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Figure skating is not only about technical elements but also about telling a story. The skater brings the story to life on the icy canvas through movement and acting. Once the skaters and their team have chosen the idea for a program and the music, the work with the choreographer starts. To be successful, a skater needs a high-quality program and must combine the technical and artistic aspects of the sport.

Therefore, finding the right story is really important. Italy’s Lara Naka Gutmann, pictured above, chose two very different programs this season. For the Short Program, she skates to music from the Italian TV series “La legge di Lidia Poet” about the first female lawyer in Italy. Choreographer Lori Nichol suggested the idea.

“I wanted to bring this really strong character on the ice and share this story about trying to reach my goals,” Gutmann said. “This female lawyer who couldn't actually be a lawyer at that time, she was so brave and just went and did what she wanted to do, despite everything and everyone. That's what I want to share and being maybe a little sassy. It's a lot of emotions together that I try to take on the ice and but I think it's fun.”

Gutmann collaborated with choreographer Stephane Lambiel for her Free Skating to the “Jaws” soundtrack. 

“I love working with Stephane,” Gutmann shared. “With the Jaws soundtrack, we wanted to do something different again. I really love this kind of predator in the beginning and then the music changes. It's growing and going into the ocean and so it's really different from the short but both programs are very interesting to me so I hope I can bring them across really well,” the reigning ISU European bronze medalist explained.

Gutmann enjoys the choreography process throughout. 

“Working on jumps, it's fun, but somehow I need to express myself,” she pointed out. “Skating on the music, is fun for me and trying to find every year new characters and new stories, is just motivating, so we - me and my coach and choreographers - give a lot of weight to this part.”

Many popular figure skating choreographers are former skaters, often Ice Dancers: Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil and Shae-Lynn Bourne or the Frenchmen Benoît Richaud and Romain Haguenauer to name a few. Bourne received the ISU Skating Award as best choreographer three times already while Richaud won once. Others including Lambiel, Dubreuil and Lori Nichol were nominated for the award and are very much in demand. 

Choreographer Stephane Lambiel has worked with a number of elite skaters © Getty Images

The busiest time for choreographers is after the end of the season in spring when skaters make new programs. The work starts with research, especially when a choreographer is working with a skater for the first time. The goal is always to find the perfect package for the skater. 

A lot of skaters actively take part in the choreography process. 

"At the beginning, we were trying to figure out who we were. It [contributing to the choreography] gave us a sense of figuring out our identity,” the new Olympic Ice Dance bronze medalist Piper Gilles shared. “Our coaches really were like, ‘okay, this is what we're going to do, but we need you to figure out this section’. I think that made us stronger skaters, because over time we were accountable for what we were creating, but it was fun for us. I think that's been so fulfilling, over the years, we find little flavors of us. I think you perform better when you feel you're connected to something like that.”

Once the programs are mounted, the work is not finished but it is a permanent process of development and fine-tuning. The athletes consult their choreographers just before and during the season to refresh the program or adapt it. “It's important to keep the programs alive,” as well-known choreographer Adam Solya summed it up.