Kaori Sakamoto: “I consider this three years as a time to try different things to discover what suits me best and then have something where I can envision myself winning for the Olympics.”
Translation of Kaori Sakamoto’s comments about her programs.
source: number.bunshun.jp dd. 24th November 2023 by Akiko Tamura
Translation of Kaori Sakamoto’s comments about her programs for 2023/24 season posted on Sports Graphic Number Web.
Her short program is choreographed by Jeffrey Buttle to a song “Baby, God Bless You” that Sakamoto chose herself, inspired by the joy of the births of her nephew and niece. The program revolves around the theme of new life. However, it has been challenging as her coach advised, “Slow songs tend to lack substance, so within the gentle movements, you must exhibit your characteristic power to avoid making the performance boring.”
AS for her free program choreographed by Marie-France Dubreuil to “”Wild is the Wind/Feeling Good,” Kaori shared “When choosing the free skate music for this season, Marie-France initially suggested a song, and I suggested a different one. We progressed with both up to a certain point, doing the choreography for the salchow and three jumps for both songs. Marie-France then asked which song I wanted to continue with, and we ultimately settled on the current one.”
They’ve chose the one suggested by Marie-France. Kaori had also suggested another piece, the soundtrack from “The Mask of Zorro.” However, after trying it out and seeing the completed form, she felt that the other song had a more interesting appeal.
“When I could visualize myself skating… It seemed more interesting to choose the one where I couldn’t quite grasp the image.” Sakamoto describes it as the opposite of last season’s Janet Jackson program, where poses were aligned with the music. While a program like this would have been too embarrassing for her a few years ago, she now believes she can perform it confidently as the current version of herself.
Looking ahead to the Olympic season, Sakamoto shared her thoughts about a program she could skate in that season. “For the Olympic season, I want to perform with choreography and music that give me the best chance of winning, something where I can envision myself winning. I consider the preceding three years as a time to explore and try different things to discover what suits me best. I feel quite comfortable with this, and if it works well, I’m also considering sticking to a similar genre for the Olympic season.”
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