Coach and choreographer Kate Charbonneau begins a choreography session with a young skater to build a new program. A very large percentage of coaches work with skaters at this level, so many will benefit from seeing how Kate approaches this task. This entire first part is really just Kate getting to know this skater and understand what skills the skater can perform. Kate will then use this knowledge to build out a program the skater can not only master, but a program that will show the skater in the best light possible.
Kate begins by asking to see lots of skills. These skills include lunges, forward spirals (both right and left foot), and one foot spin/scratch spin (including the skater’s most comfortable entry pattern). From this Kate deduces that this skater is challenged by spins and she explains how she will use spins in the program (2 spins, one in the middle of the program, one at the end). Next Kate asks for waltz jump, toe loop, and salchow and she notes that because the skater cannot do these jumps with much speed, the overall speed in the program will be kept fairly low. Next Kate teaches the skater a half flip toe loop sequence, and then asks for waltz jump waltz jump.
Next, Kate puts on the skater’s music and begins to play with arm movements. This is followed by a few forward and backward crossovers in both directions to gauge the level of skating skills. Overall, notice that Kate is very supportive and spends very little time teaching skills or positions, instead building the skaters confidence with positive encouragement. This initial stage is primarily about learning what the skater can do and building a rapport that makes the skater eager to try new things.
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