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KIDS' QUESTIONS

December 2004

Kids' Questions with Choreographer Tom Dickson

Q: Is being a choreographer hard work? What would you tell young figure skaters like me, who love choreography, to do if they want to someday have that job and work on programs for Team USA skaters?
Chelley Knight, 14, Colorado Springs

A: Being a choreographer is both demanding and inspiring. My best advice for considering choreography as a career is to follow your inspiration, not trends. Educate yourself in movement, music and the art of skating and let this knowledge show you your own path of creativity. The most important aspect of learning to be a choreographer, however, is letting your personal expression shine through, which can't be learned in school. The greatest challenge as a choreographer is to survive the rules, regulations and strictness of competition and allow your own creative signature to be seen.

Q: What was the hardest piece of music to choreograph and who did you choreograph it for?
Aneliese Ramsay, 15, Santa Rosa, Calif.

A: One of the most difficult pieces I have choreographed was a free skate for Japanese skater Yukina Ota, set to music from the Daphne and Chloe ballet written by Maurice Ravel. Ravel wrote music in the impressionistic style, which is written using a free form and seemingly non-metered technique. Basically, it's hard to find the beat! It took many, many hours to edit the music into 4 minutes that wouldn't have made Maurice Ravel turn over in his grave! The trick with this kind of music is to find the essence of its nonconformity and not make the movement too orderly. Sometimes, in order to capture freedom and spontaneity, Yukina and I would turn on the video camera and improvise, making up movements as we went along. I used a similar technique with Ryan Jahnke's Brazilian free skate last season. It can be a more time consuming approach but a very interesting creative process.

Q: When you pick a piece of music for a program, do you imagine the costume that goes along with it? If so, do you help design that costume and give ideas on what you see it looking like?
Katelin, 9, Pueblo, Colo.

A: When beginning a program, it's important to think of the whole picture you are trying to develop. This makes costume selection, including color, cut and tailoring, an important part of creating a program. As a performer I have worked with some of the finest costume designers in the skating world, such as Jef Billings. When my wife, Catarina Lindgren, and I choreographed Princess Classics for Disney On Ice, I had the opportunity to work with a very talented designer named Greg Barnes. In working with Jef and Greg I began to understand how important it is to have creative and knowledgeable costume design. In amateur figure skating there is always the need to further the knowledge of good design and costume construction. This is as important as the design itself and is something I always stress to the skaters I work with.

Q: What is the best part about being a choreographer? What do you do when you get stuck on a part of a program and you can't find the right move to put there?
Alexis Frenz, 13, Portland, Ore.

A: The thing that most excites me about being a choreographer is taking chances. Some of the most successful programs I have choreographed are ones that many people (judges, coaches, etc.) had doubts about at first because they didn't understand the idea. I experiment, develop, educate myself and most of all try not to be afraid to head in a new direction or to make mistakes. Always having another new idea around the corner to turn to keeps me from getting stuck or getting “writer's block.” Of course what I find most satisfying is when that idea turns out to be one that people find new and exciting.

Q: One of my dreams is to become a choreographer. How do you get ideas for the moves to put into the program, such as steps and intricate footwork? Do you have to think about the moves or does it just pop into your head?
Chiaki Oda, 16, Yokohama, Japan; Aziza Alaoui, 13, Perry Hall, Md.

A: When I begin to plan a program, I think of broad ideas. What do I want the skater to look like? How do I want people to perceive them compared to the previous year? What are the skater's weaknesses and strengths? I then experiment on the skater and see what direction seems interesting. Then more defined ideas start “popping” into my head and a momentum begins. When it comes to steps, especially intricate ones, I start by building a foundation and then start laying the bricks, so to speak. Different step “phrases” start fitting together, and if they speak to me and say “intricate” or have a particular rhythm or style about them, I keep them. If they don't work, they get tossed out. This technique really works for me. Sometimes it can be overwhelming if you set out to instantaneously create something complex. When I use this layering technique, I find that later when I step back to look at what has been created, that it is indeed intricate, but in a natural way, without trying too hard. To me there is a big difference between something “intricate” and something “complicated.” I prefer “intricate.”

Q: How many CDs do you usually go through before finding the right music for a skater? How long does it usually take to get the music cut to the right length?
Garrett Kling, 14, Watertown, Minn.

A: Music choice can be time consuming, but there are times when all the right ideas just fall into place. Last year when creating a short program for Yukina Ota, I walked into the music store and stumbled on a piece of music that I knew would be fabulous for her. Other times hours go by without leading anywhere. If you stick to the overall style and feel of the program, the chances are less that you will get lost in the many musical choices out there. I try to make the music I am searching for fit into the overall concept I am imagining. I usually like to do the music editing myself. I find that I am more in tune with the musicality of a program if I have done the editing. I have spent anywhere from one hour to 20 hours on editing music for a single program.

Q: What skaters would you like to choreograph for but haven't had the chance to? Perhaps a skater in the past or present eligible scene?
Joey, 13

A: My favorite skater to choreograph would be one who is technically well-trained and skates through all the traditionally correct positions but has not yet learned to loosen up with that technique. This is a skater who can learn to move the body and attain a sense of freedom through that correct technique. A few international skaters come to mind who are at this point: Roman Serov, Lina Johansson and Viktoria Volchkova. A skater must have a wonderful sense of technique before they can attain a more sophisticated level of choreography. A skater who I would love to transport to the present era is Janet Lynn. To be able to apply a modern style on a skater who developed such an incredible sense of fluid freedom would be both a great privilege and experiment! My contemporary choice would be Sasha Cohen.

Q: How long does it usually take to choreograph a free skate program?
Layne Gregory, 13, Athens, Ohio

A: It is possible to choreograph for an accomplished skater in 4–5 days, but I prefer to take more time so I can presenting the skater with many ideas, such as developing a new style of movement in the ballet room or experimenting on ice while video taping. I might even take them to an interesting dance performance. Several years ago, when working with Chen Lu in Milan, Italy, I insisted we (coach included) see a performance by the Martha Graham company that was in town. I could tell from her skating the next day that it had influenced her. These things are as important as choreographing the program itself. Sometimes the greatest inspiration comes from beyond the walls of an ice rink! The most important thing is that the skater and I allow time to rework the program a few months later. If the skater is from out of town, this takes a lot of planning. In the case of Yukina Ota, I usually go to Japan in the spring to create a new program, and she comes to Colorado in the summer to perfect it.

Q: How much is too much? I am doing some choreography for my students' programs and I don't know if I should put a lot of arm movements and gestures for a kid who is 6. Should I use classical pieces or stick with kiddie songs?
Mary C., 15, Palos Verdes Peninsula

A: I believe skaters at the beginning level need to be developing a solid background in their skating technique, which starts at the feet where one sets edges. The edges that are set do determine what the rest of the body does in terms of position. These early programs should be quite basic. Some young skaters look very cute skating to more sophisticated music. Conversely, some young skaters need a more juvenile, “cute” music choice. Most importantly, set their programs from the feet up and do not be overly concerned in the beginning with arm gestures — let that happen naturally.

Q: How did you decide that you liked choreography over coaching?
Georgina Olivera, 12, Ludlow, Mass.

A: From an early age I knew I liked the choreographical aspect of skating. When I worked with choreographer Sarah Kawahara as an amateur, I discovered I was much more fascinated with the things she was trying to teach me than I was with my regular skating coaches. Nothing against my coaches, it's just that the more creative and illusive ideas of movement and performance grabbed my attention. Often a skater will relax and enjoy their skating more with a choreographer. I think if I was both a coach and a choreographer, the skaters would not look at me in the same way. The roles between a coach and a choreographer should be different. The skater needs to feel that they are going to a choreographer to gain freedom and develop a new way of skating and moving. They then go to their coach and train these ideas and hopefully develop a sense of security and consistency with them. I have always loved creativity much more than repetition, which led me to choreography.

Q: How long have you been a choreographer, and what made you decide to become a choreographer?
Tania Matsuoka, 13, Sudbury

A: From a very young age I loved to imagine ideas to music. I would move and dance to music in my living room. As a skater I created many of my own ideas and didn't wait for my coaches to do it for me. I loved doing this and that led me to pursue choreography. My musical education greatly influenced my skating and choreography. I have played the oboe since I was 10 and have played in various school and city symphonies. Also, my experience as a competitor and professional performer in ice shows gave me enormous experience in front of an audience. It's also necessary to educate yourself in ballet and modern dance and learn to translate these ideas to the ice.

Q: What is your favorite connecting move to use when choreographing a program for senior-level skaters? Why?
Megan Sperry, 14, North Reading

A: There are so many wonderful steps and moves in figure skating that I tend to use them in compositional terms. There is a whole repertoire of skating vocabulary, just as there are notes and scales that create the musical vocabulary. Within the eight edges, 32 turns and infinite numbers of mohawks and choctaws, there are millions of possibilities within the skating repertoire. I look at these as a painter might look at the many colors he has palette. This is how I develop connecting moves or transitions.

Q: How can you tell what music will fit the style of the skater? Do you try not to use music that has been skated to before?
Danielle Lovett, 16, Warwick

A: I like to think of more than one idea when deciding on music for a skater. Sometimes choices you never dreamed of using turn out to work wonderfully. I also like to expand a skater's mind, introducing the many genres of music. There's a lot of music out there besides the latest soundtrack! I do try to pick music that has not been overused. But music tends to go through phases where it gets used relentlessly and then a few years later is never thought of. There seems to always be a momentum that develops when a well-known skater uses a piece. Try instead to be daring and be the first one to use a piece. You may start your own trend, which is more fun!

Q: Do you have any advice for skaters who would like to become choreographers in the future but struggle to find new ideas and visions? Where do you find inspiration for new programs when we are continually seeing similar concepts and ideas in the skating world today?
Michael Ferlic, Pittsburgh, Pa.

A: My advice to anyone aspiring to become a choreographer is to learn and keep on learning. Every good coach or choreographer I know has this ability. As a choreographer one must learn the various schools of thought surrounding dance, for instance, the technical and artistic differences between ballet and modern dance. A choreographer must also master the complete technique of figure skating. Combining the technique of skating with the aspects from the world of dance into one cohesive whole is where the true difficulty lies for skating choreographers. A choreographer must know both worlds but also know how to interpret the two when they collide. There are times when skating doesn't agree with dance because we lean and glide on the ice on a narrow double-edged blade. A dancer is grounded by the floor they dance on. We tend to see the same ideas on ice because very few skaters educate themselves in dance and even fewer learn to translate those ideas to the ice. Take a modern dance class and then try to execute those same ideas at the rink and see what you discover.

Q: How old are the youngest skaters that you make programs for? Is it hard to work with younger skaters because sometimes they don't always pay attention, or are older ones hard too because sometimes they are stubborn?
Emily, 8, Pueblo, Colo.

A: It can be difficult to work with very young skaters, but it's not impossible. I will work with young skaters if they have a sense of dedication to working in a creative process. But being an older skater is no guarantee of displaying dedication and an open mind either. I take on each skater as a custom “project” rather than categorize them into ages and levels. I do find it necessary to work with young skaters on a consistent basis. At a young age it is extremely difficult to create a program in a week and have the chance to work out the technique and momentum of the piece. Working with young skaters is an ongoing process because young skaters are constantly expanding their skating repertoire and improving level of difficulty. It is also important that I work alongside a young skater's coach so that the coach can reinforce, understand and sometimes interpret the ideas we're working on.

Q: What is it like to choreograph for so many top skaters like Ryan Jahnke and Matt Savoie?
Sarah Kidd, 12, Omaha, Neb.

A: Working with several top male figure skaters in particular has provided me with a lot of insight. What all top skaters have in common is the ability to open themselves up through their skating to their audience. At that level it is all about mastering the freedom of expression and physical excellence in front of an audience. From a creative viewpoint, skaters move in such different ways from one another. It is fascinating to me that one direction may be a masterpiece on one skater while it could be a disaster on another. It has taught me to be open minded but to also be highly aware of a skater's range of movement, technical necessities, character and competitive constitution. Working with both top-level free skaters as well as ice dancers has influenced my work greatly and taught me a lot about how to make each discipline more successful.