[2024.05.24-2024.2024.06.02] Fantasy on Ice 2024 - Tour A

[yuzurujenn]

Interviews related to Fantasy on Ice 2024, where Yuzuru Hanyu participated in Tour A:

Makuhari (May 24th - 26th, 2024)

Aichi (May 31st - June 2nd, 2024)

 

 

Info: https://www.fantasy-on-ice.com/

Official pamphlet: https://www.hmv.co.jp/news/article/240415131/

 

Message from Yuzu:

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2024.05.24

 

Source: https://weibo.com/5437806211/OfMSSBAGU

 

[FaOI Makuhari] 2024 Show Guide · Latest Interview with Yuzuru Hanyu 

 

Spoiler

Q: FaOI will start the new year’s performance this year with the Makuhari performance as usual. Everyone is also full of expectations and interest in Yuzuru Hanyu's joint performance this time.
Hanyu: This time I will be collaborating with T.M.Revolution/Takanori Nishikawa. I have been listening to his songs since elementary school. So, when I heard that he would be performing on this show, I was really surprised and thought, "No way, how is this possible?" 

Q: Do you think his songs are listened to by people of your generation? 
Hanyu: I may be a little bit behind the times (laughs), but I am of the same generation as my sister, so I often listen to his songs. When I listen to them, I think he is really amazing. I often listen to his songs when I warm up. 

Q: In some ways, this joint performance is also a dream come true! 
Hanyu: Of course. I didn't expect that I would be invited to skate this piece, and Mr. Nishikawa's singing has always given me strength, so it was a surprise for me to be able to work with him this time. Personally, I was so happy to hear his singing live. I was very excited and looking forward to how I could work with Mr. Nishikawa while skating along with his singing, in an atmosphere full of power and tension. My skating style is very light and airy, or to be more precise, I have always pursued that sense of elegance, but I tried to make some changes for this collaboration. I wanted to create an appearance that can only be seen here. 

Q: It seems that this will be a shocking collaboration. 
Hanyu: The song for this collaboration is a song that I have been listening to since I was a child, and I can sing it without reading the lyrics. This song is very familiar to my ears and body, and that is why I wanted to perform it for the collaboration. I really want to skate along with Mr. Nishikawa's singing. In the two years of skating as a professional figure skater, the biggest feeling I have is that it is very important to change the way of my skating to match the melody of the song and the content that I want to express. I thought a lot from the beginning, and I wanted to create a figure skating program that will make everyone exclaim "Only Hanyu can do this."

 

 

[Pursuing the meaning of figure skating programs] 

Q: Working together with singers you have met for the first time to produce programs, how do you view this form of collaboration every year? 
Hanyu: I am very excited each year. I will think about how this singer sings, how much enthusiasm and energy they will give me, etc. Every singer has a different aura and energy when standing on the stage. The trusting relationship with the singer, the enthusiasm of the band itself, and my own enthusiasm and energy, etc., all come together to create my figure skating performance during the official performance, so every year at FaOI is unique. So, I am also looking forward to the collaboration every year, and I hope everyone will look forward to it too. 

 

Q: Now that you are a professional athlete, have your views and perceptions on collaboration changed? 
Hanyu: After entering the professional path, I have more things to consider, especially I often think about whether everyone is satisfied with my performance and whether they are satisfied enough. The program must have a meaning. I have been thinking about this very seriously in the two years since I turned professional and completed the first (GIFT) and second (RE_PRAY) ICE STORY. For this reason, I really want everyone to feel the meaning of the collaborative program, "This song must be sung live to be right", "Hanyu is unique to this scene, Nishikawa is unique to this scene", I want to create such a work. 

 

Q: You have collaborated with many singers for figure skating programs so far. So, what is the fun of directly interacting and co-creating works like this? 
Hanyu: I think that a piece suitable for figure skating is completely different from a piece written as a song. When collaborating, to a certain extent, we have to make songs that can be used as a figure skating piece. But from the perspective of singers, the songs they create are like their own children. Since I have also started to create my own things, I understand the feeling of not wanting to give your children a complete makeover. I definitely do not mean to offend the singers, but I just want to create exciting works as much as possible from the perspective of figure skating. My goal is to make everyone feel that this is a work that can only be enjoyed at FaOI. When working with singers at FaOI, I expressed to them how I wanted to do it from the perspective of figure skating. The most difficult one was "REAL FACE" from the year before last (2022). Mr. Suga Shikao specially sang the rap part. And this song has a second verse almost without a break between the verse (Verse) and the transitional music (Pre-Chorus). In my own words, it was very difficult to do something completely different at the moment of preparing to jump. With the joint efforts of the singers and the band, we finally made this work. Feeling everyone's enthusiasm makes me want to work harder on such collaborations. I have always wanted to use figure skating to create works that can only be created with the collaboration of Hanyu and the singers, and this is how I have always done it. 

 

Q: That's why the audience always watch your figure skating intently. 
Hanyu: However, the more expectations there are, the heavier the burden on my body. I have been fighting against the fear of not knowing when I will fail to live up to everyone's expectations. I wonder how long I can continue to produce works that will meet everyone's expectations, when will I reach my limit. The time will come one day when I am unable to meet everyone's expectations. Although I am very scared, it is precisely because of everyone's expectations that I can constantly refresh my limits, continue to expand my vision and field, and make my life more colourful. Although it is very hard, I can only express my deep gratitude to all the audience. 

 

Q: You are the chief producer of your own ice show, so FaOI is a moment when you can be a "little brother". What do you think is the fun of FaOI? 
Hanyu: Yes, first of all, I feel at ease when Keiji Tanaka is here. In addition, the time of skating with many figure skaters like this can give me a lot of excitement. FaOI is an ice show that brings together many excellent figure skaters. "There is such a figure skating", and "You can skate like this", I learned a lot from it. And everyone chats harmoniously here, it is really a very happy place.

 

Q: In addition, apart from skating, have you started anything new recently? 
Hanyu: Well, that is to buy headphones. Recently, I started buying relatively cheap headphones. I found that I didn't have the headphones I used when I was on the ice, or when I was doing choreography on the ice, what should I do? And these are consumables, so I started looking for suitable headphones in a lower price range... As a result, I became addicted to them... There are so many types of wireless Bluetooth headphones now, so I looked at them and thought, “Hey, there are also these”, “Hey, this one looks pretty good, oh, this is also great...” (laughs) Among the headphones I currently have, there are those that are customized and very expensive, but I will also try to find headphones that do not exceed 5,000 yen. Sometimes, "Oh, sorry, it's over 10,000 yen, but this headset is really great, so it's fine if it's over!" "This is a necessity and it's necessary to spend money, and I'm training very hard!", that's how I find reasons for myself (buying headphones). 

 

Q: You are really addicted to headphones. 
Hanyu: Yes. In fact, if you look around, you can buy a good pair of headphones for around 3,000 yen (laughs).

FaOI: Thank you very much for accepting our interview. I look forward to your wonderful performance at the Makuhari Ice Performance.