Japanese Ice Shows

[Magill]

Yuzu has just uploaded the credit sequence (intercut with moments from the show) for RE_PRAY which ended its run a few days ago, to music from Lufia/Estpolis II. For anyone who wants to see some of what he and Mikiko have been doing...

HANYU YUZURU - ãå°ä¸ãæãè~ã¨ã¹ãããªã¹ä¼è¨â¡ã¡ãã¬ã¼~ãfromãâRE_PRAYâã

ãâæ¦ãâãâãâç¥ãç¶ããâãã¼ãï¼ã¤ã®åã¨å±ã«ãã¼ã夢ã®ç¶ãã大åã«ããããçå½ãæã«å±ãããã«ããRE_PRAYã[ MUSIC ]ã¨ã¹ãããªã¹ä¼è¨â¡ãããé è¨è, å°ä¸ãæãè, ããã«ï¼ï¼, ããã«ï¼ï¼Composerï¼å¡©ç康ç¯Arrange, Musicianï¼MUSICã¨ã³ã¸ã³Movieï¼GEEKP...

www.youtube.com

Seems like quite a few people did. The video broke the 100K views barrier on YouTube in just a few hours

For those who have not seen Re_Pray, the so called credits video is in fact a separate program pre-recorded at the Sendai ice rink and not performed during the show but presented on the huge stage screens for those at the venue (and for those watching in other ways just on their respective screens). It is edited in such a way that Yuzu is skating different parts of it in different costumes used within the show. The version he uploaded on YT has been additionally mixed with short clips from the show itself.
It is called the "credits video" for at the time it is presented at the end of the show, you can see a small side bar with all the credits.

 

[synesthesia]

Streaming information for "Bloom on Ice" has been published. All 4 shows will be streamed live via PIA livestream:

木下グループｐｒｅｓｅｎｔｓ　Ｂｌｏｏｍ　Ｏｎ　Ｉｃｅ　２０２４ | PIA LIVE STREAM(ぴあライブストリーム)

チケットぴあのライブ動画配信サービス「PIA LIVE STREAM」。木下グループｐｒｅｓｅｎｔｓ　Ｂｌｏｏｍ　Ｏｎ　Ｉｃｅ　２０２４の公演ページです。

pia-live.jp

Based on my experience with Mao's "Beyond" and "The Ice" last year, here's a guide how to watch (in case the conditions haven't changed):

You need to register with your email address at the PIA website beforehand and list Japan as your country of residence (otherwise you won't be able to view the stream). You are then able to buy a streaming ticket by credit card. The tickets are ¥2500 (pay per view) or ¥8000 (as a bundle including all 4 shows). No vpn required. The streams won't be archived.



The official website states that Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won't be able to perform due to injury (I guess this refers to the injury Riku sustained at Worlds), but will participate as "special supporters".

On March 27th it was also announced that Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, Mone Chiba, Hana Yoshida, Mao Shimada, Ikura Kushida, Shunsuke Nakamura, Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi are going to perform a collaboration number (I haven't found any information, if Riku and Ryuichi are still going to be part of it - I suppose it's unlikely):

 

[synesthesia]

A couple of photos from the open rehearsals (and press conference) for Bloom on Ice (also featuring Cathy Reed, who choreographed the ensemble numbers ):

https://twitter.com/AxelQuadruple/status/1781324487700684966

https://twitter.com/AxelQuadruple/status/1781323887084749132

https://twitter.com/AxelQuadruple/status/1781323682658541698

https://twitter.com/AxelQuadruple/status/1781326203913380204

 

[TallyT]

RE_PRAY Yokohama is being broadcast on CS Asahi today, and it's pretty well a certainty that there will be fan streams. Plus, as mentioned in the fest, Prologue (Yuzu's first solo tour) and GIFT will be released on DVD/Blueray.

 

[synesthesia]

“Bloom on Ice” came across as having a nice, cozy atmosphere and it gave a lot of talented, young skaters a platform to shine. This year the show seems to have been inspired by past editions of “The Ice” with its group numbers, a short talkshow section and a dance battle (it seemed like the latter was added after Riku and Ryuichi announced that they wouldn’t perform; this way they got to participate as judges and the winner was presented with RikuRyu’s photo book). The talkshow/dance battle was followed by a lottery, held on ice by Riku, Ryuichi, Koshiro, Kana and Daisuke – prizes were RikuRyu’s aforementioned photo book, various Bloom on Ice merch items and program brochures (signed by the whole cast).



Cast photo after the last show:




A fan cam of the bows and skaters' lap around the rink after the matinee show on Sunday:






Videos of the group numbers, choreographed by Cathy Reed (I will take them down after a few days):

• Group No. 1 – The Climb (Mao Shimada, Mone Chiba, Hana Yoshida, Ikura Kushida, Shunsuke Nakamura, Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi):
  
  [link removed]
  
  
  
• Group No. 2 – Sway (Utana Yoshida & Masaya Morita, Yuna Nagaoka & Sumitada Moriguchi, Sae Shimizu & Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda):
  
  [link removed]
  
  
  
• Group No. 3 – Happy (Koshiro Shimada, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Sena Takahashi, Ayumi Shibayama, Haruna Murakami, Kei Yamada, Riria Kono, Sumika Kanazawa, Reina Kawakatsu, Ryouga Morimoto):
  
  [link removed]

A few notes:

• The Kyoto Uji synchronized skating team (including two boys!) performed their number to this dance remix of “Soran bushi”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH2kWytfMbA
  
  
• Koshiro Shimada debuted his new exhibition program to Lukas Graham’s “Not a damn thing changed”, originally choreographed by Kana Muramoto for “Kassouya” (the song was chosen by Daisuke Takahashi to go in sequence with the subsequent group number to Ethan Bortnick’s “Cut my fingers off”). Unfortunately Koshiro caught a cold and couldn't perform the program at “Kassouya” in February, so it was great that he got to showcase it at BoI instead. (Fingers crossed a “complete” Kassouya with all programs in the intended sequence can be presented in the near future.)
  
  
• The majority of programs at BoI was choreographed by Cathy Reed and Kana Muramoto.

__________________​

ETA:
Here's the dance battle with a focus on Mao (who won)

https://twitter.com/KSM2023KSM/status/1782202866213814418

__________________​

 

[synesthesia]

Ilia Malinin is going to perform at Dreams on Ice as a guest skater. The synchronized skating team "Jingu Ice Messengers" has also been added to the cast:







Tv broadcast dates for Prince Ice World Yokohama and Bloom on Ice have been announced:

• The PIW performance on May 3 will be broadcast live via J-Sports on demand. A delayed broadcast on J-Sports 4 is scheduled for May 18. The performances of the skaters, who are only appearing during the 1st Yokohama leg (April 27-29), will also be shown on May 18.
  
  
• The matinee and soiree BoI shows from April 20 are going to be broadcast on May 14 and May 20 respectively (also on J-Sports 4).

 

[synesthesia]

Kao Miura and Rika Hongo have been added to the Friends on Ice cast:





Another location has been added to the Prince Ice World tour - the show will be coming to Kagoshima for the first time in seven years on July 13/14. The confirmed guest skaters for the new stop are Shizuka Arakawa, Shoma Uno, Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda and Marin Honda.

https://twitter.com/gakuonuf/status/1783877641084506324

The One Piece on Ice twitter account published the following post today - maybe hinting at a new edition of the show coming later this (or next) year?

 

[KiraraChin]

Apologies, this is a cross-post from Kazuki Tomono's fan fest, but Hyoen website has been updated revealing more character visuals and the split between 'inhabitants of the Earth' on the top, and 'inhabitants of the galaxy' in the bottom. And yes, that is Koshiro Shimada

 

[synesthesia]

Oricon news uploaded (parts of) the programs the guest skaters performed at the PIW matinee show today.



Shoma Uno – See you again (choreo by Mihoko Higuchi):






Shizuka Arakawa – The dragon and the freckled princess (choreo by Kana Muramoto):

 

[synesthesia]

Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi – Symmetry (debut) (choreo by Kana & Daisuke):






Sota Yamamoto – Beat it (debut) (choreo by Misao Sato):

 

[synesthesia]

Koshiro Shimada – Can’t take my eyes off you (new SP) (choreo by Shae-Lynn Bourne) & Wakaba Higuchi – Dune, part 2 (debut / new SP) (choreo by Jeffrey Buttle):






Keiji Tanaka – The Phantom of the Opera (rock version) (choreo by ?):

 

[rabidline]

Thanks @synesthesia for linking all this- we have come to my favorite part of the Japanese ice shows.... new program reveals!

Wakaba's Dune is so good already and this is April... I am cautiously excited and hope she doesn't change her programs.

Kanadai have not been missing with their costumes lately- I really appreciate that they know there is a wide range between "skating with full sparkles and stones" and "skating with your most comfortable t-shirt". Not every music / song calls for an ornate costume and not every music / song calls for T-shirt and jeans. There are a lot of things skaters can do with colors, patterns, type of fabric and the cut of the fabric- and Kanadai have really been exploring that with great results: Soran Bushi (both the red/lack and white), Conga, Makeba and now Symmetry!

 

[synesthesia]

The One Piece on Ice twitter account published the following post today - maybe hinting at a new edition of the show coming later this (or next) year?

It's official - One Piece on Ice is coming back, scheduled for September 7/8 (4 performances) at the new LaLa Arena Tokyo-Bay in Funabashi:

 

[rabidline]

I did not expect One Piece to come back on ice but good for them! I really hope they got the original cast back - especially Koshiro Shimada as Sanji, because he's truly the biggest breakout star from last year's shows. He got a lot of new fans who now go to competitions and shows to watch skating and support him!

The dates makes me think this is a tight fit for the original cast but hopefully doable. The shows will be exactly sandwiched between Friends on Ice and Lombardia Trophy (with Nebelhorn the week after Lombardia). And for the active skaters who need to qualify for Nationals there should be enough time until their Regionals (Tokyo for Koshiro and Rinka, Kinki for Nobu and Kazuki) at the end of September. Fingers crossed!

 

[KiraraChin]

I did not expect One Piece to come back on ice but good for them! I really hope they got the original cast back - especially Koshiro Shimada as Sanji, because he's truly the biggest breakout star from last year's shows. He got a lot of new fans who now go to competitions and shows to watch skating and support him!

The dates makes me think this is a tight fit for the original cast but hopefully doable. The shows will be exactly sandwiched between Friends on Ice and Lombardia Trophy (with Nebelhorn the week after Lombardia). And for the active skaters who need to qualify for Nationals there should be enough time until their Regionals (Tokyo for Koshiro and Rinka, Kinki for Nobu and Kazuki) at the end of September. Fingers crossed!

Same here, the original OPOI casting was perfect, so it would be silly not to bring everyone back. As you said, the schedule is tight but doable for those still competing.

Also, they will be repeating the episode of Alabasta so if they bring the original cast back, they will just need to brush up on things rather than having extensive rehearsals. It would be a win-win situation for everyone!