yuzurujenn Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Info: https://www.kazi.co.jp/icejewels/backnumber/vol20/vo20.html https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4807299506 Price: 1,870 yen (tax included) Release date: June 17, 2025 A4 size, 80 pages Contents: 02｜Feature The very best of Yuzuru Hanyu 42｜Special Interview - The never-ending challenge to become the ideal Yuzuru Hanyu Yuzuru Hanyu, a professional skater for the 2024-25 season, spoke exclusively to our magazine about his many recent activities, including the third ICE STORY tour, "Echoes of Life," his collaboration with Mansai Nomura at "notte stellata," which is held every March, and his appearance in Kenshi Yonezu's music video. He also shared his thoughts on his work and how he established his own jumps based on the roots of his jumps. 52 | Yuzuru Hanyu on-ice practice report - "If you can do a quadruple axel, you can do more quadruples." She always sets her own goals and shows a sincere attitude towards skating with the aim of reaching them during her on-ice and land practice. After the training, she carefully and clearly explained the reasons and objectives for each training session. Yuzuru Hanyu on-ice practice report 54｜SPECIAL INTERVIEW - Mansai Nomura Mansai Nomura and Yuzuru Hanyu collaborate on the concept of rebirth Special Interview: Mansai Nomura 68｜Looking back at the covers of 19 Ice Jewels books "Tanaka-san, which cover is your favorite?" Top 5 popularity poll announced! This magazine was first published in October 2015, and thanks to everyone's support, we are now in our 20th issue. From the numerous cover photos that only photographer Tanaka could have taken, he personally selected his top 5 and gave us a detailed explanation. Looking back at the covers of the 19 Ice Jewels books Other articles 62 YUZURU HANYU ICE STORY 3rd "Echoes of Life" TOUR Yuzuru Hanyu, further evolution and philosophy 65 Noto Peninsula Reconstruction Support Charity Performance "Challenge Challenge" 66 Special Report Legacy on Ice -Memorial ice show dedicated to the bereaved families 80 Back Issue Info & Publication Details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuzurujenn Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 *Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist.* JP>EN Source: Ice Jewels vol. 20, pg 42-51 Special Interview - The Never-Ending Challenge Towards the Ideal Yuzuru Hanyu From appearing in the music video for Kenshi Yonezu’s “BOW AND ARROW” (opening theme for the TV anime Medalist), to performing in ICE STORY 3rd: Echoes of Life, and collaborating with Mansai Nomura in notte stellata—we asked him to reflect on these recent representative works. He spoke about how he approaches his performances: his mindset, philosophies, artistic principles, and what he’s currently striving for as a professional figure skater. He also offered technical commentary on his own skating. Interview by: Hitomi Hasegawa Photography: N. Tanaka Spoiler On “BOW AND ARROW” —Please tell us a bit about “BOW AND ARROW.” First of all, the first sit twizzle is incredibly fast. Yeah (laughs). Honestly, I want to do the sit twizzle in “MEGALOVANIA” at that level of speed too. When performing MEGALOVANIA on its own, I do it with that kind of speed, but when doing the full ICE STORY program, I’m completely exhausted, so it’s just not possible (wry smile). For the sit twizzle in “BOW AND ARROW”, I actually took inspiration from the MEGALOVANIA sit twizzle and thought, “Let’s make a bigger circle, go even faster,” as I worked it out. —Pulling off that kind of sit twizzle so early in the program really makes an impact. I feel like the sit twizzle has become something of a signature move for me. Also, even though I didn’t do it in BOW AND ARROW, the pancake position twizzle (where the free leg wraps around the skating leg in a sit-forward position, forming a pancake-like shape) also seems to be becoming one of my signature elements. So I’d like to keep using them while thinking up different variations going forward. —For the triple Axel, you jump it straight out of a counter without any setup, and then go directly into a twizzle. It looks extremely difficult. How hard is it, really? It’s hard to see clearly in the footage, but I go into it from a hop jump, then immediately do a counter and jump the triple Axel. I’ve gotten pretty used to jumping an Axel straight from a counter, but this time, instead of setting the blade or my body straight before the counter, I kept the motion continuous from the hop jump, went into the curve, and jumped off that same curve. That was what made it really difficult for me. Since the trajectory was different from usual, I had to slightly adjust how I shaped the curve, as well as change how I took off and the speed of the rotation. After landing the Axel, I go into a twizzle, but in that scene in BOW AND ARROW, there’s a pause in the music once, and then it goes into a “ta-ra-ra-ra-ra” rhythm. Normally, I enter the twizzle right from the back outside edge after landing the Axel, but in BOW AND ARROW, because of that pause in the music, I do a three-turn from the back outside edge and then enter a forward inside twizzle. That kind of subtle change was also a new experiment for me. Also, I really wanted to nail the timing perfectly with the music, but if I jumped the Axel from the counter at my usual timing, I wouldn’t have made it in time for the beat. Because the fence was extremely close, I jumped the triple Axel very quickly and compactly. I kept the height low, relied solely on rotation speed to complete three and a half rotations, and adjusted the airtime to create a solid feel. —With any jump, can you control it to make it the way you want? When practicing basics like loops and flips, I quite often change the way I jump. For example, whether it’s a loop aimed at quickly getting into the axis or one focused on jumping high, or whether it’s a flip where I want to focus on maintaining a strong inside edge, or one where I want to cover more distance to land a quad, the goals are different, so the way I use my arms changes too. It’s not so much that I started practicing to match the music, but rather that applying the basic training methods I developed myself has led to changing the quality of my jumps to fit the music. —When did you start adjusting the quality of your jumps to match the music like that? Honestly, my jumps just naturally end up matching the music. For example, while the entry is a bit different, the airtime of the quadruple loop in Hope & Legacy and the quadruple loop in Let’s Go Crazy is completely different. That’s not because one is a free skate and the other is a short program, but because the feel of the music and the BPM (beats per minute, a measure of tempo) are different. In my case, my body instinctively adjusts to that. Because of this, there are songs that just don’t fit, and there are times when, with a particular program and song, I can match the BPM perfectly. So I guess the truth is, I’ve always jumped in a way that naturally fits the music. —That’s amazing. It’s not really amazing. It’s not that I "can" do it, but just that it “happens naturally.” That’s why, depending on the season, there are programs where the music fits really well and the jumps are easy to land, and others where they just don’t work out at all. —Which program was the easiest to jump...? All the jumps in ‘Ten to Chi to’ are very easy to jump. ‘SEIMEI’ is also easy to jump, but compared to ‘SEIMEI,’ ‘Ten to Chi to’ fits best. Or rather, by the time I was doing ‘Ten to Chi to,’ I had already become aware of this, and it was also like the culmination of the first phase of my skating career. I practiced with all kinds of different music, thinking, 'Maybe this one works,' or 'Maybe that one works,' and even if the timing didn’t perfectly match the music, I’d try skating parts of my free program like the beginning of Hope & Legacy while somewhat syncing with the music. In doing so, I picked out songs like, “This one is really easy to jump to,” or “This one fits my breathing really well,” or “This one makes it easy to channel my emotions toward a focused zone,” and the one that fit best was “Ten to Chi to,” so even now it’s really easy to jump to that one. —When you say something “fits,” are you referring to the tempo of the music or the melody itself? Tempo is definitely a factor too. I’m someone who naturally tends to follow the rhythm closely. Classical music’s BPM fluctuates quite a bit. Especially pieces by Shinya Kiyozuka or piano solos, the fluctuation is large. Zimmermann’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor also fluctuates a lot. Sometimes that fluctuation feels just right, sometimes it throws me off, and it really depends on things like how I’m feeling physically, whether I’ve developed a kind of trauma toward that piece, or whether I’ve built up enough confidence to handle it. It varies a lot. Because classical music fluctuates a lot, there are times when it fits perfectly, and times when it becomes really difficult. And sometimes I end up being the one fluctuating emotionally. On the other hand, with pop music, for example, the tempo basically doesn’t change much and keeps a steady rhythm, so things that are relatively easy to jump to tend to stay that way. But when a song suddenly changes tempo in the middle, it throws me off again. —Going back to what we were talking about earlier, why did you add a hop jump before the counter in 'BOW AND ARROW'? Simply because I wanted to make it difficult (laughs). Also, when expressing that piece, the music in that scene didn’t give me any image of having a run-up at all. What first came to mind was this kind of highlight-reel image—just jump after jump, one after another, with no real run-up. So I started thinking about how to eliminate the sense of a run-up, how to build up to each jump in a way that feels like a continuous flow of highlights. That led me to try out all sorts of different approaches. BOW AND ARROW was really difficult. But it was precisely because of that song that I was able to pack so much into the program, and take on so many challenges. I did end up putting a lot of strain on my body, but thanks to that song, I once again realized, ‘Technique is really important,’ and it gave me the chance to think, ‘I can still do more.’ That said, I don’t really want to do a short program like that in competition (laughs). —It would be amazing if you did that in competition, though. Yeah. I wouldn’t want to, but working on it brought back that strong sense of determination to take on a challenge like that. It was fun. —Why did you think, “Technique is really important”? I think that difficult jumps each have their own kind of story. Right now, I’m writing my own stories, and with ICE STORY, I want people to enjoy thinking about the program’s place within the overall story, and how the meaning of the program changes when it becomes part of that story. But it’s not just that. I also came to realize that each individual element within a program has its own story as well. First, there’s the original work and anime called Medalist, and the characters each have their own feelings and backgrounds behind the challenges and techniques they take on. —Yes. That alone gives meaning to each jump or spin, so by performing those elements, a story or expression naturally emerges. On top of that, I have my own journey as a competitive skater—the path I took to master the quad Lutz, or the triple Axel from a counter entry, or the quad Salchow. Each of those has its own story. That’s what gives added meaning to my technique. Through ICE STORY, I’ve always tried to assign meaning to my programs. As part of that expression, I’ve consciously chosen elements: “This isn’t the place for a toe jump,” or “This should be a loop,” or “Here, it has to be a Salchow.” And I realized, “Each individual element holds as much meaning as the program itself.” I also realized that the path I’ve fought through adds additional value as a form of expression. That said, doing a quad loop or a quad Lutz in ICE STORY would be impossible (bitter laugh), but when I’m working on something for YouTube or doing a one-off full program, I feel like I definitely need to keep doing those kinds of things. —The meaning and depth keep growing. That’s right. As for ICE STORY, in Echoes of Life, there’s a character called Nova, and also a character who’s a guide, so if I myself stand out too much, then that’s not quite right either. But who knows? Maybe I’ll attempt a quad Lutz, or come up with a new Axel entry that’s different from a counter. If showing different variations of elements leaves some kind of impression in the minds of the people supporting me, then I think I really need to choreograph and build programs with those kinds of meanings and images in mind. —Jumping back a bit, when was the last time you performed a quad Lutz? Probably about five years ago. I haven’t done one since the 2020 Four Continents Championships. —Not even in practice? I haven’t even practiced it. There was a time when I considered including a quadruple Lutz in “Ten to Chi to,” but I felt the quadruple Axel was more important. I didn’t think I’d be able to do both the quad Lutz and the quad Axel at the same time, so ever since I returned to Japan in 2020, I’ve been training with a focus on the quad loop and quad Axel. So it got to the point where I was like, “Wait, what even is a Lutz again?” (laughs) —Even though you hadn’t done it in five years, you decided to include a quadruple Lutz in “BOW AND ARROW”... Since the character Jun Yodaka in Medalist easily lands a quad Lutz in the story, I thought I’d include one too. —How much practice did it take for you to land the quad Lutz again after five years? It was about 4 or 5 days from the start of practice to the actual shoot. —You got it back in just 4 or 5 days after 5 years?! Well, at first I couldn’t even rotate fully. Same with the quad Axel, it’s hard to get the feeling of the rotation back at first. I kept falling under-rotated. As expected, the muscles for the quad Lutz had completely gone dormant (laughs). —Which muscles are used for the quad Lutz? Probably my shin? Since I stopped doing the quad Lutz, I no longer use that strong toe-pick action with my right foot. With a triple Lutz, if you push off too hard, it can actually mess up the jump, so you have to kind of softly and smoothly pick the toe. But when it comes to the quad Lutz, at least in my case, I really rely on the power of that right toe pick to launch the jump, and that power has weakened quite a bit now. Also, things like how to rotate your body, or how to maintain the outside edge, or rather how to glide smoothly, those were all much harder than I had expected at first. —You really lean hard onto the outside edge of your left foot. It looks so satisfying. Well, but I’m not deliberately trying to lean like that. Honestly, when I look at skaters who have a stable quad Lutz, I think, “Maybe I don’t need to lean that much” (laughs). No matter how hard I try, it still ends up being that kind of Lutz, but maybe I could be a little more restrained... —Restrained (laughs)? I think the Lutz would definitely be more stable if I held back a bit and made the (left foot) edge closer to flat, so that the rotation would kick in more quickly. I practiced that a lot in 2019. In order to learn a jump that applies rotation more quickly, a jump that is more compact, faster, and more energy-efficient, I tried placing the toe pick more toward the inside and thoroughly changed things starting from the double Lutz for about a month and a half, but I couldn’t do it with the quadruple Lutz. I think it’s basically the result of everything I’ve been taught since I was a kid, and I also feel it might have something to do with the way my body is built. So I just accept that this deep outside edge is part of who I am, and there’s nothing I can do about it (laughs). —But that deep lean looks really beautiful. I do think it looks good. I mean, even when I watch it, it does feel good (laughs), but it’s not energy-efficient. It uses a lot of strength. And it takes quite a while to get into the axis. I think most skaters use more strength from their left leg when they jump, and they’ve already formed their axis before takeoff, their bodies are rotating more and they’re jumping while staying on the axis. But in my case, I kind of launch with my left foot lifted off the axis once, and then my right side chases after it to reestablish the axis once more. It's like I'm playing tag with myself when I do a Lutz. So, it’s really inefficient. —But that kind of Lutz is beautiful in its own way. Is that considered outdated now? Skaters in the past used to do a lot of Lutzes like that. But Kolyada (Mikhail Kolyada) has a very deep lean and does it really well. Boyang (Jin Boyang) rotates a bit more, though. It’s just that, when it came to scoring points or winning, I thought I had to change it, so I tried to adjust. But as a result, now I feel like, “Well, this is just my Lutz,” with a mix of resignation and pride. This time, since I hadn’t even been doing triple Lutzes to prepare for the quad Lutz, it was really tough at first. —What do you mean by “triple Lutz for the quad Lutz”? Going back to what I was saying earlier, there’s a way to jump to gain height, and there’s also a way to do the triple Lutz that helps establish the axis early in preparation for the quad Lutz, or in other words, to find the point where centrifugal force is easier to generate. But I hadn’t been doing those things. Like in today’s practice, I did a bit of quad Axel during the warm-up, and as expected, if I’m in a physical condition where I can practice the quad Axel, or if I can land the quad Lutz, or like earlier when I landed a clean quad loop, then the success rate of difficult jumps goes up, and the look of the jumps becomes totally different. Maybe, like the Axel in "BOW AND ARROW," I could develop a different way of jumping even with the quad, one that I could actually use in performance. So, I want to keep jumping for strength training as well. About Echoes of Life —In the Chiba performance of Echoes of Life, the rink was quite a bit smaller, so the trajectory of Ballade No. 1 itself was changed. How difficult is it to change the trajectory? First of all, it changes your breathing patterns. Like, when you do turns, you often unconsciously hold your breath. But if the position of the turn changes, you might end up holding your breath at places where you usually inhale and exhale naturally. That unconscious change in breathing rhythm can either cause you to lose your power or, conversely, help you find your axis more easily. Everyone has their own preferences that they've more or less settled on in their competitive programs, like “This jump feels better,” or “This entry works best,” right? That’s because they don’t want to change the rhythm of their breathing too much from the previous season. Changing it can mess with your timing, breath control, and focus, so keeping those elements as consistent as possible is the usual strategy. Also, changing the trajectory affects the muscle fatigue as well. Whether you push with your right foot or left foot makes a difference. For example, when doing a forward crossover to the left, I use the inner big toe side of my right foot. But before the second-half quad toe loop + triple toe loop in Ballade No.1, it becomes a backward crossover to the right. In that case, I end up using the big toe side of my left foot a lot more. And really, just the difference between forward and backward changes the way I use my feet entirely. When that happens, the degree of fatigue changes, and when I jump, I sometimes feel like, 'Huh? I'm tired in this part?' So trying to make changes in less than a month before the Chiba show was really tough. —So, is it just a matter of doing it over and over until your body remembers? I did a lot of practice to get my body used to it. I practiced in Sendai while imagining the size of the rink, but regular rinks are bright, right? Venues, though, are dark. I practiced while imagining that too, thinking things like, “Will this really be okay here?” But no matter how hard I’ve worked in practice, when it comes to the actual performance, my line of sight definitely changes. I do think I’ve done everything I can, but during ICE STORY, I always had this lingering sense of unease. —What do you mean by “line of sight changes”? The audience seating differs depending on the venue, and the set also changes with each ICE STORY. On top of that, the level of darkness varies from venue to venue. So sometimes the projection appears a bit stronger, and in other cases, there are spots where you can’t place the projection at all. In those cases, they decide to dim the lighting a little so the projection can be seen better, which makes it even darker. Also, the color of the surroundings also affects perception. At the Chiba venue in particular, the short side directly in front of me was completely covered by a black curtain, so I couldn’t focus visually. It felt like I was constantly jumping into a void. Basically, not being able to get a sense of distance is what makes it really difficult. —So it’s really about spatial awareness. Exactly. And in Echoes of Life, there was also a roll screen hanging above, so I was constantly skating while feeling this sense of pressure from above. That’s something I can’t really do anything about in practice, so I just told myself I had to go to the actual venue, jump over and over, and get used to it. I did my best with that mindset. —In Echoes of Life, right before “Ballade No.1,” during the 3-minute warm-up, you did a quad toe + single Euler + triple Salchow combo, even though that’s not part of the program. You said that this was because “I’ve been using the quad toe + single Euler + triple Salchow as an indicator for whether I can jump the quad Salchow,” but is it not enough to just do a solo quad Salchow? In my case, the quad Salchow is a jump that’s easily affected by how the edge glides on the ice. So if I try to do a quad Salchow right after getting on the ice, it tends to be pretty unstable. Once I’ve done a lot of skating practice and I feel like, 'Okay, I can definitely get on this edge,' then I almost never miss it. But if I go at it too aggressively, I end up putting weird pressure on it, which messes with the glide, or I lose my sense of timing. It also varies a lot depending on the condition of the ice. On the other hand, toe jumps have a clear takeoff point and provide a moment of stability, so as long as my body is moving properly, I can usually land the quad. I want to first get a feel for the quad rotation, and then, with that sense in my body, add in the Salchow feeling. Once my brain registers, 'Okay, I just did a quad,' and then I follow that with a ‘half + triple Salchow’—wait, I always say 'half' (laughs)—I mean, a single Euler + triple Salchow, then I can store the feeling of both the quad and the Salchow together in my memory. So even if, like this time, I couldn’t actually do a quad Salchow during that three-minute warm-up in the dark, I’d already gotten the feel of a quad in my body, and the takeoff feel for the Salchow too, so I tell myself it’s fine. I planned that warm-up with all of that in mind. About notte stellata —How did you go about creating the performance of SEIMEI for notte stellata? To be honest, I thought there was no way I could run through the whole thing. There were protruding spaces for Mansai-san (Nomura) to perform on, so the area was narrower than a standard rink. When I got to the venue, I had to drastically alter my skating paths. There were a lot of parts that didn’t follow the usual “SEIMEI” trajectory at all. Anyway, since I couldn’t perform it all the way through, I was really conscious of how I could complement the worldview of "SEIMEI" that people have come to know, and how much of that same intensity I could bring to the parts I skated, just like when I perform the full version in competition. And this time, I wasn’t playing Abe no Seimei but a shikigami (his summoned spirit). So I really focused on expressing things like mystical energy and the power of spells. —In your sit spin, it looked like you were making the sign of the cross with your arms. I started doing that during the “SEIMEI” encore in RE_PRAY, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I’m actually drawing a pentagram. —Drawing a pentagram! Yes. I 'm doing “Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen.” (臨兵闘者皆陣裂在前) It’s kind of a spell, meant to ward off negative energy in that space. —What did you pay particular attention to in " Boléro"? There really hadn’t been a program that felt as much like a sacred ritual as that one. Of course, when it comes to the program “Requiem for Heaven and Earth Requiem,” I’ve always skated it with the image of offering up my soul, surrendering myself to the spirits that descend upon me in that moment, or letting them seep into me. I try to take the sorrow or the painful memories of others and embody them with my whole being. So to me, “Requiem for Heaven and Earth Requiem” doesn’t really fit into the normal category of a figure skating program. But I had never done a program that felt so much like a sacred ritual or ceremonial rite as Boléro. It really made me feel, once again, that I want to keep skating while cherishing things like my pride as a Japanese person, or maybe you could call it my DNA. It gave me a lot of insight and I learned so much from it. But more than that, the program itself felt so complete that, well, this may sound strange coming from me, but I truly felt that it’s something I want to see live on for a long, long time. Maybe I felt that way even more strongly because I had Mansai Nomura right there in front of me. I got to see him from the closest vantage point, and I felt like I was being allowed to be part of something incredible. It was an experience on a completely different level from something like ICE STORY, and I really hope it’s something that remains for a long, long time. —How was the choreography for “Boléro” created? The choreography was mostly done by Shae (Shae-Lynn Bourne). She had a lot of ideas, like, “I want to do it this way.” I did have some choreography of my own too, but when I showed up to rehearsal, it was like, “Yuzu, you don’t have to do that part.” I was given a lot of freedom. (laughs) She had sent me videos showing the general idea, but when I tried doing that in rehearsal, it was like, “Ah, no, not that, not that,” and then, “But Yuzu, you can do that too,” so I was like, “Which is it?” (laughs). But since the other skaters were portraying human lives and daily existence, I wanted to portray something different, something contrasting, like a shadowy presence interacting between Mansai-san, the god, and the human world (represented by the five skaters). So in that sense, I had quite a bit of freedom. I performed with the image of being a divine messenger descending from Takamagahara (the heavenly realm in Japanese mythology). —So did you choreograph your parts yourself? Yes. I thought otherwise it wouldn’t balance well with Mansai-san. Shae had seen Mansai Boléro, the original version. But for notte stellata, the “Boléro” was shortened, so Mansai-san’s choreography was also adapted. I used the edited version as reference and was given freedom, so I worked together with Mansai-san, like “I want to do it this way here,” or “Let’s make sure we don’t miss this part.” Also, there were times when I thought, “I should try to match this part on my end,” or “On the contrary, I want Mansai-san to match me here.” We didn’t always have to say things out loud either; sometimes we just understood each other naturally. There were many movements we created together through that kind of mutual understanding. —At the end of “Boléro” in notte stellata, the lighting turns orange. Orange panels also appeared at the end of Echoes of Life. According to Mansai-san, the jump at the end of “Boléro” symbolizes dawn and rebirth, so I wondered if it might have a similar worldview to what you created in Echoes of Life. What was it actually like for you? Rebirth, huh? That's true! I didn’t consciously see Boléro as being linked with Echoes of Life, though maybe some of it unintentionally came through. Echoes of Life wasn’t “me,” it was Nova. Of course, I learned a lot from it. My emotions went through a lot of shifts, my emotional range broadened, and I think I gained more technical ability too. Maybe some of that ended up seeping through after all. It’s funny, isn’t it? Even though I’m the one writing the story. That's right, it's rebirth. Studying Is Really Important —Earlier, you were doing off-ice training in the studio, including some pretty intense movements like crawling on the floor and such. Did you come up with those exercises yourself? Basically, I come up with all my own training menus. However, I’m not inventing the exercises myself; rather, I study and incorporate existing methods. I keep my antenna up all the time, constantly thinking about what I need as I practice. So honestly, what I’m doing now is completely different from what I was doing last year. Studying is really important, especially because I’m my own coach now. There are plenty of times when I don’t know what to do, like when I suddenly can’t land a jump anymore. Relying on others would make things a lot easier, but in my case, I can’t really rely on anyone. When it comes to skating, I’ve ended up being the one with the keenest sense of my own body. Also, after coming back to Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, I studied so many different theories and took in so much information that sometimes the theories of the people around me, or even the coaches I’ve had up until now, just don’t quite fit anymore. So when that happens, I study the theories of professionals from other sports or read academic papers. I try to figure out what I might be needing at that moment and keep updating my approach. Also, I watch skaters who are really good at jumping, identify common factors with my own technique, and by examining the elements present when my jumps were successful, I gradually refine and establish my own jumping style. —Who is someone who's really good at jumping? Oh no, I don’t want to say! (laughs) Well, for example, I watch people like Timothy Goebel and Chengjiang Li. —What kinds of things do you look at? Chenjiang’s backward-entry toe loop was, in a way, a forerunner of the kind of quick-rotating jumps we now see in many modern Russian skaters and in younger athletes whose bodies are not yet fully developed. Also, the way Timothy creates the axis for his toe loop and Salchow is actually the same as Javier Fernández. Javi’s style is more of a long-distance trajectory, while Timothy tends to pop straight up and land cleanly, so their jump shapes differ slightly, but the way they create their axis is almost identical. I often study things like what makes a skater’s technique effective and how they construct their jumps. I tend to look more at skaters from a slightly earlier era. —Is there a particular reason why you tend to focus more on skaters from a slightly earlier period? They’re the people I admired, the ones I watched the most. In a way, that’s my starting point. They’re the people from the time when I was being taught how to jump, so they look cool to me, and their jumps are my ideal form. For example, Alexei Yagudin’s triple Axel isn’t really my style, but I still want that solid landing and the height he gets. On the other hand, I’d love to imitate Evgeni Plushenko’s massive quad-triple and the strength of his axis. —Did you just say you want to imitate them? Yes, I want to. But of course, each jump is rooted in the skater’s individual body, so I can’t actually do them the same way. Still, because I want my jumps to be unique like theirs, I study what exactly it is they’re doing that allows them to jump the way they do, and then I practice while reassessing my body conditions. I’m sounding like a coach, right? (laughs) —You really sound like a coach. Timothy Goebel and Javier Fernández seem completely different in body type, but their jumps are similar? Both of them have a very low center of gravity. Timothy’s footwork is incredibly fast. Both he and Javi do their quadruple salchows from a back three turn, using the centrifugal force from that curve and take off as-is. Javi does the same with his toe loop. That’s why he doesn’t jump his toe loop from the long side of the rink but takes off along the vertical line on the short side instead. He uses the same trajectory as his Salchow. —Javi’s toe loop and Salchow look pretty similar, don’t they? Yeah, totally. Sometimes even I can't tell which one it was. —Even you can't tell? That’s how it is, he’s using the same method for both his toe loop and Salchow. But in my case, I was thoroughly taught the specific characteristics of each jump, so I can’t jump the toe loop and Salchow in the same way. It actually makes it harder for me. So, I’ll do things like, “Today I’ll do the Salchow like Timothy and the toe loop like Plushenko” (laughs). —Timothy's American and Javi's Spanish, so their backgrounds are different, but they’re still similar. I think Javi probably learned it from Brian (Orser). Javi was already landing quads before he went to the Cricket Club, but they were a bit rough, not that stable. Once he got to Cricket, they started to stabilize. Under Brian, he learned the Canadian skating style that keeps a low, steady center of gravity. That’s what made his jumps more North American in nature. In my case, my coach Tsuzuki Shoichiro taught me the Russian-style jump technique, so I’m kind of a hybrid. It’s a mix of Russian style, North American style, and Japanese, so it’s honestly kind of all over the place (laughs). That’s probably my unique style. —So both American and Canadian skating are considered the same "North American" style? Yeah, I’d say so. Both Canada and the U.S. tend to be compact. It seems like they prioritize creating a tight axis above all. In contrast, the Russian technique emphasizes sweeping body momentum and extended movement to generate rotation —So, it’s the momentum-driven rotation style. Right. That difference stems from the fundamental quality of their skating. Also, the styles of expression are quite different. European and Russian skaters tend to use their whole bodies to emote, while North American skaters tend to maintain a stable center of gravity, keep their upper bodies still, and express themselves through rhythm. They’re really good at that kind of expression. There’s also a clear difference between whether something relies more on technique or power. But since I can do both, the range of what I can express in my programs has expanded a lot, and I want to use that versatility as one of my strengths. Because I’ve studied under many different coaches, my roots are really diverse. —Changing the subject, how many years have you been using your current skates? I honestly don’t even know how many years it’s been at this point. (laughs) —Back around the time of Prologue, you said you had been wearing the right boot for three years and the left for two. So does that mean it’s been about three more years on top of that? Yeah, that sounds about right. It’s kind of like when you’ve had too many birthdays and start forgetting how old you are, I’m starting to lose track of how many years I’ve been using them (laughs). I’ve been using the same pair the whole time. —Is it because you take good care of them that they haven’t worn out? I do think they’re getting worn out. So I’ve been thinking I really should change them, but they’re what you’d call a Cinderella fit. The moment I put them on, I thought, ‘Ah, this is the one!’ It was kind of like that feeling you get when choosing music, and you go, ‘This is it!’ Since the boots are handmade, the shape is different every time, and maybe this pair was slightly warped to begin with, but I think my foot just ended up fitting perfectly into that distortion. I kept thinking I should switch them out for three or four years, not recently, but back around the time of the Beijing Olympics season, but nothing felt right. So, I’ve stuck with the same ones ever since. I think I’ve been wearing the right boot one year longer than the left. —So that means you’ve been wearing the right boot for about six years and the left for about five. It would be great if you could wear them forever. These boots have leather on the outside and plastic inside. Sometimes I wish they’d develop boots made with titanium or carbon fibre. It’d be amazing if skating boots could evolve like that. You know how in track and field they have shoes with springs? If something like that were developed, jumping might become easier, and maybe we could regularly do quintuple jumps (laughs)!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuzurujenn Posted June 25 Author Share Posted June 25 *Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist.* JP>EN Source: Ice Jewels vol. 20, pg 52 Yuzuru Hanyu On-Ice Practice Report- "If I can land the quadruple Axel, I can land the other quads more too." On the day of the interview featured in this issue (p.42–p.51), I had the rare opportunity to observe professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu’s on-ice practice. On that day, he began with about 50 minutes of on-ice training, followed by roughly 30 minutes of off-ice training, then returned to the rink to do a full run-through of “Ten to Chi to,” and wrapped up his practice. Afterwards, he carefully explained each segment of his training, including the reasons and objectives behind them. His sincere attitude toward skating, always setting his own goals and working toward them, was clearly visible throughout the practice. Report: Hitomi Hasegawa Photography: N. Tanaka Spoiler Starting with pivots to improve compatibility with the ice, then moving into jump practice On this day, Hanyu’s on-ice practice began with pivots, gliding in a spiral-like motion inward while drawing large circles on the ice. He continued switching feet and directions, backward on the right outside edge, then backward on the left outside edge, then forward on the right outside edge, and so on. He said he repeated these pivots partly because his blades had just been sharpened and he wanted to check how the edges felt, but also because: "The sweet spot of the edge can vary slightly from day to day, and depending on how the ice feels that day, there are spots that are easier to skate on. So I stimulate those spots first and imprint them in my head. That way, even when I jump without thinking, my body is more likely to naturally find the right position. That’s what I’m training for." "Ideally, I want to do this every time. (Though I can’t always do it), so sometimes I use ‘Itsu Yume (Itsuka Owaru Yume)’ instead. ‘Itsu Yume’ was choreographed by incorporating various elements from Tracy (Wilson)’s skating sections, so in a way, it includes many movements that help adjust my body and improve compatibility with the ice. The ending of ‘Itsu Yume’ is also a pivot, after all." After finishing the pivots, he moved on to jump practice. He did three triple loops (3Lo), followed by three triple flips (3F). Then, after changing takeoff locations, he added a double jump to a wide triple flip. Next came a triple Lutz (3Lz), a triple Axel (3A), a quad toe loop (4T), and a quad Salchow (4S), each jump repeated several times. Finally, he checked his Lutz takeoff position multiple times. Regarding the order of doing jumps, he said: "There’s kind of a flow based on difficulty. Also, since I was little, I was taught that the loop is the foundation of jumping, so I use it to build my axis and get a feel for that day’s skating and centrifugal force. That’s how I start tidying up my landings. Next is the flip. The flip is jumped off the inside edge of the left foot, but somehow, it feels similar to the sensation in my left foot when I do the loop (the takeoff for the loop is from the outside edge of the right foot, but the feeling in the left foot at that moment is similar), so it’s easier for me to get onto the inside edge for the flip after doing the loop, which is why I go in that order. After the flip, I try to use a bit of counter-rotation force, so I move on to the Lutz—that’s how the flow tends to go. Only the Axel uses a different method (because it takes off facing forward), so often I end up jumping it before the quad toe loop, even though it’s not in difficulty order. But sometimes, I don’t practice the Axel. There are times when doing the Axel throws off my sense of rotation and messes up my other jumps... For example, if the quad Salchow in Ballade (Ballade No. 1 in G minor) isn’t feeling good, then it’s better not to practice the Axel that day. I just tell myself it’s okay to come back to it later." “Currently studying” how to jump the Axel After around 50 minutes on the ice, he moved to the training room for off-ice training. Following intense exercises like crawling on the floor using full body strength, he began jump drills with dumbbells in hand. He started with 1 kg in each hand, then 2 kg while jumping on land. He explained: "It’s kind of like fighting against strong centrifugal force. I can rotate better and jump higher on the ice, so on land, I have to use even more power. Since air time is shorter on land than on the ice, I have to endure more, but I can’t hold it and I end up opening up or landing early. With that in mind, I practice jumps while holding dumbbells to strengthen my axis and resist the centrifugal force I face on the ice. It also helps build the upper-body strength needed to lift myself during jumps." A little off-topic, but when watching top skaters practice, you get the impression that they can jump better on the ice. However: "Some junior skaters or those who started skating in university can actually rotate better on land. That’s because it's easier to use more strength and you can run faster on land,” he explained. "By the way, during notte stellata, I was dashing at full speed, but sprinting on ice is actually surprisingly difficult. At that time, I wasn’t running on my toes but properly pushing off from my heels. Practicing things like ‘Mass Destruction’ or ‘Ashura-chan’ has really helped close the gap between on-ice and off-ice movement." After finishing about 30 minutes of off-ice training, he returned to the rink. After doing several pivots again, he landed a few triple Axels and quad toe loops. He said he’s “currently studying” how to jump the Axel: "I'm doing it as basic training for the quadruple Axel. But if I can land the quad Axel, I think I’ll be able to land the other quads more too, since all the jumps are connected." Finally, he performed a full run-through of “Ten to Chi to” and landed jumps like the quad Salchow (4S), quad toe + triple toe (4T+3T), and quad toe + single Euler + triple Salchow (4T-1Eu-3S), marking the end of his day’s practice. Weibo translation from https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309405181468153610269 Spoiler [First, improve alignment with the ice using the backward outside pivot, then begin jump practice] Hanyu’s on-ice session that day started with the backward outside pivot, a movement where he traces large circular patterns beneath his feet while gliding inward like a small whirlpool. He began by skating backward on the right outside edge, then backward on the left outside edge, followed by a forward glide on the right outside edge… continuing this pattern repeatedly. One reason he repeatedly does this pivot was to check the condition of his blades after having them freshly sharpened. But there was another reason as well: “The sweet spot of the blade, that is, the optimal point for applying force, can feel different every day. Depending on how the blades interact with the ice, the spot that feels ‘smooth to glide on’ changes. So at the beginning, I stimulate that area a bit to help my brain remember it. That way, even when I land jumps instinctively without thinking, I’m more likely to land using that spot. This movement trains the body to remember it.” “I actually want to do this movement every session. But because I can’t always manage it, sometimes I use A Fleeting Dream instead. That program includes a lot of choreography from Tracy’s skating drills, so in a sense it already incorporates many movements that adjust the body and improve connection with the ice. The last move in A Fleeting Dream is that backward outside pivot, right?” After completing the backward outside pivot, he began his jump practice. He performed three triple loops (3Lo) and three triple flips (3F), then changed his takeoff position and followed a long-distance 3F with a double jump. He repeated the triple Lutz (3Lz), triple Axel (3A), quadruple toe loop (4T), and quadruple Salchow (4S) several times each, and repeatedly checked the takeoff motion for the Lutz in particular. Regarding the order of his jumps, he explained: “Yes, I do them in order of difficulty. Also, I was taught from a young age that the loop is the foundation of jumps, so I use the loop to find my axis and get a feel for my skating that day, how the centrifugal force feels, and how to control the landings more cleanly. Next is the flip. The flip takes off from the inside edge of the left foot, and that sensation is somewhat similar to how the left foot feels during the loop (even though the loop takes off from the outside edge of the right foot). Since it’s easier to make that inside edge for the flip after a loop, I usually do the flip right after. Then, I want to use the opposite force, so I go into the Lutz. (Since the 3A takes off facing forward...) The technique for 3A is different from other jumps. Normally, based on difficulty, I place the 3A before the 4T. But sometimes, I skip the 3A altogether. There are times when jumping the 3A disrupts my sense of rotation and messes up my other jumps. For example, if my 4S in Ballade no. 1 isn’t in good shape, it’s better not to train the 3A that day. I figure I can always come back to it later.” [Focusing on Axel Jump Technique] After about 50 minutes on the ice, he moved to the gym for off-ice training. After some intense crawling exercises that required the whole body to exert force, he began to practice jumping with dumbbells in both hands. He started with 1 kg in each hand, then increased to 2 kg while performing jumps on land. As for why he used dumbbells: “It’s kind of like fighting against centrifugal force. On the ice, it’s easier for me to rotate, and it's easier to get both height and distance. On land, I have to use much more power. Since airtime on land is shorter than on the ice, I really need to hold myself in the air, but often I can’t hold it, and the motion falls apart. So I do jump training with dumbbells partly to strengthen my axis, so I don’t lose to the centrifugal force on the ice, and partly to build more power in my upper body to help lift myself upward.” Slightly off-topic, but when watching top skaters train, it might look like it’s easier to rotate on the ice. But actually: “For some junior-level skaters or those who only started skating in college, it’s actually easier to rotate on land. That’s because it’s easier to generate force on the ground, and you can pick up speed more quickly.” He added: “By the way, in Notte Stellata, remember how I sprinted at full speed? Sprinting like that on the ice is actually really difficult! At the time, I wasn’t using my toe picks to run. I was pushing off starting from my heels. Thanks to practicing with Mass Des and Ashura-chan, I feel like the gap between how I move on land and on ice has gotten much smaller.” After about 30 minutes of off-ice training, he returned to the ice. After performing several backward outside pivots, he jumped a 3A and 4T. He said he is currently in the stage of focusing on learning the technique for the Axel jump. “Right now, I’m treating this as basic practice for the 4A. But I think if I can land the 4A, my other quads should improve too, because all jumps are interconnected.” To close out the day, he performed a full run-through of 'Ten to Chi to (Heaven and Earth)', ending practice after successfully landing jumps such as 4S, 4T-3T, and 4T-1Eu-3S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuzurujenn Posted June 25 Author Share Posted June 25 *Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist.* JP>CN>EN (for ref only) Source: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/x/m/show/id/2309405179302601162846 Yuzuru Hanyu Interview about 'BOW＆ARROW' Spoiler — Let’s talk more about BOW AND ARROW. First off, that sit twizzle at the beginning was incredibly fast! Yeah (laughs). Actually, I wanted to do the sit twizzle at that speed in MEGALOVANIA as well. When I performed MEGALOVANIA on its own, I could do it at that speed. But during ICE STORY, I was already exhausted by that point, so it was tough (wry smile). The sit twizzle in BOW AND ARROW was inspired by the one in MEGALOVANIA. I thought, “Let’s draw a bigger circle and do it even faster.” — Opening the program with such a high-speed sit twizzle is brilliant! The sit twizzle is kind of one of my signature moves. There’s another version too which I didn’t include it in BOW AND ARROW, the pancake twizzle (where you lean forward while sitting and wrap one leg around the supporting leg, forming a pancake-like shape). That’s also becoming a signature of mine. I want to keep exploring variations of both and continue incorporating them in future programs. — There’s no preparation glide before the 3A. You enter it directly from a counter turn, jump, and immediately twizzle out of it. It looks extremely difficult. How difficult is it actually? It’s hard to see in the video, but actually, I go into it with a small hop before the counter, and then go straight into the 3A. I’m pretty used to taking off from a counter, but in this case, I didn’t have time to adjust my blade or posture before the jump. I just went directly into the curve that leads into a single-foot takeoff. I held that curve and took off from it as is, which was tricky. Since the trajectory was different from usual, I had to adjust the curve I used to enter the jump, as well as my takeoff technique and rotation speed. Also, after landing the 3A, I go into a twizzle, but in B&A, there’s a stopping beat right before the "dalalalala" part of the music. Normally, I would go straight into a twizzle using the back outside edge after landing an axel. But because of that musical pause, I added a three-turn after the landing and entered the twizzle using a front inside edge instead. That little change was also a new experiment for me. What’s more, I really wanted to match the rhythm of the music perfectly. But if I jumped the 3A off the counter at my usual rhythm, it wouldn’t sync with the music. And since I was very close to the boards, I had to jump the 3A at an unusually early moment and in a very compact way. I lowered the height and relied solely on rotation speed to get the full 3.5 revolutions, and by adjusting my airtime, I was able to create a more solid, intense quality. — Are you able to control the “feel” or quality of your jumps to match what you want, regardless of the type of jump? For jumps like the loop and the flip, I often change how I do them during basic training. For example, I’ll practice a loop that finds the rotation axis quickly, or a loop that focuses more on height. I might practice a flip that emphasizes the inside edge, or one that focuses on power for a quad. Depending on the goal and the direction I’m aiming for, I’ll change the way I swing my arms too. So rather than saying I train my jumps specifically to match music, it’s more accurate to say that my own training method naturally led to the quality of my jumps adjusting to the music. — When did you start adjusting the quality of your jumps to match the music? Honestly, my jumps just naturally started syncing with the music. For example, even though the entries are slightly different, the 4Lo in Hope and Legacy and the one in Let’s Go Crazy have completely different airtime. That’s not because one is in the free skate and the other in the short program, but because the feel of the music is different, the BPM (beats per minute) is different, so my body just instinctively changes. On the flip side, if a piece doesn’t match, it really doesn’t match at all. But sometimes I find a piece where the BPM aligns perfectly with me, and I feel like, “This program, this music, I can absolutely match it.” So to put it precisely, it’s more like there’s a way of jumping in me that naturally syncs with music. — That’s amazing! It’s really not that amazing, because it’s not like I “can do it.” It’s just that it naturally happens. So each season is different. There are programs and music that match easily and feel effortless to jump to, but there are also programs and music that I just can’t jump well to at all. That happens quite a bit too. — So which program felt the easiest to jump to? Ten to Chi to (Heaven and Earth), for sure. All the jumps in that program were really easy to execute. SEIMEI was fairly easy too, but compared to SEIMEI, Ten to Chi to matched me best. By that time, I had already become aware of that compatibility. It was the culmination of the first phase of my skating journey. When I train, I try skating to a variety of different pieces to see which ones fit me. For example, even if a movement doesn’t quite match a piece, I might try using the opening section of Hope and Legacy and pair it with a different track. Through that kind of process, I look for music where I feel things like, “This one makes jumping feel easy,” or “This one has a breathing rhythm that suits me,” or “This one lets me emotionally enter the zone.” In the end, Ten to Chi to turned out to be the best fit. It still feels effortless to skate even now. — What exactly makes a piece feel like a good fit? Its tempo, or the melody itself? Tempo definitely plays a role. I’m someone who’s really sensitive to rhythm. Classical music tends to have a lot of fluctuations in BPM. Especially pieces by Kiyozuka, or piano solos in general, they can vary quite a lot. Zimmerman's Ballade No. 1 also has major tempo shifts. Sometimes that kind of variation feels “just right,” and other times it throws me off. That might depend on my physical condition at the time, or whether a piece holds some kind of emotional baggage for me, or whether I’m feeling confident or not. It really varies. Because classical music has such big fluctuations, sometimes it syncs with me perfectly, and other times it becomes really difficult to manage. I myself have internal fluctuations, too. In contrast, pop music and similar genres usually have more stable rhythms, so once a piece feels easy to jump to, it tends to remain that way. But if there’s a sudden shift in rhythm within the music, I still get a bit thrown off. — Going back to BOW AND ARROW, why did you add a hop before the counter? Simple, I just wanted to make it harder (laughs). Also, when I envisioned that part of the program, what came to mind was a version of the music without any glide into the jump. What first popped into my head was a kind of image where the setup had been completely cut out and only the climactic part of the jump remained, as if spliced together. So I kept thinking about how to eliminate anything that looked like a setup, and how to keep that continuous feeling of only showing the climactic parts of the jumps. I tried a lot of different things. BOW AND ARROW is really tough... but precisely because it’s that piece of music, I was able to cram so much in. And it’s also because of that music that I was able to take on so many challenges. My body really took a beating, but thanks to that piece, I was once again reminded just how important technique is. It also gave me the motivation to say, “I can still do better.” But I definitely wouldn’t want to skate a short program like that in competition (laughs). — It would be amazing if you could skate that in a competition! Yeah, I wouldn’t actually want to skate it in competition, but doing it reminded me of the strong determination I once had to take on such difficult challenges, and that made me really happy. — Why did you feel that “technique is important”? Because I realized that high-difficulty jumps themselves carry their own stories. Right now, I’m also creating stories. Each program has a place within a larger narrative, and its meaning can change depending on how it fits into that story. That’s something I hope people find interesting through ICE STORY. But beyond that, I’ve come to see that every element within a program, every jump, every spin, has a story of its own. To start with, there’s the original Medalist manga and anime adaptation. The characters each attempt their elements with different emotions and backgrounds, right? — Yes. Just that alone gives meaning to the jumps and spins themselves. So by performing these techniques, the story or the expression is born. On top of that, I’ve had my own journey as an athlete. My experiences with elements like the 4Lz, the counter into 3A, the 4S, each of them has its own history, and those histories give added depth and meaning to the techniques I perform. I’ve always tried to give meaning to the techniques within a program in ICE STORY, treating them as part of the overall expression: thinking things like “this has to be a toe jump,” or “this spot should be a loop,” or “I need to place the salchow here.” That’s how I’ve always approached my programs. But this time, I realized, “Wow, each individual element is almost like a full program in itself, packed with meaning.” I also realized that the journey I’ve taken so far can add value to my performances. Granted, it’s pretty tough to throw a 4Lo or 4Lz into an ICE STORY performance (laughs), but when I’m doing something for YouTube, or when I’m performing a standalone program, I still feel like I need to include those kinds of elements. — Your performance has a depth that keeps building up layer by layer… Yes. In ICE STORY’s Echoes of Life, there’s a character called NOVA, and also a guide or narrator. If I make myself stand out too much, it would throw off the balance. But maybe one day, I’ll try incorporating a 4Lz, or even a 3A that doesn’t come from a counter entrance. When I show different variations of these elements, I wonder if they’ll spark something in the memories of the fans who support me. So I have to imagine those meanings as I choreograph and build each program. — Sorry to jump around, but when was the last time you did a 4Lz? Let’s see... about five years ago. I haven’t jumped it since the Four Continents Championships in 2020, so yeah, it’s been five years. — During that time, you didn’t even try the 4Lz in practice? Nope, I didn’t jump it at all. Not even in practice. When I was choreographing Heaven and Earth, I did debate whether or not to include the 4Lz, but in the end, I felt the 4A was more important. At the time, I didn’t think I could include both a 4Lz and a 4A in the same program, so after returning to Japan in 2020, I focused entirely on constructing the 4Lo and 4A. I nearly forgot what the 4Lz was like altogether (laughs). — So after not jumping it for five years, why did you decide to include the 4Lz in BOW AND ARROW? Because there’s a scene in Medalist where a character named Jun Yodaka lands a 4Lz effortlessly. That made me want to include it, too. — After not jumping a 4Lz for five years, how long did it take you to get it back? It took about 4 or 5 days from when I started practicing it to when we filmed it. — You got it back in 4 or 5 days after five years?! Well... honestly, at first I couldn’t even rotate it fully. It was the same thing with the 4A. I couldn't get the feeling of the rotation at first. So I often fell down because I missed half a rotation at first. After all, the muscles I used for the 4Lz had totally shut down (laughs). — Which muscles do you use for the 4Lz? Probably the front side of my lower leg. Ever since I stopped doing the 4Lz, I no longer use the toe-pick of my right foot to push off the ice. For the 3Lz, actually, putting too much pressure on the toe pick of the right foot can mess up the jump. You’re supposed to lightly tap in a more relaxed way. But when I do the 4Lz, I rely heavily on the explosive power from my right toe pick to launch into the jump. That power had significantly declined. Also, figuring out how to rotate the body, how to maintain the outside edge at the right angle for the right amount of time, and how to come out with speed, those were all harder than I expected. — Your left foot’s deep outside edge lean looks really smooth! Hmm... but it’s not like I’m intentionally leaning it that much. Actually, when I look at skaters who have more consistent 4Lz jumps, I wonder if my 4Lz could be a little less tilted (laughs). No matter how hard I try, it still ends up being that kind of Lutz. Maybe I could try to tone it down a little… — Tone it down. (laughs) Yeah, I think if I could bring the blade closer to vertical, I could enter the rotation more quickly, and that would make the 4Lz more stable. I practiced that really hard in 2019. I was trying to find a way to rotate faster, tighter, and more efficiently, so I adjusted my toe-pick entry to be slightly more inside. I spent about a month and a half reworking the jump completely from the 2Lz upward, but in the end, I couldn’t make it work for the 4Lz. I think it’s partly because the way I was taught from a young age is so deeply ingrained, and maybe it also has something to do with my bone structure. In the end, I just had to accept that a deep outside edge is my style (laughs). — But that deep lean is really cool to watch! I understand, it does look great (laughs). But that kind of jump isn’t energy-efficient; it requires a lot of strength. That’s because it takes a long time to establish the rotation axis. I’ve noticed that other skaters use their left foot more in the takeoff. They form their axis and twist their body before they jump, entering the rotation early. In contrast, I tend to let my left foot come out of the axis first, push off, and then have the right side of my body catch up to rebuild the axis. My body and foot are sort of chasing each other through the 4Lz. That makes my method very inefficient. — But I just think your Lutz is beautiful. Has that style become outdated? Skaters in the past definitely performed a lot of Lutz jumps like that. For example, Mikhail Kolyada also leans deeply on his blade, and he does it very well, right? Jin Boyang leans slightly more into rotation. Back then, I thought that for scoring or winning competitions I needed to change, so I tried to adjust. But ultimately, I accepted that this is my Lutz, with a bit of resignation but also with a bit of pride. This time, since I hadn’t practiced the triple Lutz in advance to prepare for the quadruple Lutz, it was very hard at first. — What do you mean by a “3Lz for the 4Lz”? Like I said before, there are two ways to do a 3Lz. One way focuses on getting height, and the other is about finding the right speed and centrifugal position to enter the 4Lz axis. I hadn’t practiced that second version. Even in today’s training, I warmed up with a little 4A, and sure enough, when I practiced 4A and stayed in the right physical state to do a 4Lz, I landed a beautiful 4Lo just now. When my body gets into the right condition for this kind of training, the success rate for difficult jumps goes up, and the jumps look especially good. Maybe, just like the triple Axel in BOW AND ARROW, I can find a different way to do the four rotations and then maybe use it in performances. So, to build up muscle strength, I want to keep up this kind of jump training. Source: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309405179363070443532 Yuzuru Hanyu Interview - On Becoming My Own Coach Spoiler Studying hard is really very important. — Just now, you were doing land training in the practice room, performing many moves like intense crawling forward. Did you come up with all these exercises by yourself? The training plan is basically designed by myself. However, I don’t create these training methods out of thin air; rather, I integrate what I learn into the training. I’ve always kept my antennae up (staying alert and perceptive), thinking about what I need while practicing. So the training I’m doing now is completely different from last year’s. Learning is truly very important. Especially because I am my own coach. I sometimes feel lost too, for example when I can’t get past a certain jump. It would be much easier to rely on others, but in my case, I can’t depend on anyone else because when it comes to skating, I’ve become the one with the keenest sense. After returning to Japan during the pandemic, I studied so much theory that sometimes I overdid it, to the point where the theoretical methods from the people around me or my previous coaches don’t really apply anymore. So when I face such situations, I study theories from experts in other disciplines, or read papers, and think about what I currently need, continually updating my training content this way. Additionally, I observe people who are really good at jumping, look for common points with myself, and think about what I’m doing right when I jump well, gradually establishing my own jumping style through this process. — When you say people who are really good at jumping, who do you mean? I hate it~ I don’t want to say (laughs)! Hmm... For example, Timothy Goebel or Chengjiang Li. I’ve been watching them. — What aspects of them do you mainly watch? Chengjiang Li’s way of taking off backward on the toe loop jump can be said to be a pioneer for modern Russian kids and for skaters whose bodies haven’t fully matured yet, enabling quick rotational takeoffs. Also, Timothy Goebel’s way of establishing the axis in the toe loop and salchow jumps is the same as Javier Fernández’s. Although Javier’s jumps cover a lot of horizontal distance, while Timothy’s jumps lift almost straight up and then drop quickly, making them slightly different in that respect, the way they build their axis is almost identical. I often study their jumps like this, to see what makes their jumps good and how they execute them, mostly focusing on those from an earlier era. — Why do you focus more on those from the earlier era? Because they were the ones I admired and watched the most. You could say they are my origin point. They are the skaters from the era when I was learning jumps, so I always think they look really cool and their jumps are the ideal style I want. For example, Alexei Yagudin’s triple Axel isn’t the same type as mine, but I want that height and the crisp, clean feeling he has when he lands. Conversely, I really want to imitate Evgeni Plushenko’s quadruple-triple combination with its exceptionally long horizontal distance; I want that kind of solid axis he has. — You said “imitate”? Yes, I want to imitate. But since jumps are built on each person’s body structure, I definitely can’t do it exactly like them. But precisely because I want my jumps to have their own unique qualities like theirs, I study them to understand what aspects make their jumps so good, then reassess what conditions I have myself, and practice accordingly. Am I sounding like a coach? (laughs) — You really do sound like a coach! I feel like Goebel and Javier Fernández have very different body types, but their jumps are very similar? Both of them have a very low center of gravity. Timothy’s footwork is extremely fast. They both enter the quadruple Salchow (4S) right after a backward triple turn (3-turn). They directly use the centrifugal force from that backward triple turn and the curve it creates to take off. Javi’s toe-loop jump is done in the same way. So Javi doesn’t jump the 4T on the long side, but rather on the short side in the vertical direction, following a trajectory similar to that of the 4S. — Javi’s Toe Loop and Salchow look very similar, don’t they? Yes, sometimes I even can’t tell which jump he’s doing. — Even you, Hanyu, can’t tell the difference? That’s probably because Javi completes both jumps using the same method, so they look alike. But for me, since I was thoroughly taught the distinct characteristics of each jump, I can’t make my toe loop and Salchow exactly the same as them, so I actually struggle with that. Sometimes I think, “Today, I’ll do the Salchow like Timothy, and the Toe loop like Plushenko,” and try it that way (laughs). — Timothy and Javier, one’s American, the other Spanish, and they come from completely different backgrounds, yet their jumps are very similar? Javi probably learned from Brian (Orser). Javi could already do quads before going to the Cricket Club, but back then, his quads weren’t very stable and were a bit rough. After going to the Cricket Club, they became more stable. I think he learned the Canadian-style skating from Brian: a low center of gravity and minimal upper body movement, which forms the North American style of jumps. As for me, since my coach Tsuzuki Shoichiro uses the Russian-style jumps, my style is kind of a mixture. A combination of Russian style, North American style, plus my own Japanese element, so it’s kind of messy (laughs). So that’s probably my unique style. — Are American and Canadian skating styles both considered “North American” style? Yes. Both Canada and the U.S. have a more compact style, prioritizing building the axis tightly and efficiently. In contrast, the Russian style involves much bigger upper body movement. — They really spin and swing intensely! Yes, that difference mainly comes from the quality of skating. Also, their styles of expression are quite different. In Europe and Russia, many skaters use their whole bodies to express themselves, while North American skaters focus more on maintaining a stable center of gravity, keeping their upper bodies still, and expressing through rhythm. They’re very strong in that aspect. There’s also a difference in whether they emphasize technique or power. Since I work on both, my program style has become pretty varied, and I want to use that as my advantage. I’ve worked with a bunch of different coaches, which has really given me a lot of diverse influences. — Let’s change the topic. How many years have you been wearing these skates you have on now? I don’t really remember how many years (laughs). — Before the Prologue started, you said the right skate had been used for 3 years and the left for 2 years. So now, has it been about 3 more years roughly? Something like that… It’s like when people have had so many birthdays that they don’t really know how old they are anymore. I’ve lost track of how many years I’ve had these shoes (laughs), but I’ve been using them continuously. — Is it because you’ve been cherishing and taking good care of them that they haven’t worn out and you can still use them? Well, actually, they are a bit worn now. Although I’ve been thinking about changing them, they’re like Cinderella’s glass slippers. The moment I put them on, I feel, “Ah! This is the one!” It’s like that feeling when choosing music, “Ah, this is it!” Because the skates are handmade, each pair is shaped a little differently. Maybe this pair was slightly deformed from the start, and I just happen to fit that deformation perfectly, which is why they feel so good. I’ve been thinking about changing skates for 3 or 4 years now. Not just recently, but even during the Beijing Olympic season, I tried switching but none fit well. So I just kept using them. I think I’ve used the right skate for about a year longer than the left one. — So by that count, the right skate has been used about 6 years and the left about 5 years. I hope they can last forever. The outer shell of these skates is leather, and the inside is plastic. It’d be great if materials like titanium alloys or carbon fiber could be used. I hope skating boots develop that kind of technology. In track and field, don’t they have those shoes with springs? If we could develop skates like that, maybe jumps would get easier, and I might even be able to pull off a quintuple jump with ease (laughs)! Source: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309405181514924294342 Yuzuru Hanyu Interview - About Echoes of Life and Notte Stellata Spoiler Regarding Echoes of Life —In the Chiba performance of Echoes, you altered the skating pattern of Ballade no. 1 due to the smaller rink size. How difficult is it to skate using a different trajectory? First of all, the places where I breathe change accordingly. For example, when I’m rotating, I subconsciously hold my breath. So if the position where I rotate changes, the spots where I would normally inhale or exhale without thinking might instead require me to hold my breath. Because of that change in unconscious breathing rhythm, I might lose power in certain parts, or conversely, the breathing might match the movement perfectly and create a beautiful axis. In fact, every skater, in their competitive programs, tends to fix a certain type of jump setup and entry method that they feel suits them best. That’s because we all want to avoid changing the breathing rhythm we’ve built up since the previous season. Generally speaking, keeping timing, breathing rhythm, and line of sight as stable as possible and avoiding any changes is the common approach. Moreover, changing the skating pattern also affects the degree of muscle fatigue. Even just whether I push off with my right or left foot makes a difference. For example, when doing a forward pressure step to the left, I mainly use the inside of my right big toe. But before the 4T-3T in the latter half of “Ballade no. 1,” I do a backward pressure step to the right, which means I need to use the inside of my left big toe more. To put it simply, the way the feet exert force is completely different between the forward and backward steps. Because of this, the level of muscle fatigue changes, and during jumps, I might suddenly think, “Huh? Why am I this tired here?” So starting about a month before the Chiba shows, I began adjusting the trajectory, which was definitely a difficult challenge. —So is the only solution to practice over and over again? It takes countless repetitions to make your body remember. Even though I trained at the Sendai rink while imagining the size of the Chiba venue, my usual training rink is fairly bright, whereas the actual performance venue was quite dim. I even factored that into my visualization as I practiced, wondering, “Can I really jump here?” But no matter how hard I train, once I step into the actual performance venue, my line of sight always changes. Although I feel that I have done everything I can, I still always feel a little uneasy during ICE STORY... —What do you mean by “your line of sight changes”? The seating layout differs from one venue to another, and the stage sets for each ICE STORY are also different. On top of that, each rink has different lighting conditions. Sometimes the projections on the ice are very bright, while there are some venues where projection cannot be used at all. In such venues, the lights need to be dimmed so that the audience can see the visuals, which makes the venue itself darker. Even the colors around the rink can affect how I feel. At the Chiba performance, the short end of the rink directly in front of me was covered with a black curtain, and my eyes couldn’t focus at all. it felt like I was jumping into darkness. Overall, if I can’t clearly grasp a sense of distance, it becomes very difficult to skate. —So it's a matter of sense of distance... Also, in Echoes, there was a scrolling screen overhead, so as I was skating, I kept feeling this sudden sense of pressure from above. That kind of pressure is something I can’t replicate during practice, so I had no choice but to adapt to it by doing repeated jumps after arriving at the actual performance venue. —In Echoes, during the three-minute warm-up time before Ballade no. 1, you performed a 4T-1eu-3S combination, which does not appear in the program. You said that this is because “I’ve always used 4T-1eu-3S as a benchmark for whether I can jump a 4S.” Why not just jump a solo 4S? For me personally, the 4S is a jump that is easily affected by the condition of my blade’s glide. So if I try to jump a 4S right after getting on the ice, it’s quite unstable. Although once I’ve done enough skating and have a good sense of how I’m gliding, I can land it steadily, if I try to jump it too forcefully, it may cause imbalance in power, leading to poor gliding or mistimed takeoff. The condition of the ice also greatly impacts the jump. On the other hand, toe-pick jumps have a clear takeoff timing and can be firmly planted, so with most toe jumps, as long as your body is moving well, you can jump four rotations. What I want to do is first get the feel of a quad jump. Once I have the sensation of doing four rotations, I then integrate that with the feeling of a Salchow jump. First, I implant in my brain the feeling of “I jumped four rotations,” right? Then I follow that with a “half rotation + 3S”—ah, I just said “half rotation” (laughs)—what I meant was “1eu + 3S.” This way, the feeling of having done a quad and the feeling of doing a Salchow both get imprinted in my brain. So even when, like this time, I couldn’t jump a 4S while trying to adapt my blades to the ice in a darkened setting, I could still feed my brain the suggestion that “as long as I have even a bit of that quad jump sensation and the takeoff feel of a Salchow, it’s okay.” I took all that into consideration, and that’s why I chose that kind of warm-up. About 【notte stellata】 — How was the SEIMEI segment in notte stellata created? I felt that I couldn’t skate the full version because (Mansai) Nomura’s stage protruded into the ice, making the rink smaller than usual. Because of this, when I went to the venue, I changed many of the skating trajectories, and many places didn’t follow SEIMEI’s original patterns at all. But anyway, since I couldn’t skate the full version, I had to think about how to make the worldview more complete in the minds of those who only know the full SEIMEI. I also had to consider how much momentum I could convey in the scenes I was skating that was equivalent to the full version of the competition. These were things I paid special attention to during the performance. This time, I wasn’t playing Abe no Seimei himself, but rather a shikigami. So in the performance, as Seimei’s messenger, I consciously wanted to showcase his powerful magic and sorcery. — In your squat spin, I noticed you seemed to draw a cross with your arms. I started doing that from the encore part of SEIMEI in RE_PRAY, and I’ve been doing it recently as well. That motion is actually drawing a pentagram. — A pentagram! Yes, at that moment I’m chanting “临兵斗者皆阵列在前” (Rinpyōtōsha kai jinretsu zen)***, which is like a spell. I perform it with the image of clearing evil spirits on the spot. ***a traditional Taoist incantation known as the Nine Syllable Mantra used for spiritual protection, invoking energy, or focusing the mind — especially in Onmyōdō and ninjutsu practices. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-in —In “Boléro,” what aspects were you particularly focused on? A program that feels like a ritual offering to the gods. Until now, I’ve never had anything like that. Of course, there was “Requiem of Heaven and Earth”; for that one, I performed it with the feeling of offering up my soul as a sacrifice. I gave my body completely over to each soul that descended, letting it take over me, allowing its sorrow or pain to be absorbed into my body just as it was. So for me, “Requiem of Heaven and Earth” doesn’t fully fall within the category of figure skating programs. But a program like “Boléro”, something that feels so much like a ritual to the gods and a ceremonial offering, I hadn’t done something like that before. This program truly gave me a lot of inspiration, and I learned a great deal from it. But more importantly, the program itself had a very high level of completion. Although it might sound strange for me to say it myself, I really feel like it's a program that should be passed down and remembered forever. Maybe it’s because Mansai Nomura was right in front of me at the time that I felt this way so strongly, since I was watching from such a close distance. I truly felt like I had the good fortune to be part of something incredible. How should I put it… it was an experience on a different dimension from ICE STORY. It made me feel that this should be something preserved and passed on forever. —How was the choreography for “Boléro” created? Basically, the choreography was done by Shae-Lynn. She came up with a lot of ideas, saying “I want it to be like this.” You could say she also choreographed my part, but during the rehearsal, she said, “Yuzu, you don’t have to follow this choreography exactly here,” and gave me quite a bit of freedom (laughs). She had sent me some videos beforehand, saying “It’s roughly this kind of feeling,” but when I skated it like that during rehearsal, she said, “Oh no, that’s not it, not like that.” Then she added, “But Yuzu, you can also do it your way.” I was confused and thought, “Which is it, then?” (laughs). However, in the program, the others are expressing human dance, human life, and behavior. I was the only “different being” among them, and I had to portray a role like a shadow interwoven between the god (Mansai) and the mortal world (the five skaters). So in that sense, I had quite a lot of freedom in my performance. I performed with the image of a divine messenger descending from Takamagahara (the realm of the gods in Japanese mythology). —So does that mean your part, Hanyu-san, was choreographed by yourself? Yes, that’s right. I felt that if I didn’t do it that way, it would be hard to harmonize and match with Mansai-san. Shae-Lynn also watched the original version of Mansai Boléro, but since this “Boléro” was the notte version, the duration was shortened. So accordingly, Mansai-san’s choreography was also different from the original. Since I was using the shortened version as a reference, Shae-Lynn gave me a lot of freedom to interpret and create. So I communicated directly with Mansai-san, saying things like, “I’d like to do it this way here,” or “We absolutely need to sync up at this point.” There were also parts where I thought, “Here I should adjust to Mansai-san,” or “Here I’d like Mansai-san to match me.” Even though we didn’t always put those things into words, it felt like we had a mutual understanding. Many of the movements were created through working them out together with Mansai-san. —At the end of Boléro in notte stellata, the lighting turned orange, and at the end of Echoes, the circular door (the set piece) also turned orange. According to Mansai Nomura, the final jump in Boléro symbolizes “dawn” and “rebirth.” I feel that’s very similar to the worldview you created in Echoes. What do you think? Rebirth, huh? That’s true! I didn’t intentionally try to connect Boléro and Echoes, but maybe it just came out unconsciously. Nova is the main character in Echoes, not me, but I really did learn a lot from it. My emotional depth and range both expanded, and even in terms of technique, I became able to do more. Maybe all of that came out naturally without me realizing it? That’s really interesting, I’m the one who wrote the story, and yet I hadn’t noticed that! Yes... it really is rebirth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuzurujenn Posted Monday at 11:04 AM Author Share Posted Monday at 11:04 AM *Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist.* JP>EN Source: Ice Jewels vol. 20, pg 54 Special Interview - Mansai Nomura Nomura Mansai and Yuzuru Hanyu collaborate under the theme of “Rebirth” From March 7, 2025, for three days, notte stellata 2025 was held at Sekisui Heim Super Arena within the Grandy 21 complex in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture. First held in March 2023, notte stellata marked its third installment this year, featuring Nomura Mansai as a special guest. In collaboration with Yuzuru Hanyu and others, he directed two performances: “Boléro” and “SEIMEI,” and also performed a dance himself. Interview by Hitomi Hasegawa Spoiler Performing Bolero at a venue called Grandy 21 —In the past two editions of notte stellata, Hanyu collaborated with gymnast Kohei Uchimura and actress Mao Daichi. So when it was announced that this year’s special guest would be Mansai Nomura, fans buzzed with speculation: What kind of collaboration would it be? Would it involve SEIMEI? Nomura: From the beginning, there was the idea to collaborate on SEIMEI. When I was then asked, “What should the other piece be?” I thought, since it’s being held at Grandy 21, and I haven’t performed MANSAI Bolero in Tohoku yet, I’d like to take this opportunity to do it. That’s how we ended up deciding on SEIMEI and Bolero. I made quite a few bold suggestions. Looking at past editions of notte stellata, when Uchimura participated, a stage was set up on the north side of the rink, and the two performed side by side. With Mao Daichi as well, the stage was also on the north side, and I felt it was a bit far from the audience. So I thought about whether there was any way to perform closer to them. —A collaboration between the two that fans had long and earnestly wished for. Mansai portrayed Abe no Seimei in film, and Hanyu portrayed him through his skating performance. Faced with the situation of having two Seimeis in a single piece, he reflected deeply: 'There’s the idea that both of us are Seimei, and there’s also the idea that Seimei shifts between us.' And in the end... Nomura: He’s someone who’s won two Olympic gold medals. I couldn’t bring myself to say, "I want you to be the shikigami,” out of respect. But it was Hanyu himself who suggested, “How about dropping a doll at the beginning?” or “Maybe one of us is the shikigami?” I believe he was the one who proposed playing the role of the shikigami. The Onmyoji film portrays a world where everything is within Seimei’s spell, and in the end, when the spell is broken, things turn back into paper dolls. As we talked with that in mind, the concept gradually took shape: Seimei and his shikigami. When you think about it, Hanyu’s final pose in SEIMEI also resembles a paper doll. The movements before the step sequence—those “Dun, dun” beats—and the dramatic final pose “Tururuu, dan” also evoke the image of a paper doll. Thinking about it that way, the direction for SEIMEI in this notte stellata may have been inevitable. "Appear Yuzuru Hanyu! Kyūkyūnyoritsuryō!” —When Seimei dances, the shikigami kneels and follows. This unexpected staging became one of the highlights of the performance. Many of these striking visual moments were born out of trial and error during rehearsals. Nomura: During the early stage of rehearsals, while I was performing in SEIMEI, Hanyu was off in the shadows of the rink, getting his footing. Even though it was dimly lit, his figure was still faintly visible, which would make it unclear for the audience who they should be watching. So, through the course of rehearsal, we decided that while I was dancing, the shikigami would kneel in place. At the beginning of ‘SEIMEI,’ we had Hanyu appear through my incantation—‘Appear, Yuzuru Hanyu, Kyūkyūnyoritsuryō’—and that idea also came during rehearsal. Of course, it’s not like I suddenly blurted out those words—I’m not an actual onmyoji, after all (laughs). I’m from the theater world, so I always prioritize narrative and intentional direction. Rather than just blowing on a doll and having the shikigami appear, I thought it would be more effective if he emerged from smoke, summoned by that spell, ‘Appear, Yuzuru Hanyu, Kyūkyūnyoritsuryō.’ Also, about 10 years ago when I had a conversation with Hanyu, we talked about ‘ruling over heaven, earth, and man.’ So I started "SEIMEI" with the line "heaven, earth, and man," as a sort of review of that conversation. I still hadn’t quite nailed the overall tempo, so during rehearsal, I tried saying “Kyūkyūnyoritsuryō” as a test. Then Hanyu said, “It’s okay to slow down the tempo on ‘Kyūkyūnyoritsuryō.’ Slowing it down makes it closer to how it sounds in the movie.” That’s when I realized—he must have watched Onmyoji so many times that he’s heard “Kyūkyūnyoritsuryō” way more than I have (laughs). ——In “SEIMEI,” Nomura appeared on a small stage set within the rink. After performing a dance, he chanted a spell and vanished in a cloud of smoke. A short while later, he reappeared on another stage and danced again… bringing to life a world just like that of the film Onmyoji. This staging surprised and greatly delighted the audience. Nomura: I was originally supposed to appear from the back of the north side of the rink in SEIMEI, but if I just stood far away chanting spells, it wouldn’t be very interesting. So I suggested walking toward the audience instead. That said, the most challenging part of SEIMEI was actually that movement. No matter how dark we made it, the audience could still see me walking. I considered dancing as I moved, but the audience wanted to watch Hanyu, so if I was just shuffling along, I’d only be in the way. In the end, we settled on having me perform on the stage while Hanyu knelt, and then walking at just the right pace during his performance so as not to be a distraction. I even wore an in-ear monitor to help time it precisely. However, I only had a little over ten seconds to get from the final stage back to the platform on the north side, so I had to do a full-on sprint. Hanyu mentioned something like, “During rehearsal, Nomura-san was out of breath,” but that was only when we ran through it two or three times in a row during rehearsals. I wasn’t used to it yet back then, so I ended up running really hard (laughs). But during the actual performances, I ran without getting out of breath. And without any bounce at all. Gliding smoothly like that, it's very similar to skating, isn’t it? —The “Four Divine Beasts” that rule over the cardinal directions—Seiryu (Azure Dragon) of the East, Byakko (White Tiger) of the West, Suzaku (Vermilion Bird) of the South, and Genbu (Black Tortoise) of the North—were joined this time by the “Yellow Dragon” at the center. These five deities formed a pentagram on the ice, creating a grand production that evoked a sense of the cosmos, thrilling the audience. Nomura: In the final scene of Onmyoji, I have a showdown with Hiroyuki Sanada. I wanted to recreate that scene. So I envisioned circling around the rink, placing each of the deities one by one, and eventually forming a pentagram-shaped barrier. Once we settled on placing the Four Gods and chanting a spell, the stage staff suggested building three small platforms that could emit smoke. The smoke helped bridge the time gap before Hanyu-san began his performance. The staff around me were incredibly helpful this time. When I said, "I want to make dolls fall during SEIMEI," they responded, “If it’s on the north side, they won’t fall onto the rink, so it’s fine.” Then I asked, “Could we make it snow on stage during Boléro as well?” They said, “Since the stage is placed in the center of the rink, the falling paper would end up on the ice and be difficult to manage. But if we use bubbles, we can make it look like snow.” That’s how the gentle snowfall effect came to life. “In Boléro, I was a god, and Hanyu-san was a phoenix or immortal bird.” —The other performance was Boléro. Based on the traditional Sanbaso dance that prays for bountiful harvest and peace, Nomura first presented MANSAI Boléro shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake as a requiem and symbol of rebirth. For notte stellata, that legendary piece was restructured and presented anew. One key issue was how to construct a stage for Nomura to perform on. Nomura: At first, I made a bold proposal: “Could we place a Noh stage in the center of the rink?” I wondered whether it would be okay to put such a foreign object on a skating rink where performances happen. Maybe it could work if we place a stage on top of an ice resurfacing machine, like an election campaign vehicle or a Nebuta float. Because there were sound issues with using a vehicle, we tested lifting up the Noh stage and carrying it with a group of people. The stage itself was built to match the exact dimensions of a real Noh stage—three ken square (about 5.5 meters per side). The concept behind notte stellata aligned with the significance I felt in performing my Boléro in this region. Due to the logistics of placing the stage in the center of the rink and needing to resurface the ice afterward, Boléro was scheduled as the final program in Act I. —Unlike SEIMEI, where Nomura collaborated only with Hanyu, Boléro was a collaboration with six skaters, including Hanyu. This was a new development beyond the original MANSAI Boléro, with defined roles, relationships, and meanings crafted together with the skaters. Nomura: In SEIMEI, Hanyu and I have a master-servant relationship. I am Seimei, and he is the shikigami, the one who is commanded and who commands. For Bolero, we decided to create something different. I am a god, and Hanyu is like a phoenix or an immortal bird, appearing like a divine messenger or spirit who descends among people to encourage them and watch over them from the sky. My costume had feather patterns on the sleeves, evoking the image of a phoenix. As a god, I couldn’t descend from the stage, but Hanyu-san, as my avatar or incarnation, took the form of a phoenix to interact directly with humans. This created a completely different relationship than in SEIMEI. As a contrast to moving about freely, I told the other skaters, including Shae-Lynn Bourne, “Please begin from a place of death.” Some parts may have been a bit shocking for those directly affected by the disaster, but I asked them to symbolically “fall” and represent the dead in the theme of “rebirth from death.” Of course, the ice is extremely cold, so instead of lying directly on it, we laid black cloaks on the ice for them to lie on. From a theatrical perspective, it may have been better if they had remained lying down slightly longer, but visually, the black and gray costumes worked well. —The coordinated movement with the skaters was developed during rehearsal. Nomura: During rehearsal, as I performed the set choreography of MANSAI Boléro, Hanyu-san and the others kept offering suggestions like, “How about we do this here?” Hanyu-san, in a sense, became my utsushimi (*physical manifestation of a spirit or deity- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Shinto), or perhaps a medium, through which he incorporated my forms. For example, when Hanyu-san and I first encounter each other and simultaneously spread both sleeves, it creates a mirror-like structure. Or the part where, after stamping our feet, we synchronize our steps with each other—those moments were born because Hanyu-san said, “I can match that. I also adjusted my movements in the part where everyone advances in a wedge formation, so that I was pushing them forward from behind. At the end, when I am remaining still, I told the skaters that I wanted them to be the ones moving. Conversely, when I am moving, I asked them to concentrate inward. For instance, in the final part where the heavenly realm directly connects with the earthly realm, we shaped the ending to feel like I was sending out energy, as if in communication, to the East Side, West Side, and North Side. I believe the performance resonated so well with the audience because we clearly portrayed a connection and contrast between the heavenly and earthly realms. —This collaboration between Noh/Kyogen and figure skating was a historic first. Classical performing arts on the floor and an artistic sport on ice. At first glance, these two seem completely different. How did Nomura feel about this fusion? Nomura: I felt they fit together very naturally. The skating rink is rectangular; the Noh stage is square. Both are quadrilateral spaces. And both are forms of expression that focus on the movement of the feet. In Noh and Kyogen, one moves using a "suburi" (sliding footwork) called "hakobi," where other parts of the body do not move. It’s quite similar to skating steps or strokes. These movements sometimes match the rhythm closely, but at other times, the sliding causes the sense of the beat to disappear, letting the motion drift freely through time beyond the rhythm. Furthermore, figure skating is fundamentally about drawing figures, and when you look at our movements from above, they form circles, semicircles, straight lines, and curves. Also, the basics of our dance include spinning and jumping, spinning and stopping. There are many similarities. I think it’s only natural, as a Japanese person, that Hanyu became interested in our movements. From a ballet background, it might seem unrelated, but having worked together this time, I felt that Noh-Kyogen and figure skating are very much alike. I also experienced the unique thrill that only skating can offer. When I circled the stage, all the skaters followed, skating around the Noh stage, and it felt wonderful. On land, we’d have to run at incredible speed, but on skates, everyone could move so smoothly and elegantly. That’s the joy of performing with skaters. It was as if everyone was circling around like gods advancing the flow of time. This time, we placed the Noh stage in the center to serve as the central axis and to create a focal point. It’s like the yagura (raised stage) in a Bon dance; when everyone circles around, their attention is drawn to the center. However, I think it was the first day of “Bolero.” At first, the audience was focused entirely on me on the stage, but the moment Hanyu appeared, everyone immediately turned their gaze to him. I will never forget that (laughs). It was almost funny how everyone’s faces just turned that way. —The theme of Boléro is “rebirth from death.” From Hanyu’s solo performance ICE STORY, ‘rebirth’ also seems to be one of his key themes. Nomura: I’m sure he fully understood that Boléro was about “rebirth from death.” I often talk about the ‘womb’ or the ‘inner universe,’ and the concepts of the ‘inner universe’ and the ‘outer universe’ are eternal themes within me. Although we haven’t had direct discussions about these topics, I could feel that he was naturally drawn to the same things. Before the final climax of Boléro, I always pause and gaze at the rising sun. In a theater, we usually shine lights from the front. But in notte stellata, the backdrop was open, so we lit it from the rear, and I looked toward it from the front, creating a kind of theatrical illusion that allowed the audience to experience the dawn with me. As the sun rises and I jump at the end, the lights snap off—a “whiteout,” leaving only an afterimage. It makes it look as though I’ve truly vanished. Has the god disappeared upon rebirth? Has the phoenix departed? Has it vanished into the sun, or leapt into a new realm of darkness? That final leap is meant to evoke a kind of warp into another dimension. The final orange lighting represents dawn. Not the ordinary dawn of morning, noon, or night, but the dawn after a solar eclipse. According to the legend of Amaterasu Ōmikami and the Heavenly Rock Cave, when Amaterasu hid inside the cave, a solar eclipse occurred, and the world was plunged into darkness. There is even a theory that this cave symbolizes the womb. In the darkened world, the deity Ame-no-Uzume began a sort of striptease-like dance in front of the cave. This dance, meant to please the gods and delight them, is what we call kagura. The “Sanbasō,” which forms the basis of “MANSAI Bolero,” is also connected to kagura. During the time Amaterasu was hidden, the multitude of gods watched Ame-no-Uzume’s dance with great excitement and noise. Curious about the commotion, Amaterasu peeked out from the cave, and the light from her face illuminated the faces of the myriad gods, making them appear white. That is the origin of the word “omoshiroi” (meaning “interesting” or literally, “face becomes bright”) And so, that moment represents a kind of dawn. It can be seen as rebirth after death, the start of a new day. Or, it can be understood as the rebirth of Amaterasu Ōmikami after her concealment. "Profession: Mansai Nomura" and "Profession: Yuzuru Hanyu" —Mansai Nomura first met Yuzuru Hanyu in 2015, when Hanyu decided to skate to SEIMEI for his free program. At the time, Nomura felt that “what was inside him had not yet been put into words.” Now, ten years later, he reflects: “Right now, the flower is truly in bloom.” Nomura: When I first met Hanyu, he was 20. At that time, verbalizing his inner feelings wasn’t necessary. What mattered more was whether he could perform the technique or not, and it was a time of intense training. What I told him then was: “You must not perform without a sense of purpose.” For example: “It’s not just about raising your hand. In the direction you raise it, there is heaven, and there is earth.” “There is a purpose, and you act toward that.” “There must be necessity in what you do.” I didn’t go into that much detail, but I think I got the message across. I also told him, “Wrap yourself in the sound.” “It’s not about matching the music, but wrap yourself in the sound and move as if your body itself is playing the music.” I mentioned “minimalism” as well. I implicitly conveyed ideas such as, “Suppress the sound when you jump, but make a sharp bang at the very end,” or “Use contrasting tension,” and “Never repeat the same thing three times, vary it with strength, height, size.” These are fundamentals of performance and direction. At 20 years old, Hanyu, who was fully focused on practice thinking that verbalizing things was meaningless if he couldn’t perform the skills, said, “But in order to be able to perform the skills, on the contrary, I need to verbalize and have a sense of purpose. Then, instead of thinking, ‘I will jump here and get points,’ it becomes more like, ‘If I am wrapped in this music, I can naturally jump.’” He must have realized this because he was already inclined to think along those lines himself. The music for his programs was also meticulously calculated and pieced together. By carefully planning where to include steps or jumps, he made the overall composition much more effective visually. It’s clear that SEIMEI was carefully and thoughtfully restructured, and over time, his way of thinking evolved. He turned professional, became an expressive artist, and now, ten years later, seeing the Hanyu who appeared this time, I felt he has become much better at articulating what he’s thinking. To express oneself, you need to have awareness and a clear purpose. You need words to move your staff and collaborators. That’s not easy, but over these ten years, he’s clearly reached that level. —When Hanyu announced his professional career in July 2022, Nomura, who calls himself “Profession: Mansai Nomura”, described Hanyu as “Profession: Yuzuru Hanyu.” NM: To say “Profession: [Name]” means that person does something only they can do. I may be a kyogen actor, but I don’t stay within the boundaries of kyogen. It’s hard for people to evaluate someone who crosses genres. But it’s okay, as long as it’s fulfilling. When Hanyu turned professional, he said a lot at his press conference. Watching that, I didn’t feel he had completely come to terms with it, nor do I think he needs to. What I realized was that he’s going to do what only Yuzuru Hanyu can do. Some may say he’s still an athlete, others might say he’s not really an athlete anymore. Some might call him an artist, and others might say he’s not an artist. Even I get told “You’re an actor,” and then someone says, “No, you’re a kyogen actor.” In that sense, it’s a very solitary path. But considering all that, I felt he has a high calling and something unique only he can do, so I gave him the title “Profession: Yuzuru Hanyu.” At notte stellata, seeing him do something so wonderful that only he could do moved me deeply. There’s no one with more presence or persuasiveness than Yuzuru Hanyu in that space. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to be involved, and I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. Of course, many staff supported us, but it’s Yuzuru Hanyu’s own magnetic pull that made it all possible. Talking with him this time, I felt he’s a public figure who carries a great responsibility, someone who is pushing forward toward something only he can achieve. It might be presumptuous for me to call him my successor, but I strongly feel that he is a person with whom I can connect on the level of worldview and cosmic awareness. I was glad he appreciated being called “Profession: Yuzuru Hanyu.” Truly, I feel he has now become just that—“Profession: Yuzuru Hanyu.” When he began collaborating on ice shows with MIKIKO, she sent me a LINE message saying, “While creating with Hanyu-kun, I found myself thinking of you many times, Mansai-san” Both he and I frequently speak about concepts like “the universe,” and oth of us lean toward the otherworldly. The Onmyoji, as a practitioner, is someone connected to the cosmos, and our profession involves wearing 'masks' and embodying moments of divine incarnation, such as in Sanbaso where we manifest the instant of becoming gods. Hanyu is deeply interested in these themes and is inspired by them; he himself experiences divine possession. Without such a state, he could not undertake such grand projects. His strong sense of mission and moments of divine possession enable him to communicate with great conviction. It may be this sympathy or fundamental resonance that allowed the collaboration on notte stellata to come together so swiftly. Naturally, this was also facilitated by his prior dedicated study. Hanyu may have watched MANSAI Boléro more closely than I have myself. I tend to improvise quite a bit myself, and he once said to me, “That part was pretty much ad-libbed, wasn’t it?” (laughs). He also really likes the final scene of Onmyoji, and he enjoys how costumes with large sleeves, like in this Bolero performance, catch the wind. I felt he’s done quite a bit of research into it. Because of that, he quickly understands the intentions behind what I’m trying to do, and fundamentally, I think we share a similar way of thinking. Underlying all this, as I mentioned before, is the idea that the movements of figure skating and Noh/Kyogen are by no means far apart. "Are You Glad to be Alive?" —Bolero became a collaboration that will go down in figure skating history. So far, it has only been performed in the three shows of notte stellata. Nomura: When I met Hanyu recently, he said, “Boléro is a piece we should preserve.” So I do hope we can perform it again someday. That said, part of its significance may lie in the fact that it was performed in that particular venue, Grandy 21. That said, I also want more people to see it. There are works that remain great no matter how many times you see them. Classics and masterpieces are like that, they never lose their appeal. Everyone thinks SEIMEI is cool no matter how often they watch it. I believe the Bolero we created this time is that kind of work as well. I don’t know how long Hanyu will continue as an athlete, and I may reach an age where it’s difficult for me to run around the side of the rink. But even if we can no longer move, we can still exist as presences, letting those who can move take the stage. Performing Bolero this time, I felt that having other skaters involved added strength in a way that’s different from a solo performance. Hanyu has a tremendous presence, so perhaps he will lead younger comrades or successors and establish a new kind of genre. I believe he’s capable of doing that. —At the curtain call of the final performance of notte stellata, Mansai’s words to the audience became a major topic of conversation. When he asked, “Are you glad to be alive?” and “Do you truly feel that you are alive right now?” the audience responded with even greater enthusiasm and energy. Nomura: For 20 years, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I served as the artistic director at Setagaya Public Theatre, and I’m currently the Artistic Creative Director at the Ishikawa Prefectural Music Hall. A theater is a place where living people gather. People come to theaters because watching live performing arts gives them a sense that it’s good to be alive. It’s an obvious thing, but feeling grateful to be alive is a privilege unique to living beings. That’s why I always want to be involved in spaces like that. We survivors, gathered at a place like Grandi 21, pause to reflect on death once again, and through performances like Bolero and others, we wish to comfort the souls of the deceased. I also hope these acts serve as a tribute to those who have passed and bring them some form of peace or solace. From this intention came the words: “Are you glad to be alive?” “Do you truly feel alive?” “This is what it means to be alive.” It is precisely because we can feel “I’m glad to be alive” that the departed can reach out to the living, and we, the living, can reflect on death, including our own mortality. This philosophy was what I sensed in that space. Seeing how joyfully the audience responded, I thought there could be no clearer way to share this feeling. That’s why I wanted to ask the audience directly. Of course, those feelings arose precisely because that place served as a temporary morgue for the deceased. Had it not been so, I don’t think I would have spoken those words. To mourn the dead is also to give thanks for the joy of being alive, and I believe such a space should embody that duality. Given the strong response from the audience, though I don’t usually speak during curtain calls, those words naturally came out in that moment. In the end, I felt that this was precisely the intention behind Hanyu’s notte stellata project. For him to have accomplished something of this scale is truly remarkable. I want to continue supporting him, and I’m glad that I have supported him up to now. Nomura Mansai: Born in 1966 in Tokyo, he studied under his grandfather, Nomura Manzo VI,, and his father, Nomura Mansaku. He is a designated holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property. Graduated from the Faculty of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has participated in numerous Kyogen and Noh performances both in Japan and abroad, contributing to their promotion, while also starring in contemporary plays, films, and television dramas. He is active in a wide range of fields, including directing works that make use of classical techniques. He is one of the leading figures driving Japanese arts and culture today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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