Shoma Uno | Page 8 | Golden Skate

Shoma Uno

So I have several favorite fan blogs in Japan that sometimes write about Shoma, and Higashi-san is one of them. They are actually a sports fan (is actually following baseball more, lol) but have written about Shoma's skating in the past, even though the last time was for The ICE 2022. But they came back and wrote a post about Shoma's retirement here:

blog.livedoor.jp

宇野くんの引退に寄せて : 天高く泳ぐ鯉。

こちらに来るのが、すっかりご無沙汰になってしまいました。その理由はともかくとして、今回は、宇野くんの引退について書いていきたいと思います。私が宇野くんに「お？」と惹きつけられるようになったのは、『ロコ』だったと思う。フィギュアは長年放送があれば試合を見て
blog.livedoor.jp blog.livedoor.jp

I found myself nodding to the blog post because I think what attracted Higashi-san to Shoma's skating is similar to why I am attracted to Shoma's skating, especially how he expresses himself and the music in general in the world of figure skating. I read it through machine translation, but I think the points can be easily understood:

On the occasion of Uno's retirement

It has been a long time since I have been here.
Regardless of the reason for this, I would like to write about Uno's retirement.

I think it was "Loco" that first attracted me to Uno. Although I have been watching figure skating competitions for many years whenever they were broadcast, I mainly paid attention to Mr. Takahashi's performance because my family was an ardent fan of Daisuke Takahashi. With this said, I'm not sure if I have any memories of Uno before Loco. Incidentally, I was only aware of Mr. Hanyu as "a rare boy who can do the biellman".

I think it was the season when he turned 19 years old that Uno chose "Buenos Aires Hora Cero/Balada Para un Loco" as his free skate program. As you can tell by listening to the music, it is not the kind of music that a 19-year-old would skate to. Especially, Piazzolla's "Loco" is not a piece that a young boy with limited life experience can handle, or so I, a shallow person, would think, but Mihoko Higuchi, who was choreographing Uno at the time, apparently did not think so.

Thus, the 19.

However, I don't think I realized at the time how much of an impact it would have on figure skating.

After "Loco," it was Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" that made me think, "Wow."

It would be the season following the Pyeongchang Olympics.

It was not Beethoven who gave this piece the title "Moonlight". It is simply "Piano Sonata No. 14". When Uno first heard this piece, he said, "It doesn't sound like Moonlight." I think it shows his characteristic of not interpreting a piece based on "knowledge" and not being willing to "borrow" someone else's interpretation.

In figure skating, it is often said, "the music helps me." Especially, "easy to groove" songs that are familiar to the audience, or that stir emotions in an easy-to-understand way, tend to unite the whole audience. I believe that the excitement of the audience is also one of the most important factors for the athletes standing alone on the ice.

In this sense, "Moonlight Sonata" can be said to be "a song that doesn't help." Unlike chansons, operas, and movies, which are based on stories, "Moonlight Sonata" can be interpreted in different ways by different people. It is up to the players to decide what kind of image they want to present, and it is also up to the audience to decide how to catch it. There is no way to hope for a sense of oneness.

However, Uno did not seem to be concerned about it. He was calm, objective, and immersed in the world of the song. If you push yourself, the song disappears, and if you put the song first, you disappear. Everyone wants to express "himself" on the ice. Uno, however, controlled his self-needs perfectly. He used all of his ego for the world of his song "Moonlight." He was so graceful that he left all the "something" that emerged to the audience.

I thought I saw the ultimate in this in "Moonlight Sonata".

I am trying to spell it out in words without hesitation, but what a shock I got when I saw "Moonlight". I see. That's why "Loco" became "Loco," it became clear to me.

In the end, I did not think that "such expression" was possible with figures, nor had I ever thought of it. I had thought that "expression" in figure skating was usually an outpouring of something from the performer himself/herself, regardless of its specific gravity. And I had a fixed notion that this is what "expression" in figure skating is all about.

But Uno was different. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that he is the only one who is different.
For him, himself is nothing more than an amplifier and a projector that amplifies the worldview of a song and creates that world in an empty space.

For example, no one cares about the projector when watching a movie. Everyone forgets about the projector, even that it is projecting the image, and immerses themselves in the film. His expression is of such a kind that he himself is rarely present in the projected film.
At least for now, I believe that the expression that Uno has achieved is his own, unique, and one-of-a-kind. In his "expression," the athlete is not even a performer, and I have never seen any other athlete like him.

This method of expression sometimes did not work, even for Uno himself. Just a slight adjustment, and the resonance with the music would suddenly break off. How and where to attack? It was easy to imagine that he must have been working diligently on this exquisite and delicate task, as if he was crossing over a thin thread. To the right, he would lose the song; to the left, he would lose himself. Even so, he never said anything that he could compensate for with words, such as, "This is what I am expressing, and this is how I want the audience to see it."
Not too much, not too little. Only when the balance is right, the world of the music becomes three-dimensional and appears in front of the audience. Uno left it 100% up to the audience to decide what they wanted to see. His aesthetics were rare in the world of figure skating. He didn't give the audience a sense of "trying hard," perhaps to immerse them in the world of the song. He made his choreography so that it didn't look like choreography, as if it was inevitable, and his trajectory culminated in the SP of the 2024 World Championships.

I believe that his expression was supported by the world's best skating technique.
Every joint in his body is soft, twisting, bending, and sometimes turning in different directions. This is also his one and only characteristic. This freedom of body movement is made possible by his advanced skating skills on his feet. Furthermore, the aesthetics of controlling his ego. As the embodiment of the miracle of these talents condensed in one person, Uno matures as a skater - a gem of a skater.
His physical expression, concentrated on "expressing a song," transcended categorization as ballet or hip-hop. He steps out of the precedent of using ballet techniques to express something, and moves forward to "what is my own identity". The madness of "Loco," the serenity of "Moonlight," the vibrancy of primal life in "Great Spirits," and the dry winds of the prairie in "Bolero." From Spanish guitar to opera, pop to EDM, the choreographer was able to present him with a wider range of music than anyone else because he faced the music from the heart, not from knowledge, and sometimes even music that might be considered "unsuitable" for figure skating.

There are many good dancers and skaters in the figure skating world. Among them, he has become a one-of-a-kind expressive figure skater, along with all the other famous figure skaters of the past.

He has wished to be an "expressive person" since his childhood, and as a leader of the Japanese men's team, he has sometimes set himself the task of "winning figure skating," and has probably had his own struggles and conflicts, which he has never hidden them in his words. And he has sincerely and sincerely incorporated each and every one of them into himself.

The maturity that he has reached now might not have been possible without those pains and struggles. What he gained in the gripping atmosphere of "competition" must have been significant, too.

Now that he is free from such anguish, now that he is free from the restrictions of rules, I welcome with hope that the time has come for him to turn the helm toward the "expression" that he has truly desired.
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Happy 4th birthday to Emma chan. Remember when Sho first brought her home and she was so tiny and almost black? And Toro was so happy to have a companion! Such sweet memories. I always loved when they went grocery shopping in Switzerland!...This post says she is now the Cafe's mascot dog. Well done, Emma!




 
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Feimeicheng on Instagram translated parts of Shoma's interview at the ribbon cutting for Lala Arena (the venue of The ICE and OPOI this year):



Also The ICE's instagram account shared that the "Turandot" collaboration between Shoma and Junhwan this July is Shoma's idea!

 
Shoma watched the premiere of Mao's new ice show "Everlasting 33" today with Marin! They met with Yamato Tamura after the show and gifted him new Jordans lol. Yamato worked for Mie Hamada as assistant coach in the past and worked with Marin when she was still under Hamada.

 
This is something prompted by 'one performance to watch forever' thread. What do you guys think was Uno's career skate?

Unfortunately, he never skated my fav program of his with a perfect execution, but I am curious what was your WOW 👌 perfect! Uno program?

I know that part of his charm was the chaotic energy, but still...
 
Louby said:
I'm going with Great Spirit at Japanese Nationals in 2019. The music, the facial expressions, the shrieks of the crowd. And he came out fighting after the awful time at the Grand Prix. The beginning of the second act of Shoma's marvellous career!
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I second that performance of Great Spirit! There's just something about how he unleashes all of his energy in it! The announcer says something like "Shoma Uno is  back!" at the end of the program, and I think every fan of his could sense that same feeling too. :biggrin:
lariko said:
This is something prompted by 'one performance to watch forever' thread. What do you guys think was Uno's career skate?

Unfortunately, he never skated my fav program of his with a perfect execution, but I am curious what was your WOW 👌 perfect! Uno program?

I know that part of his charm was the chaotic energy, but still...
Click to expand...
There was a certain amount of chaos, as there is for most men, but I would say that what really shined through for me was Shoma's intensity and his ability to hang in there no matter what...

I was considering posting on that thread, but I was debating between the aforementioned Great Spirit, Oboe and Bolero from 2023 Worlds, and I Love You Kung Fu from this year's world championships... I'm actually leaning towards I Love You Kung Fu at the moment, that was just so compelling in so many ways, the blend between softness and intensity was just so good...and even the minor turn-out at the end of the combo worked perfectly well with the music!
 
Louby said:
I'm going with Great Spirit at Japanese Nationals in 2019. The music, the facial expressions, the shrieks of the crowd. And he came out fighting after the awful time at the Grand Prix. The beginning of the second act of Shoma's marvellous career!
Click to expand...
My first thought was this exact skate too! Such a glorious comeback and you're right, it was the beginning of Shoma's second act. I still remember the relief and joy I felt after that skate. Like Stephane said - he know how to jump, he know how to skate!

I think another was the Oboe Concerto SP at the Olympics Team Event. It was Shoma's first SP with 4T3T in FOUR YEARS- and he did it four years after his last one, also at the Olympics. That clean SP was the opening salvo of Team Japan's bid for their first ever Olympic team medal, and even Kaori herself said that it motivated her to skate her best when her turn in the Team Event came.
 
I could never pick one career skate. Although I never liked the Great Spirit program, his fiery skate of it at Nats 2019 finally fulfilled my wish of watching him skate a program where the audience was with him every step of the way -- clapping, fully engaged, sharing in the thrill of a perfect skate. Plus the fact that he took the gold and experienced a rebirth of sorts at that competition was the icing on the cake!

Loved his Shoboe at Sk America 2021 where he botched the 4F, so he absolutely had to make the 4T-3T. He did, and the audience SCREAMED...His determination during his Worlds 2022 Sholero created an electric atmosphere live...Ladies in Lavender Worlds 2017 was a jewel and perfection...Worlds 2024 I Love You SP...My favorites are almost always something where I was at the competition and remember the excitement of the moment.
 
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I'm hearing news that team USA and team Japan will get their medals for the 2022 Olympic team event in Paris on August 7th! That's one day before the ice show in Champery is supposed to start! I would love to see Shoma get his final competitive medal, I hope there's a public ceremony...
 
rabidline said:
If this happens then it's actually perfect timing! Shoma will skate at the Champery ice show on August 8-9, meaning he should already be in Europe during this time. It will be a 6,5 hours drive one way though... but doable!
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I looked the distance up immediately and thought -- uh oh, the joys of travel! Driving makes sense though He so HAS to be there! Let's hope. Maybe some fans of his in France would have a chance to see him, however brief the ceremony might be.
 
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