about music | Golden Skate

about music

iceskating21

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
My skater has been to several competitions. She generally gets above average scores for footwork and spins. Scores for jumps are about average level. However use of music is often where judges deducted points.

Well, for girls, jumping is not easy. I am ok with her scores. However, use of music? She competes in ballet dance pretty well. I didn’t expect "use of music" is a weakness. Our coach doesn’t have any specific opinion about how to improve it. I am interested in any opinion. How do judges evaluate “use of music”? How to improve it?
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
My skater has been to several competitions. She generally gets above average scores for footwork and spins. Scores for jumps are about average level. However use of music is often where judges deducted points.

Well, for girls, jumping is not easy. I am ok with her scores. However, use of music? She competes in ballet dance pretty well. I didn’t expect "use of music" is a weakness. Our coach doesn’t have any specific opinion about how to improve it. I am interested in any opinion. How do judges evaluate “use of music”? How to improve it?

First of all, for all girls, jumping isn't hard. So, should have stated it's your girl. Secondly, just because she can ballet dance doesn't mean she knows how to use the music at all or properly. This is more than likely where the judges are coming down hard.

Movement, choreography, general feel of the piece she is skating to. You want to become the piece of music, not just skate around with music playing.
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Is your daughter old enough to have any say into what music selections she skates to? If so, then let her pick it out or assist the coach in picking it out. If she has some stake in her music then she will have more inspiration to move, feel and (as Ic3Rabbit said) "become the piece the piece of music."

Another thing I see is that presentation is greatly lacking in many skaters. While skating their program, arm and body movements are just afterthoughs. Sure, the skater may move an arm to a music crescendo but it's a dead arm, with a split-second movement that does nothing to enhance the move being presented.
Presentation is very important and if there is a coach that specializes in that aspect you should consider getting your daughter a lesson or two with that coach.
 

cl2

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
She competes in ballet dance pretty well. I didn’t expect "use of music" is a weakness. Our coach doesn’t have any specific opinion about how to improve it. I am interested in any opinion. How do judges evaluate “use of music”? How to improve it?

Classical ballet doesn't "use music" the same way that skating does. Classical ballet aesthetics is more focused on form and balance*, whereas skating aesthetics tend towards individualistic self-expression. Many skating choreographers use the concept of musical "highlights" as cues for moments of expressivity. For example, add a grand arm gesture at the clash of a cymbal, or a long gliding spiral when the vocalist hits her long high A. In a sense, by analogy of the Romantic era of music in the 19th century, this is the Romantic era of skating, and judges are eschewing Classicism for Romanticism these days.

*Balance in the sense of balanced choreographic content, not in the sense of staying balanced on your feet.
 

bunnybarista

If I risk it all, could you break my fall?~
On the Ice
Joined
May 27, 2018
Presentation is very important and if there is a coach that specializes in that aspect you should consider getting your daughter a lesson or two with that coach.

Seconding this. It's not uncommon to bring in a choreographer to help with musicality and expression. The choreographer would by no means replace your primary coach, and ideally would be suggested by or approved by your coach to make sure you're following the best coach etiquette.
 

Flying Feijoa

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 22, 2019
Country
New-Zealand
In a sense, by analogy of the Romantic era of music in the 19th century, this is the Romantic era of skating, and judges are eschewing Classicism for Romanticism these days.

Great analogy!
I get the impression that skating judges (and the audience, whose reaction influences judges) prefer a more accessible/vernacular aesthetic. In terms of movement vocabulary, modern skating choreography seems to lean more towards lyrical jazz/contemporary dance than straight-from-Petipa classical ballet, e.g. Mariah Bell's Hallelujah versus something like John Curry's Don Quixote.
It might also be because skaters (like many younger people) find the lyrical style easier to interpret and engage with emotionally.
 
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