Popeye Vs Brutus for the love of Olive Oyl!

Created 2014

Choreographer:  Dan Hollander

Even Scott Hamilton eats his spinach!

I have wanted to create a Popeye routine for quite some time now.  Two years ago, I put together a solo version of Popeye for Mike Weiss’ show, but it just didn’t feel right.  My original idea was to do this in conjunction with a pair team in order to have two numbers blended together.  That gig didn’t work out, so it was put on the back burner.  Well, this year’s Skate for Hope created an opportunity for me.  I have been training with Emily Chase for the last few months. She is very strong in her edging/skating skills (she can out-skate me any day of the week!), and I thought she would make a perfect Olive Oyl.  She is tall, skinny, and cute.  I knew my student, William Lindsay, would be on board for the role of Bluto (Brutus). He was perfect for the height requirements, but needed a few more Silky workouts for those muscles!

One day on the ice, I was discussing this routine with William and explaining that I was stuck. I had the layout and the story line, but needed a slow tune that I could emote my “unhappiness” to, while that fickle Olive Oyl flirted with Bluto.  William immediately played for me “Say Something.”  At first I wasn’t sold on the song, but as soon as the lyrics “…feeling so small” played, the whole thing came together instantly in my head.

I am extremely happy with the debut of this program. The audience completely got the “selfie” gag, which made my day.  Another unexpected hilarity for me was hearing the audience react with laughter and even a few “boos” at the entrance of the evil villain Bluto (William).  Hope you enjoy!