YUZURU HANYU FOCUSED ON THE COMPLETE PACKAGE GRAND FINALE IN MARSEILLE TESSA VIRTUE & SCOTT MOIR Triumphant Return EVGENIA MEDVEDEVA A Spirited Champion RISKY MOVES Vanessa James & Morgan Ciprès Strategic Changes FEBRUARY 2017 Subscribe & Save $14.97 FOR 11 AMAZING ISSUES! That’s 77% savings off the newsstand price! ($65.89 annual newsstand price) Outdoor Photographer is written by the world’s leading landscape, wildlife, sports and travel photographers. Every issue features advice on improving your photography, evaluations of the latest equipment and portfolios of stunning photography. ALSO AVAILABLE ON Visit outdoorphotographer.com Satoko Miyahara was flying high to Brenna Whitaker’s “One More Try” after capturing the bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final in Marseille. Photo: Susan D. Russell Contents 30 Features VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 1 | FEBRUARY 2017 YUZURU HANYU 14 The Complete Package MEAGAN DUHAMEL & 16 ERIC RADFORD Countdown to PyeongChang SPIRITED CHAMPION 18 Evgenia Medvedeva Chooses a Topical Long Program Theme PATRICK CHAN 20 Age is Just a State of Mind RISKY MOVES 22 Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès Make Strategic Changes ELIZAVETA TUKTAMYSHEVA 26 Spinning Back to Top Form TESSA VIRTUE & SCOTT MOIR 28 A Triumphant Return in the Quest to Mine Olympic Gold in 2018 ON THE FINAL SHOWDOWNS IN COVER Ê 30 MARSEILLE Thrills and Spills at the 2017 Grand Prix Final 14 Departments 5 FROM THE EDITOR 44 GALA AFFAIR Ice Theatre of New York 6 SHORT PROGRAM Honors Former Champions Misha Ge, Mao Asada, Haven Denney & Brandon, 46 MEDIA GUIDE Frazier, Alexandra Stepanova & Ivan Bukin, 47 QUICKSTEPS Kanako Murakami 38 INNER LOOP 48 LIVING WELL Images from the Grand Meagan Duhamel Prix Series and Backstage Shares Her Diet Tips For at the Pro Shows Athletes on the Go COVER PHOTO: SUSAN D. RUSSELL 2 IFSMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017 Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov performed a risky lift during their gala performance to “Ordinary People” by John Legend. Photo: Susan D. Russell GRACIE GOLD CLOSES THE BOOK ON LAST SEASON Part One is Done: Act II Begins am really looking forward to what her jumps and, as we go to print, prepare YUZURU the second half of what this season for Japanese nationals. HANYU will bring, given what transpired The Grand Prix Final produced some andTHE RISE OF I THE JAPANESE throughout the fall of 2016. surprising results. Our cover story this POWERHOUSE It was inspiring to see so many new and issue recaps all the action from the senior SHOMA UNO Rising Star Has also familiar faces gracing the senior and events. One of the highlights for me in Lofty Ambitions junior Grand Prix and Challenger Series Marseille was seeing the young American JAVIER FERNÁNDEZ Recognition, Respect & stages. But, there were ups and downs for Nathan Chen, who is finally healthy, B Royal Ascent GABRIELLA PAPADAKIS the former champions who have returned skating lights out in the men’s free and & GUILLAUME CIZERON to the competitive environment. capturing the silver medal. Dare to Be Different Carolina Kostner kicked off her The U.S. and Canadian nationals get comeback with a win at Golden Spin in underway in just a couple of weeks. The December and will be competing at the television schedules for these events, as European Championships in late January. well as Four Continents, are listed in States. You can always go online to the Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have so this issue. We will post the live online IFS website to order, renew, or change far won every event they have entered and schedules for all events on the IFS website your subscription. capturing their first Grand Prix Final title at ifsmagazine.com and link them on the I hope the holiday season was festive was, as Moir noted, the icing on the cake. IFS Facebook page. and fun and I look forward to sharing the Things have not gone quite so well for We have transitioned our subscriber base 2017 skating season with you all. Mao Asada who struggled at her Grand to a new company and with that change Prix events and failed to make the Final. we have installed a new toll free number No doubt she has used the time to work on that works in Canada as well as the United Susan D. Russell, Publisher PUBLISHER Susan D. Russell [email protected] North American Editor Robert Brodie European Editor Tatjana Flade Japan Editor Hiro Yoshida DESIGNER Keith Conforti EDITORIAL Elina Paasonen, Elvin Walker, Eva Resendiz PHOTOGRAPHY Seán Gillis, Vicki S. Luy, Elina Paasonen INTERNS Brooklee Han, Caitlin Noble ADVERTISING/BULK SALES [email protected] ADDRESS International Figure Skating/Laurea Media 264 Queens Quay West, Suite 205, Toronto, ON M5J 1B5 Please include your name, mailing and e-mail addresses and a telephone number with all correspondence to International Figure Skating. SUBSCRIPTIONS 877-252-8139 (U.S. and Canada) International: 01-903-626-1120 BACK ISSUES/CUSTOM REPRINTS Contact the publisher at [email protected] International Figure Skating is published bimonthly by Laurea Media, 270 Queens Quay West, Suite 1301, Toronto, ON M5J 2N4. Subscriptions: US$29.99 Canada US$34.99, International US$54.99. Subscribers should allow 4 to 6 weeks for change of address to become effective. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to International Figure Skating, PO Box 4300, Big Sandy, TX 75755-4300. Subscriptions ordered are nonrefundable unless otherwise promoted. Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings and photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. All rights to letters sent to International Figure Skating will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to unrestricted right to edit and to comment editorially. Requests for permission to reprint should be sent to the Permissions and Reprints Department. The title International Figure Skating is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Contents copyright © 2016 by Laurea Media. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. CPC PUB #0913103. 4 IFSMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017 With her victory in Marseille, Alina Zagitova became the seventh Russian lady to claim successive Junior Grand Prix Final titles. Photo: Susan D. Russell Ge Channels His Creative Juices isha Ge heard the music and knew what was to follow. “The Mnext skater: Alexander Petrov — free program. My choreography,” said Ge following his free skate at Skate Canada International in late October. It is just one of the many elements of the charismatic Uzbekistani skater, who has been choreographing his own programs for many years and now shares his creative juices with his peers. “Sometimes I watch little kids who are just dancing to some kind of music, and I get inspiration from that to do something childish and funny,” Ge said. “I study contemporary and modern dance at a Chinese academy, which has professional dancers only, and I also get inspiration from them. Sometimes from movies — or I might be in the park listening to classical music and watching the beauty of nature. Sometimes I attend Hollywood hip-hop classes, and some of our teachers work with Rihanna and Beyoncé, so I learn a lot of things from them.” His “Nutcracker” long program this season is one he had wanted to do for a long time, but until now his team thought he was not ready and first needed to improve his skills. “This year, we decided we were ready to do it, so we worked with ballet teachers, including one who used to dance at the Bolshoi Theatre. She’s really amazing with all these ‘Nutcracker’ things. “We wanted the short program (set to PHOTO: SEÁN GILLIS a remake of the Rolling Stones classic ‘Paint it Black’) to be very dark and he explained. “Elena Radionova asked me Championships ended. It was two months very modern and strong, but the free to do her gala program, but I had to say of thinking music, thinking style. And program to be very wide, classical and sorry, I don’t have time.” then we did probably five days a week. delightful. The inspiration came from Designing programs depends on the I try to put more heart in it to do little Mikhail Baryshnikov.” level of the skater and what their team by little.” Ge was the creative force behind Gracie requires, Ge said. “Some people say: ‘We Ge caught the choreography bug from Gold’s gala number, and the short and want a gala program in three days.’ Yeah. his mother, Larisa. “Ever since I was little, gala programs that Anna Pogorilaya is No problem. Maybe in two days we can I loved to do it and learn,” he said. “I don’t performing this season. He now gets finish it. But if you want a short or long take actual music lessons, but my mother so many requests for choreography that program for the Grand Prix or World graduated from a music high school, he has had to turn some people away. “I Championship level … for example, and a sports and dance university. My have eight to 10 different requests to do with Anna’s short program, we started grandfather is a painter and a ballroom programs, but I don’t have enough time,” working on it two weeks after the World dancer, and my father, since he was little, 6 IFSMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY 2017 practiced ballet and dancing. So there are a lot of influences in my family.” Renowned Russian coach Alexei Mishin is also an influence on his craft. “I work with his students, and he works with me,” Ge explained.