Daisuke Takahashi | Page 215 | Golden Skate

Daisuke Takahashi

And from Dai-chan himself (which makes me very happy as I thought he had abandoned his instagram account for good) :love::




From Dai's ig stories:



Manmaru​
First sunrise of the year🌅​
First beach trip🏖️​
 
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Dear Dai-chan, I wish you all the best on your special milestone birthday, and, above all, continued good health and happiness for the years to come! 🎂🥳 It’s wonderful to see (and hear) how much you’re enjoying life at the moment. Please keep it up! ❤️

And best of luck with Kassouya 2.0. I hope we get to see some of the show - the concept sounds extremely cool! :cool:


_______________​


As always, fans are posting lovely fan art on social media to celebrate Dai’s birthday:



 
deedee1 said:
Hi to all 'DAI-hard' fans here, wishing all is well with you guys! :):ghug:
Click to expand...

It's great to see you here again, deedee! :ghug:



________________​




Birthday wishes from Kateigaho magazine (the video was taken at the photoshoot for their April issue with a 10-page feature on Dai-chan :love2:):




And from SkyCourt:








Deep Edge Plus has published a special column/interview to mark Dai’s birthday (which mainly deals with Kassouya 2.0):


deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp

高橋大輔さんがもたらした計り知れない貢献　衰えぬ意欲、新たな挑戦【40歳誕生日記念・特別編】 - フィギュアスケート専門情報サイトDeep Edge Plus　最新ニュース・充実のコラムをお届け

3月16日はフィギュアスケートの元世界王者、高橋大輔さんの40歳の誕生日。「不惑」を迎えたスケーターは、表現者としての意欲が衰えるどころか年々高まっているように感じられる。今週19～22日には、自身がフルプロデュースす […]
deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp


Machine translation:


Daisuke Takahashi’s Immeasurable Contribution: Unwavering Enthusiasm and New Challenges [Special Edition: 40th Birthday Commemoration]​
​
​
16 March marks the 40th birthday of former world figure skating champion Daisuke Takahashi. Having reached the age of ‘forty’—the age of clarity—the skater’s passion as a performer seems to be growing year by year, rather than waning. From 19 to 22 March, he will present ‘Kassouya: Volume 2’, an ice show he has fully produced, at the Ovision Ice Arena Fukuoka. During a pre-show training camp held in Matsuyama City, we spoke to him about his thoughts on this new challenge. (Interviewer: Masashi Inoue)​
​
​
　— What are the highlights of ‘Kassouya~Volume 2~’?​
​
Takahashi: ‘This time, ‘Kassouya’ will feature a total of 29 performers—the largest cast we’ve ever had. The story unfolds around the theme of the ‘Four Symbols’ (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise) from Chinese mythology. Building on the dark and stylish content of the previous show, we’ve added a new narrative element, so I think audiences will see a whole new side to ‘Kassouya’. I think those who saw the previous show will enjoy seeing the difference, and for newcomers—who usually see people skating individually or in couples and rarely get to see such a large group— this ‘Skating Troupe’ features a large group forming various formations. There’s so much happening in so many places that you won’t be able to take it all in with just one pair of eyes; it’s incredibly entertaining. It’s designed to be enjoyed whether you’re watching from up close or from a distance, so I think that’s one of the highlights. It’s an ice show so packed with content that you’ll feel you need more than one pair of eyes, so I hope you’ll enjoy that aspect of it.”​
​
​
​
The ‘Audience Perspective’ We Cherish​
The complex formations, designed with the 360° rink in mind, are imbued with Mr Takahashi’s commitment to prioritising the ‘audience perspective’ above all else. According to a representative of the ‘Kassouya’ team, Takahashi actually climbed into the stands at Ovision Ice Arena Fukuoka and sat in the seats in each section to check the sense of distance from the rink and how the performance would look, before incorporating this into the decision-making process for ticket categories and prices. The representative marvelled, ‘I don’t think there’s another skater who goes to such lengths. He really produces everything with the audience in mind.’*​
​
​
　—I heard that the story based on the ‘Four Gods’ theme was written by Mr Takahashi himself.​
​
Takahashi: “Together with Yuma (Suzuki), actually (laughs). While I was skating and creating my solo number with Yuma's choreography, I thought it would flow better if there was a story. I couldn't create a flow for the music... But it wasn't a story from the start. It was something that came about as I was creating it. This time, I spent quite a bit of time choosing the music, so I couldn't make any progress from there... But I did have a vague outline from the beginning, or rather, I knew that this is how the story would start."​
​
​
　—The story unfolds with the four divine clans divided into teams. Had you been nurturing the idea of the ‘Four Gods’ for some time?​
​
　Takahashi: "There are four entrances and exits (to the rink), and the seasons change and unfold in 'Four Seasons,' right? The music also has a strong sense of the seasons, and I've always wanted to do something like that, so I thought, 'Let's try that,' and that's how it all started. I'm quite fond of the Four Symbols, so I decided to go with that."​



An Unprecedented Challenge​
​
—You have introduced a ‘multi-ending’ format, where the conclusion of the story varies across the nine performances. This is an unprecedented challenge for an ice show.​
​
　Takahashi: “As we were discussing it (with Yuma Suzuki and others), we realised that since there are four teams, it would be nice to have four endings. But would we have time? Or would we run out of time? It was just a ‘it would be nice if we could’ sort of thing, but as production progressed, we felt ‘we might just manage it’, so we thought, ‘wouldn’t it be interesting to have four endings?’”​
​
​
​
​
‘We put a lot of thought into the decision’​
​
—With the addition of the audition members, it feels as though the atmosphere of ‘Kassouya’ has shifted in a positive direction.​
​
Takahashi: ‘That’s true. We have a mix of old and new members, and although some are newcomers, they’ve been joining rehearsals from quite an early stage. They’re skaters who auditioned because they wanted to be part of ‘Kassouya’, so naturally, their commitment is quite strong, and they’re working incredibly hard.’​
​
​
　—Did you choose the new songs from your existing repertoire?​
​
　Takahashi: “Some are tracks I’d kept thinking, ‘This is a good song,’ whilst others are ones I sought out specifically because I wanted to perform them this time. But I did spend quite a bit of time searching.”​
​
​
　—I feel the song selection is very stylish and cool, without leaning too heavily on Chinese or Japanese influences.​
​
　Takahashi: “That’s an aspect I was incredibly particular about when making the decision. I didn’t want to go all out with a Chinese or Japanese flavour. I tried to look for tracks with an oriental feel within the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) genre and similar styles.”​
​
​
​
Takahashi’s achievements— a gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, a podium finish at the 2010 Olympics and a world championship victory, and a Grand Prix Final win in 2012—were all firsts for a Japanese male skater. After retiring from competitive skating, he returned to the sport and switched to ice dancing. He has reached the top of the All Japan Championships in a different discipline, and his 2nd place finish at the 2022 Four Continents Championships and 11th place finish at the 2023 World Championships are both the highest rankings achieved by a Japanese dance team, paving the way for the future. In recent years, many skaters have been taking on ice dancing, following in Takahashi's footsteps. "Kassouya," a performance group on ice, is becoming an "idol" and a new "goal" for young skaters. The contribution that Takahashi, at the center of this group, has made to the entire skating world is immeasurable.​






* [I remember that Dai already did this in 2011 for the first Kobe Charity show]


________________________​
 
Kassouya starts tomorrow! :rock:


It was now revealed that Daisuke represents Qilin (麒麟) (or "Kirin" in Japanese), which is sometimes referred to as a fifth, central Divine/Auspicious Beast/Guardian Deity in Chinese mythology:

https://kassouya.jp/cast/



A local tv station visited the rehearsals at the O-Vision Ice Arena and interviewed Dai and Kanako, who were later joined by Kana, Kazuki, Yuna, and Koshiro:







On a shallow side-note: Dai-chan looks as handsome as ever in his 40s! 🥰


__________________​
 
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Here we go!



Kassouya ~Volume 2~​
​
We’ve just finished the media preview of the dress rehearsal.​
​
The cast gave a passionate performance on the ice, where their breath turned white.​
​
Daisuke Takahashi​
‘It’s been a tough journey to get this far, but we’ve created a wonderful production. I’m grateful to everyone for their hard work in getting us this far. The run of *Kassouya* begins with nine performances, so please do come and see it.’​
 
Woah, what a look! :dbana:

PAsR-ORj





Ahh, so dramatic:

 
Kazuki and Dai are filling in for Wakaba today, who unfortunately dropped out due to illness (the "Kassouya curse" continues :cry2:):




I'm really sad that Wakaba won't be able to perform in the remaining shows — she was an amazing addition and a natural fit for Kassouya (hopefully she'll be back next time :pray:) — but Kazuki and Dai did an excellent job as her stand-ins.




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Deep Edge Plus has released a list of the cinematic music Dai selected for Kassouya - Volume 2 - the selection is even less mainstream and more eclectic than for the last production :points: (the article is partly paywalled):



"Kassouya~Volume 2~" Setlist: Introduction to Songs Carefully Selected by Daisuke Takahashi​
​
While we haven't been able to cover all the multi-endings, we hope that both those who attended and those who couldn't will get a glimpse of Daisuke Takahashi's excellent song selection! 🎶​


deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp

「滑走屋～第二巻～」セットリスト　高橋大輔さん厳選の楽曲紹介（Deep Edge Plus調べ） - フィギュアスケート専門情報サイトDeep Edge Plus　最新ニュース・充実のコラムをお届け

フィギュアスケートの元世界王者、高橋大輔さんが総指揮したアイスショー「滑走屋～第二巻～」が19日、福岡市のオーヴィジョンアイスアリーナ福岡で初日を迎えた。高橋さんが中国神話の『四神』（玄武、白虎、青龍、朱雀）をテーマに […]
deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp

There's a mix of electronic music, in part with various folk influences (incorporating acoustic instruments), Japanese music that mixes traditional and modern influences, less well known video game and anime soundtracks, orchestral music with modern/electronic influences, Western indie pop and even Russian experimental EDM.


A couple of personal favourites:




I really have to commend Dai on his music taste - and I’m not just saying this because he’s my favourite figure skater – he’s actually chosen a lot of music (that I didn't know before) that aligns with my personal taste! :)



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Since there’s a fan upload of the entire show on YouTube, I can now officially say that “Kassouya – Volume 2” is my favorite show Dai has ever been part of — and that’s saying something, considering how many great productions he’s been involved in. Even better: it’s an original creation by him and Yuma Suzuki — and together with the talented, amazing cast, they’ve created something utterly brilliant and unique. I know there’s absolutely no hope that they’ll take it on tour abroad, but they simply have to take this production on the road in Japan! It’s far too good not to try!


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​
Dai attempted a 3F in the second to last show (22nd matinee) - other than that he doesn't jump at all in this Kassouya production (and doesn't need to as far as I'm concerned - I'm thoroughly entertained by his footwork, dancing and sheer presence :rock:):





Also, besides Minamoto no Yoshitsune from Hyoen Basara, this might be my favourite look on him for a show ever (I don't usually like blonde hair on Dai, but here it is just right for the character he portrays and in combination with the stunning, detailed costume (both with the cape and without) this look is a complete work of art imho).

HD34KmHWQAAQ-ur


HDx2uEtbgAAhWXL


HDx2uh3bEAAKWjh

HDx2vGEasAEjwYJ


HD3afSfasAA7XHa
 
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