Sarah Kawahara is a Canadian

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

who has won two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Personal life

Born September 15, 1961, in Vancouver, Canada, Kawahara is of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

ancestry and lives in California. Her father is Hideo Kawahara (1920/1921-2011). She married actor

Jamie Alcroft Jamie Alcroft (born January 18, 1949) is an American comedian and voice actor known for his voice-over work in movies, TV shows and video games and was half of the comedy duo Mack & Jamie. Biography Early life and education Alcroft is of Engli ...

. They have three children together: Alysse Alcroft, Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft and Thatcher Alcroft.

Career

Kawahara was coached by Osborne Colson. She joined the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Olympic and US National Champion figure skaters who had retired from formal competition. Started in 1940, the Ice Capa ...

at age 17 and skated with them for seven years. In 1997, she became the first skater to win the Best Choreography Emmy Award, receiving the award for Scott Hamilton Upside Down. She won her second Emmy in 2002 for choreographing the opening and closing ceremonies of the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...

. Kawahara has choreographed for numerous competitive skaters, including synchronized skaters. She was a coach and choreographer for the film ''

I, Tonya ''I, Tonya'' is a 2017 American biographical film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of the American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection with the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy ...

'' and for the television series ''

Spinning Out ''Spinning Out'' is an American drama streaming television series, created by Samantha Stratton, that premiered on Netflix on January 1, 2020. In February 2020, the series was canceled after one season. The series stars Kaya Scodelario as Kat Ba ...

''.

Work as a choreographer

Films

* ''

Blades of Glory ''Blades of Glory'' is a 2007 American sports comedy film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, written by Jeff Cox, Craig Cox, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, and starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder with Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, William F ...

'' * '' Go Figure'' * ''

TV specials

*''An Evening on Ice'' *''Concert on Ice'' * ''Nancy Kerrigan, Special Dreams on Ice'' * Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan skates to the Music of Mulan * Michelle Kwan skates to Disney's Greatest Hits (2000) * Michelle Kwan, Princesses on Ice * Scott Hamilton and Friends * Scott Hamilton Upside Down

Touring shows

* ''The Wizard of Oz on Ice'' * ''The Spirit of Pocohontas'' * Hercules on Ice * Anastasia on Ice *

Holiday on Ice Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently owned by Medusa Music Group GmbH, a subsidiary of CTS EVENTIM, Europe's largest ticket distributor, with its headquarters in Bremen, Germany. History Holiday on Ice originated in the United States in Decem ...

* Stars on Ice *

Champions on Ice Champions on Ice was a touring ice show in the United States. The show featured a large cast of both professional and Olympic-eligible figure skaters along with novelty acts such as skating acrobats. The shows were focused primarily on solo per ...

Disney on Ice Disney on Ice, originally Walt Disney's World on Ice, is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows f ...

Skaters

* Scott Hamilton *

Kurt Browning Kurt Browning, (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion. Career ...

Ilia Kulik Ilia Alexandrovich Kulik (; born 23 May 1977) is a Russian figure skater. He is the 1998 Olympic Champion, the 1995 European Champion, the 1997–1998 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 1995 World Junior champion. Career Kulik began skating ...

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired competitive figure skater and diplomat serving as United States Ambassador to Belize. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time ...

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

Dorothy Hamill Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. Early life Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...

Robin Cousins Robin Cousins, MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978–19 ...

* Charlie Tickner *

John Curry John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, Olympic and World Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating. Early life Curry was ...

Christopher Bowman Christopher Nicol Bowman (March 30, 1967 – January 10, 2008) was an American figure skater. He was a two-time World medalist (silver in 1989, bronze in 1990), the 1983 World Junior champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. He compete ...

Surya Bonaly Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly (born 15 December 1973) is a French-born retired competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a ...

* Chen Lu *

Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American figure skater and actress. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Winter Olympics, silver medals at the 1992 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympi ...

Tai Babilonia Tai Reina Babilonia (born September 22, 1959) is an American former pair skater. Together with Randy Gardner, she won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for ...

/ Randy Gardner *

Ekaterina Gordeeva Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva (russian: Екатерина Александровна Гордеева; born 28 May 1971) is a Russian figure skater. Together with her husband, the late Sergei Grinkov, she was the 1988 and 1994 Olymp ...

Sergei Grinkov Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov (russian: Сергей Михайлович Гриньков; 4 February 1967 – 20 November 1995) was a Russian pair skater. Together with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and a ...

Oksana Baiul , altname= Oksana Baiul-Farina , birth_date= , birth_place=Dnipro, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union , residence= , height= , formercoach= Galina Zmievskaya Valentyn Nikolayev Stanislav Koritek , formerchoreographer= Sarah Kawahara , formertra ...

Marina Klimova Marina Vladimirovna Klimova (russian: Марина Владимировна Климова; born 28 July 1966) is a former competitive ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified Team. With skating partner and husband Se ...

Sergei Ponomarenko Sergei Vladilenovich Ponomarenko (russian: Серге́й Владиленович Пономаренко; born October 6, 1960) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer who competed for the Soviet Union and the Unified team. With ska ...

Victor Petrenko Viktor Vasyliovych Petrenko ( uk, Віктор Васильович Петренко; born 27 June 1969) is a Ukrainian former competitive figure skater who represented the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, and Ukraine during his career. He is the ...

Pang Qing Pang Qing (; born December 24, 1979, in Harbin, Heilongjiang) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With her husband Tong Jian, she is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion (2002 ...

/ Tong Jian *

Beatrisa Liang Beatrisa "Bebe" Liang (born March 31, 1988) is an American retired figure skater. She is the 2006 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2006 Nebelhorn Trophy champion, and 2007 U.S. national pewter medalist. Career Liang was coached by Tiffany C ...

Miami University Synchronized Skating Team The Miami University Synchronized Skating Team is a senior-level synchronized skating team from the United States. Their homeclub is Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. They were the U.S. national champions in 1999, 2006 and 2009. They became t ...

in their World Silver Medal (2007) routine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawahara, Sarah Canadian female figure skaters Figure skating choreographers Emmy Award winners Canadian sportswomen Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian sportspeople of Japanese descent Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 1961 births