THE ZIMMER EFFECT
Looking for the added DUNE content? Scroll further down to a banner that looks similar to this one!〰️
Looking for the added DUNE content? Scroll further down to a banner that looks similar to this one!〰️
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 Lake flutters to mind. Say Bizet, and a thousand fierce red-and-black Carmen dresses fire up the brain.
But what happens if you say Zimmer?
The easy answer might be films, for Zimmer– Hans Zimmer, that is– has been a part of countless skating programs by way of his prolific career in film scoring. He rose to fame composing the score for Rain Man, won an Oscar for his contributions to 1994’s The Lion King, bridged the centuries with Gladiator in 2000, and soared to new sonic heights in the decades to follow with the Batman, Sherlock Holmes, and the majority of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, among other films.
(And if you’ve followed the past decade of skating at all, you know the Pirates franchise all by itself has become a soundtrack staple for competitive programs, including Mirai Nagasu’s Olympic debut in 2010…)
As well as the debut Olympic FS for Javier Fernandez; in fact, his “Pirate” stayed on board for the 2010-11 season too.
Chinese ice dancers Wang/Liu even skated a “Pirates” tango in 2018-19.
Born in (West) Germany and schooled in Switzerland and England, Zimmer is a mostly self-taught musician who cites Ennio Morricone– another favorite in the skating world– as a major influencer in his drive to be a film composer. At the same time, he’s a “child of the 20th century” (in his words) who embraced computers early on, and never tires of experimenting with how they can enhance music.
In the 70s and early 80s, Zimmer’s prowess on keyboards and synthesizers was showcased in several new-wave bands. The most noteworthy of those bands– The Buggles, whose song “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first video ever shown on MTV– features Zimmer on keyboards during the iconic clip.
He found his way to the world of film scores by partnering with English composer Stanley Myers; together, they honed an integration of orchestral and electronic music as they scored a steady stream of British films through the 80s. By 1987 he’d served as score producer on the Academy Award-winning epic The Last Emperor; his score for Rain Man came a year later.
With multiple Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards to his name, Zimmer’s place in film score history is solidified. But what makes his music appealing enough for world-class skaters to turn to them year-in, year-out… especially now that music with vocals is permitted? Obviously his penchant for classical/contemporary fusion factors in heavily. But consider this striking quote about Zimmer from filmmaker and frequent collaborator Sir Ridley Scott:
"I listen to [Zimmer's] music and I don't even have to shut my eyes. I can see the pictures. And that's why, in many respects, I know I can talk pictures with Hans. He responds to pictures."
From the late 80s on into the 90s, the TV “picture” for which Zimmer’s music was best known was the theme song for the popular British game show Going For Gold (which he says “paid his rent” for many years).
But since 2000 or so, skating events have proven among the most reliable places to find his music on the smaller screen. Alexei Yagudin’s Gladiator FS cast the first great impression…
A decade or so later, Zimmer’s soundtracks to Pearl Harbor and Angels and Demons proved very successful vehicles for pairs teams Volosozhar/Morozov and Savchenko/Szolkowy, respectively.
And Adam Rippon had music from Zimmer’s Mission Impossible 2 supporting his Top 10 Worlds finish in the 2014-15 season:
And in more recent years, Kaori Sakamoto brought Gladiator to her all-important Olympic season (2021-22), coming away with an Olympic Bronze Medal and her first World Championship.
In the 2023-24 figure skating season, plenty of Zimmer-touched scores are alive and well… including:
Top Gun: Maverick, used for the FS of pairs team Plazas/Fernandez
Gladiator, used for the FS of Pairs team Pereira/Michaud
And Sherlock Holmes, used for the SP of Tomoki Hiwatashi
2024-25 SEASON UPDATE BELOW〰️
2024-25 SEASON UPDATE BELOW〰️
Hans Zimmer’s contribution to figure skating reached new heights in the 2024-25 season, for at least FIVE elite-level programs featured Zimmer’s music from Dune and/or Dune Part 2. And five made it to the World Championships!
For those of us (including myself) who don’t know much about this particular sci-fi franchise:
It’s based on the extremely successful Dune novel, published back in 1965.
Set in the “distant future,” it’s a saga that includes struggles within families, magical substances, difficulties between planets, and abject challenges to humanity itself. (If you really want to understand it better, check this article out— which calls it part-Hamlet, part Lawrence of Arabia.)
Though efforts to expand Dune into a full-out franchise date all the way back to 1971 and include a mid-80s David Lynch film, a mini-series in 2000, and numerous board and video games, the breadth of material (the paperback edition is nearly 900 pages!) has always proved a hindrance to the visual medium.
But the newest two-part adaptation, directed and co-written by Denis Villeneuve, has proven to be the biggest critical and commercial success by far– winning eight Academy Awards between the pair of films, and grossing over one billion dollars (yes, with a “B”) at the box office.
One of those eight Academy Awards was won by Zimmer, who composed the score for the five+ hours of film generated by the two movies. Zimmer was a fan of the original Dune novel as a teenager, which undoubtedly assisted him in creating the films’ distinct musical soundscapes. In fact, once the first film’s score was complete, he moved directly into scoring the second film well before anything else was happening with Dune: Part Two. In Zimmer’s own words:
“I think Denis (Villeneuve) thought I was quite mad… But I knew the story, I knew the book, I knew what was coming our way. And in fact, a lot of the main themes in this second movie were written at the end of the first film, before Denis started shooting. It felt important to carry on writing when we were still in the same spirit, the same frame of mind.” (BusinessWire.com 2/15/24)
Unfortunately, Zimmer’s score of Dune: Part Two was deemed ineligible for consideration for the 97th Academy Awards (held in March 2025). This is because, per Academy rules, scores for “sequels and franchises” can’t use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music from earlier installments.
“I got disqualified because I was using material from the first movie in the second movie, but it’s not a sequel,” Zimmer was quoted in Deadline in March ‘25. “It is the completion; both movies are one arc. So was I supposed to go and take all the character themes away and write new character themes and develop them? It’s just a stupid rule.”
Here are the details on the five highest-profile Dune programs (incorporating music from one or both films) gracing the ice in 2024-25:
Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) uses these selections:
“Paul’s Dream” (taken from The Dune Sketchbook (Music from the Soundtrack))
“The Shortening of the Way” (taken from The Dune Sketchbook)
“A Time of Quiet Between the Storms” (taken from Dune: Part 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(The program also includes music from Arcane, an animated action-adventure series that aired on Netflix in the U.S..)
Siao Him Fa’s Dune free skate is generally a slow build as far as the pacing goes, although his first jumping pass (which includes a quad) hits on what I’m calling “The Battle Cry”-- the commanding female voice heard several minutes into “Paul’s Dream” (All five programs utilize “The Battle Cry,” by the way.)
As with all the other men utilizing this music this season, Siao Him Fa portrays Paul Atreides (played by Timothee Chalomet in the film). His choreography includes a momentary-but-memorable drop to the ice about 1:30 into the program, with the visible pulse of his heartbeat pulling him upright again and back into “battle.” (Siao Him Fa’s coach, Benoit Richaud, is listed as the choreographer.)
Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) uses these selections:
“Eclipse” (From Dune: Part Two OST)
”Gom Jabbar” (From Dune OST)
“Trailer 1 Music” (From Dune: Part Two OST)
“Worm Army” (From Dune: Part Two OST)
Shiadorov, who became an especially formidable contender for Worlds following his win at 2025 Four Continents, skates an SP taken almost entirely from Dune: Part Two and features the “Battle Cry” both on his final jumping pass, and at the program’s conclusion. His choreography comes courtesy of Ivan Righini.
Wakaba Higuchi (JPN) uses these selections:
“Herald of the Change” (from Dune OST)
“I See You in My Dreams” (from The Dune Sketchbook)
”Worm Ride/Harvester Attack” (from Dune: Part Two OST)
Dune is known for its women warriors too, which makes it a terrific vehicle for veteran Japanese competitor Wakaba Higuchi as she returns to Worlds for the first time in three years. Jeffrey Buttle– who chose to put the “Battle Cry” into both a buildup to a jumping pass and in the final spin– is responsible for the fierce choreography, including an ending pose very similar to the starting pose assumed by Adam Siao Him Fa in his program.
And while she’s wearing white in this clip (taken from an exhibition performance), Higuchi competes in forest green– decidedly different than the earth/sand tones worn by other Dune women this season.
Niina Petrokina (EST) uses this selection:
“Paul’s Dream” (from Dune OST)
Wakaba Higuchi wasn’t the only world-class woman warrior of the 2024-25 season. Estonia’s Niina Petrokina brought her own take on Dune (with the help of choreographer Mark Pillay) to her free skate, and unlike others, hers was fully comprised of Paul’s Dream (from the Dune Sketchbook). It’s worth noting that her “Battle Cry” extends far beyond that which is used in the other programs: beginning in the middle of a spin, it continues as she strikes a series of strong, assertive poses, then even longer as she powers down the ice for her next jumping pass.
Also noteworthy: with the help of this program, Petrokina won the 2025 European Championships– the first Estonian woman ever to do so. (And in her hometown of Tallinn, too!)
The ice dance team of Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck (ESP) uses these selections:
“Resurrection” (from Dune: Part 2 OST)
“Seduction” (from Dune: Part 2 OST)
“House Atreides” (from The Dune Sketchbook)
“A Time of Quiet Between the Storms” (from Dune: Part 2 OST)
“Trailer 3 Music” (from Dune: Part 2)
“The Feeling Begins” (by Peter Gabriel, from The Last Temptation of Christ
Smart and Dieck have the distinction of being the only elite team utilizing Duneˆthis season, so they’re the only ones able to hone in on the love story of Paul (Chalomet) and Chani (played by Zendaya). Their nonstop fluidity begins with the “battle cry” and pauses only when they strike the pose seen in the thumbnail above and cruise low to the ice, holding the pose as the Battle Cry reprises.
Their collection of music cuts includes “A Time of Quiet Between the Storms,” which makes sense as it identifies as the love theme for the couple:
“I wanted Hans to write something unforgettable for Chani. A love theme, the love of Paul for Chani. I wanted something heartbreaking, and the most beautiful love theme ever written, and honestly I think he did it with the track ‘A Time of Quiet Between the Storms.’ It’s one of the most beautiful scores he’s written. I remember when I first listened to it, I was in tears.” (Denis Villeneuve, BusinessWire.com 2/15/24)
Most intriguing is the way their program builds so seamlessly not with one piece of music, but six… and that sixth one doesn’t even belong to the Dune franchise! Their character step sequence is executed to Peter Gabriel’s “The Feeling Begins,” a late-80s track that has been heard in figure skating for more than 30 years.
Smart/Dieck’s free dance is choreographed by Marie-France Dubreuil and Romain Haguenauer.
