One of the most fruitful, yet strangely unheralded, artistic collaborations of the past few years has been the combination of Satoko Miyahara’s skating with the choreography of Tom Dickson. For five straight seasons–from Ms. Miyahara’s senior sophomore season of 2014-2015 to the 2018-2019 season–Mr. Dickson choreographed at least one program for Ms. Miyahara, with stellar results more often than not.
Ms. Miyahara’s weaknesses as a skater are not unapparent even to the undiscerning eye: Ms. Miyahara’s jumps are lilliputian at best, and her skating can be perceived as lacking in dynamism and power.* To paraphrase Dick Button, Ms. Miyahara’s skating is not the sort that reaches the 70th row of a 30 row arena. But what Ms. Miyahara possesses in spades is a wonderful clarity of movement throughout her skating–a sense of precision in not only her carriage and posture but also her understanding of musical nuance. Ms. Miyahara’s strengths thus make her a perfect fit for Tom Dickson, who is known for his cerebral and detailed approach to choreography.
2014-2015 Season: Miss Saigon LP
It was Ms. Miyahara’s Miss Saigon long program that first made me sit up and pay close attention to Ms. Miyahara’s skating. In a ladies field dominated by the likes of Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Elena Radionova at the time, Miss Saigon‘s refinement and attention to detail immediately stood out as a refreshing break from the sensory overload of watching competitor after competitor cartwheel onto the stage. Here, finally, was a fully-fleshed out program that features edges, steps, spins, and jumps as a coherent whole, with jumps seamlessly integrated as highlights within the structure of the program instead of isolated moments unencumbered by music or performance. There are so many wonderful moments in Miss Saigon that I can effortlessly conjure up from memory: the solo 3Lz perfectly timed to the music, the lovely use of arms in the The Sacred Bird section, the way the choreography builds and builds with the climax of the music from the layback spin to the beautiful choreographic sequence . . . every movement, down to the fingertips, just makes sense.
2015-2016 Season: Firedance SP
Rather than take the easy route of giving Ms. Miyahara yet another lyrical program she would excel at and call it a day, Mr. Dickson had Ms. Miyahara stretch herself by skating to Firedance with its quick staccato style and driving beat. It’s a different look for Ms. Miyahara, but she does an excellent job at maintaining the tension and tempo of the program as well as expressing a sense of command–and even a dash of sensuality!–throughout.
2016-2017 Season: The Planets/Star Wars LP (‘Satoko in Space’)
Arguably Ms. Miyahara’s greatest program ever, the fact that Ms. Satoko was only able to skate a truncated season with Satoko in Space due to injury should inspire plenty of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Satoko in Space features a seamless combination of Gustav Holst’s Venus, Mars, and Jupiter from his The Planets suite together with John Williams’ score from Star Wars. Given The Planet‘s immense influence on John Williams, Mr. Dickson’s choice to combine these pieces is superbly clever, and so good that Lori Nichol shamelessly ripped off the idea for Boyang Jin’s long program the following season.**
As usual, the music cuts are brilliant and the elements are beautifully fitted in throughout the choreography, but what makes Satoko in Space shine for me is the diversity and depth of performance Ms. Miyahara displays: she is ethereal in Venus, fierce in Mars, romantic in Leia’s Theme and joyous in Jupiter. And yet Satoko in Space somehow remains a seamless, coherent whole throughout. A minor miracle indeed.
2017-2018 Season: Madama Butterfly LP
Unfortunately, Mr. Dickson’s program for Ms. Miyahara for the all-important Olympic season is arguably his weakest piece for her. Perhaps I am overly-influenced by the music choice, but Madama Butterfly seems like a re-tread of Miss Saigon, only less good this time. The caveat here is that if practically any other skater skated to a program with the refinement and nuance that Satoko Miyahara displays in Madama Butterfly, I would be filled with praise. But after Miss Saigon and three straight seasons of stellar Dickson programs, Madama Butterfly cannot help but pale in comparison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDnf77omS4g
2018-2019 Season: Piazzolla Tango LP
A very competent tango program, but again, one that pales in comparison to past masterpieces. The caveat from Madama Butterfly applies here as well.
*Of course, this is not to say that Ms. Miyahara is lacking in skating skills. In fact, Ms. Miyahara’s skating at its best combines great flow together with an impressive amount of multi-directional skating.
**Given the fact that some say John Williams shamelessly ripped off The Planets in his score for Star Wars, one supposes Ms. Nichol was merely acting in accordance with the spirit of the music she was using.