John Curry Skates Peter and the Wolf (figure skating) (1984)
Title
John Curry Skates Peter and the Wolf (figure skating) (1984)
Subject
Ballet dancing
Ice skating
Broadcasting
URL
Peter and the wolf - part 1
To open full-screen view in a new tab, start video and click the Youtube icon at the bottom of the embedded video.
Peter and the Wolf - part 2
No video link found.
The competition
To open full-screen view in a new tab, start video and click the Youtube icon at the bottom of the embedded video.
Tango Tango
To open full-screen view in a new tab, start video and click the Youtube icon at the bottom of the embedded video.
Description
Content description from a New York Times review of the broadcast (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/23/arts/critics-choices-broadcast-tv.html):
''Shall I tell you a story?'' Those most magical of words in the English are intoned by Peter Ustinov at the start of ''John Curry Skates Peter and the Wolf,'' which was produced by WGBH-TV in Boston and will be rebroadcast on Channel 13 Sunday night from 7 to 8. But the ''big green meadow'' of Peter's adventures is, however, a skating rink, and no amount of charm succeeds in giving it the intimacy of a children's story.
The charming Mr. Curry almost succeeds, zipping boyishly through his encounters with a cat, a bird, a duck and a wolf. And the wolf's predatory glides are truly frightening.
The ending is disturbing. The wolf belches in his cage, having swallowed the duck whole and alive. Skates weren't meant for climbing along tree branches. And there is a reference to the bird as ''he'' that is jarring considering how obviously female the performer is in her form-hugging blue unitard. But the pretty sets, a disappearing trick, and the gentle pace of the story will likely please young children.
The show also includes ''Tango-Tango,'' a sultry duet created for Mr. Curry and JoJo Starbuck by Peter Martins, performed on smoking ice. Its dark witticisms will likely be most appreciated by dance afficionados. ''Tango-Tango'' ends with some glamorous ice-skimming for the two. But the program's show-stopping number is the concluding ''The Competition,'' choreographed by Mr. Curry to music by Glazunov. It's a pretext for all-out ice-dancing for the company. Mr. Curry never hard-sells skating. The pleasures of ''The Competition'' are for the most part lyrical, with just enough dazzling pyrotechnics to thrill the closet rink stars in the household.
Ephemera: available through CCDR Collections at Arizona State University. One clipping from Under Cover magazine with program listing and brief description.
Limitations: This page displays video content associated with a videotape in the CCDR Collections audiovisual library recorded by Joann W. Kealiinohomoku. Please be advised that, because this videotape has not yet been digitized for direct access, we cannot guarantee that the video content on this page is an exact match with the content originally recorded by Dr. Kealiinohomoku. We also cannot guarantee function or access for re-hosted video content.
''Shall I tell you a story?'' Those most magical of words in the English are intoned by Peter Ustinov at the start of ''John Curry Skates Peter and the Wolf,'' which was produced by WGBH-TV in Boston and will be rebroadcast on Channel 13 Sunday night from 7 to 8. But the ''big green meadow'' of Peter's adventures is, however, a skating rink, and no amount of charm succeeds in giving it the intimacy of a children's story.
The charming Mr. Curry almost succeeds, zipping boyishly through his encounters with a cat, a bird, a duck and a wolf. And the wolf's predatory glides are truly frightening.
The ending is disturbing. The wolf belches in his cage, having swallowed the duck whole and alive. Skates weren't meant for climbing along tree branches. And there is a reference to the bird as ''he'' that is jarring considering how obviously female the performer is in her form-hugging blue unitard. But the pretty sets, a disappearing trick, and the gentle pace of the story will likely please young children.
The show also includes ''Tango-Tango,'' a sultry duet created for Mr. Curry and JoJo Starbuck by Peter Martins, performed on smoking ice. Its dark witticisms will likely be most appreciated by dance afficionados. ''Tango-Tango'' ends with some glamorous ice-skimming for the two. But the program's show-stopping number is the concluding ''The Competition,'' choreographed by Mr. Curry to music by Glazunov. It's a pretext for all-out ice-dancing for the company. Mr. Curry never hard-sells skating. The pleasures of ''The Competition'' are for the most part lyrical, with just enough dazzling pyrotechnics to thrill the closet rink stars in the household.
Ephemera: available through CCDR Collections at Arizona State University. One clipping from Under Cover magazine with program listing and brief description.
Limitations: This page displays video content associated with a videotape in the CCDR Collections audiovisual library recorded by Joann W. Kealiinohomoku. Please be advised that, because this videotape has not yet been digitized for direct access, we cannot guarantee that the video content on this page is an exact match with the content originally recorded by Dr. Kealiinohomoku. We also cannot guarantee function or access for re-hosted video content.
Original Format
TV broadcast recorded off air by JWK: Betamax tape
Creator
Gail Jansen (executive producer)
John Curry (performer)
Publisher
Public Broadcasting company (PBS)
Date
1984
Citation
“John Curry Skates Peter and the Wolf (figure skating) (1984),” Cross-Cultural Dance Resources Collections, accessed April 23, 2024, https://ccdrcollections.omeka.net/items/show/108.