[2022.08.10] Number Web - Interview with Yuzuru Hanyu's choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

Source: https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/854207?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220914085103/https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/854207?page=1

 

 

Yuzuru Hanyu's choreographer said, "When I contacted him to congratulate him on turning pro, he immediately replied..." Shae-Lynn Bourne recalls, "Yuzu had his own 'voice'."

 

Shae-Lynn Bourne, the choreographer and professional skater who has worked with Yuzuru Hanyu for the past eight years, will be arriving in Japan in a few days for five weeks to perform in an ice show and to film an NHK documentary directed by her husband, film director Bohdan Turok. Despite her busy schedule before departure, she kindly agreed to an exclusive interview. (Part 1 of 2) 

 

Spoiler

"When I contacted him to congratulate him on turning pro, he immediately replied..."

First, we asked for her thoughts on Hanyu's announcement that he has turned professional.

 

"I've been in constant contact with Yuzu over things like choreographing programs for Fantasy on Ice. But he hadn't said anything about competing next season, so I didn't bring up the topic myself. I didn't want to put any extra pressure on him. I don't really read the news on the internet, so my husband was the first to notice and tell me about his decision to turn professional. When I messaged Yuzu saying, 'Congratulations on turning professional,' he immediately replied with a thank you, saying he was happy to receive a message from me."

　

While the timing was unexpected, it wasn't a surprise.

 

"After winning a gold medal at his first Olympics, some athletes might have considered retirement. Furthermore, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had retired immediately after winning gold again at his second Olympics. He's accomplished everything he could as an athlete. I'm sure he has something new in mind, a new goal, that he wants to pursue using his past experiences."

 

Hanyu's incredible physical abilities: "What incredible talent he is."

Hanyu first asked her to choreograph his programs the season after he won the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics. Her first work was his free program for the 2014/2015 season, set to "The Phantom of the Opera." What was his first impression of her?

 

"When I first met Yuzu, he was already an Olympic champion, but he had a strong motivation to improve even more as a skater. He had the will and desire to do more, especially to get better at skating. Even though he had already achieved the biggest goal as an athlete, he felt that he hadn't yet reached his full potential. That was amazing and left a very strong impression on me."

　

Another thing that left a lasting impression was his physical abilities.

 

"While working on the choreography, Yuzuru would immediately try incorporating a triple Axel into the movements. Normally, no skater tries to jump while working on the choreography. Everyone is too busy just practicing and memorizing the steps. But he would always try to incorporate a jump to check how it felt and meticulously check whether it was possible to incorporate a jump while performing the choreography. This is proof of how well he trains on a regular basis, and I thought, what incredible talent!"

 

"He had his own 'voice'."
 

Furthermore, Hanyu already had a good understanding of what he wanted to express back then.

 

"Yuzu was still very young back then, but he already had his own will and a 'voice' that he wanted to express. I still remember it clearly when Brian (Orser) first called me to ask about choreography, and he asked, 'Yuzu has already decided on the music he wants to skate to, is that alright?' I replied, 'It's wonderful that he has something he wants to do.'"

 

For all five of the free programs choreographed by Bourne, the music was chosen entirely by Hanyu himself. While he experimented with new genres of music in his short program in collaboration with Jeffrey Buttle, for his free program, he solidified the music he wanted to perform, the image he wanted to express, and the overall concept from the beginning, before commissioning Bourne to choreograph it.

 

"For every piece of music, there was a reason he wanted to skate to it properly. For Yuzu, being true to himself and pursuing what he considered to be his truth through skating must have been very important. That's why I think he was able to captivate so many fans."

 

"Yuzu's growth" - What I noticed as a choreographer

"Continuing to choreograph for him for several seasons after that was very meaningful to me. That's because a skater and a choreographer learn from each other and build a deeper understanding as they work together. A deep relationship of trust is born from that. Thanks to that, I was able to watch Yuzu grow."

 

When did she particularly feel that he had grown?

 

"People often learn more from facing difficulties than from achieving success. Yuzuru also encountered various difficulties. During the season of 'The Phantom of the Opera,' he was involved in a collision with another skater during a competition, and afterwards he suffered many injuries and hardships. I think Yuzuru learned a lot from these sufferings."

　

I remember this myself, but as you gain more life experience and mature mentally, your attitude towards skating changes, and so do your physical movements. He became increasingly open to his own expression and began to pay attention to the details. He started wanting to know the meaning of each and every movement in the choreography."

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

Source: https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/854208

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220811064720/https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/854208

 

 

"Yuzu and I had a good laugh together..." Yuzuru Hanyu's choreographer talks about his "unlimited potential" after turning pro: "The skating world needs a leader like him."

 

Shae-Lynn Bourne, who has choreographed Yuzuru Hanyu's programs for the past eight years, revealed the "infinite potential" within Hanyu, who has announced his intention to turn professional, in an exclusive interview. (Part 2 of 2) 

 

Spoiler

The program that Bourne found particularly memorable

When asked if there was a particular favorite among his works so far, Bourne thought for a moment before answering.

 

"It's difficult to choose just one. I have an emotional attachment to each program, and each one was a meaningful piece for Yuzu personally. I think that at the time, it was the most suitable program for him. It's like being asked which of your children is the cutest," she says with a laugh. Even so, she says she still feels that "SEIMEI" is a special program.

 

"What I remember most vividly is when we were choreographing 'SEIMEI,' he brought a written document outlining what he wanted to express and the emotions he wanted to convey with the program. In addition to the original story, he had his own story he wanted to express, and I had my own story I wanted to express."

 

"Yuzu sometimes has a mischievous laugh."

 

For example, what exactly were they like?

 

"I watched the movie 'Onmyoji' with subtitles, and I felt that the main character's personality was very similar to Yuzu's. He's calm and confident, and at the same time, he has a sense of humor. We laughed a lot together from the first time we worked on choreography together."

　

Just like the main character in the movie, Yuzu sometimes has a mischievous look on his face and a devilish laugh. When he makes that face, I often ask him, 'What are you thinking about right now?' and we both burst out laughing. I told Yuzu that I felt he had something in common with this main character, and I wanted to capture that atmosphere."

 

Now revealing the thoughts Hanyu poured into "SEIMEI"

"Yuzu explained that in that program, he wanted to express the duality that everyone possesses: the feminine and masculine parts, the sensitivity and strength that exist within every human being. He also wanted to express the slightly fantastical aspects of movie scenes in the slower parts. And for the final step sequence, I choreographed it with the image of Yuzu using his own energy to dispel the dark clouds that had been hanging over him."

　

Every time I saw him perform that program, I felt like he was clearing away the dark clouds, and I think he felt it himself. It was moving. I think it lifted the spirits of the audience, and many people received his energy."

 

This free program was originally choreographed as part of the 2015/2016 program.

 

"But when I finished this piece, I told him, 'It's a little too early, which is a shame. I don't know how you feel about it, but keep in mind the possibility of reusing this program someday. I think this piece should be used in the Olympics.'"

 

Just as Bourne predicted, Hanyu revived "SEIMEI" two seasons later and won his second gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

 

"Yuzu has unlimited potential."

As a senior professional skater, what expectations does she have of Hanyu?

 

"I myself was left alone because my partner retired soon after I turned professional. But I worked hard and built a professional career as a solo skater."

　

Bourne retired from competitive ice skating in March 2003 after winning the World Championships. In October of the same year, she dissolved her partnership with her partner, Victor Kraatz. Since then, she has worked as a choreographer while also continuing to perform as a solo show skater.

 

"Originally, my ultimate goal was to work as a professional skater. I competed in competitions because I wanted to achieve the best possible results so that I could showcase my skating on the biggest stage possible. In that sense, Yuzu has unlimited potential. He has the foundation to have a long career as a professional, and he is a very imaginative skater, so I think he can do something on a grand scale."

 

"The skating world needs a leader like him."

When Hanyu announced his withdrawal from competitive skating, he emphasized that this was not a "retirement" but a "turn to professional skating."

 

"When we performed in a show together before, Yuzu told me that he loves shows because they allow him to express a different side of himself. In competitions, there's the responsibility of successfully landing jumps and other elements, so he can't dedicate all his energy to the performance itself. But in shows, he can express himself much more freely. Figure skating is a sport with endless possibilities, even from an artistic perspective. I don't know yet which direction Yuzu's passion will take him, but I think there's nothing he can't do if he puts his mind to it."

 

Bourne, who spoke with great enthusiasm, also said she was looking forward to meeting Hanyu for the first time since the pandemic began, during her first visit to Japan in a long time.

 

"The skating world needs a leader like him, someone with a clear vision and who isn't afraid to try new things. I'm really looking forward to seeing what new things Yuzu will do."