Japan Super Challenge 2011

Woohooo! The Japan Super Challenge is back!!

There was no JSC last year because of the Olympics, but I'm hoping that this year we'll get a whole bunch of ice shows around New Year's!

http://event-tokai.jp/jsc/
January 7, 7:30pm

I'm guessing it will be broadcast on TV too, but not sure when that will be yet.

But why, oh why is Taka-chan not competing?? How can this be??

Well, I did some digging, and as far as I can tell, they're not planning to air the JSC until February 13!!!

http://tokai-tv.com/event/jsc/index.html

Air date: February 13 (Sunday), 3:05-5:20pm on Fuji TV-related stations

That's too bad.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the JSC, it gave us THE BEST EXHIBITION EVER in 2007:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FmBypQTzKQ



That year it was a competition with everyone competing for themselves, individually, but in 2008 and 2009, it was a team competition--all the skaters were split into two teams, and the audience got to vote for which team they thought performed better.

Since it's a semi-competition, Mao typically has tried to put in a 3A somewhere in her program, even though she doesn't usually do them in her exhibitions.

Some more photos are here: http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110107/spm1101072220006-n1.htm

I hope I got the event right with so many shows in Japan right now ans me not knowing Japanese

What do you guys think of the new dress now?
I still think that it is gorgeous, but the white one is better suited for skating in exhibition conditions. This one..kind of got lost in all this dark lighting and you can't see this cool tulle skirt that well. Hmmm....

TEAM BLUE:
Mao Asada
Kanako Murakami
Nobunari Oda
Tatsuki Machida
Ryuichi Kihara
Riona Kato

TEAM RED:
Miki Ando
Akiko Suzuki
Daisuke Takahashi
Yuzuru Hanyu
Shoma Uno
Risa Shoji

Photos
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/110107/oth1101072206039-n1.htm
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110107/spm1101072220006-n1.htm

Is this her new dress to ex program? It's beautiful. Both her dresses from EX are gorgeous wub:

europeanfan wrote:

Is this her new dress to ex program? It's beautiful. Both her dresses from EX are gorgeous wub:

Yes
There are better photos in the Nagoya FS Festval thread. They were skating there with the lights on, so you can see the dress better

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbaKazj_k5A

I really wish there was a video of the full exhibition! Btw, where's Taka?

kaarolcia wrote:

Some more photos are here: http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110107/spm1101072220006-n1.htm

I hope I got the event right with so many shows in Japan right now ans me not knowing Japanese

What do you guys think of the new dress now?
I still think that it is gorgeous, but the white one is better suited for skating in exhibition conditions. This one..kind of got lost in all this dark lighting and you can't see this cool tulle skirt that well. Hmmm....

look guys..



i think Mao's dress is inspired by a typical Japanese School Uniform. What d'you think??

I still think both of the dresses are inspured by "Lady of the Camellias" ballet. I couldn't find the same performance I watched earlier, but here's a clip that shows the transition from the black dress to the white one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFprEsYbRsA
(6:10)

And here's the cover of the novel that the ballet is based on:

She doesn't look like a student and I don't think it was her intention. Version of Okami seems more possible

Both dresses are gorgeous, but I think the black one makes Mao look more elegant.

when will there be a video that shows mao's whole exhibition? I have wondering for a while how mao will be able to do a charlotte spiral with the black dress, cause it looks really difficult to do, but at the same time it may look better with the black dress, sinse there isn't a long skirt. anyway hope the exhibition of mao and the other skaters will soon be uploaded, I can't wait to see which team will win, since both teams seem pretty strong, but I will be cheering for mao and the blue team...

europeanfan wrote:

She doesn't look like a student and I don't think it was her intention. Version of Okami seems more possible

Ditto. One of the news clips mentioned that Tat was involved in the designs, and I seriously doubt she will ever consider a Japanese school uniform as inspiration.
ddmm already mentioned this in the Nagoya Festival 2011 thread already.

well it depends of how you look at the dress, for me is like Chanel designs. Black and white.

A Japanese school girl dress was the first thing the dress reminded me of too. Not to say I don't like it though. It's not one of my favorite Mao dresses, but not too bad either.

Batsuchan wrote:

But why, oh why is Taka-chan not competing?? How can this be??

It clashed with Kozu's intercollegiate competition, if I'm not mistaken. That's also the reason why Kento was absent from the roster and Ryuichi Kihara was on Team Blue instead.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2011/01/08/kiji/K20110108000009010.html

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20110107-OHT1T00307.htm

So, I don't know if you guys saw this already, but it says Tetsuya Kumakawa was a special judge of Japan Super Challenge and he thought Mao's performance was very artistic and emotional


Mao must be very proud to hear that, cause Kumakawa is one of the greatest male ballet dancers I ever saw:affraid:

If you never saw him :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ndXax3baE

News article about Tetsuya Kumakawa's comment on Mao's Ballad #1.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2011/01/08/kiji/K20110108000009010.html
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20110107-OHT1T00307.htm
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20110108-722102.html

Tetsuya Kumakawa was invited to serve as a special judge for this show.
He was very much impressed by Mao's performance saying her artistry has improved and her performance was very beautiful with pureness and innocence. He also said if Mao needs he is happy to help her with anything he can do for her including giving advice.

Mao said she was a little nervous to perform before Mr. Kumakawa. She looked happy when she heard about his offer.


It's a great news!! I'm sure his advice will help Mao a lot. It would be very nice if he will introduce Mao to Miyako Yoshida and if she gives advice and lessons to Mao.


Here is another video of "Ladies of Camellia". It's not clear though, you can see her inner white dress around her chest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2B8XcX_u4

Thanks for all the links and translations everyone!

Looks like linglang beat me to it! I'm so thrilled to hear Kumakawa-san say nice things about Mao, and it would be awesome if she could practice with him a bit. I'm all about the ballet! Especially since I think it's part of what really sets Mao apart from everybody else.

But Kumakawa-san, please don't think you can use this opportunity to snatch Mao and get her to join your troupe! She's our ballerina of the ice!

Here's an article on Kumakawa-san:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/12/03/Kumakawa.profile/

As for the "Lady of the Camellias" connection--I wrote about that on my blog a few months back, and there's another pic there.
http://fuyu-no-ohimesama.blogspot.com/2010/06/ballerina-on-ice.html

It seems Mao landed all her jumps perfectly at the JSC. I guess Shizuka was right--once Mao overcome Nationals, she's totally got her confidence back.

From the video clips, it seems like the costume looks good in the spotlight, but the photos are not as clear. Hmm...

clovera wrote:

Batsuchan wrote:

But why, oh why is Taka-chan not competing?? How can this be??

It clashed with Kozu's intercollegiate competition, if I'm not mistaken. That's also the reason why Kento was absent from the roster and Ryuichi Kihara was on Team Blue instead.

Yup, you're totally right, clovera! Men's SP was today and Taka-chan is leading (no surprise there)!
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20110107-OHT1T00180.htm

But why is he participating in an intercollegiate competition??

It's a shame this competitions wasn't aired live. I already spoiled myself for the results.

clovera wrote:

Batsuchan wrote:

But why, oh why is Taka-chan not competing?? How can this be??

It clashed with Kozu's intercollegiate competition, if I'm not mistaken. That's also the reason why Kento was absent from the roster and Ryuichi Kihara was on Team Blue instead.

According to this website, Junki Sano of Chukyo Uni will retire after this season is over. Kozu and Mura have decided to participate in the intercollegiate competition to help their friend for farewell.

Another video, this time with longer parts of Mao, Miki and Kanako's programs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6dC4zL-7tc

kaarolcia wrote:

Another video, this time with longer parts of Mao, Miki and Kanako's programs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6dC4zL-7tc

could someone translate what they are saying about mao's program???

kaarolcia wrote:

Another video, this time with longer parts of Mao, Miki and Kanako's programs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6dC4zL-7tc

Mao's triple flip looks so good!! The progress she's made in her technique is definitely evident =D. Much more flow out of it now than before.