Mao news - 2009-10 Olympic season!!

Batsuchan, Thanks for the article and news about Mao!

Mao gives me the feeling that she is still searching for the artistic expression that best suits her. It's a tough process and I hope that Mao will be given the space and opportunity to really think it through.

I like the fact that TAT is trying to stretch Mao artistically even though it doesn't seem to be well-received. Never in a million years will I dare to dream that I will see Mao slap herself or make fierce facial expressions. In the past, Mao's expressions in the photos taken during her program are relatively flat. But I've noticed that this new batch of photos of Mao (esp. TEB FS) are looking fabulous because there is such an intensity in her eyes and face, albeit not all of them looked v. convincing. Great attempt though!!!!

News about Mao possibly changing her SP to Caprice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEl7a6ikThI
(I'm not sure whether they are confirming Mao's change or not - needs Japanese speakers on this forum confirm )

A short interview with Yuna and Mao, an analysis of the scores of Mao and Yuna's program, focusing on the reasons why was there a great gap between Mao's and Yuna's scores. It also shows a short clip of Mao leaving for Russia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrWUdxsmVmU

The above vid is quite interesting because they invited Shizuka to comment on Mao's chances and they interviewed Mao to comment on her own performances.

Enjoy!!

snowdrops24 wrote:

News about Mao possibly changing her SP to Caprice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEl7a6ikThI
(I'm not sure whether they are confirming Mao's change or not - needs Japanese speakers on this forum confirm )

Thanks for the links, snowdrops24!

The content was pretty much the same as the article I posted (in fact, they may have been referring to the very same article). All they said is that after Cup of Russia, Mao *might* change her SP to 'Caprice.'

And then both announcers agreed that a 'cheerful' program suits Mao better...can't say I disagree...

Another article about Mao's plan to change her SP
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20091020-00000244-sph-spo
I don't know Japanese, but someone tell me that Mao plans to use Caprice as her SP in Russia. Could someone tell me what does that article say?
I think if Mao really plans to change her sp, GPF is a better choice. She and Tat have to do some changes to the choreography becuase they have to remove the fan in competition. And the entries to jumps also needs some modification.

Batsuchan wrote:

Let’s face it, no one has a more charming, disarming smile than Mao Asada. All of Yu-Na’s dark, dramatic, divaness is no match for the megawatt power of Mao’s beautiful, beaming smile!!

Though realistically, it's probably difficult for Mao to go back to that happy self. I *still* think that Mao can aim for a heartbreakingly beautiful and melancholy song like 'Fantasy for Violin & Orchestra' or 'So Deep is the Night.' She's had a lot of heartbreak over the past few years, a lot of bitter tears. Instead of trying to find music that makes her feel strong, why not bring out all that struggle instead of hiding it deep inside?

Yu-Na Kim might make the audience jump up and cheer, but I think only Mao can leave the audience speechless and in tears. Too much beauty to behold.

So, I wholeheartedly hope that Caprice surfaces as Mao's SP, and I hope that she ditches 'Bells of Moscow' for something that shows that heartbreakingly beautiful Mao (cough, cough, Swan Lake, Schindler's List etc).

I totally agree!!! When I first read about Mao and how she can do the 3A I said to myself she must be really something. Very, very few can land this very difficult jump. But after seeing just one video of her it's not the 3A that captivated me. It's her very smile and enthusiasm as she skated which felt so natural that got me and made me a fan.

I also hope she changes her SP to Caprice during GPF (and I hope she makes it there). It's a stark contrast to her FS. It's lively and really highlights Mao's personality. Masquerade would've worked better if it was the flute version they used because it's cheerful and quite light. That plus probably some changes in choreography. The old Masquerade arrangement was heavy coupled with almost the same choreography did not really show a very cheerful SP.

That said, I still hope to see Bells performed by Mao. Reading some posts on people who saw it live made me think all the more that it'll be a masterpiece if skated to its potential. The way I see it Mao believes in Tat. Tat also believes in Mao and what she is capable of and I hope Mao will have that kind of confidence in herself too. I want to see Mao take the ice looking really, really confident.

Regarding an article (or post?) I read before regarding Mao's O expressions during Bells (I admit this I didn't like very much), did I get it right that she said she was trying to imitate Tat? I hope it's just as a start and that later she'll find that power within herself... it'll be much, much better.

tianrushui wrote:

I don't know Japanese, but someone tell me that Mao plans to use Caprice as her SP in Russia. Could someone tell me what does that article say? I think if Mao really plans to change her sp, GPF is a better choice.

Both this and other media reports/news clips seem to agree that should Mao change her SP to Caprice, it'll be at the GPF. So yup, after Russia.

tianrushui wrote:

Another article about Mao's plan to change her SP
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20091020-00000244-sph-spo
I don't know Japanese, but someone tell me that Mao plans to use Caprice as her SP in Russia. Could someone tell me what does that article say?
I think if Mao really plans to change her sp, GPF is a better choice. She and Tat have to do some changes to the choreography becuase they have to remove the fan in competition. And the entries to jumps also needs some modification.

Actually, the article says the same as everything else - Mao *might* change her SP, but Cup of Russia is too soon, so most likely she'll keep 'Masquerade Waltz' and potentially change it to 'Caprice' for Grand Prix Final. So don't worry.

One thing that worries me about the article though is that it seems to suggest that her *management* is pushing for the change. While I do not disagree, that's a little worrisome. I don't want too many people trying to tell Mao what to do! It should come from Mao.

And Mao, please realize that we don't want to see dramatic divaness (or attempts at it). There is absolutely nothing wrong with being your gentle, soft self, because that is who you are and it is BEAUTIFUL!! And most of all, we want to see you smile at the end!

ETA OOps, clovera beat me too it!

Batsuchan wrote:

Actually, the article says the same as everything else - Mao *might* change her SP, but Cup of Russia is too soon, so most likely she'll keep 'Masquerade Waltz' and potentially change it to 'Caprice' for Grand Prix Final. So don't worry.

One thing that worries me about the article though is that it seems to suggest that her *management* is pushing for the change. While I do not disagree, that's a little worrisome. I don't want too many people trying to tell Mao what to do! It should come from Mao.

And Mao, please realize that we don't want to see dramatic divaness (or attempts at it). There is absolutely nothing wrong with being your gentle, soft self, because that is who you are and it is BEAUTIFUL!! And most of all, we want to see you smile at the end!

ETA OOps, clovera beat me too it!

Yes, I totally agree what you said.
And I want mao really thinks about what she should do, what result in her failure. IMO, it's not her programs but her inconsistency cost her. I don't mean I like her programs. But if she could hit all her elements in Paris, it is hard to tell who will finally win. Although many people think Mao should give up tring 3A2T in short and having 2 3A in long. I think it's fine for Mao to do so. I guess the reason why Mao insists doing so is Mao KNOWS that she could do this. If so, it's better for her to think about why she could do this in practice but always have some problems in competition. I don't want others or Mao herself push her to change to Caprice just because of her failure in Paris. I don't others or Mao think that if she changes the program, she could win. I want Mao to really think about what she want to do, what she should do. I want Mao to change to Caprice because she wants to show people her joy while skating to Caprice.

Thanks for all the news and translations!

I'd be definitely happy to see Caprice as Mao's new SP too but I was just wondering whether they wouldn't have to use a different arrangement so that she doesn't receive a deduction for the vocals.
I don't remeber exactly what the rules say about this but maybe it's ok as there are no lyrics and the voice is used merely as a musical instrument?

I might have just answered my own question but a reassurance would be nice anyway.

I just remembered what happened to Brian and I'm no longer sure whether there were any lyrics in his case or what the problem was.

Quote :

I'd be definitely happy to see Caprice as Mao's
new SP too but I was just wondering whether they wouldn't have to use a
different arrangement so that she doesn't receive a deduction for the
vocals.
I don't remeber exactly what the rules say about this but
maybe it's ok as there are no lyrics and the voice is used merely as a
musical instrument?

They would have to arrange to music also, because it's too long, it's about 3:30 minutes now, so they have to cut it.

kawaiimao wrote:

I might have just answered my own question but a reassurance would be nice anyway.

It shouldn't be an issue.

~Another short article~
Mao's light blue SP dress from TEB will be replaced with something "pink" this week.

That's great! When I saw the clip of Mao training to Masquerade before TEB I thought the dress should be pink.

Since Caprice was supposed to be a SP before it became an EX, maybe the arrangement is already made. I too am curious about the rules regarding the vocals. In Bells you hear a woman chanting at some point, so maybe like you said it's okay as long as there are no lyrics.

dangerous_angel_face wrote:

That's great! When I saw the clip of Mao training to Masquerade before TEB I thought the dress should be pink.

Since Caprice was supposed to be a SP before it became an EX, maybe the arrangement is already made. I too am curious about the rules regarding the vocals. In Bells you hear a woman chanting at some point, so maybe like you said it's okay as long as there are no lyrics.

Perhaps it's OK. Because in Oda's FS (Chaplin), I heard some voices too but no lyric.
So Mao can skate with "Kita no Kuni kara" (Japanese Song) as well "?

The article says "they may change the SP music after COR for the earliest." It depends on the performance and the score rewarded. If Mao skates a perfect "Masquerade" and gets sufficiently high marks, the reason to change will disappear. I'm hoping a scenario that she nails the 3A combo but the PCS is not high as expected.

clovera wrote:

kawaiimao wrote:

I might have just answered my own question but a reassurance would be nice anyway.

It shouldn't be an issue.

~Another short article~
Mao's light blue SP dress from TEB will be replaced with something "pink" this week.

Ahaha, Mao is so lucky, she has so many dresses :O! A new one for each competition

dangerous_angel_face wrote:

Since Caprice was supposed to be a SP before it became an EX, maybe the arrangement is already made. I too am curious about the rules regarding the vocals. In Bells you hear a woman chanting at some point, so maybe like you said it's okay as long as there are no lyrics.

I am almost positive the current arrangement of Caprice would pass just fine. It's not like half of the song has vocals, and as you said, there's no real lyrics.

Yay Mao is replacing her SP with Caprice. I really perfer this selection than Masquerade waltz. Like honestly what were they thinking? Reusing last year's LP as the SP! Same choregraphy, same song, same tempo.....;_;

MaoMaoRevolution wrote:

I am almost positive the current arrangement of Caprice would pass just fine. It's not like half of the song has vocals, and as you said, there's no real lyrics.

I also think so. Remember Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze' ( ) '99 LP Concerto for Coloratura? All 4 minutes had such vocals without lyrics and there were no problems. The rules may have changed since then but I think if the rules were so liberal in '99 there should be no problems now
I also hope that she would switch to Caprice. It's a fun and optimistic program which will show a different side of Mao and will make her SP and LP diversified.

It's funny how Mao has so many dresses this season! Maybe she wants to skate each competition in a different one and then pick the most lucky dresses out of them all for the Olympics? Just this time I hope that Team Mao will consider that sometimes less is more...

kaarolcia wrote:

It's funny how Mao has so many dresses this season! Maybe she wants to skate each competition in a different one and then pick the most lucky dresses out of them all for the Olympics? Just this time I hope that Team Mao will consider that sometimes less is more...

BINGO, you nailed it on the head, kaarolcia!

According to these articles, Mao has like *7* costumes, and is basically going to try a new one at each competition until she and TAT figure out the ones that work best. Lucky Mao!

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20091021-OHT1T00244.htm
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/091022/spm0910220502000-n2.htm

(Click the links to see Mao all bundled up - cute! )

Today's practice was closed to the public, but according to this article, Mao's manager said that her practice went very well...
http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20091022k0000m050035000c.html
Good luck Mao!

Batsuchan wrote:

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20091021-OHT1T00244.htm
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/091022/spm0910220502000-n2.htm

(Click the links to see Mao all bundled up - cute! )

"Now skating for Japan, Eskimo Mao-chan!"

She looks adorable in the photos, and I can't wait to see the new costumes! (let's hope they're better than the last ones... )

This is great news! I'm glad to hear Mao is switching her SP to Caprice!

The article I read said, "Consideration for making this possible change arose from reaction to Mao's short program performance from fans, skating officials and media claiming the music is too heavy for Mao's lighthearted style of skating."

So yay! Tat and Mao ARE listening to the fans! It's nice to know our voice is being heard. Although just a few weeks ago I remember reading that Tat said something like, "We choose Masquerade again, because it's music everyone enjoys"

Anyway, one thing makes me wonder though: her LP is getting much more negative comments from everyone than her SP, and more than Masquerade did last year... So I wonder why they are more worried about changing her SP?! Hopefully they will come around to changing the LP too

On another note, I think it's cool that Mao has so many dresses for this season! It's smart to try them all out to see which ones work the best by omympics time.

Star85 wrote:

This is great news! I'm glad to hear Mao is switching her SP to Caprice!

The article I read said, "Consideration for making this possible change arose from reaction to Mao's short program performance from fans, skating officials and media claiming the music is too heavy for Mao's lighthearted style of skating."

Whaa? Can you please share this article?

As far as I know, it's still undecided; Mao's keeping 'Masquerade Waltz' for Cup of Russia and then will decide AFTER that.

But I agree, Star85, that she needs to consider changing her LP too...

Today, when I was listening to the new Mao & Mai CD, I thought, why not use 'So Deep is the Night' - or rather, 'Tristesse,' which is the original piano version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrD1ZaNwdsU

Mao's already used it as her EX, so she should be kinda comfortable with it. True, it would need to be heavily re-choreographed, but ah, how perfectly that music fits Mao...

Batsuchan wrote:

Star85 wrote:

This is great news! I'm glad to hear Mao is switching her SP to Caprice!

The article I read said, "Consideration for making this possible change arose from reaction to Mao's short program performance from fans, skating officials and media claiming the music is too heavy for Mao's lighthearted style of skating."

Whaa? Can you please share this article?

As far as I know, it's still undecided; Mao's keeping 'Masquerade Waltz' for Cup of Russia and then will decide AFTER that.

But I agree, Star85, that she needs to consider changing her LP too...

Today, when I was listening to the new Mao & Mai CD, I thought, why not use 'So Deep is the Night' - or rather, 'Tristesse,' which is the original piano version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrD1ZaNwdsU

Mao's already used it as her EX, so she should be kinda comfortable with it. True, it would need to be heavily re-choreographed, but ah, how perfectly that music fits Mao...

Here is the link to the origonal article:
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20091020-OHT1T00244.htm

And here is the link to the article, traslated in English:
http://www.blazingblades.com/714979118/item/

I would be happy if Mao used Tristesse too, or one of the other old programs - except Masquerade!

Star85 wrote:

This is great news! I'm glad to hear Mao is switching her SP to Caprice!

The article I read said, "Consideration for making this possible change arose from reaction to Mao's short program performance from fans, skating officials and media claiming the music is too heavy for Mao's lighthearted style of skating."

So yay! Tat and Mao ARE listening to the fans! It's nice to know our voice is being heard. Although just a few weeks ago I remember reading that Tat said something like, "We choose Masquerade again, because it's music everyone enjoys"

Anyway, one thing makes me wonder though: her LP is getting much more negative comments from everyone than her SP, and more than Masquerade did last year... So I wonder why they are more worried about changing her SP?! Hopefully they will come around to changing the LP too

On another note, I think it's cool that Mao has so many dresses for this season! It's smart to try them all out to see which ones work the best by omympics time.

That's awesome. So, this new is official right?

You know what? If Mao doesn't use all her dresses, she could sell them ! And I could ask this as Christmas gifts for the rest of my life to my parents Oh my god, having a custom used by Mao in my room... I can dream...woaa!!

Quote :

Today, when I was listening to the new Mao &
Mai CD, I thought, why not use 'So Deep is the Night' - or rather,
'Tristesse,' which is the original piano version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrD1ZaNwdsU

Oh my god, It's really beautiful! I didn't know this version, thanks !