My fingers also crossed for
aa456 that s/he will run into Dai in NY in the very near future!

Many of his fans in Japan would be very jealous if it happens, though.
c) What's your image that instantly comes to your mind when watching Dai/his skating?
I don't think I answered to the above question yet...

:
For me his skating is a white (brand-new, unused) canvas.
His programs and his performances, even though skating to the same music with almost same choreographies, can be painted with so many colors differently, based on his physical and mental condition, or which skaters to compete against, or the atmosphere of the competitions, or reactions from arena's audience and from judges, even on weather of the day, thus every one of his performances look different to me. In that sense, it can be also said his skating is like a kaleidoscope.
Even though many assume Dai was not a strong competitor (he also admits so, by saying 「あんまり得意じゃないけど、試合は嫌いじゃない。基本的に僕は負けず嫌い。」 'I am not very good at competing tbh, but I don't hate competing either. Basically I hate losing.'), heat and tensions of competitions fuel him a fire and it makes his performances come alive. I wrote it before but that's why I think his performance, especially at competitions, is always '一期一会(いちごいちえ)'. And that's a big reason I love and always preferred seeing him skate in competitions rather than in shows.
How does Dai see his skating himself? He says in the book
http://www.amazon.co.jp/SOUL-Up-高橋大...8-8330416?ie=UTF8&refRID=0RVYRCSJ53EP7VYH7WAE that he is a
musical instrument to express the feel/motif of the music and demonstrate it with his whole body as
one part of such instruments, like violin, piano, etc.
Below are three programs that I really wish there would exist video clips somewhere and love to see how Daisuke skating to...
1. 2000-01 season Rachmaninov's Warsaw Concerto LP, choreo'd by Utako Nagamitsu: music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob_mJbKAfWAu
This program is the one Utako sensei first met Daisuke in person and did the choreographies for him when he was 13, 14yo
by accident , because his original choreographer had to leave him in the middle of working on it with another urgent appointment, and Utako sensei pinch-hitted.
When JSF discovered a young, untouched raw talent in Kurashiki, Sendai-based Minoru Sano and Hiroshi Nagakubo offered a help to coach young Dai. Fyi, Sano is Japanese male skater who won the very first world medal for Japan in 1977, and the founder/creator of the first ice show called 'Viva Ice Show' by Japanese casts/skaters which is now recognized as 'Prince Ice Shows'
http://www.princehotels.co.jp/iceshow/. Hiroshi Nagakubo is Japan's well-known top-notch coach for years; Takeshi Honda, Yamato Tamura, Shizuka Arakawa, Shin Amano, Akiko Suzuki, Rika Hongo, etc. to name a few. However, his parents didn't like the idea to send their son to such faraway Sendai at such young age, and told him to stay with the family at least he graduated from high school. Back then Dai skated alone at the local rink, literally under no guidance of any professional coaches for a while. He needed new competitive programs. In the end, Dai and his parents asked Sano/Nagakubo if they could be so kind enough to make programs for him. Got an OK and Dai visited their ice rink in Sendai by himself during summer break. Utako sensei's home rink was (and still is) in Osaka, but her team was doing their training camps in Sendai in the summer. She noramlly drove her own car, arrived alone and earlier in Sendai from other team members who came by a big chartered bus, so she had enough time to pinch-hit. She recalls it that she surprised to see how lyrical he was, how elegant his moves on ice were and realized how well and naturally he could interpret the music;
'that's something no one can teach, he's one exceptional talent that I really want all people in the world to see him skate, I may be obligated to help this boy to climb up to the top with all my ability and energy.' At the end of summer in Sendai, she suggested to work on a new SP togerther again in Osaka. It was a miracle that these two did meet each other that summer; the coach who loved Toller Cranston, and believed boys can do much better in this sport and dance a lot better on ice because of huge advantage of physical strength when every other people said the sport was for girls only, and beginner-level's little shy boy from countryside who badly wanted to have cool danceable programs but didn't know yet who to ask. Oh how I wish I could get on ドラえもんの 'どこでもドア' (Doraemon's anywhere door/a time machine) and go back to 15 years ago to see this precious Warsaw program!
2. 2008-09/2009-10 season George Winston's Ocean Waves LP, choreo'd by Pasquale Camerlengo: music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFaHctH_mg8
During his visit to Detroit for choreographies in summer 2008, Dai and Pasquale made two LPs. One was the Olympic-medal winning La Strada of course , which was Utako-sensei's idea and choice of the music actually. Pasquale's first choice was the above Ocean Waves. They completed its choreography but was never skated in competitions unfortunatelly. And there was one skater who loved the music while watching the two working together on ice at her home rink, so she later asked if Pasquale could make one for her as well. Alissa Czisny won the GPF in 2010 with this program:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXK3i98momk Wondering if anyone from team d1sk has any practice video clips available. I wanna see Lyrical Daisuke!
3. 2010-11 season Grieg's Peer Gynt - Morning Mood SP, choreo'd by Stephane Lambiel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rh8gMvzPw0
In 2010-11 season Dai skated to Mambo SP by Shae-Lynn Bourne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wZa3ORxo8. He had another SP that was choreographed by Stephane. Idk why was that but he never skated at any competitions but I don't care much, either. What I really love to see was Dai and Steph together on ice and all the process during making the program in Swiss. Does anyone have handy-cam video clip, please?!
To those who are interested in this mysterious program, IIRC there was a report with some photos sometime around June 2010. Please search for it by typing 'dream team Lambiel Takahashi' for instance.