemical gesture she imparts to the audience and judges throughout the routine, IMO earmarks it as a paragon of storytelling program, one beautifully "woven together," as Sandra Bezic said.

Mao Asada, Madame Butterfly.

Baron Vladimir said:

Hm... I must say i disagree with those choices... I think people just voted for their favorite team/skater

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I agree with his too, unfortunately. Keep in mind many of the younger fans who are not aware of the older “storytellers” may perceive storytelling in a different way

Hmm ... there are great story tellers and then there are the programs that allow them to be great story tellers. I can think of very few who tell stories all the time - but that is partly because they sometimes chose to do more abstract programs (Tobel and Candeloro might be the exception). I think Kurt Browning's Casablanca was a consummate story telling performance but his Firebird one less so. I do the Vincent is a great storytelling program but I would agree that Hitchock lent itself even more to it. WIht that caveat aside, my top single ones would be Browning, Witt, Wylie, Lambiel who jump to my mind.

ladyjane said:

I was just rewatching Philippe Candeloro's great Olympic programmes in 1994 and 1998, and realised this man is a born story teller. Never mind that his jumps aren't always perfect (I bet there would be negative GOEs in the current system) but he sucks you in with his story telling. Whether it's the Godfather experiencing an emotional moment or a superb sword fight as one of the musketiers, you're always mesmerised. Is it the musicality, is it the expression, or the perfect choreography?

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Yes, Yes, Yes!

I'm partial to Richard Dornbush's Sherlock Holmes, for his tongue-in-cheek playfulness somehow still wonderfully getting the sophistication. This is his winning performance in the JGP finals; I couldn't find his silver medal win at Nationals the next month, which is 30 seconds longer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XT82NgCuzo

Ashley Wagner's 2008 Henry VIII program ... I can't decide if she's suggesting Henry VIII or Anne Boleyn more ... I see both the powerful, charismatic king and the intellect and charm of the French-educated Anne Boleyn in her performance. She's only 16 here, but her gift for character and drama are clear to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHvSXa_VwFk

Ashley's Moulin Rouge comes close to the perfectly choreographed, perfectly expressed storytelling here. There's the haunting elegance of Nicole Kidman's pure, soulful soprano and Ashley's expression of the story, drama, longing, fear, and surge of decision. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlreW_RerW4

Meryl and Charlie's Notre Dame de Paris. From the first second to the last of this program, a man and a woman are fighting for their lives. Their passion for life translates into power and incredible life-force and all-encompassing love Just fabulous. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHM_Nx_vgBQ

Zabiiako/Enbert's Alexander Nevsky! Definitely an interesting twist on The Battle on the Ice.

Yuzuru Hanyu:
POTO
SEIMEI: Japanese historical/legendary figure Abe no Seimei. He even consulted with the actor who played Abe no Seimei in the movie that the music is from.

And if we're counting EXs, these two from Yuzu:
Notte Stellata: The reason it was called Notte Stellata and not The Swan is that it was inspired by when Yuzu was in a shelter after the earthquake and looked up at the starry sky ("notte stellata") and felt hope.
Masquerade (from Fantasy on Ice), Hana ni Nare: Go perfectly with the lyrics.

When I hear story telling I always think of Evgenia Medvedeva. Especially her 2015 & Olympic Free Skate for me were great examples of story telling. I could feel the passion and agony from Anna Karenina's story when Evgenia skated to the program.

Jason Brown's Riverdance
Meryl & Charlies India Sp from Sochi
Tessa & Scotts Moulin Rouge FD from 2018
Katarina Witt's Carmen 1988
Oksana Baiul's Swan Lake 1994
Yuna Kim James Bond SP 2010
Young You's Pirates of the C. - I have a soft spot for Pirate choreo lol
Boyang Jin Spiderman SP
Kostner's Ave Maria program
Katarina Witt's Flamenco SP 1985
Mikhail Kolyada's Carmen - the subtle sass, the poses, were everything a Carmen program needs.

Funnily enough most of these are not even my favorite programs.

I don't know whether to call this a "story," but it definitely presents a mood. The "story" seems to me to be of a young figure skater waking up, going to practice and having fun playing around on the ice - Patrick Chan's Don't Worry, Be Happy

Patrick's Blackbird SP showcases him skating like a bird in flight, with such freedom and lightness.

And this very recent Ex is a story about wanting to escape from a hard day out in the world and how great it is to come home to a person who loves you. Beautiful.

Javi is very good at this! Anything Spanish he nailed, and I loved Guys and Dolls too! And on the super fun side, Aerobics Class!!!

I thought Aljona and Bruno’s “That Man” short program was a fun little storytelling piece. A beautiful, modern, independent 1920s flapper, playfully chasing, flirting, and eventually dancing with the man she fancies, awkward Bruno-style butt wiggling and all.

The origins of figure skating itself, as presented by Brian Orser. It starts with actual compulsory figures and also uses them as connecting moves. Gorgeous! A program like this would likely not be able to happen these days. Time keeps marching on. I noticed the figures, the wallys, the delayed axel, etc. And for people who appreciate tricks more, Brian does a backup+3T, with no intervening steps. Debbi Wilkes provides helpful commentary on what's happening.