Was it Michelle or Lori

[arakwafan2006]

Was it Michelle or Lori?

Below is a link to Michelle Kwans Dream of Desdimona. What is extremely clear to me is that that girl could interpret ANYTHING! Lori Nichol was terrific though at the organizing of the programs. Where has this went? Some would blame the new judging system but I guess I wonder if Michelle was as great as she was or if Lori Nichol and other choreographers have just used up all of their ideas. I know that Lori does choreography for other skaters but they just don’t look as complex and involved as this. I mean, even just the first 10 seconds of DOD has more stuff going on than some skaters for an entire program. So many skaters now have snippets of involved movement but the majority, bar Yu Na, sometimes Mao and Rochette, have programs full of stroking and jumps. There does not even seem to be an attempt to create a mood. Perhaps its that Michelle made it look so easy that I am taking for granted its complexity but I just wish more skaters, especially women would lend themselves to an all encompassing style.

Chime in guys.

[Jammers]

Part of the problem is COP. The skaters don't have the freedom like they used too and it's all about getting points now. So the programs all look the same. Plus no one could could create a mood on the ice like Michelle. I'm not even her biggest fan but she had something these girls just don't have and it can't really be taught.

[OliviaPug]

I think, to a large degree, Lori had muses. I would say that Jamie Sale/David Pelletier were most definitely muses, and Michelle was most definitely another, I would say Lori's first and probably most inspiring muse.

It has been said of Michelle by, not just Lori, but other choreographers, that Michelle "gets" the choreography immediately. She obviously has a great sense of movement and interpretation herself.

I also feel Michelle does make intricacy look easy and that has been her magic. Rather than looking like she's connecting the dots, Michelle just looks like she's skating organically. She has great edges, very great, which I think lends to this easy-looking style as well.

Lori presented Michelle with interesting music choices, but also looked to Michelle to see what inspired her. They did a lot of collaboration in the early years. I know a poster in the past had linked an article about the "making" of one of Michelle's programs. I think that article gives a lot of insight into the Lori -w- Michelle process.

I do think any choreographer - just like any artist - has dry spells and could use some fresh inspiration. Maybe Lori just hasn't found another skater who inspires her in the same ways that Michelle and Jamie/David did.

Finally, I don't believe COP makes it easy to create seamless programs because the primary purpose of choreography is to gain points through whatever moves or jumps can be fit in, not to present a fabulous program.

O-

[miki88]

The answer is Both. Fortunately for skating fans, one of the greatest skaters and one of the greatest choreographers of all time worked together while they were at their peaks. Michelle treated all of her programs, including exhibitions, seriously and she instinctly knew what worked for her. This is a rare and valuable asset because few skaters actually possess this awareness.

[arakwafan2006]

You know, I think that I diminished the importance of the COP in the… in-organic look of skating. Its true. So sad but true. I still have to say that even though I prefer Mao to Yu Na, that girl is complete. Her programs feel like a minute at most. You can see the inspiration of Michelle in her work though she is far from a copy cat.
The concept of a muse is really intriguing. I think that Oliviapug is right. Lori had the dream skaters to work with. The fact of the matter is that Michelle other than the triple-triple dept endeavored to be the best. That fire she had was incredible. I still say though that more intricacies and full body movement can be added. Maybe its that Lori Lori has a tough time working with skaters who are not already great skaters? Who knows. I just think that more can be done and I hope to see it soon.

[arakwafan2006]

The answer is Both. Fortunately for skating fans, one of the greatest skaters and one of the greatest choreographers of all time worked together while they were at their peaks. Michelle treated all of her programs, including exhibitions, seriously and she instinctly knew what worked for her. This is a rare and valuable asset because few skaters actually possess this awareness.

Was this taught or gifted to Michelle?

[Aussie Willy]

Michelle was lucky to have Lori because Lori did bring the best out in her.

Unfortunately once that partnership broke up, even though the skating was good, Michelle had a habit of just skating through the music and doing very little to the music. There was no attention to detail which was disappointing for a skater of that calibre.

[skatesindreams]

Lori, and every other choreographer who ever worked with her, was fortunate to have such a gifted "interpreter" in Michelle. Whether it was a "learned" skill; or inborn, very few performers have the ability to combine music and movement so completely that it creates an immediate emotional response for the viewer.

IMO, it goes beyond technical mastery, to a level where the choreography and music are internalized by the performer to such a degree that they flow out; "playing through them", as it were. Very few artists in any field have the requisite skill - and/or the trust - which allows this to happen,

When it does, you create "magic" in performance; and an experience for the fortunate audience that we can remember - and re-live - for a lifetime.

I have been blessed that Michelle (and a few others) have made that possible for me.

[sk9tingfan]

I think that Michelle's seminal moment was when Lori told her to "ooze like toothpaste" during the year of her first National and World Championship. She got it then and continued to "get it". Her ability to emote is almost unparalelled.

[skfan]

You know, I think that I diminished the importance of the COP in the… in-organic look of skating. Its true. So sad but true. I still have to say that even though I prefer Mao to Yu Na, that girl is complete. Her programs feel like a minute at most. You can see the inspiration of Michelle in her work though she is far from a copy cat.
The concept of a muse is really intriguing. I think that Oliviapug is right. Lori had the dream skaters to work with. The fact of the matter is that Michelle other than the triple-triple dept endeavored to be the best. That fire she had was incredible. I still say though that more intricacies and full body movement can be added. Maybe its that Lori Lori has a tough time working with skaters who are not already great skaters? Who knows. I just think that more can be done and I hope to see it soon.

why does it have to be either or? they did it together. sometimes they did it better--sometimes their collaboration left something to be desired. sometime back around 99-00 the MK fans i was talking with felt lori had gotten bored with michelle and preferred to create for S&P---i remember one of my buddies said of lori, you dance with the once who brung you, expressing disappointment with the programs lori was giving michelle.

well, like any artist, you can get into a slump, you can find you can write chapters for one novel, but not another. i must say i disagree with aussie willy's rather dismissive view, as if michelle didn't contribute just as much to the successes, as if lori was always achieving the same level of genius and if there was fall off it must be michelle's slacking. i am an mk fan, sure, but i am not a blind worshipper--i am merely saying the quality of lori's AND michelle's contributions both waxed and waned during their long collaboration.

i am thankful that i got to see the best years of that collaboration. in another thread here on FSU someone said that when lori and michelle unveiled a program, it was like opening night--particularly because they often used unfamiliar music, and because MK so often performed it well on the first presentation--she didn't wait to 'peak' at worlds.

anyway, i've rambled enough, and since i'm a fan of S&P as well i didn't weep to see lori's inspiration and attention drifting elsewhere as much as some of my fellow MK fans did. good years, good memories all

[OliviaPug]

Michelle created magic with Lori and without Lori (e.g., Fields of Gold, Miraculous Mandarin, Hands, Winter (which Michelle choreographed herself), among others.) She was insanely talented and had a great head for competition before Lori choreographed for her.

And as for stripping down choreography, it wasn't that Lori couldn't choreograph it or Michelle couldn't perform it -- we know they were both capable -- it was that Michelle wasn't being rewarded for intricate choreography once Irina Slutskaya hit her stride. Speed and jumps were being rewarded, areas in which Irina exceled. Michelle was just trying to adjust to the change in climate. And she did a pretty good job of it by winning 2000, 2001 and 2003 Worlds despite Irina's strong presence at 2000 and 2001 Worlds.

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[Macassar88]

I remember that when Lori was being interviewed about Michelle Kwan (don't remember when) she said that a lot of the Salome program was Michelle. Lori had Michelle improvise her dance to Salome and took a lot of that into the program.

[Marco]

It was both Michelle and Lori.

However, starting at 2000, Michelle's jumps didn't come as easily and she had to let go of a lot of Lori's choreography to ensure consistency to battle Slutskaya (Red Violin at Skate America and Red Violin at Worlds were very different).

She experimented with others during 2000 & 2001 (maybe also because Lori was pregnant / just gave birth?): Philip Mills, Chris Dean and Peter O. and probably had an eye opening experience with the creativity out there.

Sensing this, Lori started to put less emphasis on Michelle and more on S&P, which IMO further cemented their split.

Still, going to Sarah K for Schez and esp. for Fields of Gold is a great change.

Too bad that after the split, neither have been able to keep up with their best.

[giselle23]

It's clear to me that Lori needed Michelle more than Michelle needed Lori. Michelle continued to have legendary performances after she left Lori--Aranjuez, The Feeling Begins, Spartacus at 2005 Nationals (Morovoz), Tosca at 2004 Nationals, Fields of Gold.
The choreography may not have been as intricate, but her skating in many of these programs was more free and more passionate than before. I also disagree that Michelle's technical skills fell off significantly. Her jumps actually got higher and stronger in some instances--look at her flip in Spartacus at Nationals, for example. For that matter, look at her double axel in her Carmina Burana program at Yu Na's show in 2009.

[query5]

to me they both brought out the best in each other,

[briancoogaert]

I'm surprised and glad to see so many threads about Michelle and her talents years after her competitive career. I love her skating so much

[bardtoob]

Michelle or Lori?

I could have sworn they worked together.

[aftershocks]

This thread is obviously an offshoot of BigB0882's "DoD and MK's use of Music" thread, so I guess that thread might as well be referred to for the DoD link and discussion, since there isn't a DoD link in here.

ITA with the comments of OliviaPug and also skatesindreams and skfan. (I too recall the feature you seem to be referring to Macassar88, as noted below).

Regarding MK and Lori, I believe that Lori has said from the beginning that she collaborates with skaters on their programs, using movements and inspiration that come from the skaters. Therefore, perhaps Lori's aesthetic is only as good or as fresh as the inspiration or lack thereof she finds or is able to pull out of her skaters/ clients.

There was a "fluff" intro feature with Lori discussing her work with Michelle I believe at 1996 Nationals or Worlds just prior to MK skating Salome, but I can't find it on youtube.

Figure skating is not the same and never will be as when Michelle skated. Over the course of her career, a number of things changed, a lot as a result of her consistency and magic, and sadly a lot of unfortunate changes (that still require fixing) as a result of the rushed enforcement of CoP.

skatesindreams Your description of what is happening re the magic that Michelle and other uniquely gifted artists create on the ice is so eloquent. Thank you!

[FunnyBut]

Neither. It was Frank!

[aftershocks]

Ha ha, yes. They were a threesome, however, Frank's main contribution to the programs (aside from input on costumes, music selection, and inimitable coaching) was most likely jump placement.

One of the fallacies that tended to be pushed by the media was that MK achieved success solely because of Lori and Frank. Actually, they were a team, with all that entails. They came together fortuitously and magic happened. However, Michelle would probably be the first to point out that her family gave her the wings to fly.

Interestingly, MK's full name: Michelle Wingshan Kwan; in Chinese: Guan Yingshan. Also, as I mentioned in another thread awhile ago, I think Michelle's sister, Karen, has been one of her secret weapons.