Did you know that the Prokofiev ballet of Romeo & Juliet (the version used by Zingas/Kolesnik at #WorldFigure) was made into a film in 1955? This isn't it ⬇️ 😀 but I'll include a link to it in my #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post!

a close up of a man 's face with the words under love 's heavy burden do i sink below him ALT: a close up of a man 's face with the words under love 's heavy burden do i sink below him

I'm still adding things to my newest #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post on the many skating "faces" of Romeo & Juliet but can publish it in the next half-hour if anyone wants a sneak peek! LIKE this post if that's the case! #WorldFigure

“Turandot” and “Tosca”: Puccini’s Skating Showcases — Kelli M. Lawrence If you possess any amount of opera knowledge, you may find this look at Turandot and Tosca (as they relate to skating music) annoyingly simplistic. But I’m in constant learning mode when it come...

May all the skating stars align for Yuma today...
(And here's a little reading about his epic music)
#WorldFigure #StateoftheSkateMUSIC

“Butterfly Lovers” and “Madame Butterfly” — Kelli M. Lawrence It’s hardly a coincidence that two treasured pieces of music— one telling a story rooted in Japan, the other with Chinese composers, sharing a Chinese legend– weren’t discovered for skating until Asia...

There's a tale of two butterflies 🦋🦋 to be told between "Madame Butterfly" and "Butterfly Lovers" (the latter of which was used again by Maddie Schizas at #WorldFigure. Read more at #StateoftheSkateMUSIC!
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The Season of Summer — Kelli M. Lawrence When Donna Summer ruled the world… There were no laptops. There was no internet. There were no streaming platforms.

"Last Dance" (Mone Chiba's SP)...
Last chance this season to tell you about my Donna Summer #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post...since Alysa isn't at #WorldFigure

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a man and a woman are dancing in front of a full moon and the words center stage are on the bottom ALT: a man and a woman are dancing in front of a full moon and the words center stage are on the bottom

#FigureSkating fans know that "Romeo & Juliet" programs are never in short supply... good thing there are so many music options for it!
Look for my newest #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post about the tragic young lovers this week during #WorldFigure!

“Turandot” and “Tosca”: Puccini’s Skating Showcases — Kelli M. Lawrence If you possess any amount of opera knowledge, you may find this look at Turandot and Tosca (as they relate to skating music) annoyingly simplistic. But I’m in constant learning mode when it come...

Find out more about this operatic piece of figure skating music history with the State of the SkateMUSIC post linked below!
#figureskating #Olympics #StateoftheSkateMUSIC
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Like many top men in Milano-Cortina, Yuma Kagiyama didn't have the free skate he wanted. But he DID win his second individual Olympic silver medal with a custom-made (!) version of TURANDOT. #figureskating #Olympics #StateoftheSkateMUSIC
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj0X...

I really hoped to get my Romeo & Juliet #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post completed by #MilanoCortina2026 but it's been a challenging month for me and my family on a few different levels... just wasn't able to get it finished. Aiming to have it by Worlds now! Thanks for your patience ❤️

The Season of Summer — Kelli M. Lawrence When Donna Summer ruled the world… There were no laptops. There was no internet. There were no streaming platforms.

Skating has been blessed twice now with what I've called THE SEASON OF SUMMER... read more about disco icon Donna Summer and her music in the #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post below! #MilanoCortina2026
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The Noteworthiest Programs of 2024-25 — Kelli M. Lawrence It was a figure skating season of Disco and Dune…Beyonce and Bizet… Summer and Stravinsky… Riverdance and, um, ( checks notes ) Robots? Yes, robots. In 2024-25 the elite skating was so many things: (...

Also, here I discussed some of the lyrics in "Promise" by Laufey (Alysa's music) and how her skating edit of the song makes an interesting shuffle of them:
#MilanoCortina2026
#StateoftheSkateMUSIC
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The Season of Summer — Kelli M. Lawrence When Donna Summer ruled the world… There were no laptops. There was no internet. There were no streaming platforms.

The artist so nice, skaters use programs to her music TWICE
(Mone Chiba in the SP)...
#MilanoCortina2026
#StateoftheSkateMUSIC
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“Hallelujah” and Chopin Selections in E Minor — Kelli M. Lawrence Mariah Bell skating to “Hallelujah”

For all Chopin's magnificent compositions, did you know he never composed an entire ballet?
More about a dance and skating music favorite here:
#MilanoCortina2026
#StateoftheSkateMUSIC

THE ZIMMER EFFECT — Kelli M. Lawrence Play a little word association with composers associated with figure skating music, and you’ll find yourself in a game brimming with options. Say Tchaikovsky , and the powerful-yet-delicate Swan L...

I swear there are just as many "Gladiator" and "Interstellar" programs this year as there are "Dune," but the good news is they're all part of THE ZIMMER EFFECT:
#StateoftheSkateMUSIC
#MilanoCortina2026

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“Sinnerman” and Bolero — Kelli M. Lawrence Scroll past SINNERMAN to get to BOLERO (though I’ve gotta say, the SINNERMAN piece is pretty interesting…)

Make that a TRIO of #StateoftheSkateMUSIC posts...
you wouldn't want to miss a (newly updated) BOLERO post, right? #MilanoCortina2026

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“Hallelujah” and Chopin Selections in E Minor — Kelli M. Lawrence Mariah Bell skating to “Hallelujah”

Have I got a PAIR of #StateoftheSkateMUSIC posts for you to read! (See what I did there) #MilanoCortina2026

k.d. Lang performed "Hallelujah" (used by Kam/O'Shea) at the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies... learn more about Cohen's classic!

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“Sinnerman” and Bolero — Kelli M. Lawrence Scroll past SINNERMAN to get to BOLERO (though I’ve gotta say, the SINNERMAN piece is pretty interesting…)

What do you think Kevin's saying to the judges at the end of BOLERO??
I've updated my post at #StateoftheSkateMUSIC to include the latest iterations of this #figureskating classic!
#MilanoCortina2026
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“Turandot” and “Tosca”: Puccini’s Skating Showcases — Kelli M. Lawrence If you possess any amount of opera knowledge, you may find this look at Turandot and Tosca (as they relate to skating music) annoyingly simplistic. But I’m in constant learning mode when it come...

NEW at #StateoftheSkateMUSIC!

"Turandot" and "Tosca": Puccini's Skating Showcases
(Featuring Yuma Kagiyama)

Come read about these two operas and the ways they've been utilized for greatness in #figureskating

#MilanoCortina2026

Here's a practice video of Yuma's free skate with the custom-made cut of "Turandot" (complete with English subtitles!)... which will definitely be discussed and included in my new #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post dropping this afternoon!

#MilanoCortina2026 #figureskating

a man stands on a ice rink in front of beijing 2022 banners ALT: a man stands on a ice rink in front of beijing 2022 banners

Look for #StateoftheSkateMUSIC to bring a new post-- partnered with an older, revised one-- TOMORROW!
Any guesses who the composer of both pieces of music might be? Here's a hint ⬇️ #MilanoCortina2026

THE ZIMMER EFFECT — Kelli M. Lawrence Play a little word association with composers associated with figure skating music, and you’ll find yourself in a game brimming with options. Say Tchaikovsky , and the powerful-yet-delicate Swan L...

"Zimmer was a fan of the original Dune novel as a teenager, which undoubtedly assisted him in creating the films’ distinct musical soundscapes..."

#StateoftheSkateMUSIC
#MilanoCortina2026
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Charlie Chaplin Medleys and “Malaguena” — Kelli M. Lawrence Welcome to State of the SkateMUSIC … the next generation of my long-running blog State of the Skate!  As I explained in my final post at the old blog site , with State of the Skat...

As the Czechia team performed, I searched to see if I wrote a piece about MALAGUENA and its use in figure skating... and I did!

Scroll past the part about Charlie Chaplin music if you like but here it is...
#StateoftheSkateMUSIC
#MilanoCortina2026

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a man and a woman are looking at each other in front of a fish tank ALT: a man and a woman are looking at each other in front of a fish tank

I don't have a Romeo + Juliet post ready YET at #StateoftheSkateMUSIC 🤨 as I'm working on a different one this week... but I hope to get it done in time for the women's free skate!
#MilanoCortina2026

(Covering the 3 best known R+Js, not just this one)

“Hallelujah” and Chopin Selections in E Minor — Kelli M. Lawrence Mariah Bell skating to “Hallelujah”

Maxim Naumov's beautiful #MilanoCortina2026 SP was to Chopin's Nocturne #20 in C Sharp Minor, a well-known piece used in the past by Evgenia Medvedeva and Mirai Nagasu among others. Learn more:

#StateoftheSkateMUSIC

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“Butterfly Lovers” and “Madame Butterfly” — Kelli M. Lawrence It’s hardly a coincidence that two treasured pieces of music— one telling a story rooted in Japan, the other with Chinese composers, sharing a Chinese legend– weren’t discovered for skating until Asia...

Canada's Madeline Schizas is one of a long line of skaters choosing "Butterfly Lovers" as their music... learn more about the piece and its place in figure skating here! #MilanoCortina #StateoftheSkateMUSIC

THE ZIMMER EFFECT — Kelli M. Lawrence Play a little word association with composers associated with figure skating music, and you’ll find yourself in a game brimming with options. Say Tchaikovsky , and the powerful-yet-delicate Swan L...

From GLADIATOR (used by the Canadian pairs team) to DUNE and everything in between, Hans Zimmer's music is beloved for many figure skaters. Come read more about it!
#MilanoCortina2026 #FigureSkating #Olympics #StateoftheSkateMUSIC

US Champs Class of ‘25 — Kelli M. Lawrence In the past several seasons of figure skating, this particular incarnation of my blog State of the SkateMUSIC has popped up several times a year with deeper dives (or “longer listens,” as I’ve been ...

For those interested in knowing a little more about "Rain, in Your Black Eyes" (music used by S. Korea's Junhwan Cha), I referenced it about 2/3 of the way through this #StateoftheSkateMUSIC post I wrote last year:
#MilanCortina2026 #FigureSkating

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OK, final round of my #WinterOlympics Battle of the Warhorses ( #figureskating classics).
Here are the EIGHT finalists... what would YOU skate to? #StateoftheSkateMUSIC

Adios Nonino
Carmen
Exogenesis Pt. 3
The Mission
Moonlight Sonata
Phantom of the Opera
Romeo & Juliet (ALL versions)
Swan Lake

“Sinnerman” and Bolero — Kelli M. Lawrence Scroll past SINNERMAN to get to BOLERO (though I’ve gotta say, the SINNERMAN piece is pretty interesting…)

I've updated my #StateoftheSkateMusic post about "Bolero" and its place in #figureskating lore... including how it's used at these #Olympics... check it out!
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I don't have the wherewithal to watch #Olympics #FigureSkating in real time so I'll come look for everyone's thoughts (and chime if I've got anything) each day when I'm caught up.

(When I'm not talking about my blog #StateoftheSkateMUSIC or my book #SkatingOnAir that is...)

Enjoy, everyone!