The on-ice work of Emmy Award(c)-winning
choreographer Sarah Kawahara in the Feld Entertainment(sm)
production of Anastasia on Ice is interesting, innovative
and evocative. It is at times regal, romantic, playful,
haunting, contemplative, dramatic, heroic and sentimental...
but never is it boring or repetitive. Sarah Kawahara takes
audiences -- through her inspiring movements and moods --
back in time to the opulent and grand world of a young
Russian princess, and young and old alike are delighted to
be along for the adventure.
Kawahara
defines choreography for figure skating as "the fusion of
music with interpretative movement and the technical
elements of skating. It is more than just skating. You
define what you want to say and how you want to say it."
Indeed, she takes great pride in her work and has a very
clear vision of where each of her projects is going.
As a
youngster growing up in Montreal, Canada, Kawahara expressed
her creative inclinations through piano, violin, ballet,
jazz, drama and figure skating. Today, her curiosity,
openness and holistic approach can be seen in all aspects of
her work. For example, Kawahara feels it is vital to meld
and fuse the basic components of costume, set, lights, music
and skating so they come together and create the whole. No
one element of the Anastasia on Ice production should
upstage another.
She is also
creative and nurturing when working with her impressive
roster of international figure skaters. "I really work off
the talent of the individual skater to tap into the inner
sense of who they are and their own body rhythms," she
explains. "I blend what I have with their strengths and
arrive at a new and different place for both of us." To that
end, Anastasia on Ice comes alive through the strong yet
complementary performances of the cast. Anastasia herself is
"independent yet vulnerable," Marie "stately" and Vladimir
"full of fun," while Dimitri is a cocky street-smart guy who
falls in love." Even the villain Rasputin is captivated by
Kawahara's spell and renders a performance that is "exotic
and evil."
Kawahara's
work within the production numbers is also "layered," a
description she herself likes to use. The scene where the
orphan Anya remembers her father, the Czar, is actually
presented by two sets of skaters in an interwoven "double
memory" sequence. The vibrant Paris panorama is also
multidimensional, with its many different characters and
vignettes, while the Russian arristocracy are physically
layered -- cloaked in shrouds -- as they begin their
otherworldly waltz, "Once Upon a December."
"I like to
use different inflections, textures and colors. I don't want
everything to be the same speed or to see the same movement
repeated," Kawahara offers. "I ask the skaters to think with
their whole bodies... to use their imaginations." Kawahara
is also known for incorporating set pieces into her
choreography. "I like to have skaters go in or through the
props rather than just working out in front of a set. It
gives the production more dimension."
Speaking
about the broad spectrum of her art, Kawahara says, "It's
always interesting to try and create new shapes within the
skating language. You can only do that through
experimentation." She adds, "You must grab and hold the
attention of the audience... take them with you on a
fantastic journey." Bon voyage and bravo, Anastasia on Ice
and Sarah Kawahara!
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