The ice show "Hanyu Yuzuru Notte Stellata," hosted by Yuzuru Hanyu (31), a professional skater from Sendai City who won two consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's figure skating, opened on the 7th at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture. With 11 days marking the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which he himself was affected by, he performed with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, a mixed orchestra made up of members ranging from elementary school students to university students from Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima, in front of an audience of approximately 6,500 people, expressing his hopes for recovery. This is the fourth consecutive year that the ice show has been held. Performances will continue until the 9th.

Towards recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. He danced smoothly, blending with the music played by the orchestra. "I was so nervous I was shaking, but I was able to put my heart and skill into my skating," he said. Hanyu's performance has once again given people hope this year.

The performance was a collaboration with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, which was formed in response to a call from the late musician Ryuichi Sakamoto immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Sakamoto composed "Happy End," which he choreographed himself. He said that the performance expressed the pain he felt from the damage caused by the disaster, but added, "Ultimately, I created a program that would make people think there's always a next time."

In "Yae no Sakura," he used his entire body to represent the powerfully blooming cherry blossoms. "I created this with the image of placing memories one by one, as if I had left something behind in the tracks of everyone's lives." Fans were captivated by Hanyu's characteristically graceful skating, which was imbued with a prayer for the souls of the dead.

It will soon be 15 years since then. "I was 16 years old at the time. I felt that I had to do my best to convey this message. Even though I was young, I felt like I had a mission." This year too, he placed his wishes under the starry sky.

◆ Programs that Hanyu skated to

1. Notte Stellata

2. Happy End

(Yuzuru Hanyu x Tohoku Youth Orchestra)

3. Double Cherry Blossoms

(Yuzuru Hanyu x Tohoku Youth Orchestra)