Dreams on Ice 2007

Broadcast on 17th July on Fuji TV, I hadn’t come round to watching the recorded programme until this Monday. Till then, we had the shocking news about Nobunari’s drink driving. And yesterday, oh gosh! Maxim… I feel really sorry for the man who got killed in the car accident, his family, and the girl who is still in coma, those who got injured, and of course, Albena. The news has hurt not only Maxim and Albena but also other skaters and many skate fans.

Anyway… I’d just like to write down my impressions of the ice show.

At first, I was very impressed by Shizuka’s looks. She’s looked better and better since she won the gold medal at the Turin Olympics. It’s a pity that she didn’t skate this time but just appeared as a guest commentator.

Yukari Nakano: Le Cygne (Sant-Saens)
Her movement was smooth, elegant and beautiful. You can clearly see what a marvellous skater she has become. She must have been working so hard every day, and actually gets more and more appealing. For the encore, she turned up with the tune of Claudine and showed us her new technique of one-hand Biellmann spin, which was amazingly fast. I was so impressed by her hard-working and sincere attitude towards skating.

Satsuki Muramoto: All That Jazz
Still a junior skater, she looked so adorable working for the elegantly choreographed sequence. Not bad at all.

Rumi Suizu: What You Waiting For
She’s got a good sense of rhythm and girly charms. Maybe sexier than other female skaters around her age. Not bad at all.

Shen & Zhao: My Way
They are always great. With their dynamic and dramatic performance, they are a worthy world champion. Nobody knows if they will continue to work until the Vancouver Olympics to win the gold, but we pray for their luck!
Nana Takeda: Ain’t No Other Man
Wow, how energetic, rhythmical, dynamic and entertaining she is! I’ve known that she’s such a good dancer, but she’s got even better now. Dancing to this kind of glamorous tune, she’s still cute!

Digest version (Takahiko Kozuka, Kensuke Nakaniwa, Takahito Mura, Hirofumi Torii, Tatsuki Machida, Yasuharu Nanri, Akiko Suzuki)
Oh dear… Fuji did it again. I heard that BS Fuji showed all of them for the full version, though. I wanted to see Kensuke, Yasuharu and Akiko especially (maybe I’ll find their performances on some internet sites).

Nobunari Oda: Around the World (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
After knowing what he’s done, I felt sad watching his supposed-to-be wild and gripping performance. It was still funny when he went out of the rink to shake hands with some of the audience, while playing the air guitar. Including the middle part in which four junior skaters held him up like a portable shrine, the choreography was unique and he was absorbed in the imaginative world. Did he break the air guitar at the end of the performance?

Yu-Na Kim: Just a Girl
At first, she looked like an American teenager in the sporty pink costume. But she also looked like young version of Shizuka, possibly because of her physique and hair style. Anyway, her performance was cute and pop. The encore was the well-known Reflection. She was cute throughout the show. Just hope that she will not get any more injuries until the next Olympics.

Fumie Suguri: Cell Block Tango (from Chicago)
We can always see clearly what she tries to express in any music she chooses. As for me, yes I understand what she wants to do, but somehow, it’s often slightly difficult to relate to her imaginative world. For this particular tune, I thought she was too skinny and stoic to be sexy. This observation of mine prevented me from simply enjoying her performance. I suppose many people now wonder if she can cope with the competing situation until the next Olympics, but I’m sure she knows it better than anybody else. Just like always, she might be able to manage, somehow. I just hope that she can do better for this season.

Stephane Lambiel: Un Giorno Per Noi (Romeo e Giulietta)
How emotional, sensual and poetic he can perform! He even did a quad. The encore was much awaited Flamenco with all of his passion. Hmm… I remember that I failed to see him in Omote-sando, Tokyo, in March this year, when he was in Japan for the world. My husband and I were walking along the street when I found a public toilet. While I was there for a few minutes, he spotted Stephane and probably his family coming along from the opposite direction. When I was back, they’d gone. I accused my hubby of not telling me about it even on my mobile, but anyway, he’d gone already. Not interested in figure skating, my husband’s impression of the magnificent skater was ‘he’s so small’. Well, his height is, maybe. I wonder what I could have said to the boy if I could actually see him. Maybe it’s better to see his performances on TV or in the stadium…

Denkova & Staviski: Liber Tango
When I watched their performance for this show on the video, I hadn’t known about the car accident Maxim caused. Maybe we’ll not be able to see their mature performance with the marvellous technique any more. In many senses, it’s so sad.

Daisuke Takahashi: Bachelorette (Bjork)
Due to the absence of Miki Ando and Asada sisters, Daisuke was selected to conclude the show. It might be incredible if you know some about his career, but it means that he’s improved as such a dependable man. The news that he has chosen a Bjork’s piece for his new exhibition programme made me excited. The collaboration of two of my favourite artists is, to me, a complete success. Daisuke depicted well of the pure but mysterious, digital but wild, cool but hot characteristics of Bjork’s musical world by his body and facial expressions as well as his skating itself. His spins have become better as well. He’s said to be the one and only skater who can express the music itself by his skating. Unlike his long programme for last year, Phantom of the Opera, the choreography may not have conveyed a particular story-line we could follow, but we enjoyed his performance as the music itself. He appeared again for the encore with the tune of Phantom of the Opera and showed his confidence in the step works. When going backstage, he was so sweet waving a little of his hand. I think most of his fans like him for both on and off the ice.

I just hope all the skaters can do their best on the ice, and no more skaters will have to ruin their careers and talents.