#Michal Brezina

[flapper-dai]

The future~Cyberpunk || Ice Explosion 2023 Choreography : Kenji Miyamoto EP : Daisuke Takahashi ⛸ : Daisuke Takahashi, Jason Brown, Michal Brezina, Oleksandr Kolosovskyi, Andrew Poje, Juho Pirinen, Sena Miyake, Masaya Morita, Hirokazu Kobayashi, Kohei Yoshino

[figureskatingcostumes]

Michal Brezina skating to Queen’s Who Want To Live Forever for his short program at the 2018 Grand Prix Final.

(Source: Danielle Earl/Skate Canada)

[figurelifeflirt]

thoughts on the Ilia discourse

Ilia, I haven't watched any of his stuff yet. I know I abstained from reviewing Nathan because he's an overscored waste that gets way too much attention.

Ilia, he's young. I'm not saying it absolves him. But it also feels like it doesn't actually change his actions. I mean it's not like he or anyone else reads my reviews.

And then there's Michal Brezina retweeting transphobic stuff. Michal. He's still so sexy. And I've stanned him for YEARS.

I know this is controversial. But please leave your negativity at the door. This is not me dropping the trans community or the LGBTQ community at large. It just feels good to vent.

And I realize now the top part sounds more like me being worried about Ilia reading about me being mean to him then about what he actually said.

What he said is still an issue. But then we have to get into the fact that I still stan a lot of Russians, even supposedly prowar ones like Kolyda and Angelopol.

It's not even that I want to absolve the Russians for their actions. The Russians have been my life since before I can remember. The thought of denouncing them, feels like giving up a good chunk of my emotions about figure skating.

These are my not anywhere close to being organized thoughts. *anticipates snowballs being thrown at them*

[kaleidodreams]

Updated 100 Memorable Skating Programs

Back in 2018, I created the original version of this list. (You can find the master post here.) Since 2024 marks my 30th year as an official fan of figure skating and there have been some more great programs created since the last time, I thought it was about time to update the list in honor of World Ice Skating Day. Same rules apply as last time:

Only senior competitive programs starting from the 1993-1994 season are eligible, since that's the first season I really started watching figure skating.

Each skater may only be listed once, unless a partner/discipline switch is involved.

Choice of music may also not be repeated. (Yes, there are two James Bond programs on the list, but Yuna and Wakaba use different music for the most part, so I'm letting it slide.)

I debated long and hard about whether or not I should still include programs from skaters who have proven themselves to be not so great people. I'm someone who has little difficulty separating the art from the artist, so in the end, I decided to keep them listed (although most of them got knocked down a few pegs). This list is more about the choreography than the skater anyway, although there are certainly some problematic choreographers out there, too. (Looking at you especially, Morozov!) So, just because a skater is listed doesn't mean that I'm a fan of them or that I condone their actions! I just think certain programs are still great regardless of the skaters' terrible behavior off the ice.

Choreographers are noted if known. If you know who choreographed the programs without a choreographer named, please let me know!

I've also created a handy playlist on YouTube if you don't want to click on all these links.

Ashley Wagner - Moulin Rouge (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2016 Worlds

Jason Brown - Melancholy (Rohene Ward) 2023 Nationals

Patrick Chan - Phantom of the Opera (Lori Nichol) 2011 Canadian Nationals

Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje -Je suis malade (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Meryl Davis/Charlie White - Kajra Re/Silsila Ye Chahat Ka/Dola Re Dola (Marina Zueva, Igor Shpilband, and Anuja Rajendra) 2010 Olympics

Mao Asada - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Tatiana Tarasova) 2014 Olympics

Sui/Han - Rain, In Your Black Eyes (Lori Nichol) 2019 Worlds

Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat - Romeo & Juliet 1998 Olympics

Cain/LeDuc - W.E. (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2022 US Nationals

Daisuke Takahashi - Blues for Klook (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Kurt Browning - Casablanca (Sandra Bezic) 1994 Olympics

Michelle Kwan - Salome (Lori Nichol) 1996 Worlds

Alexei Yagudin - Winter (Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morosov) 2002 Olympics

Jamie Sale/David Pelletier - Love Story (Lori Nichol) 2002 Olympics

Jeremy Abbott - Exogenesis (Jeremy Abbott and Yuka Sato) Nationals 2012

Oksana Grishuk/Evgeni Platov - The Feeling Begins 1997 Worlds

Yuzuru Hanyu - Seimei (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Chock/Bates - Egyptian Snake Dance (Marie-France Dubreuil, Ginette Cournoyer, and Sam Chouinard) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Javier Fernandez - Guys and Dolls (David Wilson) 2016 Worlds

Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres - Sound of Silence (John Kerr and Silvia Fontana) 2017 Euros

Evgenia Medvedeva - Anna Karenina (Daniil Gleichengauz) 2018 Olympics

Nathan Chen - Philip Glass medley (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2021 Worlds

Gabriella Papadakis/Guilliame Cizeron - Elegie (Saxon Fraser and Marie-France Dubreuil) 2022 Olympics

Aljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - La terre vue du ciel (Christopher Dean) 2018 Olympics

Kevin Aymoz - Bolero (Brice Mousset and Kevin Aymoz) 2023 Skate America

Julia Lipnitskaya - Schindler’s List (Ilia Averbukh) 2014 Olympics

Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikharulidze - Lady Caliph 2002 Olympics

Yu-na Kim - James Bond medley (David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Shoma Uno - Buenos Aires Hora Cero (Mihoko Higuchi) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Michal Brezina - The Way You Look Tonight (Jeffrey Buttle) 2016 Skate Canada

Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz - Riverdance 1998 Olympics

Adam Rippon - O/Fly On (Benji Schwimmer) 2016 Trophee de France

Jeffrey Buttle - Bells of Moscow (David Wilson) 2005 Worlds

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier - Vincent (Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs) 2019 Canadian Nationals

Rudy Galindo - Swan Lake (Sharlene Franke) 1996 US Nationals

Sasha Cohen - Malaguena (Tatiana Tarasova) 2004 Worlds

Aljona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy - Pina (Ingo Steur) 2011 Grand Prix Final

Samantha Cesario - Carmen (Inese Budevica) 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard

Tatsuki Machida - East of Eden (Phillip Mills) 2014 Worlds

Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao - Turandot (Lea Ann Miller, Renee Roca, and Gorsha Sur) 2003 Worlds

Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker - Liebestraume (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2018 Nationals

Olga Mikutina - My Nocturnal Serenade (Rostislav Sinicyn) 2023 Europeans

Lu Chen - The Last Emperor (Toller Cranston) 1995 Worlds

Giada Russo - Red Violin (Edoardo de Bernardis) 2016 Europeans

Junhwan Cha - Fate of the Clockmaker/Cloak and Dagger (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2022 Olympics

Han Yan - La La Land (Yuka Sato and Kurt Browning) 2019 Chinese Interclub League

Wakaba Higuchi - Skyfall (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2018 Worlds

Kazuki Tomono - Die Fledermaus (Misha Ge) 2022 Japanese Nationals

Yuma Kagiyama - Believer (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2024 Worlds

Karen Chen - On Golden Pond (Karen Chen) 2017 Nationals

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani - Coppelia (Marina Zueva and Cheryl Yeager) 2016 Nationals

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirov - Manfred Symphony (Peter Tchernyshev) 2014 Skate America

Philippe Candeloro - The Three Musketeers (Natacha Dabadie) 1998 Olympics

Alexander Abt - Songs from the Victorious City 1998 Nations Cup

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir - Prince medley 2017 Worlds

Ekaterina Gordeeva/Sergei Grinkov - Moonlight Sonata (Marina Zueva) 1994 Olympics

Satoko Miyahara - Madama Butterfly (Tom Dickson) 2017 Japanese Nationals

Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha - The White Crow (Romain Haguenauer and Ginette Cournoyer) 2023 Four Continents

Anjelika Krylova/Oleg Ovsiannikov - Masquerade Waltz 1997 Worlds

Alena Kostornaia - The Departure, November (Daniil Gleikhengauz) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Nelli Zhiganshina/Alexander Gazsi - Two from the Grave (Ilia Averbukh) 2013 Worlds

Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov - The Man and The Shadow (Nikolai Morozov) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Stephanie Rosenthal - Rockit (Stewart and Christi Sturgeon) 2006 Nationals

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - Across the Sky, Caught Out In The Rain (Marie-France Dubreuil) 2018 Nationals

Mikhail Kolyada - The Nutcracker (Ilia Averbukh) 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia

Sinead Kerr/John Kerr - The Landing/Turn Around/Gravity of Love (Evgeni Platov) 2008 Worlds

Kaetlyn Osmond - Sous le ciel de Paris, Milord (Lance Vipond) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Carolina Kostner - Ave Maria (Lori Nichol) 2014 Olympics

Karina Manta/Joe Johnson - Sweet Dreams (Christopher Dean) 2019 Nationals

Gracie Gold - Firebird (Lori Nichol) 2016 Nationals

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri - Atonement/Song For A Little Sparrow (Barbara Fusar-Poli and Corrado Giordani) 2022 Europeans

Keegan Messing - Singing in the Rain (Lance Vipond) 2018 Worlds

Elizabeth Punsalan/Jerod Swallow - Astor Piazolla medley (Igor Shpilband) 1998 Olympics

Rika Kihira - A Beautiful Storm (Tom Dickson) 2018 NHK Trophy

Mariah Bell - Chicago (Rohene Ward) 2016 Skate America

Brian Joubert - Rise (Evgeni Platov) 2009 Europeans

Stephane Lambiel - Poeta (Antonio Najarro) 2007 Worlds

Kaori Sakamoto - The Matrix (Benoit Richaud) 2020 NHK Trophy

Akiko Suzuki - O (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 NHK Trophy

Qing Pang/Jian Tong - The Impossible Dream (Shae-Lynn Bourne and David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Takahito Kozuka - Io ci saro (Lori Nichol) 2014 Japanese National

Smart/Diaz - Mask of Zorro 2022 Europeans

Matt Savoie - Ennio Morricone medley (Tom Dickson) 2006 Nationals

Deniss Vasiljevs - Puttin’ On The Ritz (Benoit Richaud) 2016 Worlds

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons - Violin Concerto No.1 Eso Concerto, Clouds, The Mind on the Wind (Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov) 2022 Four Continents

Tara Lipinski - The Rainbow (Sandra Bezic) 1998 Olympics

Denis Ten - SOS d'un terrien en détresse (David Wilson) 2017 Shanghai Trophy

Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek - Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano (Massimo Scali) 2018 Europeans

Krisztina Czako - The Addams Family (Igor Bobrin) 1997 Europeans

Cheng Peng/Yang Jin - My Drag (Lori Nichol) 2016 GPF

Bradie Tennell - Mechanisms, Chronos (Benoit Richaud) 2020 4CC

Evgeny Plushenko - Tribute to Nijinsky 2004 Russian Nationals

Vanessa Gusmeroli - Rats D'Hotel 1999 Worlds

Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau - Monde Inverse (Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky) 2015 Skate America

Isabeau Levito - Dulcea Și Tandra Mea Fiară (Yulia Kuznetsova) 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Batwannis Beek/Sandstorm (Tatiana Prokofieva) 2015 Europeans

Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi - Soran Bushi (Marina Zoueva, Ilia Tkachenko, and Koyo Yanai) 2021 NHK Trophy

Amber Glenn - This Time (Kaitlyn Weaver and Randi Strong) 2024 Lombardia Trophy

Ivan Righini - You Raise Me Up (Ivan Righini) 2016 Europeans

Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte - Life is Beautiful (Liudmila Vlasova) 2017 NHK Trophy

[jennibeultimate]

TW: Sexual abuse

It's making me sad that so many skaters and coaches turn out to be awful human beings.

And what's making me even sadder and angry is that nothing will come of accusations with lasting impact.

The sad truth is that even if victims come forward in the grand scheme of things in the figure skating world abuse gets a "pass" in the long run and nothing happens. Even to the extent that parents willfully let their chilren skate with abusers in favor of "pushing a career".

Show me someone that was publicily accused and was really canceled to never set foot into the skating world again in any form?

They remain skaters or coaches or whatever...

Sick and tired of the slogan that "cancel culture" kills careers when it never does.

Believe the victims!

_____

An old story that is hunting me for years now and cannot be more disgusting but just shows you how the skating world doesn't care:

Maybe you don't remember Karel Fajfr's case from the 90s but I do. (Or let's say it was brought to my attention again in 2019, first in 2014) He was sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of minors and got a 3 year coaching ban and yet after this he was coaching again bc parents believed he would be a good coach. And in 2019 there were new accusations of abuse but guess what the skater got the dead end and was charged for slander instead. So if a coach can still coach until this day even if he was proven guilty of sexual abuse and parents still let their kids train with him I fear that there is no change possible in figure skating. You can get away with anything it seems...cancel culture wtf...I bet even most of you have never heard the case at all. Maybe it's bc this is a German coach but he coached well known athletes who are now coaches Michal Brezina and Ondrej Hotarek. And he even got a virtual appearance as a coach character with his bright orange glasses on Yuri on Ice.

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #185

Yuri!!! on Life Official guidebook, Yamamoto Sayo's interview

Part 9.

That must have been a dreadful amount of work to do.

Everything was very fun, but because we were using live-action footage as a reference to produce the figure skating scenes, this generated some processes that aren't part of production of standard animes. Nagasaka Tomoki of JAYFILMS has very good editing skills, so we somehow managed to get that done, but the live-action part and standard [animation] parts taken together took an incredibly huge number of edits to finish…

If that wasn't something that you love then it would be painful (laugh).

That's right. I'm able to just watch skating all the time forever, so even if the work is tough physically, the feeling that it's fun wins… I'm really grateful to Nagasaka-san who was the one that actually had to do the editing.

~ The collection of "God-level performances" to create the sense of common understanding ~

The cast of voice actors in Yuri!!! is splendid, but were there any events during the voice over recording that were memorable to you?

The day of voice over recording was also the deadline [for me] for submitting the storyboards, so every time, after the cutting [of previous episode], including the weekend, I didn't sleep to draw the storyboards. In addition, before the recording, in the morning we were doing the dubbing*… A task after a task that I had to really focus on, so during the voice over recording my head was not working properly… It's all my fault, but… Every time, the performance of voice actors was better than I had imagined it would be - it let me discover new ideas and inspired me. The Sound Director, Shimizu Youji-san, is very good at explaining things. He could explain to the actors everything including the nuances, I couldn't put into words that well, so it was very easy to work for me. And, Shimizu-san is a huge figure skating fan. He is from the same generation as Ito Midori and was born in Nagoya, so he has been a passionate figure skating fan since middle school. When I asked him, who is his favorite nowadays, he told me that it's Michal Brezina from Czech Republic.

Is that so?

All his family members are fans of Uno Shoma, but he says he supports Brezina. He said that: "Seeing that Michal Brezina can land a quad salchow beautifully in training, but lately he can't quite show this strength during competitions, I want to support him". [Hearing that] I thought that he really must watch figure skating a lot.

[Notes: Dubbing - I don't know a lot about anime production, but here dubbing is probably something like preparing the final film, so it can be then send to the TV station to be aired, or adding sound to animation.]

[edgecallskating]

The Prime Uncle, Sparkles, and Junliet. A blessed podium.

[polishedjellyfish]

The Japan Open OTT aesthetic is really something else

[figureskatingfanblog]

Post from Michal Brezina on his Instagram

[rocketman-stuff]

Mariah Bell the real MVP 💕

[ohtheseskaters]

[vesperatio]

Michal Brezina, Bryan Adams medley, FS | European Championships 2022

aka the first wonderful, amazing surprise of the men's free skate. I don't quite know why he's one of my faves but once he starts skating he's so fun and it's kind of impossible for me not to cheer him on.

So this gif set is a bit jumping galore but that's because unfortunately he so frequently struggles with them and I wanted to emphasise this almost 100% clean programme with no falls!

[figureskatingcostumes]

Michal Brezina performing his free program at the 2019 World Championships. He skated to The Spencer Davis Group and AC/DC.

(Source: sn_figure)

[figurelifeflirt]

2021 Rostelecom Entry #10

Men free program

Matteo Rizzo(ITA)

Thoughts: the celebration at the end. He did it. So happy for him. If anything, fix the hands. They were stiff in parts

Brendan Kerry(AUS)

Thoughts: that’s the second time the commentator has made fun of someone for finishing facing the wrong way. Can someone please shut him up?! Brendan, sorry the jumps went to shit. Gorgeous choreography though.

Evgeni Semenenko(RUS)

Thoughts: was the quick change supposed to go like that?! It only lasted about 20 seconds before going back to the original outfit. What?!

Michal Brenzina(CZE)

Thoughts: poor dear. This was a rough day. We come back and we fight next time, okay?!

Camden Pulkinen(USA)

Thoughts: as much as I love his pretty nose. Nathan did this too. He tried to add too much sex.

[misograce]

Sure, Michal Brezina may not always be the most consistent skater with his jumps, but he’s a fantastic performer and so fun to watch and I‘ve been watching him skate for so long, I‘m just extremely fond of him

[moon-soo-ah]

Men Results and Team Standing