Putting ‘High School Musical’ on ice

By John Benson

Choreographer Charles Klapow learned how to skate just to translate the dance to the ice.

When choreographer Charles Klapow was brought in to work on the first “High School Musical” movie with director Kenny Ortega, the dance veteran knew just how to capture the excitement and energy of being a student at East High School.

However, when Ortega once again came to his trusted choreographer, who won an Emmy for his work on “High School Musical,” about translating his dance moves to “Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour,” which comes to Youngstown’s Chevrolet Centre Friday through next Sunday, that’s when Klapow momentarily paused before accepting the challenge.

“Kenny said, ‘I really want you to be a part of this so the moves in the ice show look and feel like the moves from the film, and it’s not just an imitation but the real thing,’” said Klapow, calling from Los Angeles. “My first thought was I can’t ice skate, but I don’t want to stand on the side of the ice for an entire month and a half watching all of the skaters have fun on the ice while I yell out instructions.

“So I learned how to skate. It was really exciting, and that was the most fun thing for me. The skaters were teaching me how to skate while I was teaching them how to dance. I never had skated before, and I just didn’t fall. I think with my dance background my balance is really good.”

Ironically, Klapow’s transformation from dancer to skater parallels the “High School Musical” theme of – despite other people’s opinions – the ability to accomplish anything you want when you put your mind to it.

“Oh, totally,” Klapow said with a laugh. “I never thought of that. That is true. It doesn’t matter, you can do whatever you want.”

Still, the leap from dancing in front of a camera to creating seamless skating on the ice wasn’t without its hurdles for the well-respected choreographer, who began his dancing career at age 12 appearing with everyone from Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion and Kris Kross to Salt-N-Pepa, Melissa Etheridge and Paula Abdul.

“Adapting the choreography was tricky because with some of the footwork, there are things you do in shoes that you can’t always do on a blade, such as sliding in different directions,” Klapow said. “And so much of the familiar choreography from ‘High School Musical’ is the arms and upper body, we kept that intact, and just made adjustments with the footwork and the skating.

“So what you end up getting is a brand-new, reinvented version of the same familiar movement you’d see on screen. It’s just taken to a new level, but it’s not different.”

Klapow said another important attraction of “Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour” is the fact the show covers both Disney Channel movies (“High School Musical” and “High School Musical 2”), as well as elements from the recently released feature film “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.”

“I hope they leave the show knowing what it’s like to be a Wildcat for the day,” Klapow said. “More than just bringing the sets and choreography to the ice show, I also brought the spirit along because there’s so much underneath it all that makes ‘High School Musical’ a phenomenon. I think it has to do with all of the connections that everyone makes with one another.

“So I wanted to bring that to the ice show. I wanted the kids in the audience to see and feel that connection everyone has with one another and also the skaters’ connection with the audience. All of that energy is so essential to ‘High School Musical’ and it’s just so much more than the dance steps, I brought the energy and spirit of what’s on the screen. So it all lives there on the ice.”