Sota Yamamoto | Page 83 | Golden Skate

Sota Yamamoto

Sota has been assigned to GP China and GP Canada. Good luck! He's going with his friend Kazuki to both, like last year. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

He's also had a chat with his fans though Unlim a couple of days ago. That's where he revealed his programs. The general public will have to wait for his next show to learn of them, so I will restrain from posting them for now. I'll just say that the FS may work or may not work, depending on the choreo and Sota's energy levels, but the SP is an awful mismatch, and I'm just sad and anxious because I have a hard time believing it will end well when Sota's usual 'big competition' nerves meet *that*. And well, the SP decides whether you advance to the FS at Nationals for example, so yeah...
If I'm not mistaken, Sota's next show series is starting soon (cannot find that post now), so the wait won't take long.
 
surimi said:
Sota has been assigned to GP China and GP Canada. Good luck! He's going with his friend Kazuki to both, like last year. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

He's also had a chat with his fans though Unlim a couple of days ago. That's where he revealed his programs. The general public will have to wait for his next show to learn of them, so I will restrain from posting them for now. I'll just say that the FS may work or may not work, depending on the choreo and Sota's energy levels, but the SP is an awful mismatch, and I'm just sad and anxious because I have a hard time believing it will end well when Sota's usual 'big competition' nerves meet *that*. And well, the SP decides whether you advance to the FS at Nationals for example, so yeah...
If I'm not mistaken, Sota's next show series is starting soon (cannot find that post now), so the wait won't take long.
Click to expand...
Ahh don't tease us 🙈
Should we guess? Can you say if it's pop/rock, classical or other?

A SP music that destroys nerves? Is that what you mean?
 
yesterday said:
Should we guess? Can you say if it's pop/rock, classical or other?

A SP music that destroys nerves? Is that what you mean?
Click to expand...
I suppose what @surimi means is that she was gutted when she learned about Sota's new SP music. The song was picked by his choreographer and definitely not something he would have chosen himself. It's not pop/rock. It's not classical but not trendy either.
 
OK, I'm super curious now, and I hope that perhaps even if the music seems odd at first he will grow into it and make it his own (sometimes that happens)

At least he'll have fun with Kazuki at the GP series again, in fact there was already a funny convo yesterday on Twitter which according to Google Translate, it went like this:
K: When I saw the assignment, I sent it to Sota thinking "why?"
S: I'm too good of a friend to say something like this.
K: Good friends ♪

Here are the originals in case someone wants to translate:
K: アサイン見て流石に「なんでやねん」って草太に送りました
S: こんな被ることある仲良すぎやん。
K: 仲良し♪ちゃうねん勝負やねんもぅ（照)
 
OK but I'm now seeing on IG that his new SP was choreographed by David Wilson!? I thought he had decided to do his programmes with Cathy Reed and another Japanese choreographer (sorry I forgot who it was)?

I'm now starting to see the parallel with Zhenya's 2018-19 season 🧐
 
yesterday said:
Ahh don't tease us 🙈
Should we guess? Can you say if it's pop/rock, classical or other?

A SP music that destroys nerves? Is that what you mean?
Click to expand...

Oh, in a day or so I will be released from my silence, if I overcome my shock and displeasure by then. Let's just say Sota had the bright idea of fighting Kazuki using Kazuki's own weapons. And unless he has developed a miraculous source of mental resilience over the spring & summer, it will probably backfire the moment an important competition comes up. Think Dark Eyes, skated to a different type of music. Sigh. I hope he'll muster the courage to revive an old SP if this one doesn't work.

What I don't understand is this:
Yamamoto: We are the exact opposite of the type of skaters, aren't we?
Tomono: The tiger and the dragon.

It's from the big interview of Koshiro, Sota and Kazuki that Kirara shared a few pages back. Like - if Sota knows he and Kazuki are polar opposites, why on earth does he think he'll be successful and convincing using a type of music in which Kazuki rules? I don't get it. Isn't pushing oneself artistically less important than getting good results, which is less likely with unsuitable music? As if JSF cared about originality when alotting spots next year... One can be out of one's comfort zone in competitions only if one is consistent or has nerves of steel. As much as I adore Sota's skating and like his genuine personality, he is not exactly consistent. He is still very nervous in competitions, and hence my huge worry about this new piece. Coupled with his talk of 4F and 4Lz, this could be a disastrous combination worthy of sinking the Ttanic, much less Sota's scores.

@KiraraChin - bingo. That's him. I think one can be a great choreographer, and yet fail to notice if someone is a special type of skater that doesn't fit the typical skater music mold because they have a different kind of aura, or how should I put it. I loved Evgenia's skating, but the set of programs she got from Wilson was a mismatch IMO, which is why they didn't work for the general audience and also the judges. The moment she swapped her SP for the dramatic Tosca, her star power was back full force.
Sota is a similar type of skater. He thrives on dark, dramatic and powerful. Why does he think Kazuki admired his Lorelei, Poeta, Anthem and Jekyll&Hyde in the interview above? Why didn't Kazuki pick the recent Dragon, Dark Eyes, or that whiny Rachmaninov remake? ... Maybe because the former type of music actually played to Sota's strengths, and the other didn't. :devilish:

Okay, bottom line, had Sota announced he'd have two galas, Teeth and this SP thing, I'd be like 'ooh, interesting, have fun & experiment all you want, it's just fun'. But when it's for competition, yes, I'll whine here because coupled with Sota's usual nerves, it'll likely backfire like Dark Eyes did. :shrug:
 
Ohhhh I don't know the song yet NGL I'm now worried too. I think David is a good choreographer, but his programmes tend to be hit and miss IMO depending on the skater - that's why when Kazuki said he was having his SP choreographed in Canada, I hoped it was Jeff and not David.

I think if Sota is going for something outside the box like happy, upbeat music, that's gonna be extremely challenging as that is not his natural style, and when the competition nerves hit, there's nowhere to 'hide' with this type of music. Hence why Zhenya swapped her SP to Tosca in the 2018-19 season - 'Orange Coloured Sky' was amazing in practice, but the 'happy persona' is extremely hard to pull off when you're nervous. Kazuki can do it because his skating is naturally like that but it's also interesting that even Kazuki is going with slower music this season. It's like the boys admire each other so much that they are pulled in each other's direction choreo-wise.

I wonder whose idea it was for Sota to swap choreographers...
 
KiraraChin said:
Here are the originals in case someone wants to translate:
K: アサイン見て流石に「なんでやねん」って草太に送りました
S: こんな被ることある仲良すぎやん。
K: 仲良し♪ちゃうねん勝負やねんもぅ（照)
Click to expand...
Thanks, Kirara,
Casual chat in kansai dialect is not easily translated by a robot. Here's my attempt.

K: When I saw the assignments, I couldn't help but send a message to Sota, "They've got to be kidding me!"
S: I cannot believe we'll be together again! We're so incredibly tight.
K: Chummy♪ Nah, we'll be fighting with each other, come on! (blushing).
 
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rRainbow said:
The song was picked by his choreographer and definitely not something he would have chosen himself.
Click to expand...
Truth be told, Sota has mentioned that type of music a few times in the last couple of years and months, and perhaps his skating buddies' recommendations also played a role. However, not everyone has empathy, and sometimes well-meaning people suggest things they themselves like because they just cannot see how the other person is vastly different, and the things that work well for the speaker wouldn't work for them. I think all of us know this from something as simple as birthday/Xmas gifts from our colleagues and distant family, which are sometimes well-intentioned but mismatched ;)

KiraraChin said:
Ohhhh I don't know the song yet NGL I'm now worried too. I think David is a good choreographer, but his programmes tend to be hit and miss IMO depending on the skater - that's why when Kazuki said he was having his SP choreographed in Canada, I hoped it was Jeff and not David.

I think if Sota is going for something outside the box like happy, upbeat music, that's gonna be extremely challenging as that is not his natural style, and when the competition nerves hit, there's nowhere to 'hide' with this type of music. Hence why Zhenya swapped her SP to Tosca in the 2018-19 season - 'Orange Coloured Sky' was amazing in practice, but the 'happy persona' is extremely hard to pull off when you're nervous. Kazuki can do it because his skating is naturally like that but it's also interesting that even Kazuki is going with slower music this season. It's like the boys admire each other so much that they are pulled in each other's direction choreo-wise.
Click to expand...
Well said, this is exactly how I feel too. (y)

@DizzyFrenchie , I hope he does. I would be glad to be mistaken about Sota and the SP because I want to see him happy and successful. We'll see what the season brings.
 
Woo, interesting takes here from all of you, thank you 🙂
I guess the situation for some fans could be a bit similar to the "shock" some had when Deniss announced his "Hallelujah"? 😅
We'll see.

Didn't Kaori do something similar for last season? Choreo outside every comfort zone and wanting to do it despite her team might have had other plans (or previous announcements were different)? And it totally paid off in the end. So, anything is still possible.
 
yesterday said:
Woo, interesting takes here from all of you, thank you 🙂
I guess the situation for some fans could be a bit similar to the "shock" some had when Deniss announced his "Hallelujah"? 😅
We'll see.

Didn't Kaori do something similar for last season? Choreo outside every comfort zone and wanting to do it despite her team might have had other plans (or previous announcements were different)? And it totally paid off in the end. So, anything is still possible.
Click to expand...

The thing is, Kaori is very different from Sota in her consistency and keeping her nerves in check. She always delivers when it matters most, especially at Nationals. Sota delivered in the first half of last season, but we'll see if he keeps it up with a worse-chosen SP, and more pressure now that he's the GPF medalist.
And like Kirara says, if a skater whose domain is upbeat/fun music gets serious/wistful pieces, like Deniss and Kazuki, it's still easier to sell than doing it the other way round. Just like Shaidorov and that clown music of his (or whatever it was, in that striped T-shirt) didn't match or impress.
It's not the song itself that makes me nervous. It's the song combined with Sota's usual competition nerves, his words about wanting to attempt harder quads, and the crucial importance of the SP at Nationals, which in turn has a deep impact on funding (remember, Sota has never had a sponsor), shows, and competition allotment.
I guess we'll learn more in August, when Sota's first competition, Gensan, comes up. If JSF has any sense in them, they'll send him to a Challenger to test if the new set of programs is a flip or a flop before the GP starts. But they treat almost all their skaters as expendable, so not at all sure Sota will get a chance to test his programs out before the GP. :/

Sota and Wilson:


The Dreams On Ice show starts today. Here's a clip of Sota's preparation for a pre-show interview:
 
On the first day of DOI, Sota showed his new FS. This Yahoo Japan article is geo-blocked for EU and UK, unfortunately.

Sota Yamamoto (23), Chukyo University, who won the silver medal at the Grand Prix (GP) Finals last December, performed his new free program "Exogenesis Symphony No. 3." The song is by the British rock band Muse, and has been used by many skaters, including Jeremy Abbott (USA), bronze medalist in the team competition at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Yamamoto teamed up with choreographer Kenji Miyamoto to create the new program. On the day of his first performance, Yamamoto charmed the audience with fluid skating and a graceful spread eagle that made the most of his long arms and legs.
 
Okay, so SP - from what I read I expected something even more "out of comfort". I think it's not really Kazuki here, slower and more "rounded". And apart from the first seconds it's some nice modern jazz(?) to me. Not "comedic" or anything.
And the SP gets by quickly, esp. when he can distract the audience with big jumps (as he plans to?). Add some spins and the StSq at the right time and it's done. If this plays in the corner of a shopping mall, nobody would really listen.
That sounds negative, but for the fact that it's a genre change, a comfort thing, it is a definite step yes, but not a step Sota can't take (with his long legs 😅 ). Stay positive!

I, for myself, am more concerned about Muse. Muuuuuse... 😴 More in the comfort zone for sure, but not unique or interesting enough anymore. But as we know, judges won't care about that aspect.

What I think is done well here, is the field that he can cover with SP and FP. So, really two programs that aren't similar, close to each other. That's a plus and diversity is always good.
 
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I wasn't really convinced at Fantasy on Ice, by Mai Mihara skating "out of her comfort zone" either, but let's see how Chameleon works for Sota Yamamoto! I believe that there is some leeway for interpretation.
 
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