Long Interview: 'Azushin' resumes training, receives courage from Daisuke Takahashi as they head into a period of intense competition.
Mie Noguchi, sports writer
Tuesday, 23 January 15:25
The day after finishing second at the All-Japan Championships, Tanaka underwent surgery due to injury. With luck and bad luck on their side, "Azushin" resumed training.
The Japanese ice dance world is facing an unprecedented period of fierce competition. Three pairs, Mr & Mrs Komatsubara (Beijing Olympics team medalists), Utana Yoshida (20) & Masaya Morita (20) aka Utamasa, and Azusa Tanaka (18) & Shingo Nishiyama (21) aka Azushin, showed even competition at the All-Japan Championships, and the selection of representatives for the World Championships has been put on hold in an "unprecedented" situation. However, the next day, Tanaka was injured and the Tanaka & Nishiyama couple was forced to miss the exhibition. The status of the injury, the selection for the World Championships and the future of Japanese ice dance. We asked the team, who have resumed training in Montreal, about their current thoughts.
--The Japan Ice Dance Championships in December last year, where they won the silver medal after only eight months as a team. Moreover, the World Championships' selection was put on hold pending deliberations due to three competing couples.
Tanaka: I thought the decision would be made at the All-Japan Championships, so I was very surprised.
Nishiyama: I thought we still have a chance, so we decided to work harder.
--Tanaka, you got injured right after the competition, but do you think you will be able to make the most of the chance you got?
Tanaka: We came back to Montreal with the intention of aiming for the Four Continents Championships in February without giving up. Right now we're mainly skating and not practising technically as a dance team, so from two weeks before the competition, I'd like to practise with my hands as well.
Inspired by the dancers of their dreams in the holy city of Montreal: "Happy days".
--The duo train at the Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM), which is also known as the holy land of ice dance. Mr & Mrs Komatsubara and junior dancers Sara Kishimoto & Atsuhiko Tamura also train together, don't they?
Nishiyama: It really is a wonderful environment. I often have the chance to train with the world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and they are just overwhelming; when they start to perform, I stick to the wall and watch them. There are top athletes from Canada, Lithuania, the UK and many other countries, and each team has a different personality. They all serve as role models, and it's really interesting to see the examples of the various top dancers, so we can think about which dancers we should aim for more.
Tanaka: I had heard from Cathy that the club is home to the world's top ice dancers, but when I came last May, I was really surprised. The Kinoshita Academy was a very stimulating environment where singles athletes were in friendly competition, and I feel very blessed to be in an environment where I can be stimulated by other ice dancers in the same way.
-- Nishiyama: You moved from the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club, has the environment changed?
Nishiyama: The Cricket Club was a very strong singles club, so I moved to Montreal to concentrate on ice dancing from now on. I came to a place where the environment is said to be the best in the world for ice dance, and I wanted to make myself stronger and aim higher in ice dance.
--The two of you, which ice dancer do you each admire?
Tanaka: When I first saw ice dance on TV before, I thought the Italian couple Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte were very beautiful, and that is still the impression I have the most.
Nishiyama: Among those I had been watching before I moved to Montreal were the Shibutani siblings. Ice dance has an image of being a Western competition, but they were the first Asian athletes to get on the Olympic podium and perform at the very top of the world. They are an inspirational couple.
Also in Montreal, the couple I refer to most is Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha from Canada. Zachary is 172 cm tall, about the same height as me, but he looks so big when he skates. And in terms of expression, I always watch and study them because they express a wide variety of genres, with Michael Jackson for rhythm dancing and beautiful music for free skating.
--How is life in Montreal?
Tanaka: I am indebted to Shingo-kun a lot, including in terms of language. Since I came back in January there's been a lot of snow, but I like snow, so when I see it piling up I want to walk (laughs). It's cold, about minus 10 degrees Celsius every day, and all I do is go to the rink and home and back, but that's what I came here for, so I feel very happy.
Nishiyama: On weekdays, we have three and a half hours of on-ice practice, and off-ice training twice a week, so I push myself pretty hard. On weekends I have to stay at home and sleep all the time, otherwise I would have a lack of energy.
Tanaka: I used to skate longer in singles, but ice dance is quite tough even for three and a half hours. It's a year for me where I have to keep growing, so I'm just working hard.
From the showdown between the Muramoto & Takahashi team and the Komatsubara team to the fierce competition between the three couples.
--This season's All-Japan Championships was a fierce battle between three teams. I think the Japanese ice dance world is going through a period of great change, do you have a sense of it?
Nishiyama: After all, Daisuke Takahashi's announcement to switch to ice dance in 2019 was a shock for both the Japanese skating world and me. And it's amazing that in just three years, he has developed his ability to the point where he has entered the world's top 10 in ice dance. On the other hand, Komatsubara's team has also grown up by practising with a strong desire to "make it to the Olympics". I watched them training together, and I felt their passion for ice dance, and it was very inspiring for me.
Tanaka: It's only my first year in ice dance, but I saw Komatsubara and her team's medal-winning performance in the team competition at the Olympics, I thought it was amazing, and I saw how they challenged with confidence on that big stage (in the individual competition) in rhythm dance, so I just admire them.
--How do you want to inherit what they left behind in the Japanese ice dance world?
Nishiyama: Muramoto-san used to be active in ice dance, and Daisuke-san is a very top singles skater, so I was wondering how much higher they could go when they teamed up. At the Four Continents Championships, they were on the podium, and at the World Championships, they came close to 10th place, showing that 'even a Japanese has a chance to get close to the top in this world of ice dance'. We also want to aim for the top, and next time, we want to make history by finishing in the top 10 in the world.
Tanaka: I remember being really shocked when I saw Takahashi's performance at the 2020 All-Japan Championships, the first year after he switched from single skating [to ice dance]. I was surprised that they could skate together so soon after switching. Also, I liked his skating and expression since he was a singles skater, so I was influenced by seeing him become even more beautiful in ice dance.
``Daisuke-san demonstrated that singles techniques can also be applied to ice dancing.''
--- Mr. Takahashi was active in international competitions soon after switching, but is there anything you can refer to as a team who also switched from singles?
Nishiyama: It was inspiring to see how he made it to the top of the ice dance world only three years after switching. I think he has shown us that it is possible to take the skills you developed as a singles skater and transfer them to ice dance if you practice properly, and that it is possible to reach the top of the world. Although my skills as a singles skater are different from Daisuke's, I have my own experience as a singles skater, so I could put it into ice dance.
--I think it's encouraging to know that you can transfer your skills and abilities from singles to ice dance. What do you think were your strengths as singles skaters?
Nishiyama: For myself, in singles, thankfully, I was appreciated for my skating technique and expressiveness, as well as "you are a skater who can move beautifully". Listening to the advice of those around me, I have been thinking that my strengths lie in my skating extension and the way I move my body. I think that I can make the most of my strengths by bringing a programme to ice dance that can easily utilise them.
Tanaka: When I was a singles skater, I was told that my skating was good, but at that time I had no confidence at all. My coach Mie Hamada told me, 'You can't go to the top only with jumps', and I think it was good that she taught me skating as well as skating with all her might. I have been trying to pay attention to details since I was a child, such as stretching my toes more beautifully and my free leg, so I hope it will lead me to ice dance.
'This season we will be challengers, next season we want to be leaders of the Japanese ice dance world.'
--In terms of connecting her skills from her singles days to ice dance, this season's All-Japan Championships saw PCS of 7.29~7.61 points for Rhythm Dance and 7.68~7.82 points for Free Dance. I had the impression that your skating itself was highly evaluated.
Nishiyama: I was really happy to have our PCS evaluated, I think it was the result of our practice focusing on our skating skills after the Golden Spin Cup in November. This season, we took on the challenge as newcomers, but next season, we have a goal to aim higher and be leaders in the Japanese ice dance world.
Tanaka: I didn't know about ice dance scores yet, but Shingo told me "high PCS is a great thing", and I thought, "I see" (laughs). (Laughs) I was happy to think that my efforts to strengthen my skating after the West Japan Championships and Golden Spin Cup were appreciated.
--What are your goals for this season and for the future?
Tanaka: This season is a year of gaining ice dance experience. From next season, I think we will be in a position to aim for a position with an eye on the rankings, but right now we are concentrating only on growing.
Nishiyama: So far this season, we have achieved better results than we thought we would, and we are having a good season. Next season, our first target is to win the All-Japan Championship. We are also trying to improve our technical skills for the next year and beyond.
--Thank you very much. (Interview conducted online 13 January 2024)
She says they still plan to prepare/do their best for their next competition. I wish her a speedy recovery and that she'll be fine by 4CC. 
