Akiko Suzuki

[MaiKatze]

Song of Aeolus from Carnival of Ice
https://youtu.be/MyuJKnjXfQM

Akiko must've found the fountain of youth somewhere, I swear, she looks younger every time I see her. A wonderful, joyful and powerful performance.

 

[MaiKatze]

Akiko got divorced last month. She sounds quite positive about the whole thing on her twitter, so it doesn't look too ugly, but I really hope she is alright!

 

[mikeko666]

Song of Aeolus from Carnival of Ice
https://youtu.be/MyuJKnjXfQM

Same performance in a better quality.
https://youtu.be/daJimWhFxNM

 

[christinaskater]

I really miss Akiko Suzuki! She is such a treasure!

 

[christinaskater]

Yes, very mesmerizing! She moves well to the music in her programs, and not everyone does that. I don't know if that's an issue with choreography, or if some people just can't make the movements look like a response to the music, or what, but she is definitely among those who can do it. I love the colors of the dress, too. Blue, green, and purple are my favorite colors, and that dress essentially covered all the bases.

I see from the bio page at the start of this thread that she had quite a long career and is much older than I had suspected. She is aging well and didn't look over 25 to me in the Fantasy on Ice show the other day. I wish the sport wasn't so heavily weighted towards youth, because I care much more for the artistry than the athleticism. The jumps are nice, and without them, it's ice dancing (which is fine, but it's not figure skating), but unless a skater can draw me in and make me feel what they're feeling, I don't really care much for the performance, and that artistry doesn't usually develop until they're a little older.

Until now, I have only watched skating during the Olympics, and aside from Katarina Witt, I have more or less only paid attention to American skaters, although there hasn't been one that I really liked since Sasha Cohen. I missed Suzuki's career entirely, but now I am watching a lot more. I watched Worlds, and I have watched a lot of YouTube videos and found some other skaters whom I like besides Medvedeva, and now I can add Suzuki to to the list even though she's retired, and hopefully, I won't miss another great talent since I won't just be watching during the Olympics anymore.

She is truly one of the best

 

[gsk8]

A big thank you to @rabidline for adding links to her Media profile!

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Akiko Suzuki was one of the guests at Notte Stellata, to my greatest pleasure. She also started to add a new technique to her skate, with Violetta Afanasiev's hoops:

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

A participant in the charity show organised for the relief of the Noto Earthquake victims, Akiko Suzuki sent a message through TV Kanazawa:
"I will skate with all my heart so that I can bring you many glimpses of hope."

 

[synesthesia]

A few FOI cross-posts from Dai's fan fest:



Part of the "Friends on Ice"-cast with their Hyoen 2024 co-stars, musical actor Takuro Ohno and singer/actress Marie, who came to watch FOI (Akiko did not perform in Hyoen this year, but co-choreographed the show with Kenji Miyamoto and floor dancer Avecoo):





With Jason and Dai:

https://twitter.com/jasonbskates/status/1829343717314228225

Akiko's lovely message on twitter :

Friends on Ice 2024​

Before the opening of every performance, I saw Shi-chan, Dai-chan, and Mao standing while holding hands, and I was feeling the joy of being able to skate together.​

I will move forward with precious memories in my heart​

Thank you very much!​

 

[synesthesia]

Here’s Akiko’s performance to Loreena McKennitt’s "Prologue" and "Marco Polo" at FOI – her program was one of this year’s highlights for me (imo she’s always a joy to watch! ):








A bit of an older update:

On August 1st Akiko and Shizuka were guests on "PokaPoka", a variety / talkshow on Fuji tv, which is co-hosted by Dai every Thursday. The theme of the show was “The (secret) behind the scenes of the figure skating world! Interview with legends Shizuka Arakawa, Akiko Suzuki and Daisuke Takahashi”. It was a fun episode, in which they recounted memories from their active careers and anecdotes about their friendship (Dai and Akiko are only one year apart and have been friends since middle school / Akiko also retold the well-known story of when she, Mao, Nobu, Kanako, Dai, Taka K. and Takahito (“the golden generation” as they were referred to) were on holiday together in Okinawa).


These are a few clips from the show:





I uploaded the full episode on google drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pTBCZyy70LN-1srbGy-BbJ586eQ4fz37/view?usp=sharing

 

[Magill]

Akiko performed today in The Challenge charity show along Yuzuru Hanyu, Satoko Miyakara and Takahito Mura. She performed "Hymn to Love" which she had skated in Sochi Olympics She also choreographed some of the group numbers which she also took part in, obviously. The show took place in Noto Peninsula, was available via paid livestream only (no audience in the venue) with proceeds donated to the benefit of victims of Noto Peninsula earthquake of January 1, 2024 and the area reconstruction fund.
Here's from Akiko who posted later today:
"I was able to skate with all my heart, knowing that I had received the support of everyone who supported the charity, watched the stream, and purchased a T-shirt*.Thank you very much "
*5000 of limited edition T-shirts commemorating the event, with silhouettes of the four skaters have been sold online, additionally to streaming fees, with proceeds going to the victims fund (with stocks running out twice after a few hours only, and being replenished up to 5000 which was maximum capacity possible for the manufacturers)
Kudos to Akiko, all the skaters and everyone involved,

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

She has also posted the T-shirt she was wearing, and gave an useful precision: Satoko Miyahara, Yuzuru Hanyu and herself were wearing a S size, while Takahito Mura was wearing a M size, so those who wondered which size to choose now have models. (But since then, the second batch got sold out in S and M, maybe even in L now?)
https://x.com/Mariakko2010/status/1835522929590747416?ref_url=

 

[Magill]

Beautiful words from Akiko's Instagram (in machine translation):
"The Noto Peninsula Reconstruction Support Charity Performance was a success, and I was able to finish it together with my friends Yuzu, Takahito, and Satoko.
Before my solo performance, I watched the performance of Wajima Wadaiko Toranosuke and the Noto High School Calligraphy Club, and my heart was filled with emotion. I thought that I could be of some help to them, but instead I received an incredible amount of power from them. I stood on the ice with the hope that I could put this power I had received into my skating and pass it on to someone else. It is my wish that these feelings will continue to be connected in this way.
I would like to thank everyone who supported the charity event by purchasing tickets and watching the performance, everyone who bought the charity T-shirts, and everyone who helped to make the performance a success. Thank you very much.
And, Yuzuru,
thank you for inviting me to this charity event!"

Thank you, Akiko, for being there and bringing your wonderful energy in, your skating, your choreographing and your smile!

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Here's a photo of Akiko Suzuki in her Hymne à l'Amour program during the Challenge charity show:

羽生結弦さん、「会場照明のみ」で圧巻の「春よ、来い」舞う…「3・11」から一貫してこだわるチャリティー精神 羽生結弦さんが“能登チャリティー演技会”に込めた思い（後編） | JBpress (ジェイビープレス)

フィギュアスケート男子で五輪2連覇を果たしたプロスケーター、羽生結弦さんが15日、被災地への思いと祈りを込めて、石川・金沢市内で開催された「能登半島地震復興支援チャリティー演技会」

jbpress.ismedia.jp

 

[Magill]

Akiko confirmed she choreographed the Challenge charity show's opening number, as Yuzuru revealed earlier on. What's sweet is that Yuzu was praising Akiko a lot for creating it while she herself confessed she was consulting him a lot to make sure she was taking the drum rhythm right because - as she put it - he has an amazing ability to hear and capture music (It is a drum-only piece which - as they both agreed - made it particularly demanding for skaters). I find this sweet as in such situations people are often trying to stress mainly their own contribution while here they are just bowing to each other with appreciation and praise. Truly beautiful to witness.
No wonder they agree that the closing group number they co-choreographed together
Great job and performed in such a great spirit!
And highly praised by the viewers!