Mao News - Off-Season 2012!

News clip with Mao, Yuzuru, Yuna and Daisuke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsj59ACZaOY

Mao's practice clip is from the same session when the clips aired just after The Ice were recorded... There is some new footage with Yuzuru dancing hip-hop off ice, though

inskate wrote:

News clip with Mao, Yuzuru, Yuna and Daisuke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsj59ACZaOY

Mao's practice clip is from the same session when the clips aired just after The Ice were recorded... There is some new footage with Yuzuru dancing hip-hop off ice, though

Thank you for the clip. I wonder why it scared the hell out of me...
It felt like the media is bent on reviving the Yuna-Mao rivalry!
Kinda makes me nervous about Mao's technical development...
Whether she should go for a safer layout or not - might not be the pressing issue!
It is about landing every jump consistently! This would bring her back to her contender's status!
She needs to show the judges that she is still a threat to the other skaters - old school or fresh wave!

inskate wrote:

News clip with Mao, Yuzuru, Yuna and Daisuke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsj59ACZaOY

Mao's practice clip is from the same session when the clips aired just after The Ice were recorded... There is some new footage with Yuzuru dancing hip-hop off ice, though

Thank you! Just Like Yuna , she also was dancing hip-hop off ice!

polosatik wrote:

inskate wrote:

News clip with Mao, Yuzuru, Yuna and Daisuke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsj59ACZaOY

Mao's practice clip is from the same session when the clips aired just after The Ice were recorded... There is some new footage with Yuzuru dancing hip-hop off ice, though

Thank you! Just Like Yuna , she also was dancing hip-hop off ice!

Thanks for the clip inskate.

It would appear, that hip hop dancing is some kind of tradition at the Cricket. It's nice to see skaters having some fun. Is Yuzu in Canada with his parents, or by himself?

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/column/shirota/news/20120829-OHT1T00221.htm

The next part of Machiko Yamada's interview has been published. Includes an anecdote of Mai, she locked herself up in the bathroom for 3 hours because she didn't want to train lol. Mrs Yamada says Mai was a skater who had to be in the mood to train, whereas Mao was an easy student who would train by herself.

thaanks soo much for the new article it looks like a really interesting interview they had with yamada!

I am tired of waiting for the news of Mao's music choice
and hoping it goes like this

SP: Water boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5pmYpoMT2A

* IIRC, Mao discribed SP music as "moving forward type"
I think this is it.
* The music was used for the very well made Mao's montage which
was viewed quite a number of times and deleted a few years ago.
(the other poster uploaded it again though)
* I just like it very much.

FS: Madam Butterfly

* Mao said that FS music was "well known classical music"
* As everyone knows, this is her never-been-shown Ex program for 2010-2011.
* I think it suits her very well.

silenceisgolden, I like your choices, but didn't Mao also said that her short is a fun type of music? While I like your choice, it doesn't sound fun type to me.

I LOVE Madame Butterfly , but I also wouldn't mind if she skated to Tchaikovsky violin concerto.

I completely agree, I'm tired of waiting for her to announce her music. What the heck is going on?! it's september already and stil no news.

I think we are all used to time when the media created a Mao-Yuna rivalry. The media followed them everywhere to know how their training was going, what they said to the press....We used to see Mao so often on TV or news that we feel we don't see her at all now.
I think it's good for her that the media doesn't follow her everywhere. She has more time for herself and peace.
In a month or so, we will know her new programs. Let's be patient guys!

MaoChan756 wrote:

inskate wrote:

News clip with Mao, Yuzuru, Yuna and Daisuke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsj59ACZaOY

Mao's practice clip is from the same session when the clips aired just after The Ice were recorded... There is some new footage with Yuzuru dancing hip-hop off ice, though

Thank you for the clip. I wonder why it scared the hell out of me...
It felt like the media is bent on reviving the Yuna-Mao rivalry!

Actually, I'm more worried about the new wave of talent... Yuna is a formidable opponent, but she rides in the same boat as Mao: the CoP has changed a lot since Vancouver and Yuna also has to make some adjustments to aim for the top. The CoP changes actually are quite beneficial for Mao. As that early practice session at Worlds has proved, Mao has the potential to have a very CoP-efficient jump layout. She just needs to improve and maintain her physical condition and muscular strength. If she manages to do that, she /will/ score well; if not - whether or not Yuna makes a successful comeback will not make any difference.

The "new wave" is certainly a bit "scary", though... I watched all available junior/novices competitions this year, and I'm really impressed by the girls who started to skate under the new rules. On the whole, you can really see that the coaches (esp. Russian, American, Japanese, Korean and Chinese) are really starting to (finally) pay attention to teaching the correct jumping technique. There's so much more girls who have 3-3s, 2-3s, full set of jumps and/or correct edges on F and Lz. And they still have a lot of time to improve.

It makes me kind of sad knowing that the ladies of Mao's generation (and older) started with the disadvantage of starting to skate at the time when some technique flaws were not considered flaws at all. Who knows where they would be now if they were taught correct technique to begin with!

silenceisgolden wrote:

I am tired of waiting for the news of Mao's music choice
and hoping it goes like this

SP: Water boys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5pmYpoMT2A

* IIRC, Mao discribed SP music as "moving forward type"
I think this is it.
* The music was used for the very well made Mao's montage which
was viewed quite a number of times and deleted a few years ago.
(the other poster uploaded it again though)
* I just like it very much.

FS: Madam Butterfly

* Mao said that FS music was "well known classical music"
* As everyone knows, this is her never-been-shown Ex program for 2010-2011.
* I think it suits her very well.

Re: SP, didn't Mao say that her SP is set to fun, "musical'like" music? I was thinking it might be something like West Side Story... There are literally hundreds of musical (or musical-inspired) music pieces available, though - I have no idea what Mao and Lori might have chosen!

Re:FS, actually I think it's a pretty good guess! Mao has never debuted her Madame Butterfly EX, and she's known to keep and reuse the music she liked and didn't get to use (like Liebenstraum, which originally was meant to be her Olympic LP). Plus, TAT likes this music and used it for Shizuka's amazing SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q381hrTBzSE
...but, aside from NHK, Shizuka had an awful season and so her SP isn't very well known. Aside from Shizuka, the only known skaters who I remember using this music are Miki (a LP best left forgotten) and Kristi Yamaguchi (lovely, but it was a pro program). All in all, it's a known piece of music, but not overused. And I think it would suit Mao very well - it's a very delicate, yet powerful and dramatic music.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is lovely, too... Although I'd prefer to see it as SP. I also really love Daphnis et Chloe, but Nobunari snatched it for his LP this season...

Ever wonder how Mao would fare if she skated her SP to Malaguena?
I know Sasha owned every single note of that music...
But still - It has the 'Por Una' flair to it!

Can't they just announce the music now? I am slightly nervous about Mao's 3-3! :/

http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/6912041/

Mai will join Mao for Sato commercials.
When asked about their relationship, Mao says "She's more like a close friend than an older sister.". She tries to explain : "When we go out together, I'm the one who drives the car. I'm scared when Mai drives". Mai nods, "Mao is more put together than me.".
About skating "Last season, I wasn't able to give a performance that I was satisfied with. This season, I want to work hard so that I can give a satisfactory performance at every competition."

MaoChan756 wrote:

Ever wonder how Mao would fare if she skated her SP to Malaguena?
I know Sasha owned every single note of that music...
But still - It has the 'Por Una' flair to it!

Can't they just announce the music now? I am slightly nervous about Mao's 3-3! :/

I'd like to see that, but like you said, Sasha owned that music. I often wondered what would happen had Mao skated to Por una cabeza as her olympic short instead of the Masquerade. por Una cabeza was an amazing EXH that could've easily been turned in to a short program masterpiece, IMO.

I'm also nervous about Mao's 3-3. Tech specialists love to downgrade any combo with 3 loop. I still think 3F-3T would've been better, but i'm not Mao, so what do i know...

dangerous_angel_face wrote:

Mai will join Mao for Sato commercials.
When asked about their relationship, Mao says "She's more like a close friend than an older sister.". She tries to explain : "When we go out together, I'm the one who drives the car. I'm scared when Mai drives". Mai nods, "Mao is more put together than me.".
About skating "Last season, I wasn't able to give a performance that I was satisfied with. This season, I want to work hard so that I can give a satisfactory performance at every competition."

Thanks for summarizing! I always like to read about their relationship. They're so close.
And I hope her wish will come true, and she'll have a satisfactory performance at every competition.

MaoChan756 wrote:

Ever wonder how Mao would fare if she skated her SP to Malaguena?
---
Can't they just announce the music now? I am slightly nervous about Mao's 3-3! :/

zarinaballerina wrote:

I often wondered what would happen had Mao skated to Por una cabeza as her olympic short instead of the Masquerade. por Una cabeza was an amazing EXH that could've easily been turned in to a short program masterpiece, IMO.

I'm also nervous about Mao's 3-3. Tech specialists love to downgrade any combo with 3 loop. I still think 3F-3T would've been better, but i'm not Mao, so what do i know...

I'd actually prefer it if Mao skated to music that's not been skated by most skaters. Music that she can make her own. So I hope she won't skate to Malaguena in competitions. Por Una is something else. She really made a mark with that music. And I agree. That one would have been a better choice for her Olympic SP.

And like you I'm nervous for Mao's 3-3 seeing as a lot of skaters are incorporating 3-3s into their programs. Well, most are doing 3T-3T but the younger ones are definitely doing the more difficult combos. I hope she starts to put it back in competition and gives it the same attention she gives her 3As. She needs it more than the 3A.

dangerous_angel_face wrote:

This season, I want to work hard so that I can give a satisfactory performance at every competition.

I'm excited with this statement and looking forward to Mao's competitions. I really, really hope she can give her all in every competition she joins so she won't have any regrets.

thanks, everyone, for news and links.

re: mao skating to music not associated with another skater...

i think mao can make any music her own if the music suits her. it doesn't matter so much whether another skater has previously skated to it. i can't objectively comment on whether malaguena suits mao because it's on my list of music i wish to never hear again at a skating competition

i like the idea of the tchaikovsky violin concerto for mao. or mendelssohn's midsummer night's dream.

since mao's camp has yet to reveal the music, i'd like to look on the bright side and say, it's nice that i get to imagine mao skating to various pieces of music i love, rather than having the dream be ruptured by the cruel reality that mao is definitely skating to malaguena this coming season

I wouldn't want anybody to skate to Malaguena now, because the current rules would make choreographing a program set to this music rather difficult... Sasha's program was spectacular because of how all the elements fit to the music; particularly the long spiral sequence and very fast, snappy footwork.
I like CoP, but I don't like the recent changes which made spirals to be useless in the SP, the footwork sequences even longer than in the recent seasons and force the skaters to place their choreographic sequence (in the LP) AFTER the footwork sequence. I see no reason for those changes and I hope that the skaters, choreographers and coaches will complain to the ISU and the rules will be adjusted again. Sadly, this probably won't happen until after the Olympics...


Mao's music is still a secret, but Adelina revealed her SP recently! (The link was posted at FSU). I just watched it a second ago... The quality of the video was rather horrible, but I liked the program. I think TAT get's better at choreographing CoP-efficient programs. The music was lovely (Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rhimsky-Korsakov mixed with some flamenco I can't recognize), the choreo seemed promising (at least from what I could see from the slideshow-like vid...), the elements were well placed in the program (3Lz-3T (DG for now), LSp, FCSp, 3F, 2A, StSq, CCoSP), and the dress was very pretty. The only thing I didn't like was the way the music was cut; the moments where the pieces were cut are too jarring. Hopefully that will get fixed later.
The program was still very new, but I think it has the potential to become Adelina's signature piece!

I hope TAT will give Mao just as good program, or better

Did someone post this new CM already? If so, I apologize.

inskate wrote:

Mao's music is still a secret, but Adelina revealed her SP recently! (The link was posted at FSU). I just watched it a second ago... The quality of the video was rather horrible, but I liked the program. I think TAT get's better at choreographing CoP-efficient programs. The music was lovely (Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rhimsky-Korsakov mixed with some flamenco I can't recognize), the choreo seemed promising (at least from what I could see from the slideshow-like vid...), the elements were well placed in the program (3Lz-3T (DG for now), LSp, FCSp, 3F, 2A, StSq, CCoSP), and the dress was very pretty. The only thing I didn't like was the way the music was cut; the moments where the pieces were cut are too jarring. Hopefully that will get fixed later.
The program was still very new, but I think it has the potential to become Adelina's signature piece!

I hope TAT will give Mao just as good program, or better

This is good news. Would love to get a look at Adelina's SP. I do worry on the "too jarring" music cut. Last season's Liebestraum suffered from this. I hope Mao's music cut won't be like this and won't sound a bit repetitive. That's the other thing I don't like with TAT's music cuts.

klarification, thanks for posting the CM! It's cute and they're both gorgeous.

@roma, I don't know what to think of TAT, she produced some masterpiece EX, but the competitive programs for Mao (Ladies in Lavender not counting) were rather blah. I hope this will change this season and we'll see Mao with a LP masterpiece, however if TAT's choreo/program won't be very good, I hope Sato-sensei will put his foot down and make her use someone else for her Oly's program.

zarinaballerina wrote:

klarification, thanks for posting the CM! It's cute and they're both gorgeous.

@roma, I don't know what to think of TAT, she produced some masterpiece EX, but the competitive programs for Mao (Ladies in Lavender not counting) were rather blah. I hope this will change this season and we'll see Mao with a LP masterpiece, however if TAT's choreo/program won't be very good, I hope Sato-sensei will put his foot down and make her use someone else for her Oly's program.

I also hope so. I hope TAT will treat Mao's new FS as an EX and give us a masterpiece with beautiful choreo, costume and music cuts.

Edit:
Adelina's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXx8ZyBBc6w
The music ain't as jarring as I imagined but still a bit repetitive for me.

Guys, don't you think you're too harsh on TAT? She had difficult time then, her Scheherezade one was beautiful program and for me much better then Liebestraum. I know you want Mao to have programs like Akiko or Yuna,but you forget that Mao is different and she's still searching for her style. Only skating to Chopin or something airy and lyrical is not a good choice. And reading you bashing TAT in every message disappoint me a lot. Please wait for the actual programs and then talk about how awful program and how terrible costume is,okay?
In other skating forums members can't even say a word of critics not only about skater which forum is dedicated to, but even to their teams. I really appreciate that we have such a free discussion but sometimes you go to far.

inskate worte
>Re: SP, didn't Mao say that her SP is set to fun, "musical'like" music?

Right, I too remember she said so,
but when I learned her Ex was Mary Poppins,
I presumed that she might had meant Ex not SP and also
not a musical like music but a musical number

Whoa there polosatik. No one's bashing anybody, as far as I can tell.

Yes, I do agree that most of us here in the forums could be a little bith harsh on TAT, but IMHO it's probably because she graces us with beautiful EX programs while her competitive ones fall flat in comparison. So of course people can't help their wishful thinking right? Not to mention, there's also Mao's own issues to consider when searching for a reason why her recent programs are less than stellar. But TAT's programs aren't very COP efficient (as noted by some posters here in the forum already) and the music cuts could be better. Those are the things most people here, me included, are discussing. Personally, Bells sounded like a death march to me the first time I heard it, but after Worlds 2010 it finally sounded like a victory song.

I think that the jumps should matter more! Once Mao is able to consistently land her jumps - She will be back on top..

It should be highlighted that Tat's recent SP were skated by Mao when she was reworking her jumps - Therefore, they did appear rather bland - Particularly the whole tango thing...
I doubt anyone would want Mao to skate Yuna's or Akiko's pros - But as a Mao fan, I would surely want her to have the best costume and the most appropriate music cut - I would want her program to be as polished as possible so as not to appear bland when skated back to back to other talented skaters - Mao is skilled and I do think that her team should do everything they can to promote her talent - instead of holding her back.

Fans rarely criticize skaters teams because they usually do a decent job - I mean who would even dare to question Yuna's immaculate team...
In Mao's case - it's different - You kinda had to question those awkward costumes - Mao's weight loss -
I am still hoping for Tat to just showcase Mao's talents and give her another masterpiece!

klarification wrote:

Whoa there polosatik. No one's bashing anybody, as far as I can tell.

Yes, I do agree that most of us here in the forums could be a little bith harsh on TAT, but IMHO it's probably because she graces us with beautiful EX programs while her competitive ones fall flat in comparison. So of course people can't help their wishful thinking right? Not to mention, there's also Mao's own issues to consider when searching for a reason why her recent programs are less than stellar. But TAT's programs aren't very COP efficient (as noted by some posters here in the forum already) and the music cuts could be better. Those are the things most people here, me included, are discussing. Personally, Bells sounded like a death march to me the first time I heard it, but after Worlds 2010 it finally sounded like a victory song.

I agree that she's not very familiar with COP system at least she was. But my biggest concern is that you're faster then the things are coming Let's wait , there must be a reason for Mao to keep her choices in secret. I guess it's for the best. I want to stay positive, every off-season we're speculating about Mao technique and programs. We all wish Mao the best, so let's be more optimistic!