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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt-X0DGHvfI
I have been a fan of figure skating since I was a teenager. There was a golden age, from about the mid-60s to the mid-80s, when there was a quality of true dance in this art, exemplified by a few greats. John Curry, a British skater, was the greatest of them all. This performance, a 1981 exhibition, though unfortunately poor video quality, demonstrates so much of what was great about him.
No “Wow this is difficult” quadruple jumps with oddly waving arms. No glittery costume. But there isn’t a move that doesn’t come from somewhere or lead somewhere. It looks simple and complete and utterly elegant. The line of his body, the use of his whole body, from fingertips to toes. There is no irrelevant movement. If you try and remove a single beat you realize how necessary it was. And unlike some skaters he doesn’t change music in mid-performance so as to show off a different rhythm.
As a way to study the perfection of his style, stop the video at any point and you will see a beautifully framed still shot.
This is true art.
/sb
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My idea of perfection in figure skating was the four-time World Champion and 1964 and 1968 Olympic Gold Medal Champion pair skaters, Oleg and Ludmila (Belousova) Protopopov from the USSR.
Here is their perfect 10, gold medal winning program at the 1968 Olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tY_2eE9hv8
They turned pro and, while touring Europe, defected to the West in 1979. Oleg said they did it because of the two things they loved: skating and each other. After that, they continued to perform and spent their winters in Switzerland and their summers in Lake Placid, NY. Here they skate to perfection in the 1984 World Professional Figure Skating Championships. He is 51 and she is 49 and, in a voice-over, Oleg speaks of his love for his wife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amlhlyKN9QE
A year later, in 1985.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8xNHFXXWJM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qky5kw67nX4
In 1986 performing “Paganini’s Violin” to Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iMIONEfatQ
They continued to skate–and to love each other–their entire lives. In this performance, Ludmila was 79 and Oleg was 83.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFl-ZbMFNH0
/sb
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Re: Betsy Speicher’s post 122490 of 3/18/18
I agree with you, Betsy. In pairs there has never been the equal of the Protopopovs. They always seemed to be a unit, eyes intently on each other, him leading, and such grace.
The reason I single out John Curry is that my favorites have always been the men singles…even John Curry wasn’t as good when he partnered once with JoJo Starbuck.
By the way, my other — and first — great skating love was John Misha Petkevich. He was a predecessor of Curry in his purity, musicality, simple costume, apparent effortlessness.
/sb
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Re: Cynthia Gillis’ post 100611 of 3/18/18
I’m ignorant when it comes to figure skating, but John Curry’s performance really spoke to me. It sure stands out in comparison to the skating I see today.
As you pointed out, his performance is a seamless, integrated composition. So much so, that I found any applause during his performance, distracting. I’ve never been bothered by this when watching other skaters.
*sb
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Re: Jim Allard’s post 122506 of 3/19/18
I also like ice-dancing. It’s rare that the music and movements are really integrated; it’s rare that the skater skates slow enough (John Curry did in the clip shown); it’s rare that they have soul, rather than approaching it as acrobatics.
*sb
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Re: Cynthia Gillis’ post 100611 of 3/18/18
Thank you, Cynthia. That was a nice trip down memory lane. I haven’t watched Curry for many years. He was my favorite as well and one of my inspirations when I was dancing.
Betsy and I have shared favorites before. Shortly after the Protopopovs and during the Torville and Dean era, Sergei and Ekaterina Grinkov became my favorites. I think this was a time when ice-dancing had not as yet started as a competition and pairs skaters were using more jumps in competitions to earn more points. Sergei and Ekaterina Grinkov didn’t need all the acrobatics to compete at the highest level. They were romantic ice-dancing (pre-ice-dancing) at its very best. In a similar style to the Protopopovs’, their grace and control seem effortless, smooth and flowing, seamless transitions, taking full advantage of the unique qualities of dancing on ice. Their choice of music, their choreography and their sincere attention to each other while dancing ooze romantic love.
This dance was an exhibition dance they did in 1995 to Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of “The Man I Love.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3YD96yMN_M
They have many more that are marvelous to watch but these stand out. “Vocalise (Rachmaninov)” choreographed with a tribute to Rodin’s sculptures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dBlQSZQILI
And this exhibition dance at the end of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics to Debussy’s “Reverie.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmvGHYdCxTM
Enjoy. These videos are all we have. They likely would still be dancing today in their late 40s had Sergei not tragically died of a congenital heart attack at the height of their careers while practicing in 1995.
/sb
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Re: Sam Axton’s post 122537 of 3/22/18
My pairs favorites, after the Protopopovs, are Klimova and Ponomarenko and especially doing Masquerade Waltz. What I love about it is that they never stop moving, and circling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRvgMhM9SQw&t=87s
Very different from the Protopopovs, and Gordeeva & Grinkov. I think they were also ice dancers, rather than pairs skaters, though I am not absolutely sure. Their skating is not subtle. It is very dramatic, but to me, breathtaking. I saw them live once, in New York, doing a dance that involved a huge red scarf. Can’t remember the title now, but I thought it was spectacular.
Again, so musical, and so romantic.
Thanks for the memories.
*sb
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Re: Cynthia Gillis’ post 122539 of 3/22/18
Klimova and Ponomarenko are definitely Ice-dancing and not Pairs Figure skating like the Protopopovs and Grinkovs were. I’m still learning the differences. Ice-dancing started earlier than I thought. Torville & Dean were pioneers in bringing it to competition.
This is a link to some of the differences.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/sports/amp-stories/olympics-ice-dancing-figure-skating/
Basically, Ice-dancers differ from Pairs Figure in that they don’t jump or throw their partners or do lifts higher than the man’s shoulders. They both have specific patterns and dance styles they have to include in their performances. In Ice-dancing they have two performances, the short dance and the free dance, which combine for their scores.
There are so many subjective elements in this art that influence one’s emotional reaction and judgment of the dance: the style of music & song, choreography, performance, even their physical looks, also the element of competition, not to mention all of the rules that they have to follow that make it both a difficult art form to enjoy and also when all of the elements come together for you it is such a richly rewarding art.
My favorite contemporary Ice-dancers are Virtue & Moir. They remind me very much of the Grinkovs. Here is their PyeongChang Olympic performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOEKdWrtz6U&t=42s/sb
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As I mentioned, I’m ignorant when it comes to ice dancing /skating. I do, however, work in the music industry and happened upon an article by Rob Colling, who produces music scores for ice dancing.
I found the following excerpt interesting. I’m not sure how significant this is, but it sounds like a labyrinth of rules somewhat dictates the overly fast tempos, abrupt changes in style and “freestyle” gymnastics that we see today. This is really unfortunate.
A modern competitive ice dance performance consists of a short dance and a free dance, usually performed one day apart. Ice dance music is migraine-inducingly complex at the best of times, but short dance programmes are a breed apart. There are pages and pages of rules covering consistency of tempo, the lengths of intros and endings, the changes in tempo and style that you have to include, and the need for an audible rhythmic beat throughout the piece. (You’re allowed 10 seconds without a beat, by the way, for the dancers to pack in all the freestyle madness they’ve been bottling up, and then it’s back to the rhythmically consistent grindstone…)
On top of all that, every year there is a new shortlist of permitted musical styles and an obligatory pattern dance which all ice dance teams around the world have to include in their short dance programme. This pattern dance is a set series of moves, to be danced in a set order in a particular place in the rink and to a given tempo, and it’s chosen by the International Skating Union (ISU) each year from a carefully maintained repertoire of dances. Suffice to say, it’s quite hard to make a legal short dance programme that doesn’t sound like a fight in a DJ booth!
*sb
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Re: Jim Allard’s post 122606 of 3/27/18
I hear you, Jim. But remember that some of these videos are competitive performances and I think, at least, the goal of the officials is to make it as objective as they can for judging. (Sometimes with the outcomes of the expression of a camel being a horse designed by committee.) Imagine a competition where anything goes.
The patterns they follow across the ice, the stated rhythm styles they must include in their choreography, the lift restrictions of 6 seconds, the specific dance moves they must include (Twizzels), their speed across the ice, how close they have to be to each other and not be separated more than a couple of seconds and no more than a few feet, not to mention, the rules change every year… it amazes me how creative the choreographers and dancers do get considering all of these restrictions and rules.
John Curry’s performance above was an exhibition, so no rules were imposed. You would never see that performance in competition. The ones I linked to above of the Grinkovs were exhibitions also. After the Olympics, there is a gala where the ice skaters have more free performances. You can also watch totally free performances on Stars on Ice and other shows.
/sb
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Re: Sam Axton’s post 122618 of 3/28/18
But remember that these are competitive and I think, at least, the goal of the officials is to make it as objective as they can for judging.
Right, but what kind of performance do they intend to judge? Are they judging art or gymnastics? Are they judging skaters’ proficiency at executing a certain series of moves and “wow” factor, or are they judging a carefully crafted, integrated and executed work of art? The standards and objective rules that are applicable to one are probably not applicable to the other.
John Curry’s performance above was an exhibition, so no rules were imposed. You would never see that performance in competition.
It sounds like you’re saying that I’m not comparing apples to apples. John Curry’s performance is a type of dancing or performance art, whereas these rule-based competitions are actually a type of gymnastics. This is the sense I get from watching.
Is this how it’s generally viewed, or are performance competitions considered dancing?
*sb
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Re: Jim Allard’s post 122621 of 3/29/18
Jim, I think they are judging all of that you mentioned. Figure skating is both athletic and esthetic and they (the figure skating organizations) are melding both of these in various degrees as the different categories’ styles require and then judging them both technically and artistically.
Rules and requirements have evolved and continue to do so with the goal of having both an athletic Wow! factor, and an aesthetic performance and appealing to a wider popular audience. Your point about them necessarily needing different criteria for judging is why there are two performances in ice dancing competitions, both weighted with a different emphasis on either the technical side or the artistic side. Both are judged separately and then added together for the score. That is my understanding of it anyway.
I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten a sense of gymnastics when watching ice dancing. Personally, I think that jumping and spinning and lifting can be very emotionally appealing if done the “right way” and at the “right time.”
I also don’t think that rules and restrictions, per se, make an ice dancing performance (or any work of art) less esthetically pleasing. It would depend, of course, on the particular rules and requirements and how they were integrated into a work.
/sb
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