Haein Lee on New Programs, Artistry, and the Future
Following a strong performance at the Milano Olympics, Haein Lee is stepping confidently into the 2026–27 figure skating season.
After finishing eighth in Milano, Lee is focused on building momentum for the next chapter of her career. As with all other skaters, she is adapting to the new ISU rule changes while preparing two ambitious new programs.
In a candid conversation, Lee reflected on Olympic memories, artistic growth, personal challenges, and the future of figure skating.
Olympic Breakthrough
Looking back at the high-stakes atmosphere of the Olympic Games where she placed eighth, the 21-year-old student-athlete admits the experience was an intense test of nerves, particularly during the opening segment.
Handling Olympic Pressure
Despite delivering the performance of her career, Lee admits she struggled with nerves throughout both segments of the Olympic competition.
“I was so nervous during the short program that honestly, I don’t remember much even after taking the ice,” Lee recalled. “For the free program, I thought I would be less nervous, but since it was a major competition, I was still shaking. However, I didn’t expect that ranking at all, so I was just very happy that I could perform without any major mistakes and secure a spot in the top eight.”
Finding Motivation
The road to the grandest stage in sports was far from smooth. When dealing with the inevitable mental blocks and grueling training days, Lee credits her family and fans for keeping her on track and motivated.
“But what was most important—and what I felt I needed the most—was having a mindset of not giving up on myself,” she explained. “There were days when things didn’t go well and days when I wanted to run away, but I think the most important mindset was telling myself, ‘Let’s do what I can do today and not give up.'”
That emotional release culminated in a memorable, candid moment right after her free program music stopped.
“Right when it ended, I thought, ‘Wow!’ and just laid down backward,” Lee shared with a laugh. “But since I was wearing a skirt, doing that kind of posture isn’t exactly the best look, so I don’t really want to praise myself for that. I’ll try to restrain myself next time! Still, the moment it finished, I was so happy. I remembered all the practicing I had done, and I was so glad because it felt like the areas I wanted to supplement and improve upon at the Olympic training rink showed even just a little bit.”
Technical Adjustments and New Rules
As the 2026–27 season begins, Lee’s technical layout features a packed regimen. It includes a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, triple loop, triple Salchow, a triple flip-double Axel-double Axel sequence, and solo triple Lutz and triple flip attempts. However, her primary objective this year is addressing under-rotation issues that hampered her scores last season.
“I frequently received under-rotations on my jumps, so I want to eliminate them as much as possible,” Lee stated. She later analyzed the issue in detail: “When I think about under-rotations during a competition, I get nervous and lack peace of mind, so after landing the first jump, I rushed to jump the second one. I think that didn’t help fix the rotation at all. To supplement this, I am practicing to find more timing and leisure while preparing, so that when I jump, I can go up all at once.”
Lee’s technical adjustments come as the ISU introduces rule changes. Free skating jump passes have been reduced from seven to six, while non-jump elements now carry greater importance. Far from being discouraged, Lee finds the shifts refreshing.
“Since they say they look at artistic elements and parts like that, I found expressing things to be quite fun, and it feels fresh,” Lee shared. “With the introduction of new rules, the atmosphere of competitions and the judging will probably change. Since one jump is reduced, I’m curious about how it will affect the score, and it made me think that I should pay much more attention to the spins, steps, or choreo sequence.”
The Choreo Spin
The clearest example of these new rules is Lee’s newly created “Choreo Spin.” Lee has battled severe chronic back issues for several years. As a result, high-scoring variations such as the layback and Biellmann spin became physical impossibilities. Rather than accepting defeat, Lee and choreographer Yeaji Shin used the new rules to create a customized element.
“I observed the parts that Haein loves and executes best,” Shin reflected. “And since she has grown up so much, she brought her own mature ideas to the table. While I was away for a brief period, she experimented and came back saying, ‘Look, I made something new!’ Ultimately, the final Choreo Spin features one segment designed by me and one entirely generated by Haein, making it a truly collaborative testament to her growth.”
Lee also explained the artistic vision behind the spin.
“Because of my back, I had to pivot to a side-facing spin,” she explained. “We discovered that changing my edges to the inside while spinning created the visual illusion of a delicate music box. During the final repeating chorus of Lana Del Rey’s lyrics—the ‘will you still love me’ segment—we added sweeping, dramatic arm movements to remain utterly faithful to the emotional phrasing of the music. Showing the exact same shapes every season is boring, so we poured everything into this variation.”
Short Program to “Experience”
The same creative approach extends to both of her programs. Lee’s short program is set to Ludovico Einaudi’s “Experience” and choreographed by Benoit Richaud. The program emphasizes innovative movement and choreography.
“It was music that I personally wanted to do,” Lee said. “In the short, I really like the opening where I don’t immediately go into a jump but instead show the choreography right in front of the judges, and I also like the knee sliding in the step sequence. It feels similar to the ‘Storm’ program I did three years ago, so I was really happy to return to a genre I love.”
Lee shared her short program with the public last month.
View this post on Instagram
The Great Gatsby
For her 2026-27 free program, Lee teamed up with Shin to bring music from The Great Gatsby to life. For Shin, the music carries personal significance. Ten years earlier, Shin choreographed the music for Nahyun Kim, using three selections from the orchestral soundtrack. However, she regretted no using enough of “Hotel Sayre”—an instrumental track featuring vocal clips from Lana Del Rey’s hit song “Young and Beautiful.” The experience left her with a decade of artistic regrets and unrealized ideas.
“When I did it with Nahyun, I absolutely wanted to focus on that music, but my technical skills were lacking back then, and I couldn’t let go of my greed,” Shin explained. “Nahyun’s piece was truly wonderful, and thanks to her, I was able to come this far and express more diverse colors. Doing it again now allowed me to fill in what I lacked. Even when you make something, you always have regrets, right? Regrets always remain, but I felt like, ‘Let’s completely empty out everything I have.’ That’s why this work became a challenge but was also very fun.”
A Music Choice Ten Years in the Making
Shin revealed that she had been recommending this music to many skaters over the years, but it was constantly rejected. However, while working in Tokyo in May, she received an unanticipated call from Lee.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anything at that point,” said Shin. “I assumed she had already put out requests to all the top foreign choreographers, and I wondered what could have happened. But I had absolutely no desire to say no. It felt like destiny.”
The project quickly became an intensive collaboration. Shin abandoned her previous boundaries. She instead pursued a layered arrangement that blended jazzy rhythms with intricate dance movements. Shin worked with music specialist Karl Hugo on the arrangement. Together, they completed eight rounds of mixing. The selected music for Lee are: “Buchanan Mansion and Daisy suite,” “Magic Tree and I Let Myself Go,” and “Young and Beautiful (orchestral version).”
Building Gatsby’s Green Light
The emotional peak arrives in the latter half of the program for “Magic Tree And I Let Myself Go.” The music is intended to evoke Gatsby’s green light.
“It carries a whirring sound, capturing the tragic weight of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character dedicating everything to his unrequited love, Daisy, only for it to end in complete vanity,” Shin elaborated. “I wanted Haein to channel that fatal, devastating beauty—to truly enchant the audience as the music surfaces. Ten years ago, my technical execution couldn’t match my ambition. This time, I resolved to completely empty out everything I had left in me.”
While Lee naturally immersed herself into the tragic elegance of the female protagonist, Daisy, Shin pushed her beyond a singular perspective.
“The choreographer told me it would be better if I became Gatsby at times and Daisy at other times, blending those complex, overlapping emotions together,” Lee noted. “It is something I will have to think deeply about as the season unfolds. Even in the structure, I end up doing two spins in a row, and I like the choreography when moving into the latter half. Since the choreo sequence is placed at the very end, it feels like I can pour everything into it.”
Lee recently announced her program on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Shared Tears on the Ice
Months of off-season preparation culminated in an emotional moment during a rehearsal at Mokdong ice rink. The underground facility was difficult to work in because of slow warm-up times and crowded schedules. As a result, Shin made the rare decision to call Lee in for an extra Sunday session.
An Emotional Rehearsal
As the program began taking shape, Shin found herself unexpectedly overcome with emotion during a rehearsal session at Mokdong ice rink.
“We were on the second ice rink, surrounded by young skaters, just meticulously reviewing and polishing the final sequences,” Shin recalled, her voice softening. “And suddenly, while looking at her, I found myself crying all alone. Over my career, I’ve managed to create some wonderful programs, but so many of those moments suffered from poor timing. I kept looking at Haein doing so beautifully, and I realized I needed to tell myself that I, too, had done a good job. I have always felt so severely lacking in myself.”
Trust Through Adversity
The moment was amplified by personal grief and shared trauma. Shin lost her mother in January. The devastating loss shaped much of her off season. At the same time, Lee was working through her own challenging periods of adversity.
“We have both shared good times, but we also went through incredibly painful, exhausting processes recently,” Shin shared through tears. “Yet, to conquer all of that, she approached me without an ounce of hesitation, just like the teacher she has always known, and asked, ‘Teacher, can you help me?’ There are very few students who show that kind of pure, unwavering trust. Stepping through that process together feels like a profound milestone.”
For Shin, that trust carried an even deeper meaning during one of the most difficult periods of her life.
“I treat every program I give a skater as if it’s my absolute last day on earth with them, assuming we may never meet again,” she said. “So when she looks at me and says, ‘Teacher, please choreograph for me again,’ it reminds me that I am still a meaningful presence who can offer light to this girl. Even though my mother is no longer physically here, working on this piece made me feel as if she was standing right beside me, giving me strength.”
Shin on Adapting to the New Rules
Beyond the emotional bonds of the ice rink, Shin offered an analytical perspective on modern figure skating. The evolving landscape directly influences how choreographers build programs for skaters like Lee.
Shin welcomes the added artistic freedom after the reduction of a jump in the free skate. She believes it gives skaters more room to perform without being consumed by jump anxiety. However, she remains concerned about future proposals.
Concerns About Shorter Programs
“One of my deepest anxieties right now stems from discussions initiated by the ISU leadership,” Shin stated frankly. “Because modern audiences consume figure skating through short-form social media videos like Instagram reels, President Kim has raised opinions that our senior matches are too long, suggesting the free skate be slashed from 4 minutes down to 3 minutes and 40 seconds.”
To Shin, the concern extends beyond a simple reduction in program length. She worries that shortening the free skate would come at the expense of the storytelling and artistry that have long defined the sport.
“The profound, moving narrative arcs of a four-minute program represent a sacred tradition spanning over 30 years—an era immortalized by legends like Yuna Kim. To shatter that history breaks my heart,” she said.
Shin also believes the proposal would place even greater demands on athletes at a time when technical expectations continue to rise.
“We are seeing incredible athletic milestones today,” she pointed out. “Men are stacking quad after quad, and young female Korean skaters like Yuseong Kim and Yujae Kim are successfully introducing triple Axels, while Mao Shimada lands quad toe loops. But if you take away another twenty seconds, you systematically erase the sections meant for choreography and artistic interpretation. We would be demanding athletes to go ten times ‘faster, higher, further’ under a suffocating time constraint. It worries me deeply as someone who has to push these athletes to their absolute physical limits.”
Life as a Student-Athlete
When she is not training, Lee lives the life of a university student. She has chosen a well-rounded path rather than focusing solely on skating.
“I’m a student-athlete, not just an athlete, so going to school is natural. I learn a lot there,” she remarked. “I didn’t know how to use a computer at all, but through school assignments, I’m learning a bit more.”
Even typical university hurdles, like group projects, are embraced with a positive attitude:
“The reality of university life is just cleanly finishing the group project and saying an immediate ‘bye-bye.’ Still, I love the collaboration, and since my peers are so considerate and teach me new things, I find it genuinely fun.”
Life Beyond the Rink
Lee also enjoys several hobbies away from the rink. These include video editing and baking.
“Yesterday, I made banana peanut butter bread with my mom. I asked ChatGPT and tried making it, and it was fascinating because it came out perfectly matching the financier molds,” she smiled. “Also, these days I edit YouTube videos… just for myself to keep, without uploading them anywhere. Editing those videos is fun lately.”
That sense of familiarity also influences her costume choices. While she entrusted her acclaimed designs to Lisa McKinnon last year, Lee is choosing a sentimental route for the 2026-27 season.
“This time, I will ask a Korean designer in Korea. The designs from the Korean designer are costumes I’ve been wearing since I was young, so whenever I wear them, memories come flooding back,” she noted. “For the free program, I might wear ivory. For the short program, it’s done in navy tones like a night sky, reflecting a feeling similar to my old ‘Storm’ dress.”
Thinking About the Future
Lee also sees herself remaining in the sport after retirement.
“Even if I retire, looking for another job within this field would be beneficial for me,” she said. “Rather than starting a completely new job from the beginning, I think it would be better to do what I can do. Being a choreographer or coach sounds wonderful, but that will depend on how I spend and conclude my skating career.”
She even harbors a distinct ambition for her gala curation:
“I really liked the K-POP ‘Demon Hunters’ program, and the duet song ‘Free’ in it has a different atmosphere from the gala programs I’ve done before. If I get the chance, I’d like to try choreographing a gala myself once.”
Eyes on the Grand Prix
With her new programs taking shape, Lee is looking ahead to a pair of Grand Prix assignments in November. She will compete at Cup of China and Finlandia Trophy while also balancing her preparations for the Universiade selection trials.
“First, I was very grateful to get China since it’s close, and I was so happy to go back to China where I have many fans,” Lee concluded. “As for the Finland Grand Prix, I’ve never been there before… going to a new place makes it exciting!”
As the new season approaches, Lee is focused on adaptation, artistic expression, and continuing to push herself forward. Through her new programs, she hopes to showcase her unique storytelling ability while continuing to evolve as both an athlete and performer.
