BECAUSE IT'S LIKELY HE ALREADY CHOREOGRAPHED FOR YOUR FAVE...
Pasquale Camerlengo (born 14 April 1966; Milan, Italy) is a retired competitive ice dancer who now works as a coach and choreographer. As a skater, he competed with Stefania Calegari at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where they placed 5th, and with Diane Gerencser at the 1998 Winter Olympics, where they placed 17th. (oh hai Wikipedia)
Pasquale and Stefania's 1992 FD was choreographed by Pasquale himself. Idk anything about ice dance, but I think this program's fun and amaze and I love it. #stansohard
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PASQUALE CAMERLENGO: CHOREOGRAPHY THAT BROADENS THE CAPACITY OF SKATERS
Sauce: Figure Skate Days Plus: 2010-2011 Joshi Shinguru Dokuhon" p.80-81
Text by Tomoko Imagawa, Translation into Japanese helped by Miho
Yamazaki, Translation back to English by originallove (who is awesome and winful <3)
Q: This season I heard you did choreography for many world class skaters
including Daisuke Takahashi (FS) and Akiko Suzuki (FS).
A: Besides Daisuke Takahashi and Akiko Suzuki's FS, I also choreographed
Tomas Verner's SP & FS, Michal Brezina, Samuel Contesti & Alban
Preaubert's SP in the men's singles; Alena Leonova's SP, Alissa
Czisny's FS in the ladies' singles, and also some programs in ice dance.
Q: You choreographed a lot of top skaters. You have become one of the
most sought after choreographers now.
A: Thanks to the high reputation of Daisuke's FS last season, I believe
some of the skaters gave me the offer after watching Daisuke's
performance...
Ahem. Let us now take a moment to worship the greatness that is La Strada once more
(continued)
I used to specialize in choreography for ice dancers before. Amongst them, there were some top teams who placed high at the Olympics and Worlds, such as Delobel/Schoenfelder. Kenji Miyamoto, the most sought after choreographer in Japan (tells the interviewer to highlight this part and laughs) is my ex-student and I choreographed for his team as well, and I also did choreography for many skating shows.
Now I have offers from both singles skaters and ice dancers, which makes
me feel very productive and happy. This summer, I was extremely busy.
Besides choreography I also coach ice dancers, so I was on the ice from
8:30 am to 21:00 pm every day. Adding to the skaters I just listed, I
also did choreography for some Americans and Canadians, I went to
Switzerland to choreograph for a Swiss skater, so in total I think I
choreographed for more than 20 skaters. It was hard because I had to
choreograph for so many skaters ranging from eletes to beginners in a
short amount of time.
Q: When you do choreography for a skater, how do you choose the music for
the program?
A: I have many different types of music on my computer, so first I let
the skaters listen and see their reaction. This way I'll know if he/she
likes it or not. For example, Tomas Verner's FS this season was the
Michael Jackson medley, I decided on it because Tomas' eyes sparkled
when he heard Michael Jackson's music. I won't force the skaters to use
the music that I personally like. Let me give you a scoop. When Alissa
Cziney heard George Winston's music, her face brightened up and she said
"I love this track!" George Winston's "Ocean Waves" was the track I used
for Daisuke's program, which unfortunately was not used at any
competition because he chose "La Strada" instead. But since Alissa was
watching while I was choreographing "Ocean Waves" for Daisuke, she was
familiar with the track. A part of "Ocean Waves" is included in her free
program this season, which is a medley of George Winston's music. When I
choose the music for a program, I always tell the skaters, "I want to
choose music that will make you feel happy. Because it will be the music
you will be listening to every day throughout the year, throughout the
whole season."
Q: Daisuke Takahashi's music is a Tango track written by Astor
Piazzolla. How was this decision made?
A: First of all, I have a deep passion for Tango. However, I wanted him
to make the decision on which music to use. In the beginning, we came up
with 20-30 ideas, and then narrowed them down to two or three. We
listened to them on the ice and this Tango track was chosen in the end.
I was very happy when he chose the Tango, because I was hoping he'd
choose it. Tango is where my deep passion lies, I love Tango and
Flamenco music very much. This time I picked "winter" and "spring" from
Astor Piazzolla's "Four Seasons."
Q: Please tell me about the concept of this program.
A: He used Tango several times in the past. Three years ago he skated to
"El Tango de Roxanne" for his SP, and last season's SP "Eye" was also a
Tango. Therefore I wanted to present a different concept from the
previous ones. The real Tango (dance) is sensual and sexy, but it is
very hard to express that feel on the ice. It is a dance made for a
pair, it is where you express the passion between man and woman. It is
not supposed to be performed by a man alone. If a man dances alone
without the woman, the man will feel very unhappy, won't he? The man
wants to dance with a woman, and he dreams about it. This Tango program
expresses that passion and love story, where a woman has become a large
part of a man's life. He has never performed in such a passionate,
dramatic manner before. I wanted to try for something he has never done
before.
Q: How did you want Takahashi to skate the program you choreographed for
him?
A: I always want him to skate with his heart, not with his head. What I
want to convey through this program is a story where a man keeps on
loving the woman he first fell in love with throughout his whole life. I
want him to convey the theme of the program to the audience clearly, by
being passionate and by skating with his heart. And I want him to
deliver the kind of performance that will strike people's hearts and
make them shiver.
Mission accomplished:
Q: Next I would like to ask about Akiko Suzuki's choreography. This was
the first time you worked with Suzuki. How did this come about?
A: She approached me, so I took the offer. Akiko came to the U.S. in
June (2010) and we started working on the program together.
Q: How was the music for her FS "Fiddler on the Roof" decided?
A: This time there was a particular request from her. She asked me,
"What do you think about music that will make the audience clap along
and have a climax at the end?" So I started looking for music that fits
and narrowed them down to two or three. In the end we decided upon
"Fiddler on the Roof" which was amongst those choices.
Q: What did you aim for when you worked on her choreography?
A: I aim for choreography that will showcase the skater's quality and
personality. I watched many videos of her past performances before
starting to work on her choreography. She is the kind of skater who
looks comfortable in the latter part of her programs, she has enough
stamina till the final moment, so I made the program peak at the end.
That was because I knew she could handle it. I tried to showcase her
technique and personality, and aimed to broaden her capacities when I
worked on her choreography.
Q: Please tell us about the concept of her FS.
A: I always had the idea of Jewish country & folk music in my head when
I worked on the choreography. So, the concept is for her to express the
Jewish traditional dance through this music.
Q: How do you want Suzuki to skate this program?
A: I want her to skate this wonderful program with all her energy to the
climax at the end. I especially want people to check out the final step
sequence. This step sequence is very difficult, very quick, requires so
much energy, concentration and power. I think she is a great skater who
can accomplish such a task.
Akiko ♥
Q: Is there a message you want to convey to the Japanese fans and the
audience?
A: The Japanese fans and the audience are always very passionate, I
think it is a wonderful thing. So I would like them to keep that passion
for the skaters, and I want them to cheer for not only the top skaters
but also for all the skaters.
***
From Alena's blog:
On working with Pasquale on her 2010 SP.
"I was looking forward to the day we were to start working together just like I would look forward to a long-awaited holiday or my own birthday! Finally the day came. First of all Pasquale listened to the music several times. He liked it, and the work began. On seeing his first movements I understood that the program will be frolic, jolly and intense. In a word, we both were eagerly anxious to create something off the beaten path. It’s a pity we hadn’t so much time for choreographing the program itself, because there were many other skaters wishing to work with Pasquale.
It was very easy to work with Pasquale, and the time slipped away fast. The program turned out to be joyful and sunshiny, but at the same time difficult. I have never had such a difficult program before. And even though now there are only 7 elements in the short program, I get very tired when I skate it to the max. But this is a most pleasant tiredness, because I know that I’ve worked with the best and the most sanguine choreographer in the world!"
CUTENESS OVERLOAD!
Алёна и Паскуале Камерленго, Швейцария
THE RESULT OF ALL THAT CUTENESS WAS MOAR CUTENESS ASDFHJKHDKDAHGSK SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS PROGRAM #ALENAWUZROBBED
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BONUS TOMAS - SINGING IN THE RAIN <333
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AND BECAUSE I PIMP IT SHAMELESSLY DAISQUALE TYFYT