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Compilation of articles about GIFT at Tokyo Dome, held on 26 February 2023. Info: https://gift-official.jp/index_en.html https://x.com/jp_GIFTofficial
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MIKIKO was invited to the program Asaichi (NHK), Yuzu was interviewed to talk about their collaboration for GIFT at Tokyo Dome. The program was broadcast on terrestrial TV, 2024/09/13 MACHINE TRANSLATION OF MIKIKO & YUZURU PARTS (Based on Japanese transcription posted by @ Sulogac (twitter) Yuzuru Hanyu: Good morning, MIKIKO-sensei, it's Yuzuru Hanyu. I think she’s someone who’s constantly driven by the desire to leave behind something truly remarkable for the world. It’s not often that you come across someone who can deeply understand and interpret your thoughts and images the way she does, so I trusted her completely and relied on her world-view while working together MIKIKO: First, Yuzuru wrote a story for the Tokyo Dome performance, a narrative that traces his own life and delivers it to his fans. I was then given the baton to take that and direct the performance. Ice skating is unique in that the costumes and performances are tied together, so there are costume changes after every performance. There’s always a 5-minute video that plays during those changes, and those videos are tied into the story that Yuzuru wrote. I was in charge mainly of the overall composition. It’s an incredibly huge task to skate solo in Tokyo Dome, so my challenge was figuring out how to fill the space effectively… Yuzuru Hanyu: Regarding figure skating itself, she seemed to feel uncertain, how should it be directed? How should it be approached? But her passion for creating something incredible was enormous—she poured her whole being into it. The message and theme that (MIKIKO sensei) wants to convey is firmly at the core, but she doesn’t force her ideas. While maintaining a broad perspective, she focuses on conveying her thoughts and ideas, and you can really feel the strength of her conviction and her incredible ability to materialize what she envisions. I definitely felt like what I had envisioned became something 10 times, no, 100 times better because of her. Honestly, I really wanted to see the GIFT performance live myself. I was on the ice, completely absorbed in what I had to do. But when I saw it later on video, I realized just how beautifully my performance had been presented. I felt incredibly lucky. I honestly thought, 'I wish I could have seen this from the front row.' MIKIKO: When it came to building the performance, the first thing we had to think about was the set design. The show mostly takes place on the ice rink, so we had this enormous canvas to work with, which is something you don't usually get in a regular live performance. It was an extravagant experience, but also challenging in its own way. Usually, I direct from the middle of the second floor to get a good overall view, but with an ice show, the challenge is that the performance needs to look good from 360 degrees, no matter where the audience is sitting. The choreography was our shared language. For instance, on the counts of 5, 6, 7, 8, at the '8' part, the video kicks in, so we would say things like, 'Let's aim to land in sync with that.' But without the skill to sync with the video created in advance, if you don't land at the exact timing, it will all be off. The direction requires someone with a high level of precision, and even just skating normally is incredibly difficult, so I imagine it was overwhelming for his eyes and mind to keep everything aligned. In any case, he is incredibly intelligent and has a genius-like body, so that’s part of why he could pull it off. But we couldn’t rent the Tokyo Dome for multiple days, and the time we had to rehearse with the video was extremely limited. That’s why the most important thing was how well we could prepare in advance. It was almost like we had to get everything right in one go during the actual performance. Yuzuru Hanyu: There are some parts where I adapted to MIKIKO-sensei’s choreography. I’ve always really loved ELEVENPLAY (the dance company she leads), so I had a rough idea of how she might direct things. I even kind of planned my movements thinking, 'Let’s try this kind of choreography.' Yuzuru Hanyu: When she’s thinking about something, she focuses so deeply that sometimes I wonder if she’s even hearing what’s going on around her. I got that sense a lot during our meetings. She’s usually doing something like this (demonstrates posture). I think that just comes naturally to her—she’s always deep in thought. It’s almost as if she’s drawing something out from her fingertips and head, you know? (laughs) MIKIKO: When I was creating the choreography for 'Ashura-chan,' Yuzuru-san sent me a video of himself creating the choreography on land (wearing sneakers). When I watched it as a choreographer, I thought, 'Wow, he’s really listened to the music and studied the lyrics thoroughly to make this.' It was so packed with detail that even professional dancers would find it challenging, but he made it look effortless. Doing all of that on the ice? That’s just incredible. When I first got the offer, I thought, 'What? That Yuzuru Hanyu?' It was unbelievable. He knew about ELEVENPLAY and even mentioned specific core elements from our performances, like the use of the sheer curtain effects. I was stunned, like, 'What? He knows all this?' But it made discussions much faster because he had studied a lot. Once you understand how difficult something is, you tend to hold back. But he kept saying, 'I can do anything,' and I relied on him for that. Things like his high-speed movements on the ice are impossible in dance. While those movements are ordinary for figure skating, for me, they’re unimaginable. I made sure to stay open to those surprises while keeping a fresh perspective. It was a lot of fun. It was extremely difficult—90% of the time was a struggle. Every time I thought, 'Here comes another huge challenge.' We went to Sendai with the staff for the final rehearsal at an empty rink, without any stage direction or lighting. Yuzuru skated the full performance, and at that moment, I think all the staff realized, 'Even without any effects or lights, this alone is enough!' We were all certain of that. From that point on, the team’s motivation shifted up a gear. On the day of the performance, it was tough, tough, tough. Once the show began, all we could do was pray, and that was frustrating. But we had no choice but to believe in him. Until the very last moment before the show, we were wondering, 'Is there anything we can still fix?' -
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The first-ever solo ice show at Tokyo Dome "GIFT,” a story that self-portrays Yuzuru Hanyu's life and future on the ice. The show will finally open for one night only on February 26, 2023! The livestream of the event is available for international fans here https://twitter.com/theplanethanyu/status/1628997976621187072?t=5HJQlwoQVsuJWiDLg3Ei7w&s=19 -
