“I think the future will be even better than I can imagine. By doing my best now, I feel I’ve entered my 30s differently from when I used to think ’30 means you’re old!'” Yuzuru Hanyu about turning 30 and his new show Echoes of Life
Yuzuru Hanyu about turning 30 and his new solo ice show tour “Echoes of Life.”
original source Nikkansports / Nikkansports / Nikkansports dd. 8th December by Jun Kinoshita
On his 30th birthday, Yuzuru Hanyu, the two-time Winter Olympics champion in men’s figure skating and now in his third year as a professional, launched his nationwide solo ice show tour, “Echoes of Life,” at the Saitama Super Arena. Themed around “life,” “I,” “sound,” and “rebirth,” the performance portrayed a young man born into a philosophical virtual world, depicting his growth, first show gathered 14000 audience. Here’s a translation (machine) of his comments from the Q&A session posted on Nikkansports.
“Q: How do you feel after completing the first day?
Yuzuru Hanyu: The strongest feeling is that it finally began. I was really nervous, and of course, I’ve spent a lot of time training every day, but you never really know until you perform in front of everyone whether it will be a success or a failure. So honestly, my feelings are that it has finally started, and I’m glad that the first day went without injuries and the story was complete.
Q: “Living” is one of the themes. What thoughts have you put into this?
Yuzuru Hanyu: Originally, from a young age, I have been very interested in the philosophy of what ‘living’ means, throughout considering bioethics and then studying it at university. From there, I reconsidered the thoughts and theories that had always been swirling in my mind. With ‘Echoes of Life,’ I wanted to create a performance that would enable people in today’s world to find their own philosophical answers about what it means to live.
On being greeted by fans as he turned 30
Yuzuru Hanyu: When I think about turning 30, and then actually hear ’30 years old’, it hits me, ah, am I really 30? (laughs). What I imagined about being in my 30s when I was younger, including my physical sensations and mental state now, it’s completely different than what I had imagined. I feel like I can still achieve a lot. In ‘Echoes,’ there are concepts like what the future is, what the past is, but I think the future will be even better than I can imagine. By doing my best now, I feel I’ve entered my 30s differently from when I used to think ’30 means you’re old!’
About aspirations at 30
Yuzuru Hanyu: As a figure skater, there was this vague image that I might start deteriorating, but if I compare it to sports like baseball or soccer, I think it’s just the time when experience, personal senses, and skills really start to peak. I want to hold onto hope for my own future, constantly maintain the determination to seize opportunities, and approach practice, training, and performances with that mindset.
Q: During the performance, there were many phrases that made you want to jot them down. Could you pick one and share your thoughts?
Yuzuru Hanyu: Really, I’ve revisited various philosophical texts and books by professors I studied with at university about life and others. “Fate is a series of coincidences,” I learned while reading various philosophical texts. I truly believe that everyone, probably, has their own unique sequence of coincidences that connect to form their fate. I hope that when everyone reflects back or feels their fate unfolding, they can feel happiness or encounter something as rare as a miraculous event due to these coincidences. This is one of the lines I wrote with the hope that people would feel something akin to a miracle.
Q: There were many new costumes in this production. Is there a particular costume that especially resonated with you?
Yuzuru Hanyu: Yes, it would definitely be the costume of Nova, the protagonist of the virtual world portrayed in the performance. Until now, I hadn’t linked costumes seen in videos to those actually worn for performing. Honestly, it was quite challenging to wear clothing that could be used in fashion on the ice, but I really have a strong emotional attachment to the costume of Nova. This time, not only people who have always specialized in figure skating but also those who had never designed figure skating costumes before participated. We went through numerous iterations and arrangements to create many costumes. Of course, pieces like “Replay,” “Gift,” and “Prologue” represent a different facet of “ICE STORY”. Including these costumes, I would like you to feel the texture and uniqueness of the costumes that you wouldn’t see in anything other than ‘Echoes’.
Q: There was a movie-like video involved as well. How much time did filming take? Additionally, did you initially have any desire to challenge yourself with performances intended for the screen?
Yuzuru Hanyu: Starting with your latter question, I once had the opportunity to act in a film. I really thought to myself, “Ah… this isn’t quite right for me,” at that time (laughs). I didn’t have any particular desire to appear in films. However, when it comes to playing the character Nova, I felt completely natural. After all, it’s a story I wrote, and I depicted a protagonist I could fully immerse myself in, so I felt I really needed to perform it myself. Regarding the time it took for filming, well, it took about three days. We were filming for two full days, then about half a day, and then another half-day session, plus, we had to record the narration. Recording the narration itself took another full two days… it was a lot of work! Yes (laughs).
Regarding the selection of music and expression.
Yuzuru Hanyu: Since the previous “Replay” was quite game-oriented, while creating new programs, I felt a desire to also do something more classical, and since philosophy was also a theme this time, I’ve selected quite a few pieces with piano melodies or songs that have a bracing feeling. During this process, while crafting the story, I thought about points like ‘This is where I want to fight,’ ‘This is where I need to have resolve,’ or ‘This is where I want to use words directly.’ With these considerations, I was quite particular about the selection of music.
The piece I struggled with the most this time was probably the fifth one. Starting with a sequence of classical piano pieces, ‘Ballade No. 1’ was something I had never done before. Without leaving the stage even once, I continued performing almost continuously in 30-second intervals. That part involved studying classical music with Shinya Kiyozuka and discussing what meanings to convey while playing… and also, I asked Jeffrey Buttle for the choreography, and together with Jeff, we meticulously planned what would become several minutes of the program, with a clear image of how I wanted to skate.
Related topics: Yuzuru Hanyu
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