Who is the best choreographer currently?

[Harriet]

Romain Haguenauer flies under the radar a lot but has put together some fantastic programs, particularly for F/G in the last couple of seasons.

 

[Skatesocs]

Lori with her pet skaters is unbeatable and has choreographed for basically all of my favorite ladies + Sui/Han. Shout-out to Carol Lane who seems to have struck a nice vein with G/P although her choreo for other teams is a bit nondescript for me.

Not really a fan of Carol Lane though.

 

[noskates]

I don't personally think there is a BEST. I think a lot depends on the skater, the type of music and their capability to deliver to that music. Rohene Ward is magical with Jason Brown but then David Wilson killed it on Schindler's List. Lori Nichol and Michelle Kwan were a match made in heaven. I think Stephane Lambiel is going to produce fantastic results with Shoma Uno. Kurt Browning is excellent when it comes to in line footwork and jazzy numbers. I think a lot also depends on the style of coaching and the personality and mindset of the skater. I'm still laughing at that thread that wondered what would happen if Tonya Harding was coached by Eteri. Oil and water - BOOM! There are choreographers that excel at dramatic and classical music and others that do better with livelier music. I do think Charlie White and Jeremy Abbott have a great future.

Hard question to give a definitive answer to.

 

[Skatesocs]

I don't want a "definitive" answer. I just want to see whom people consider the best, and why. We can judge based off who comes up with the best concepts and executes them fully, for instance. I don't think we've had anybody reason as to why they think someone's a good choreographer (me included).

 

[plushyfan]

Camerlengo has choreographed for US Pair Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc for the past 2 seasons, including the FS they won 2019 nationals with: W.E. soundtrack. He was working with them via internet during shut-down, with an eye to this next year's FS.

Camerlengo is listed as co-choreographer with Igor Shpilband for Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik, ice dancers who are 2020 World Junior Champions.

Thank you.

 

[skylark]

I don't want a "definitive" answer. I just want to see whom people consider the best, and why. We can judge based off who comes up with the best concepts and executes them fully, for instance. I don't think we've had anybody reason as to why they think someone's a good choreographer (me included).

Shae-Lynne Bourne - Nathan Chen voiced what I've always thought, since Shae-Lynne started choreographing for Ashley Wagner. Nathan said (I'm paraphrasing) that he watched his training mate, Ashley, and he admired how Shae-Lynne was able to bring out Ashley's personality with her choreography. Nathan said he wanted that for himself.

So, Nathan's 2017-18 SP, "Nemesis," (the first program Shae-Lynne choreographed for him) showed Nathan's awesome dancing ability, and showed us a side of Nathan that hadn't been fully taken advantage of up to that time, a side that few suspected even existed -- and the rest is history.

That's what I think Shae-Lynne does for all her skaters; she perceives something about them and makes it more visible, so it's as true as it is new and thrilling.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Romain Haguenauer flies under the radar a lot but has put together some fantastic programs, particularly for F/G in the last couple of seasons.

I would certainly vote for Romain, he did an amazing job especially for Papadakis/Cizeron and Lewis/Gibson, but i would like to see how he would handle a single skater programme too

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I would certainly vote for Romain, he did an amazing job especially for Papadakis/Cizeron and Lewis/Gibson, but i would like to see how he would handle a single skater programme too

Early on he choreographed for Sonia Lafuente and Alban Préaubert.




Baron Vladimir when I go to quote you it says there's an error and you need to clear your inbox.

 

[noskates]

That's what I think Shae-Lynne does for all her skaters; she perceives something about them and makes it more visible, so it's as true as it is new and thrilling.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make in my post. Some choreographers just "click" with the skaters they're working for.

p.s. I saw Vincent "live" in 2012 when he was just a little tyke and not only was he adorable but he could dance and had a lot of personality on the ice. I don't know what happened to all of that except possible it was "choreographed" out of him. It's nice to see some of it coming back.

 

[skylark]

I don't think we've had anybody reason as to why they think someone's a good choreographer

To me, this is a better question than "who's the best?" Choreography is art, and it depends on who inspires the choreographer. Such as, Lori Nichol is inspired by Sui & Han.

So, another of my answers is Charlie White. When he choreographed "Wicked Game" for James/Cipres, it seemed more as if Charlie had *really looked* at who they were as skaters, and then created movement that highlighted their connection and their beauty. It was subtle. Charlie said that all of their elements were already set when they came to him, so he only had a few seconds to show what the program was really about.

What Charlie did was add some wonderful transitions. But he's also said that he loves to talk to the skaters about "why we do what we do." I think that adding layers of thought and emotion to the movement, and adding layers of meaning to the whole thing, makes a difference, for the program as envisioned by the choreographer, and as performed by the skater.

Charlie also has a gift for seeing what a team needs, whether it's more simplicity or more complexity, more emotional music or less. He worked a wonder choreographing a new SP for Tarah and Danny just before nationals.

 

[Ophelia]

Shae-Lynn Bourne

 

[Skater Boy]

There are many good ones.

I find Nichol and Wilson still showing some magic. Shaelynn Bourne, Jeff Buttle, Carmelango, Carol Lane, Marie France Dubreil and friends, do nice work. i am impressed with Lance Vipond. Charlie White is up and coming. Lambiel honestly needs to choose coaching or choroegraphy when it comes to singles. Bezic, Zueva, in their day were great. Overratted is Morozov.

 

[lappo]

Shae Lynn Bourne because she frequently uses unusual music and her programs always seem to fit the skaters. Also, she frequently put nice touches and unusual moves in most of her programs, so they feel less generic than the body of work of other choreographers.
I also like Tom Dickson for his concepts, I would love to see him work with more skaters. As for other choreographers in recent years, I usually like some programs but I find some of them very generic, as if they couldn't bring anything new to the table.

 

[macy]

Shae Lynn is number 1 for me. her programs are always interesting and she knows how to make a program play to skater's strengths, and what will really bring out the best in them.

i also like a good portion of Danny G's programs and i think he is evolving as the seasons pass.

others i think do great work are Jeremy Abbott and Rohene Ward.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Choreography is art, and it depends on who inspires the choreographer. Such as, Lori Nichol is inspired by Sui & Han.

Agree! Another example of a productive skater-choreographer pairing is Jeffrey Buttle and David Wilson. Although in this case I don't think it was necessarily a 'muse' situation with the skater inspiring the choreographer, rather that Buttle was able to comprehend and express Wilson's choreographic language. Interestingly Jeffrey's personal style as a choreographer himself is still distinct from that of David Wilson, although there are some similarities. As choreographers, both of them are good at interpreting classical music/ballet. Jeffrey Buttle is also able to pull off rock/jazz/pop (e.g. Hanyu's Parisian Walkways) while David Wilson's work tends towards being more cerebral/introspective and modern dance-inflected. For me, the best-choreographed programmes in Jeffrey's competitive career were produced in a style that both he and Wilson found commonality in (e.g. Ararat, Glenn Gould medley).

Some other synergistic skater-choreographer pairings:
Josh Farris - Jeff Buttle
Kaori Sakamoto - Benoit Richaud
Jason Brown - Rohene Ward
Yuzuru Hanyu - Shae-Lynn Bourne
Wakaba Higuchi - Shae-Lynn Bourne

Certain skater-choreographer pairings don't give rise to a successful programme, but I don't think it's because either party is deficient (except maybe in being versatile). Skaters have a natural movement vocabulary, and when that doesn't match with the choreographer's own vocabulary, the skater has to spend extra effort in interpretation (although this might pay off in the long run, if they succeed in expanding their comfort zone).

For instance, Hanyu usually works with Bourne now, instead of Wilson - not because Hanyu/Wilson are bad at making/performing choreography, rather that Bourne's style (which seems to me more vernacular/accessible) works better with Hanyu's personal tastes (of the little I know: he likes J-Pop/J-Rock and has been observed doing hip hop classes for off-ice training). Even though Buttle does his short programmes, only two (or arguably one) of these are overtly 'classical'.

 

[kwanatic]

There's a synergy that has to happen between a choreographer and a skater for things to work. You can have a masterpiece program but if it's not given the proper vehicle (i.e. skater) it won't translate. Conversely, a strong skater can take so-so choreography and make it shine. Also, not all choreographers are inspired by all skaters--that's why some programs are masterpiece level for certain skaters and rather blah for others. They have to gel together for things to really work.

As of now, my favorite choreographers are Shae-Lynn, Tom Dickson and Lori Nichol.

Shae-Lynn has a very interesting and distinct style of movement that sets her programs apart from everyone else's. Every choreographer has that one star skater but I think Shae-Lynn is one of the few whose work can elevate whoever she's working with.

Tom Dickson fascinates me with his attention to detail. He's always had a great ear for music and connecting those movements to create a moment.

Lori Nichol is my all-time favorite. From her work with Michelle Kwan to Carolina Kostner to Mao Asada to Satoko Miyahara, she has given my favorite skaters a number of their most breathtakingly gorgeous programs. I think Lori finds great inspiration whenever she works with remarkable artists and performers. That's when her works shines the best.

 

[dearskate]

Misha Ge

 

[Ballade88]

Lori Nichol is my all-time favorite. From her work with Michelle Kwan to Carolina Kostner to Mao Asada to Satoko Miyahara, she has given my favorite skaters a number of their most breathtakingly gorgeous programs. I think Lori finds great inspiration whenever she works with remarkable artists and performers. That's when her works shines the best.

I think Lori is inspired when she is in love with the style of the skater for whom she is choreographing. She tends to prefer beautiful and classical skating styles. Denis Ten was another example of a skater with a more classical style that Lori really loved. She also has spoken about being more inspired if the skater is more of a collaborator in the choreographic process. Both Michelle and Carolina were active collaborators. Mao grew to become more active later on in her career.

 

[Tolstoj]

Currently, i think Shae-Lynn Bourne and Benoit Richaud are the most consistent choreographer at least in singles.

Misha Ge also is very good, i find his choreographies a bit too simplistic sometimes, while Tom Dickson is very creative but sometimes it goes a bit too experimental especially with the music selections. Lambiel also very good, maybe not as consistent but he made some amazing work recently.

In the past we've seen phenomenal programs from David Wilson, Camerlengo, Morozov, Tarasova, Scali, Buttle, Zueva, Miyamoto, Tchernyshev... but all time best choreographer would probably be Lori Nichol.

 

[sowcow]

Shae Lynn Bourne because she frequently uses unusual music and her programs always seem to fit the skaters. Also, she frequently put nice touches and unusual moves in most of her programs, so they feel less generic than the body of work of other choreographers.

Shae-Lynne Bourne - Nathan Chen voiced what I've always thought, since Shae-Lynne started choreographing for Ashley Wagner. Nathan said (I'm paraphrasing) that he watched his training mate, Ashley, and he admired how Shae-Lynne was able to bring out Ashley's personality with her choreography. Nathan said he wanted that for himself.

So, Nathan's 2017-18 SP, "Nemesis," (the first program Shae-Lynne choreographed for him) showed Nathan's awesome dancing ability, and showed us a side of Nathan that hadn't been fully taken advantage of up to that time, a side that few suspected even existed -- and the rest is history.

That's what I think Shae-Lynne does for all her skaters; she perceives something about them and makes it more visible, so it's as true as it is new and thrilling.

You can also tell that the skaters who work with Shae-Lynn always seem to really like the programs she gives them! :yes2: This of course helps the skaters 'shine' all that much more – especially when they perform well! For example:

• Rika Hongo
• Elena Radionova
• Ashley Wagner
• Nathan Chen
• Daiske Takahashi

It also seems to be the case that many (most?) of the skaters who worked with Shae-Lynn have scored some of their career highest and personal best segment scores for the programs choreographed by her; such as...

• Wakaba Higuchi
• Yuzuru Hanyu
• Nathan Chen
• Ashley Wagner
• Elena Radionova

Check out some of the best of Shae-Lynn's choreography here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJwhQ6o7rXtN80vZnqzaLToV8WmuL5ewj