Nagasu: "I want to go back to my roots"
- Thread starter gsk8
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
First off, why is the audio and video quality so awful? The video itself is focused on the background curtain, not the two people. Mirai sounds like she's on a bad DSL connection, the interviewer's voice is booming, there's a sound of a garbage truck in the background constantly. Golden Skate, get it together.
As for the interview, doesn't seem like Mirai is artistically involved in her long, at least for choosing the music.
6:20
Miss Saigon was not her first choice. But Max Aaron chose the song she wanted to skate to, and he gets priority over her, I guess .... Hey it's like Miss Saigon and Madame Butterfly in real life .......
Jeff Buttle chose Miss Saigon and Mirai said she likes Sun and Moon. When asked if she chose the cuts, she says, no, she is hands off, Jeffery Buttle chooses all the cuts. She has not seen the show, Miss Saigon, but she heard it is like Madame Butterfly.
Her version is completely instrumental. No lyrics, she doesn't want a showgirl program. She used to do a lot of ballet and instrumental songs, so she wants to go back to her roots and show her (ballet) lines.
12:00
She's at university and she is majoring in international business. Accounting and finance classes. Some of the other skaters, like Max, are in her classes.
As for the interview, doesn't seem like Mirai is artistically involved in her long, at least for choosing the music.
6:20
Miss Saigon was not her first choice. But Max Aaron chose the song she wanted to skate to, and he gets priority over her, I guess .... Hey it's like Miss Saigon and Madame Butterfly in real life .......
Jeff Buttle chose Miss Saigon and Mirai said she likes Sun and Moon. When asked if she chose the cuts, she says, no, she is hands off, Jeffery Buttle chooses all the cuts. She has not seen the show, Miss Saigon, but she heard it is like Madame Butterfly.
Her version is completely instrumental. No lyrics, she doesn't want a showgirl program. She used to do a lot of ballet and instrumental songs, so she wants to go back to her roots and show her (ballet) lines.
12:00
She's at university and she is majoring in international business. Accounting and finance classes. Some of the other skaters, like Max, are in her classes.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
UHmmm probably too late now, but if she wishes to go back to her roots, perhaps she ought to also reconsider her US blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean type of crowd-pleasing program, that can really energise her, and empower her to bring out her natural bubbly and charismatic presence, which she had in spades at Vancouver. Get the crowd on her side to really push her PCS and really shake/force/squeeze/emotional blackmail the heck out of these stingy judges. She has become a sort of people's skater after all these years, they should really take advantage of that. (Unless Miss Saigon = people pleaser?)
Looks like she will needs to do some more research into her FS program. Hope she can really own it this season, it is never too late to learn some more. People will compare her version to Miyahara for sure, hope her team will come up with a great empowering music edit, Olympic drama type. I would love her to go out with a bang and make the Olympic team would be amazing.
Looks like Mirai got Russia and Japan GP again (like always)
. Thought Mirai got lowballed at NHK compare to their home skaters last year, hope it won't happen again but I fear it is going to get much worse with the Olympics season.
What is Max's music, why can't she also skate to it? Oh well...
Looks like she will needs to do some more research into her FS program. Hope she can really own it this season, it is never too late to learn some more. People will compare her version to Miyahara for sure, hope her team will come up with a great empowering music edit, Olympic drama type. I would love her to go out with a bang and make the Olympic team would be amazing.
Looks like Mirai got Russia and Japan GP again (like always)
. Thought Mirai got lowballed at NHK compare to their home skaters last year, hope it won't happen again but I fear it is going to get much worse with the Olympics season. What is Max's music, why can't she also skate to it? Oh well...
I really agree with you on this. I just resdiscovered her 2013 Nationals SP, and I'm really impressed by how much she was actually into her program. (Link: https://youtu.be/YWH1PtE8XTM )
Mirai is at her best as a performer with fun, upbeat music. The Chopin does look good on her, but I'm a little bit concerned about Miss Saigon.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2012
Thx to GS and to Ted for the interview
.I hope Mirai will have a great season. Look forward to cheering for her :yay:.
While in Colorado Springs, did Ted by any chance interview Max as well??
For anyone who has not watched/listened to the video with their own eyes/ears:
Mirai told Ted that when Max chose the music, he did not know that she wanted it too. Per Mirai's own words, Max had "first dibs" on it.
Mirai said all of this with a smile on her face, with a cheerful tone, and with a friendly nod (literal nod) toward Max.
There was no implication whatsoever from Mirai that it is unfair for Max to use the music. And no implication whatsoever that he believes that he as a male is entitled to priority over her as a female.
Mirai said all of this with a smile on her face, with a cheerful tone, and with a friendly nod (literal nod) toward Max.
There was no implication whatsoever from Mirai that it is unfair for Max to use the music. And no implication whatsoever that he believes that he as a male is entitled to priority over her as a female.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
I didn't think it was so bad. I thought that the volume was the same for both of them, and the focus was fine -- it might have just looked a little fuzzy because of the shadow of Mirai's head on the backdrop.
Can't help it when other people make momentary distracting noise -- was it a table being moved?
Anyway, it was a great interview. Mirai was relaxed but still with an edge when they spoke of competition. She didn't back down when the subject of Evgenia Medvedeva using the same music came up.
She's still working on the triple Axel and has left a place for it in the program.
She is such a charmer! :yes:
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2014
Miri's EX to Body Language at the Ft Collins benefit was stellar. She should really turn that into her SP. Sadly the video does not do it justice. The audio is so out of sink that she starts out skating to Vanessa and Morgans music and ends with Jason Brown's. Ohh well.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
Max is lucky that Mirai is so good-natured.
You know what would be really friendly though? If Max had said, "no, Mirai, you should skate to this music. Or we can both skate to it. Because dibs don't exist for music choices. I'll also add this friendly nod and a literal nod because that absolves everything, apparently."
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2013
- Country
-
Are you seriously accusing one of the universally-acknowledged nice guys of skating of a mean-spirited grab?
Maybe Max did suggest they both skate to it, and maybe Mirai didn't like that idea. I find that to be a more realistic option than Evil Max Evilly Stealing Mirai's Music.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2012
Again, it is ridiculous that Max needed to be "absolved" of anything.
Max and Mirai both are known to be good-natured, and they obviously have a comfortable friendship. It is ridiculous also for you to attempt to make something adversarial between them out of her interview.
We do not know whether Max used the words "first dibs."
Even if he did, what he might have meant -- in a friendly
and collegial way -- is: I chose this music before I had any idea that you wanted to use it. I will stick with my choice. It's up to you whether you go forward with the same choice or not.Let's not forget the circumstances after U.S. Nats in January of this year:
Max was not scheduled for any other competition. He was named only as second alternate for Four Continents and third alternate for Worlds.
In contrast, Mirai received a firm assignment to Four Continents in the Olympic venue (where she earned the bronze
), plus she was named as first alternate for Worlds.It would have been natural for Max to quickly move on after Nats to deciding his music for the coming season. And to make lemonade out of the lemons of missing Four Continents and Worlds -- by getting as early a start on his new programs as possible.
And it would have been natural for Mirai to focus first on training for and competing at Four Continents before settling on music/programs for the coming season.
If the tables had been turned, I would have seen no reason for Mirai to defer to Max.
And I see no reason for Max to defer to Mirai.
ETA, just one of many examples of the comfortable and supportive (literally supportive
, in this example) friendship btwn Max and Mirai 
:mirainagasu's Instagram video:
On my step stool @maxtaaron trying to watch #collegiatechamps15
https://instagram.com/p/6FpZFUi5eT/ (Aug 7, 2015)
https://instagram.com/p/6FpZFUi5eT/ (Aug 7, 2015)
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
Facts, Mirai doesn't have her first choice music and Max does.
Friendship, season starting earlier, whatever makes everyone feel better.
Friendship, season starting earlier, whatever makes everyone feel better.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2012
Mirai's comments and demeanor in the interview indicate that SHE seems to feel perfectly fine regarding this topic.
And for me, her feelings on this topic are the only ones that really matter. Yours certainly do not.
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2013
- Country
-
Fact: Max chose the music without knowing Mirai wanted it. For whatever reason, Mirai opted not to skate to it at that point.
You are trying to paint Max as some jerkas$ who stole Mirai's music and it's not gonna fly.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
She wanted Miss Saigon, and for whatever reason, she decided she didn't want her first choice after all. Something made her change her decision. Maybe Max, maybe her coach Tom, maybe her choreographer Jeff.
Might as well skate to Miss Saigon at this point. Art imitates life.
Might as well skate to Miss Saigon at this point. Art imitates life.
it looks like mirai doesn't have a lot of say in her music choice anyway, who knows, even if max wasn't using her first choice perhaps she wouldn't have been able to skate to it anyway. let's get the discussion back to the other topics touched on the article.
do most skaters have as little say as Mirai in how the cuts are made or what music is being used? or does it vary from school to school?
do most skaters have as little say as Mirai in how the cuts are made or what music is being used? or does it vary from school to school?
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
I think it depends on how much skaters want to be involved.
I don't have the article with me, but back when Mirai was still with coach Charlene Wong, she was really involved in creating her Charlie Chaplin piece. I'm paraphrasing, but she said she watched a lot of Charlie's skits and tried to evoke his style.
She didn't do well at the 2009 competition though ... maybe that discouraged her from doing that ever again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4gIJ2WmlZs
I once saw a fluff piece about Kristi Yamaguchi. She was very involved in choosing the cuts for her Don Quixote Olympics program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7-6BF1W_8I
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2012
I wonder this too. The great Phantom Year, nearly all of team Japan skated to Phantom of the Opera. No problem. (well, we had a problem, but it was totally allowed.)
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2013
Maybe she herself doesn't want to. But perhaps she can skate to it next season? Anyway, I think Miss Saigon is a good and safe choice for her in the Olympic season. Good luck, Mirai!
Similar threads
