- "I was 8 years old when I saw Star Wars for the first time in my far away hometown. 26 years later, I am given the pleasure of being the movement coordinator for this year's @starwars @obiwankenobi. It was an incredible experience working with the cast and alongside our amazing director Deborah Chow."
- ―Olga Sokolova on Instagram
Olga Sokolova is a movement coordinator and Darth Vader movement specialist who helped bring Vader to life in the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi television series. She provided assistance to Hayden Christensen and Dmitrious Bistrevsky, two of the actors who played Vader in the series.
Biography
Darth Vader was played by stunt doubles Tom O'Connell (left) and Dmitrious Bistrevsky (right), and their movement coordinator was Olga Sokolova
Olga Sokolova was born in 1988 and she was eight years old when she first saw Star Wars in her hometown.[1] She studied choreography in Switzerland, Latin America, and the United States. After exploring theater and working with international artists, she choreographed several movement projects. Following experimentaion in movement, Sokolova aligned with Lucasfilm and Disney, and she became the movement coordinator for the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.[2] In the series, Darth Vader was played by Hayden Christensen, Dmitrious Bistrevsky, and Tom O'Connell.[3] Sokolova worked as a choreographer and Vader movement specialist, and she made sure that Christensen moved and walked correctly in the suit. This was done because the actor wanted to stay true to how Vader moves and how he is perceived by fans.[4] Bistrevsky wore the suit during full body shots with the helmet on. Sokolova also worked as Bistrevsky's movement coach and consultant, and she gave him notes in real time via a secret hand language.[3] Sokolova received help from Steph Peters. She enjoyed working with the cast and director Deborah Chow. Sokolova was thankful for Bistrevsky, Christensen, and O'Connell's dedication, skills, and devotion to their roles.[1]
Chow trusted Sokolova with the "Jedi Tombs" scene in the fourth episode of the series, and she said it was her favorite scene to work on. During long days of filming, Ewan McGregor,[5] the actor who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the series,[6] asked Sokolova for a good warm-up, so she had him do a technical contemporary warm-up. Sokolova was amazed by McGregor's physical abilities after seeing him smoothly go through advanced moves.[5]
The electronics company LG Display collaborated with Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic to create a Darth Vader billboard using OLED. Sokolova helped guide Mark, the motion capture performer, to make sure that Vader moves correctly and shows all of his nuances. The billboard is located at Times Square in New York City.[7]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Series | Contribution(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | "Part I" | Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi | Movement Coordinator[8] |
| 2022 | "Part II" | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Movement Coordinator[9] |
| 2022 | "Part III" | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Movement Coordinator[10] |
| 2022 | "Part IV" | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Movement Coordinator[6] |
| 2022 | "Part V" | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Movement Coordinator[11] |
| 2022 | "Part VI" | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Movement Coordinator[12] |
Sources
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part I"- Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part II"
- Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part III"
- Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part IV"
- Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part V"
- Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part VI"
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
Olga Sokolova (@olgamovement) on Instagram (post on June 7, 2022): "I was 8 years old when I saw Star Wars for the first time in my far away hometown. 26 years later, I am given the pleasure of being the movement coordinator for this year's @starwars @obiwankenobi It was an incredible experience working with the cast and alongside our amazing director Deborah Chow. Thanks to @demeet2k @tommyohsee and Hayden Christensen for your unstoppable dedication, amazing skills and devotion to your role 🙏🏼 Thank you @stephhhhpeters for always being there with your help🙏🏼#starwars #obiwankenobi #vader" (backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 (Code Dance @midlgroundauthor=Art Code Dance) on Instagram (post on September 2, 2022): "So honored to have Olga Sokolova a contemporary dance artist with roots in classical ballet and dance aesthetics. Choreography studies brought Olga to Europe ( international school of dance "Cinecox" Switzerland), Latin America and later to the United States (American musical and dramatic academy, Los Angeles). After exploring the world of theater and collaborating with international artists, she choreographed several immersive movement projects involving sound and visual effects, contributing to the merging of technology and dance. In 2015, further studies brought Olga's attention to Shaolin and learning meditative forms of movement such as Qigong and Tai Chi, which she implemented into her dance techniques. Continuous experimentation with movement aligned her with Lucas Film and Disney, to become the movement coordinator for the newest Star Wars "Obi-Wan Kenobi"." (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dmitrious Bistrevsky (@demeet2k) on Instagram (post): "We danced together to create the performance alongside my movement coach/consultant Olga Sokolova. Her and I have a secret hand language so she would be giving me notes in real time as well. It was a great big dance, it shouldn't have worked, but it worked out beautifully. (...) Vader is played by three people, we all worked together to create the best Darth Vader in cinematic history. It's me, it's Hayden , It's Tom. We are a symbiosis. We all contributed our strengths to create the best representation of the character. (...) Hayden and I both act in the Darth Vader scenes, we bring the character and the emotions (and the pain, suffering, anger) I'm 6'7 so when you see a full body shot it looks better having an actor, vs a CGI creation. Tom specializes in the fighting. The fights are Tom. Full body with Helmet On is me, Hayden carries the heaviest burden of all, the pain and betrayal of his best friend and once mentor. (...) Hayden wore the suit, I wore the suit, Tom wore the suit. We all worked together to create the best character we possibly can. We are a team." (backup link)
- ↑ Hayden Christensen says his Obi-Wan Kenobi character had a 'Vader movement specialist' by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (May 24, 2022) (backup link archived on May 24, 2022)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Olga Sokolova (@olgamovement) on Instagram (post on June 9, 2022): ""Jedi Tombs" scene from @obiwankenobi episode 4 was one of my favorite to work on, thanks to director Deborah Chow for trusting me this special piece✨ During long days of filming Ewan asked me to give him a good warmup and I thought technical contemporary warmup would be the best ✨ I was so amazed by Ewan's physical abilities after seeing him smoothly go through advanced technical moves, what a master" (backup link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part IV"
- ↑ How Lucasfilm and ILM Brought Darth Vader to Times Square | OLED X Obi-Wan Kenobi on the OLED SPACE by LG Display YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part I"
- ↑ Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part II"
- ↑ Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part III"
- ↑ Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part V"
- ↑ Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi — "Part VI"
External links
- Olga Sokolova at the Internet Movie Database
- Olga Sokolova (@olgamovement) on Instagram (backup link)
