Yuzuru Hanyu Reveals Programs for 2018-2019 Season
In a highly unexpected move, Japanese figure skating superstar, Yuzuru Hanyu, revealed his programs for the 2018-2019 season in an announcement thumbtacked to the bulletin board at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club, where he trains.
The announcement stated simply:
Yuzuru Hanyu will perform the following programs in 2018-2019.
SP - Pigeons in Flight/Choreographer - Ghislain Briand
FS - Chopin Goes Crazy on a Parisienne Walkway: A Medley/Choreographer - Kenji Miyamoto
According to Hanyu, the announcement was originally posted a week ago, but was quickly stapled over and covered by tear-off ads for used boots and discounted guitar lessons. “The second time, I used a bold font and highlighted my name with a yellow marker and that seemed to work.” Within minutes, 10-year-old German novice figure skater and social media phenom, “Victoria-Luise” posted a picture of the announcement on her Instagram and immediately sent a firestorm through the figure skating world.
Hanyu agreed to sit down for an exclusive interview during his lunch break at the TCC cafeteria. “In the past, I’ve announced my programs on media day, where journalists travel to Toronto from all over the world, just to take hundreds of pictures of me in a white shirt and my UA practice gear but that wasn’t really me. From now on, I’m only doing me,” shrugged Hanyu, munching on a cherry tomato from a bento box of strawberries, beets, grilled salmon and rice packed for him by his mother.
Short Program: A Dove Is Just a White Pigeon
Asked to comment further on his programs, Hanyu explained that his short is a quiet piece where silence is layered with the sound of cooing pigeons. “I have a fondness for pigeons,” stated Hanyu, “They are just unappreciated doves. Put it another way, a dove is just a white pigeon. I wanted to show that there is beauty in the mundane, that every pigeon, if bleached humanely, could turn into a dove.” Hanyu recorded the coo of the pigeons in his own voice because, as he observed, “The pigeons in Toronto don’t really sound like pigeons.”
Hanyu’s short program is also noteworthy because he will be revealing a new combination of elements that he has been developing for the past two years with his jump coach Ghislain Briand. The move starts with his signature hydrobrade, where he will bend low to kiss the ice, and then propel himself into the air using only his arms and upper body to do a quadruple jump. Hanyu is unsure whether this move will get any points, as it has never before been performed in competition, but again, he emphasized, “I’m only skating for myself.”
Controversial Free Program
In a controversial move that has created a stir among fans and critics alike, Hanyu’s Free Skate will be a compilation of his previous short programs. Hanyu has received criticism in the past for recycling programs, particularly his Chopin Ballade No. 1 and Seimei programs, which brought him his second Olympic gold medal in Pyeongchang this year. Hanyu waved off the criticism, “I’ve recycled my shorts and I’ve recycled my frees, but I’ve never recycled my shorts as a free.” Although the short programs were originally choreographed by Jeffrey Buttle, a Canadian choreographer, the new medley was choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto who previously worked on some of Hanyu’s exhibition programs. Hanyu explained that he wanted to give his programs a Japanese interpretation, “It will be more subtle, less movement. For long stretches, it will just be me doing backward crossrolls around the rink.”
In addition, Hanyu promised that the free program will be a crowd pleaser - he will start the program wearing all three costumes from Chopin, Parisienne Walkways, and Let’s Go Crazy and strip off the costumes one by one during his skate. Despite what the name of the medley suggests, Hanyu will end the program in his Let’s Go Crazy costume, which devoted fans have nicknamed “The Purple Pants of Sin” because, as he explained with an air of bemused nonchalance, “It is tight and won’t fit over the other costumes.”