Choreography in itself is certainly of much less importance than the fraudulent scores that get assigned to favoured teams on an ongoing basis, but it is a relevant topic within the context of how that corruption gets justified. Much of the narrative behind the undeserved rise of Papadakis/Cizeron (as well as the improved fortunes of several of their training mates) has been focused on how the vehicles themselves, particularly those produced by Marie-France Dubreuil, are worthy of praise (and points) for their groundbreaking ability to draw tears from the eyes of both judges and fans.
Now, many points can be made as a rebuttal of that wide-spread belief in Dubreuil's superiority as a choreographer:
that her work is in fact incredibly lacking in dimension and ingenuity;
that the 'soft, flowing edges' fans claim as her trademark are in reality a sign of no contrast, no speed and no intricacy;
that if she has the ability to find and utilize the nuances in a piece of music to create something unexpected, she has apparently chosen not to make use of it;
that any marginal effectiveness her programs possess comes from how the music itself, or the skating skill of the teamA, or the conspicuous displays of emotionB by the skaters carry the lacklustre choreography rather than the other way around;
that as much as she claims that her teams have each been given sophisticated custom-painted styles that are distinct from one another, the movements and steps she proscribes have a characteristic look that is amazingly consistent across teams (something that the message boards are hesitantly starting to come to terms with).
But I'd like to explore another point - that perhaps the reputation Dubreuil receives for creativity is undeserved based not only on her substandard body of work, but also the possibility that the rare fresh idea she does present might not in fact originate with her. To be clear, I'm not claiming this is often the case, merely raising the question. One program coming out of the Lake Placid competitions last week, Smart/Diaz's egregiously over-scored Tina Turner "Proud Mary" Short Dance, caught my attention for its similarities to another piece recently aired on television - and it turns out that is just the beginning of the story.
On the May 2, 2016 episode of Dancing with the Stars, Mark Ballas and his Season 22 partner Paige VanZant C performed a spectacular jive to this song. I was definitely a fan, especially of this thrilling display of precision and dance chemistry:
FYI - This is, generally speaking, what good dance connection looks like. pic.twitter.com/npVPAyaDWk— Canada Blue (@canadablues) 3 May 2016
At least two other people from the ice dance world shared my enthusiasm - Alex Shibutani (who was in the audience with Maia) and journalist Jacquelyn Thayer (who identified the movement above as an advanced figure called the "Jive Tollgate" and who also appears to have noticed the similarities in S/D's new program).
On May 13, Olivia Smart announced the new team's music for the SD. The difficulty, athleticism and energy of VanZant & Ballas' jive was still fresh in my mind, and knowing the skating capabilities S/D had had with previous partners and what interpretation was likely to come out of Gadbois, I weighed in on their chances of living up to the recent number.
S/D are doing Proud Mary? LOL, good luck with that. Even performance-wise, NOPE. But maybe MFD can one-up G/P when it comes to boat miming.— Canada Blue (@canadablues) 14 May 2016
I did not necessarily believe at the time they were basing their SD on Ballas' idea- eleven days is a rather short time for the logistics to work, after all - but it did cross my mind. My suspicions increased, however, when Smart explained in an interview how they switched to Proud Mary after having already chosen other music.
"We actually chose different swing and blues music in the beginning, and Marie then played Proud Mary in one of our lessons, and we both looked at each other and said how much we loved that music. ... So the next day we came into the rink and right away we requested to Marie if we could skate to that music instead!"
(Please note - I am assuming that Dubreuil choreographed the SD based on this interview, but it is not without precedent for one Gadbois coach to assist the team in deciding on music and for another to choreograph a piece. I will update this post if information surfaces that this was the case instead.)
Of course, choreography can to a certain extent serve the purpose of homage. Bent/Razgulajevs's White Christmas-themed SD (likely choreographed by Carol LaneD, and unveiled in the same Lake Placid Senior International competition as S/D's) is one example of this; another would be Paul/Islam's recent exhibition choreographed by Kelly Johnson to Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud. In both cases, the programs include a small handful of upper body gestures copied from a single, well-known source, with the main substance of the choreography being a work onto its own and movements being either new or part of the team's catalogue of prior material.
It should therefore be noted that both the V&B and S/D pieces include classic movements done by Tina Turner and the Ikettes around the time of the song's release in 1970. As can be seen in this 1971 performance, examples include the 360 degree turns at the tempo change in S/D's program, the revolving fists in V&B's, and the bending forward in both:
Three sections, however, stood out to me as owing more to the DWTS version than Turner's - the partnered section preceding the Twizzles, a jump by both partners during the Not Touching Step Sequence and the triple cartwheel ending.
An argument can be made that additional inspiration was taken from the V&B jive for the general feel of the piece, considering both the decision to change the music, and the fact that the structured competitive social dance known as the East Coast Swing is more similar in character to jive than the more common Lindy Hop/jitterbug/rockabilly variants. (In the absence of a publicly available online copy of the ISU Ice Dance Music Rhythms Booklet - please someone upload it! - I can't verify that jive itself would be allowable as an interpretation of swing, although this document from Skate Canada's BC section suggests it would.) On the other hand, so little skating while in close hold was actually included for the uptempo transitions that it's hard to argue it resembles a jive or East Coast Swing in actual content. And whatever the level of Ballas' influence here, there are certainly moments in the program that can't be clearly attributed to either Ballas or Turner.
I later came across this routine performed by the Canadian synchronized team Les Suprêmes and choreographed by Marilyn Langlois and Pascal Denis, which raised an additional concern as to the originality of S/D's program. It was now apparent that a different choreographer had already transferred much of the Turner content to the ice, and the opening hip and arm movements of S/D's program (at 1:39 in the synch video) were clearly no longer original, as I had supposed they were. Still, Denis coaches ice dance at the Gadbois club along with Dubreuil. As with the speech fiascos of Republican National Convention a couple of weeks ago, it seemed this second source might end up being not plagiarism per se, but as-of-yet uncredited recycling by Denis of his own work.
That theory fell apart when what appears to be a third performance mined for content came to my attention. The occasional ice dance partnership of Shae-Lynn Bourne and Kurt Browning choreographed and performed a 2007 exhibition piece to "Proud Mary", and the similarities between this piece and S/D's "new" program are quite striking as well.
A more thorough search of live performances by Turner revealed that the hip-wiggle that appears in all three skating programs can be traced at least as far back as this concert from 2000.
It was also used in a performance by Beyoncé E during the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors tribute for Turner. (This perhaps solves the mystery of why red is a popular choice for costuming these performances.) Denis' piece, then, appears to contribute little to the SD and take little from the B/B piece - most of it can be seen as taken directly from various concert performances of the number. The resemblance between the S/D and B/B programs, on the other hand, still are quite considerable.
Two sections appear to have contributed to the SD rather directly. B/B's spread eagle sequence has clear similarities to S/D's, in design if not in edge quality. And while something akin to "windmill arms" can be seen at 4:18 in this 1974 live performance, combining them with a wide stance while travelling backwards seems a bit suspect.
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The partnered swing portion and the ending cartwheel of the SD in question still have more in common with the DWTS version, as illustrated above, but were likely influenced by the B/B version on the slight chance the similarities to Ballas' choreography are coincidental. The multiple sections where Bourne and Browning skate in-hold with edge and leg positions in the style of compulsory blues dances, as well as the segments comprised of open, running-down-the-ice movements, further solidify the apparent connection of the two programs. It could well be the case that all of these movements have been recycled with the complete permission or even collaboration of Bourne and/or Browning. It seems odd, however, that Smart would fail to mention the opportunity to work with either legend if they had been involved in the process.
It is not customary for off-ice contributors to be credited in ISU biography pages, even when the consultant is a publicized part of the team (for example, Jennifer Swan or Jean-Marc Genereux, both of whom worked with Virtue/Moir under Marina Zoueva), and it's certainly not the first time a reality-show dance number has influenced a skating progam. In the case of borrowing from Ballas' work, an anecdote of Dubreuil being inspired by the vibe of the DWTS piece would suffice. It should also be noted that the re-use of elements created by other choreographers seems to be fair game in the skating world, when the nature of the Levels system limits the possible combinations. But I have not noticed that to be the case with transitions, and since those are the movements in question here, I will find it rather absurd if neither Bourne nor Browning are listed on S/D's page when it appears this fall.
I don't think anyone would expect B/B to do a goofy gala number and not throw in some movements from Turner or the (recent at the time) Beyoncé performance. But when it comes to a competitive program, by an allegedly brilliant choreographer at that, the bar for new material is of course higher. The heart of Ballas' piece is the serious jive content, despite the fact that Week 7's objective was to pay tribute to an iconic performer. In contrast, when you subtract from S/D's SD the material from other sources, there is little of substance that can be attributed to Dubreuil, excepting perhaps the Curve Lift, lifts arguably being Dubreuil's strongest suit when coming up with something unique. And yet, it certainly can't be said that there wasn't empty space leftover to fill with her own thoughts, particularly if S/D are, as we've been instructed, a 60+ points team that could handle increased difficulty. The .gif on the left is in the middle of what claims to be a Not Touching Midline Step Sequence.
As already touched on above, choreography that is substantially new and reflective of the choreographer's abilities can still include nods to pre-existing dance numbers. Two examples of different, legitimate approaches to this can be found in the work of the legendary (and greatly missed) partnership of Zoueva and V/M. The 2011 latin medley Free Dance, as noted in this samba lesson by Thayer, contained two minor details likely inspired by what is probably the most famous ballroom interpretation of "Hip Hip Chin Chin". The overwhelming majority of the FD, however, is latin ballroom content freshly transferred to ice. As Thayer goes on to explain:
"It's the ability to integrate less familiar figures and elements with a free dance's demand for hold and continuous ice coverage, however, that particularly impresses."
It might be noted that the SD choreography that Marina and V/M created to the same music for the 2011-12 season was again an overwhelmingly new creation, both early in the season and after it was tweaked considerably. In contrast, the 2011-12 FD of "Funny Face" featured a long sequence faithfully depicting the "Basal Metabolism" portion of the movie. Translating longer segments of known choreography to blades is a challenge also worthy of credit, particularly if the source is a piece of pop culture. The easy road between these two approaches is, in my opinion, repetitively copying several small movements throughout a piece without fleshing out the rest of the program with original material. In S/D's program, the transition between the first and second Twizzle would be an appropriate inclusion of Turner's movement, if the bending and pointing weren't overused elsewhere in the piece.
Whatever the full explanation of how this SD came into existence, it is perfectly clear that there are few details to be seen in this entire program that are genuinely new, and yet already Dubreuil is once more being embraced as a genius. The over-scoring of Gadbois teams is constantly justified by the claim that her choreography is brilliant. One of many examples, V/M foreshadowed their commitment to Gadbois ideals by ignoring the obvious difference in skill level between P/I and Paradis/Ouellette at the 2016 Canadian Nationals, instead explaining away the latter's shockingly inappropriate victory over the former by appealing to the supposed strength of P/O's vehicle. Virtue called the one-dimensional, uncomplicated FD in question "intellectual", while Moir pretended that V/M have always prioritized emotion over other qualities in ice dance. Because of how Dubreuil's work gets discussed as relevant in conversations about scoring, it is troubling that this SD seems to have been misrepresented as a fresh idea, and even more concerning that so much seems to have been transferred from other sources with little interpretation on her part.
Could it be that, when choreographing a genre more definable as dance than her insipid lyricals, Dubreuil struggles at actually creating content without referencing another's work? If that is the case, it's an interesting contrast with her coaching associate Romain Haguenauer who, to the best of my knowledge, tends to synthesize textbook dance figures into a substantively new creation. (That is likely why he's a popular choice especially for SDs - eg. P/I in 2011-12, P/C in 2014-15, and P/I, Collins/Firus and Fukase/Tateno in 2015-16.)
It is perhaps relevant to make note that Dubreuil's first program to be rapturously received, the 2014-15 FD of Papadakis/Cizeron, was based on a ballet from 1994, Le Parc. The idea was originally brought to the table by Haguenauer, and the fact that the ballet had inspired the FD was made public by November of 2014 at the latest. (This Icenetwork piece came five days before the skating world realized en masse that P/C were an extraordinary team - after the results of that season's Cup of China told them this was the case.) The extent to which the original choreography found its way into the skating program is not something I have had the chance to fully verify. The fans at FSUniverse, however, were quite ecstatic at how much of this clip was duplicated. I'm not convinced that copying an independent, rather obscure piece (in contrast to that which is easily recognizable as iconic to those judging) is appropriate for a competitive sport where to some degree the programs themselves are scored. As much as the Composition category is mistaken as a valid way for judges to reward what suits their subjective tastes, it is still the case that points are assigned for things like concept, mood and originality - qualities that are subject to human error in quantifying, but can be given objective value beyond what a judge enjoys to see. Considering that, this kind of usage seems more fitting for a gala number. Regardless, I question that this pretentious piece is actually worth copying at all, and this critic seems to agree with me:
"Perhaps I was on artistic overload at this point or simply my mental defense mechanisms kicked in. I do remember gorgeously and period-gowned women leaning over in full profile and engaging in hand washing gestures. Impressive for being in unison and for this being their "dance."
Probably the most distressing aspect of this kind of piece for high-level dancers who are thoroughly and beautifully bred and trained (these dancers can do ANYTHING) is that they don't take advantage of this but rather squander these virtually infinite resources. More boldly stated, this kind of modern dance could easily be done by most students anywhere, so why the Paris Opera Ballet?"
And although V/M's "What's Love Got to Do With It" exhibition - to a cover of the song rather than the Turner version - was co-choreographed by David Wilson, whose work I generally respect, to me it bares a significant resemblance to Jeff Buttle's "How Will I Know" piece for the team. Even if that is merely a coincidence, this video of the four putting together the program provides a moment that is quite revealing. "We leave space for magic - a lot of space", Dubreuil says. The fact that this "Proud Mary" SD is one of the emptiest programs to come out Gadbois so far and yet has apparently lifted a significant amount from three different sources is quite the irony.
A Dubreuil's style is particularly ill-suited for a team like Paul/Islam, who are authentically balletic but with a tendency to skate hesitantly. I found that last year's "Where Is It Written" FD was not able to be carried by their considerable skill, as it not only failed to highlight their strengths but seemed to actively work against those strengths. Soft and bland is appropriate for many "pretty" teams because they are unable to digest anything more complicated. A team like P/I has always fared best when performing bolder, complex material, because their ability to execute substantial difficulty with precision and rhythm is rare, and brings their fluidity and elegance into focus. I find that other talented teams at the Gadbois camp such as Hubbell/Donohue and Fournier-Beaudry/Sørensen have a more assertive stroking style and an earthier quality to their movement, which allows their skill to counteract the watered-down look of Gadbois lyricals to a certain degree, despite there not being much that actually distinguishes those vehicles from P/I's. It goes without saying that this overstates the difference in the relative worth of these performances - skating "larger" is something P/I need to work on, but H/D and FB/S have their own weaknesses - and as much as a large segment of skating fandom wants things like confidence and panache to be worthy of points, clean smooth technique is still supposed to be rewarded even if executed a little timidly. And although P/I have admitted that they were somewhat unfocused last season, I am not convinced that skating with more conviction would have helped sell that FD program. Unless a team has the extreme versatility of a Virtue/Moir, to some extent certain styles compliment a team better than others in the same way certain colours look better on specific skin tones. I don't ever see a pale, floaty lyrical working for Paul/Islam at this stage in their career, and I hope to goodness that they have something that won't wash them out in store for us this weekend at the Quebec Summer Championships. And when it comes to Dubreuil's capability as a choreographer, it's too generous to say she's colourblind when the problem with her styling is not just one of poor matching, but rather one of uniformity.↩
B Displays of emotion are developed under the direction of Gadbois' acting coach, Catherine Pinard, who moonlights as a New Age Bullshit Generator. (I would not be inclined to mock someone's spiritual beliefs, except for the fact that Gadbois has made it a very visible part of their PR, constantly making the case that their teams should be seen as special and deserving of high scores for reasons that are not actually codified as deserving of points.) Fistbump to The Twizzle for parodying the Gadbois philosophy so effectively.↩
C I highly recommend watching videos of VanZant & Ballas to anyone interested in seeing what an athlete with a substantial background in dance should be able to accomplish on that show. Amy Purdy concurs.↩
D As much as I am horrified that Carol Lane is being rewarded with a March compulsory dance for her 2015-16 Partial Step Sequence that made a virtue of G/P's comfort at figure-walking over the
ice in awkward holds, I think she does some lovely work when creating
classic, vintage-themed SDs for other teams. The spread eagle exit of
the Partial Step Sequence in B/R's piece is particularly nice.↩
E Beyoncé serves as a good example of how borrowing obscure choreography without credit can become problematic.↩
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