SKATING TOWARD AMERICANIZATION The Evolution of Katarina Witt throughout the 1980s Wesley Lim German Studies, Australian National University Abstract: At the 1987 World Figure Skating Championship, Katarina Witt skated to instrumental music from West Side Story playing the role of Maria. But how could her performance to Broadway show tunes be in line with SED ideology? Through histoire croisée— establishing multiple intersections with dif- ferent cultures and tracing their continuing effects—this article examines how Witt’s, her coach Jutta Müller’s and choreographer Rudy Suchy’s privileged exposure to Western culture through dance, music, film, experiences abroad, and other skaters’ choreography and costuming inspired reappropriated man- ifestations through an East German lens into the packaging of Witt’s skating programs in the 1980s. Using television broadcasts, I analyze the gradual to overt Americanization of her programs as her government loosened its grips by granting her more artistic freedom. Keywords: Americanization, dance, figure skating, German Democratic Republic, Katarina Witt, socialist realism Skating in a fashion-forward, black dress with draping sleeves, Katarina Witt exuberantly performs her final footwork sequence to “America” from the musical West Side Story at the 1987 World Figure Skating Championships in Cincinnati. From the perspective of critics, fans and herself, she had just completed the best program of her career by landing all her difficult jumps and causing the audience to stand and emphatically applause. As the marks came up for artistic impression, Witt hugged her coach Jutta Müller as they both realized that she had indeed won the gold—edging out her American archrival Debi Thomas. Yet, how was it possible for the East German Witt to be skating to music whose chorus echoed “I want to live in America”? Was such a glamorous costume, choice of Western music, and choreogra- phy in line with East Germany’s Socialist Unity Party (SED) ideology? As a privileged and high-profile East German athlete, how much could she get away with? And on a larger scale then, is skating merely entertainment or can it also be read as political? German Politics and Society, Issue 131 Vol. 37, No. 2 (Summer 2019): 44–75 © Georgetown University and Berghahn Books doi:10.3167/gps.2019.370203 • ISSN 1045-0300 (Print) • ISSN 1558-5441 (Online)