was an

ice show An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. The major ice shows were founded between 1936 and 1943, when professional figure skaters began to appear in shows, in hotels, at fairs, and "at any place a ...

produced by Japanese

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

and two-time Olympic champion

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater and ice show producer. Universally regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters in history for his well-rounded skills, achievements, innovations, longevity, popularity, and impact on the sport, he started skat ...

in collaboration with

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

and CIC Co., Ltd. The one-off event was held on April13–15, 2018, at

Musashino Forest Sport Plaza The is a multi-sport venue located in Chōfu, Tokyo, Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The main arena has a seating capacity of over 10,000, and also includes a swimming pool, a gym, a multi-use sports area and two fitness studios, that is available for ...

Chōfu is a Cities of Japan, city in the western side of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km2. the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately ...

, Tokyo. It was Hanyu's first self-produced ice show, commemorating his win of back-to-back Olympic titles in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and to express his gratitude to fans and skaters who had inspired and supported him in the course of his career.

Background

At the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

from Japan became the first

in 66 years to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the men's singles discipline after American

Dick Button Richard Totten Button (July 18, 1929 – January 30, 2025) was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-Euro ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. At his first Winter Games in

, he also became the youngest Olympic men's champion since Button in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Hanyu is the first Asian male skater and second Japanese after

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in f ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

to win Olympic gold. ''Continues with Wings'' was scheduled two months after Hanyu's victory at the 2018 Winter Olympics to commemorate his historic achievements and express his gratitude to skaters who had inspired and supported him in course of his career until then. The cast included coaches, choreographers, and teammates as well as Hanyu's role models in figure skating. Due to rehabilitation from a

ligament A ligament is a type of fibrous connective tissue in the body that connects bones to other bones. It also connects flight feathers to bones, in dinosaurs and birds. All 30,000 species of amniotes (land animals with internal bones) have liga ...

injury in his right foot, which Hanyu had sustained in November 2017 after a fall on a

quadruple Quadruple may refer to: * 4-tuple, an ordered list of elements, with four elements * Quad (figure skating), a figure skating jump * Quadruple (computing), a term used as alternative for nibble in some contexts * Quadruple-precision floating-point ...

Lutz jump The Lutz is a figure skating jump named after Alois Lutz, an Austrian skater. It is a toepick-assisted jump with an entrance from a back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot. It is the second-most difficult jum ...

, it was announced prior to the show that he would not perform on the ice himself.

Concept and structure of the show

The show lasted 2.5 hours and was directed by Hanyu, featuring a mix of exhibition programs as well as multiple talk rounds between Hanyu and the invited skaters. Each guest was introduced with a personal video message by Hanyu. Due to his recuperation from an ankle injury, he was not initially scheduled to perform. However, at the end of the show, he gave a surprise performance with a medley of past competition programs, skipping jump elements due to the injury. The show finale was arranged by Hanyu's former choreographers

Jeffrey Buttle Jeffrey Buttle (born September 1, 1982) is a Canadian figure skater and choreographer. He is the 2006 Winter Olympics bronze medalist, the 2008 World champion, the 2002 and 2004 Four Continents champion and the 2005–2007 Canadian champion. ...

and

Shae-Lynn Bourne Shae-Lynn Bourne (born January 24, 1976) is a Canadian ice dancer and choreographer. In 2003, she and partner Victor Kraatz became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three Winter Olympic Games, pl ...

to the song " Time to Say Goodbye", performed by the full cast.

Skaters

Main cast

Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir John Garvin Weir (; born July 2, 1984) is an American television commentator and retired figure skater. He is a two-time Olympian (2006 Winter Olympics, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics), the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, 2008 World ...

is an American television commentator and retired figure skater who has competed in the senior men's singles discipline. He is a two-time Olympian (2006, 2010), and the 2008 World bronze medalist. Known for his graceful and elegant skating style, Hanyu named him as one of his role models. Weir has designed two free skate costumes for Hanyu, among them his top for the 2013–14 Olympic season. In the 2018–19 and 2019–20 season, Hanyu dedicated his short program ''Otoñal'' by

Raúl di Blasio Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French R ...

to Weir who had skated his free program to the music piece in 2004–05. The two also performed together as lead cast members in the show

Fantasy on Ice is an annual touring ice show in Japan produced by CIC Co., Ltd. The show emerged from the "Philippe Candeloro Japan Tour 2001", named after retired French figure skater Philippe Candeloro, and was held under the name "Fantasy on Ice" the followi ...

from 2010 until Weir's retirement in 2023.

Evgeni Plushenko

Evgeni Plushenko Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko (, born 3 November 1982) is a Russian former figure skater. He is a four-time Olympic medalist (2006 gold, 2014 team gold, 2002 & 2010 silver), a three-time World champion (2001, 2003, 2004), a seven-time Europe ...

is a Russian figure skater and skating coach who has competed at four Winter Olympics (2002–2014), having won four medals, among them gold in men's singles in 2006 and the team event in 2014. Plushenko is one of Hanyu's childhood idols who influenced him in style and technique. Upon the conclusion of ''Continues with Wings'', he was asked by Hanyu to allow him skate to Plushenko's 2003–04 free skate program ''Tribute to Nijinsky'' with music by

Edvin Marton Edvin Marton (born Lajos Edvin Csűry, 17 February 1974, Vylok, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-born Hungarian composer and violinist. He became known as the violinist of the skaters, mainly because Evgeni Plushenko, Stéphane Lambiel, Yuzuru Hanyu ...

. With Plushenko's agreement, Hanyu used a new arrangement of the music piece for the free skate, titled ''Origin'', and performed it as a tribute to his skating idol in the 2018–19 and 2019–20 season.

Jeffrey Buttle

is a Canadian figure skater and choreographer who has competed in men's singles. He is the bronze medalist of the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2008 World champion. Buttle was in charge of Hanyu's short programs from 2012 until 2022, having choreographed six different programs for him, which scored seven

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

and three

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in international competition. He also made the choreography for the final group performance of ''Continues with Wings'' to the song " Time to Say Goodbye" in collaboration with

Shae-Lynn Bourne

Shae-Lynn Bourne is a Canadian

ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

r and choreographer who competed with

Victor Kraatz Victor Kraatz, (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian former ice dancer. In 2003, he and his partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. Personal life Born on April 7, 1971, in West Berlin ...

, becoming the 2003 World champions and finishing in fourth place at the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and 2002 Winter Olympics. Bourne has choreographed all five of Hanyu's free skate programs from 2014 to 2022, which scored three historical and two world records in competition. She also contributed to the choreography of Hanyu's Olympic short program ''

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso The ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' in A minor (), Op. 28, is a composition for violin and orchestra written in 1863 by Camille Saint-Saëns. It was dedicated to the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sarasate, who performed the solo violin pa ...

'' in collaboration with Buttle. Since its inauguration in March 2023, Bourne has been a recurring cast member of the ice show

Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata is an annual ensemble ice show led by Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, and organized by Nippon TV and its local station Miyagi TV. The show is a commemoration event of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami ...

, a commemoration event of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

Rifu is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 36,014, and a population density of 800 persons per km2 in 13,568 households. The total area of the town is . Rifu is known for its nashi pears. Recently, ...

, Japan.

Takahito Mura

Takahito Mura is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is the 2014 Four Continents champion, 2014 Skate Canada International champion, and 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard champion. Nationally, he is a five-time Japan Championships bronze medalist an ...

is a Japanese figure skater who won the 2014 Four Contintents Championships in men's singles among others. He was Hanyu's senior and training partner at their home rink in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

, Japan. When Hanyu had moved up to junior level, Mura guided him in mastering the triple

Axel jump The Axel jump or Axel Paulsen jump, named after its inventor, Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, is an edge jump performed in figure skating. It is the sport's oldest and most difficult jump, and the only basic jump in competition with a for ...

, which later became one of Hanyu's signature elements and most consistent jumps in the history of figure skating. Like Bourne, Mura is also a recurring cast member at the ice show Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata.

Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov

Yuko Kavaguti Yuko Kavaguti (also: Kawaguchi; Japanese: , , born 20 November 1981) is a retired pair skater who has represented Japan and Russia in international competition. In 2006, she began competing with Alexander Smirnov (figure skater), Alexander Smirno ...

is a retired Japanese figure skater who changed citizenship in 2007 and competed with her partner Alexander Smirnov for Russia in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

. They are the 2010 World bronze medalists and two-time European champions (2010, 2015). Kavaguti's successful move from Japan to Russia encouraged Hanyu to pursue a skating career overseas as well, moving from Sendai to Toronto, Canada, in 2012 to train under

Brian Orser Brian Ernest Orser (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Cana ...

and

Tracy Wilson Tracy Wilson, (born September 25, 1961) is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Rob McCall, she won the Canadian national championship seven times (1982–1988), is a three-time World bronze medallist, and the 1988 Olympic ...

at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club.

Minoru Sano

Minoru Sano is a retired Japanese figure skater who competed in men's singles. He is the 1977 World bronze medalist and founder of

Prince Ice World Prince Ice World (プリンスアイスワールド) is the oldest ice show in Japan and was founded by Prince Hotels, Inc. in 1978. The show has a different theme each year and is known for its elaborately produced group numbers performed by th ...

, the first ice show to be held in Japan. It was Sano who introduced Hanyu and his sister to the sport of figure skating and "fundamentally inspired" Hanyu to start skating. From then, Hanyu was trained by Japanese coach who also coached Sano and Kavaguti. For Sano, it was the first skating performance in 22 years at ''Continues with Wings'' at 66 years old.

Video messages

The invited guest skaters

Stéphane Lambiel Stéphane Lambiel (born 2 April 1985) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater who now works as a coach and choreographer. He is a two-time (2005–2006) World champion, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2005, 2007) Grand Prix ...

and Javier Fernández were not able to attend the show in person, so they sent video messages that were shown on screen at the venue. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Hanyu named both skaters as his role models alongside Weir, Plushenko, and Dick Button. On the final day of the show, Hanyu's former training partner Javier Fernández gave a surprise performance of his Olympic free skate program ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervan ...

'', which was recorded live at Fernández' home rink in Madrid and shown on screen at the show.

Attendance and accessibility

The venue was sold out on all three days of the show, with a capacity of 9,000 seats and ticket prices ranging from 6,000 to 18,000 yen ($57–171 as of 2018). The last day was screened live in 66 movie theaters nationwide and aired live on the Japanese subscription channel CS TV Asahi. On May6, 2022, ''Continues with Wings'' was rebroadcast on the channel as part of the program special "Golden Week Figure Skating". The event was sponsored by the cleaning and skin care company P&G as well as the Japanese airline

ANA Ana or ANA may refer to: People * Ana (given name), a list of people with the name * Ana people or Atakpame people, an ethnic group of West Africa * ana (gamer), Anathan Pham, an Australian professional ''Dota 2'' player known as ana Places * A ...

among others.

Set list

First half #

– "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

" #

– ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' #

– " For Forever" # Minoru Sano – " The Heart of Budapest" # Kawaguti /

Smirnov Smirnov (masculine, ) or Smirnova (feminine, ) is one of the two most common surnames in Russia. ''Smirnov'' () is derived from an adjectival nickname (; in archaic form , ), meaning 'quiet, still, peaceful, gentle'. Smirnov * Aleksandr Smirnov ...

– ''Manfred'' Symphony #

– "

Bom Bom "Bom Bom" is a song by the British-Dutch three-piece music group Sam and the Womp. The track was first released in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2012. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart with 107,461 copies sold in its firs ...

" #

– '' Tribute to Nijinsky'' Second half #

Takahito Mura – ''

The Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' #Kavaguti / Smirnov – "Bubbly Dance" #Jeffrey Buttle – " Better to Be Loved" #Johnny Weir – Beyoncé medley #Evgeni Plushenko – " Tango Amore" #

– program medleys #Group finale – " Time to Say Goodbye" Program medleys by Yuzuru Hanyu ''Show 1'' #'' From Russia With Love'' #''

Zigeunerweisen ''Zigeunerweisen'' (''Gypsy Airs'', ), Op. 20, is a musical composition for violin and orchestra written in 1878 by the Spanish composer Pablo de Sarasate. It was premiered the same year in Leipzig, Germany. Like his contemporaries, Sarasate mi ...

'' # Ballade No. 1 ''Show 2'' #'' Mission: Impossible II'' # Étude in D-sharp minor #"

Parisienne Walkways "Parisienne Walkways" is a song by guitarist Gary Moore that reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1979. The song is featured on Moore's album '' Back on the Streets'' and features a vocal from Thin Lizzy frontman, Phil Lynott, who c ...

" ''Show 3'' #"

Sing, Sing, Sing "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" is a 1936 song, with music and lyrics by Louis Prima, who first recorded it with his New Orleans Gang. Brunswick Records released it on February 28, 1936 on the 78rpm record format, with "It's Been So Long" a ...

" #''

Romeo + Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'', a ballet score by Constant Lambert * Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a ...

'' #'' Seimei''

Notes and references

Official guide and documentary books

* 40 p. *

Citations

Print works cited

* * * * *

External links

Official website
(in Japanese) * {{Ice show Yuzuru Hanyu ice shows 2014 Winter Olympics 2018 Winter Olympics 2018 in figure skating April 2018 in Japan Entertainment events in Japan Organized events in Tokyo Chōfu, Tokyo