Utana Yoshida & Shingo Nishiyama

[el henry]

Utana Yoshida (吉田唄菜), born 6 September 2003 in Kurashiki City, Japan, and Shingo Nishiyama (西山 真瑚), born 24 January 2001 in Tokyo, Japan, were an ice dance team, formed in 2019, representing Japan. They skated as juniors in the 2019-20 season. Utana had previously skated with Takumi Sugiyama, and Shingo had previously skated in the men's single discipline.

Utana and Shingo are the 2020 Japanese Junior Champions and the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics champions in the team event for Team Courage.

The team trained at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, with coaches A. Hallam, T. Wilson, J. Russell, and R. Arikawa. The team announced their split in January 2021.

ISU Pages:

Utana and Shingo's ISU biography page

Utana's Wikipedia page.

Shingo's Wikipedia page

Utana's ISU bio page with her previous partner

Shingo's ISU bio page as a singles skater


Social Media:

Discontinued since the team split in 2021.

Golden Skate Media
Videos

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/search/125327/?q=Utana+Yoshida+%26+Shingo+Nishiyama&t=xfmg_media&o=relevance

​

Personal Bests

ISU Personal Best Scores

https://web.archive.org/web/20220622150648/https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00107893.htm
​

Personal Best Total Score	149.61	ISU World Junior Championships 2020
Personal Best Score Short Program	56.43	ISU JGP Lake Placid 2019
Personal Best Score Free Skating	99.21	Winter Youth Olympic Games 2020

Programs

​

2019-2020 Season
RD: Charleston: One (from "A Chorus Line") by Marvin Hamlisch; Foxtrot: I Can Do That (from "A Chorus Line") by Marvin Hamlisch; Medley (from "A Chorus Line") by Marvin Hamlisch; choreo by Aaron Lowe (RD)
FD: Entree of Basil (from "Don Quixote") by Leon Minkus; Pas de Deux (from "Don Quixote") by Leon Minkus; choreo by Romain Haguenauer (FD)

Competition Videos

]

ISU World Junior Championships 2020

Rhythm Dance​

2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, Lausanne

Team Event Free Dance​

2019 Junior Grand Prix Egna-Neumarkt, Italy

Rhythm Dance​

Free Dance​

2019 Junior Grand Prix Lake Placid, New York

Rhythm Dance​

Free Dance​

2019 Minto Summer Skate

2019 Minto Summer Skate Rhythm Dance "A Chorus Line"​

2019 Minto Summer Skate Free Dance "Don Quixote"​

​

Competitive History

Competitive History​

Date​	Event​	RD​	FD​	Total​
2020–21 season​
November 21–23, 2020	2020–21 Japan Junior Championships	1 58.74​	1 91.06​	1 149.80​
Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2020	2020–21 Japan Western Sectional	1 58.83​	1 88.12​	1 146.95​
.	2019–20 season​	.	.	.
March 2–8, 2020	2020 World Junior Championships	13 56.05​	8 93.55​	12 149.61​
February 3–9, 2020	2020 Bavarian Open	6 56.36​	6 86.32​	6 142.68​
January 10–15, 2020	2020 Youth Olympic Games NOC Team Event (Team Courage)	–​	1 99.31​	1T/1P​
January 10–15, 2020	2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games	6 56.38​	4 92.32​	6 148.70​
November 15–17, 2019	Japan Junior Championships 2019	1 57.49​	1 90.06​	1 147.55​
November 1–4, 2019	Western Section Championships 2019	1 59.06​	1 91.30​	1 150.36​
October 2–5, 2019	2019 JGP Egna-Neumarkt	7 54.92​	6 85.48​	6 140.40​
August 28–31, 2019	2019 JGP Lake Placid	6 56.43​	5 83.32​	6 139.75​
July 25-28, 2019	2019 Minto Summer Skate	4​ 53.43	5 85.55​	4 138.98​

​

Gala Videos

2019 Japanese Nationals EX - "A Chorus Line"
https://youtu.be/fPzjDGgzXyE

Articles

I knew about Shingo's charm and presence as a singles skater. See this article regarding Shingo's training at TCC as a singles skater:

and Utana seems a perfect partner in those areas.

Thanks to everyone who helped supply info for this OP.
Go Utana and Shingo!

 

[Colonel Green]

It's nice to have a Japanese dance team where you don't have to worry about citizenship issues. They've got tons of potential, and I really like the free program, especially.

 

[el henry]

It's nice to have a Japanese dance team where you don't have to worry about citizenship issues. They've got tons of potential, and I really like the free program, especially.

thank you for uploading the free.

I just love teams with presence and flair, and I was truly taken by these two. They look like they are having a good time on the ice, and want us to have a good time too, and that is a rare trait to me for such a new couple:agree:

Of course, now that I started this, I have no idea where to find the biographical info, as they do not appear to have an ISU page. So if anyone sees it in passing, please let us know

 

[SnowWhite]

I posted their programs and scores in the Japanese Ice Dance Fan Fest, if you want to copy it from their. I'll link this page there now.

 

[el henry]

I posted their programs and scores in the Japanese Ice Dance Fan Fest, if you want to copy it from their. I'll link this page there now.

I already put Minto the programs in the OP, and I will copy the scores. Didn't know about the ID Fan Fest before I started this, but what the heck, Utana and Shingo can't have too much love

I was looking for something like the ISU page for each skater that would have birthdays, hometowns, all the good stuff we put into Fan Fests. It might help if I understood one word of Japanese.

 

[madraykin]

Shingo has a very useful ISU bio page [/s] - http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00054885.htm

Utana also has a useful ISU bio page with her previous partner - http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00102359.htm


Utana's Instagam - https://www.instagram.com/stephanie_utana/

 

[cohkaix]

Here's a summary of previous results for Utana with her former partner Takumi Sugiyamar: https://deep-edge.net/wsd.php?id=102359

The (former) ice dance couple looked quite promising in 2016. They won the Mentor Cup AdvA ice dance in 2017. It was expected that they would move on to compete in JGP during 17-18 season. But the couple split right before the season started and the reason was unknown.

So far I can't find Utana's birthplace. But she's under Okayama skating club in Japan.

 

[Colonel Green]

They'll be making their JGP debut at Lake Placid.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

They're listed for the Junior Rhythm Dance at the North York Summer Skate tomorrow!

 

[katmari]

Here's an interview from 2018 with Shingo Nishiyama about training at the Cricket Club that may be a good addition to the OP:

Shingo Nishiyama thrives at the Cricket Club

What are some of your skating challenges to work on right now?

I have so many issues to compete at the top level. I need to work on my jumps more, and I need to take on the quad someday. But last season I concentrated too much on jumps. As soon as I got to the Cricket club, I thought I had to show something that everyone could recognize. And it could be jumps, so I was kind of obsessed with it. But as I’ve watched so many performances in my spare time, I realized that the most powerful performance for me was by expressive skaters, those who express their emotions and interpret the music nicely. Then I recommitted myself to emphasize my expressiveness more than anything. I know jumps are very, very important, however, I practice jumps because they are necessary and they are my biggest challenge. But I mustn’t be overwhelmed by jumps and miss other important things. What I want to do is to express something through my skating and deliver it to all those who watch it. It is my heart and soul. While accepting this, I need to work on increasing the consistency, but jumps are not my biggest goal.

He doesn't need to work on jumps any more but the rest of his answer shows that ice dancing is a perfect choice for him.

 

[el henry]

Let's go Utashin at North York Summer Skate

I am hoping that there are videos, I would love to see those programs as they develop. And thanks @Katmari for the link to the article on Shingo, it's where I first learned about him and his charm

 

[el henry]

Utana and Shingo with their new fan banner: already attracting attention:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1b-4eSpFDVPP9c7AeBTge9b8jipw2gpm9b7i80/

They finished fifth overall at the North York Summer Skate, but did a great job rebounding from a 6th place RD to finish 4th in the FD.

Next stop: Lake Placid

 

[el henry]

Utana and Shingo are in 6th place after the RD, and not that far out of 5th Frankly, I think 56.43 is a tad low for what they put on the ice, but thrilled that they showed what they can do.

Also, charming viewers who are watching them for the first time. :yes: Here it is, A Chorus Line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL6JmbzXMrM

Go Utashin in the FD!

 

[elbkup]

They are elegant and fun ... with Muramoto & Reed retired last year, they have big shoes to fill but the skills and potential are more than up to the task. Look forward to their FD!!

 

[el henry]

Well once again Utashin charmed everybody. :luv17:

Fifth in the Free Dance, and sixth overall, less than one point out of fifth. What great results for such a new team:agree:

Here is the Free Dance from Lake Placid:

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

(And I am glad that Utana ditched the tutu for this more elegant dress:yes

 

[NoviceFan]

What a charming Free Dance! :luv17: what a charming pair

 

[Roast Toast]

They caught my eye this event as well. Charming team and what looks like proper accommodations made for their success with a power coaching team and choreographer. I can't wait to see what JSF is able to do with this team in the future

 

[BillNeal]

Their interview with Ted at JGP Lake Placid: https://youtu.be/6egkS4poFp8

 

[el henry]

Their interview with Ted at JGP Lake Placid: https://youtu.be/6egkS4poFp8

Thanks.

They are so cute, and poor Ted, I think he needed a translator. (Since my Japanese is non existent, all praise to Shingo for his English, but they were talking a little at cross purposes.)

I wonder how much Utana actually understood

And the JSF is a *great* matchmaker:agree:

 

[katmari]

Bravo to Utana & Shingo for such a brilliant beginning to their ice dance career. When watching pair / ice dance programs my eyes tend to focus more on one of the skaters but these two equally caught and held my attention throughout both programs. I am so looking forward to watching them grow and develop.