OK, I was wondering whether to be frank with my impressions of the FS or not, given the recent events in Keiji's hometown, but I'll bite the bullet and get it over with. I saw the DOI performance yesterday, and I have to say I was underwhelmed. I guess I had high hopes from the end-of-season interview where he claimed he wanted to 'totally transform himself' into a new persona, and try a 'whole new approach'. I'm just not seeing that here. It's commendable he's skating to a lesser used composition. But in my humble opinion, he just doesn't have it in him to skate to European classics. He doesn't feel it, and has trouble keeping up with the fast paced parts. IMO. After Traviata, this is the second time I see him skate to classical music, and I'm not impressed. There are other fields where I feel he might excel - as I said, I would love for him to skate to something dark, like The Godfather, or there is South American music (I don't mean Latin now, which I know he can pull off, but Andean etc), Asian music... and we've seen he's really good at modern music. He's versatile enough, but I feel European classics is out of his expression range. Why did I just say that? Because I care. I'm trying to keep up a positive outlook and give it a chance, and maybe I'll like it later in the season, but right now I just feel the program isn't a good vehicle for him, and definitely doesn't show a 'new' him.
That said, I hope he proves me wrong, and is successful in the upcoming season. I saw images of flooded Kurashiki in the news this morning, and remembered that not only his family are from there, but he's a student at the Kurashiki University as well. I hope his friends and family are alright. I wish Keiji a lot of strength, and that his season gets only better from now on.
I agree. I really want him to try a different choreographer than Massimo. This new FS or the last Fellini program, I do not feel like it was necessarily made for Keiji. The three FS Massimo made, including La Traviata, all have similar structures. I want him to work with a choreographer who has better understanding of his personality, and can bring something fresh and unique, which only Keiji can express.
I am not familiar with the geography of Kurashiki, but it seems like only some limited areas like Mabi Town are under the water, and the Bikan district, the most popular tourist spot in the city is already back to business as usual. So I assume his family is fine.