Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata

Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata (羽生結弦 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, also known as the "Great East Japan Earthquake" or "3.11", and is held on three days in March at Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu, Miyagi, which served as a morgue at the time of the disaster. The show has a duration of 90 minutes and features a cast of international professional skaters as well as a special guest from another sport or performing art field, teaming up for new unique collaborations with figure skating.
Notte Stellata is named after Hanyu's exhibition program "Notte Stellata (The Swan)", which he has been skating as a tribute to the victims of the disaster on various occasions, including the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Having experienced the earthquake and tsunami himself in his hometown of Sendai in Miyagi on March 11, 2011, Hanyu has since participated in multiple charity shows and made significant contributions to the reconstruction of the affected areas. The Notte Stellata show, inaugurated in 2023, is a production with the aim to further support the reconstruction and economic revitalization of the region as well as disaster prevention measures for the future.
The show is broadcast on the Japanese subscription channel CS Nittele Plus, screened live at cinemas in Japan and overseas, and distributed on the streaming service Hulu Japan. A recording of the show's 2023 edition was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc in February 2024. The event is sponsored by the Japanese travel agency JTB, Tōwa Pharmaceutical, and the local event and concert production company GIP. In 2023, it was also supported by Kosé's skincare and cosmetics brand Sekkisei.
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, also known as the "Great East Japan Earthquake" or "3.11", was a Mw 9.0–9.1 submarine megathrust earthquake which occurred on March 11, 2011, in the Pacific Ocean east of the Tōhoku region. It was the most powerful earthquake recorded in Japan, triggering large tsunami waves of over 39 m run-up height, which affected a 2000 km of coast and caused widespread damage, including the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Among the most severely affected prefectures were Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate, Ibaraki, and Chiba. As of December 2023, the disaster cost 19,702 people's lives in north-east Japan and, according to the World Bank, it is estimated to be the most expensive natural disaster in history with nearly US$300 billion being spent on rebuilding by 2023. More than 200,000 people were forced to live in temporary housings or permanently relocate as of 2015. In February 2024, 13 years after the earthquake, their number was still 29,328 according to an official report by the Reconstruction Agency. Despite the evacuation order being lifted, as of early 2023 only 1 % of Fukushima's population from the special reconstruction zones had returned to their homes. The disaster has caused serious damage to the local economy, including its traditional fish market.
Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu was 16 years old and practicing at his local ice rink, when the earthquake hit his hometown of Sendai, one of the most severely damaged cities by the disaster in 2011. He spent the following days at an evacuation center with his family, experiencing a blackout on the night of the disaster: "It turned pitch black just like that and the electricity was out. It was so dark in the city, but I remember thinking how bright the stars were then." Hanyu has since participated in multiple charity shows and made significant contributions to the reconstruction of the affected areas. At the annual ice show Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata, for the first time in his career, he got the opportunity to perform in front of an audience on March 11 to commemorate the events and pay tribute to the victims the disaster: "I want this to be about everyone's remembrance of 3.11, like what they thought when they were looking up at the sky that evening. I want this to be an opportunity to bring people together."
The show's title "notte stellata" (lit. 'starry night' in Italian) is inspired by Hanyu's exhibition program "Notte Stellata (The Swan)", performed by the operatic pop trio Il Volo with lyrics by Tony Renis. The song is based on le cygne, the 13th and penultimate movement of The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns. The music piece was suggested to Hanyu by Russian figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova, and the program was choreographed by David Wilson from Canada.
"Notte Stellata" is a reflection of Hanyu's memories of the starry sky on the night of the disaster. It was debuted at the exhibition gala of the 2016 Skate Canada and performed by Hanyu at all major international figure skating events, including the 2017 World Championships, 2018 Winter Olympics, and the 2019–20 Grand Prix Final. He also presented the program at the 2018 edition of the annual charity event 24-hour TV "Love Saves the Earth" [ja] on Nippon TV, paying tribute to the victims of the earthquake, and skated it as the final act of his solo ice show Gift in 2023, the first skating event at Tokyo Dome, in front of a record audience of 35,000 spectators. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Australian sports commentator and former competitive figure skater, Belinda Noonan, notably praised Hanyu's "Notte Stellata" performance, remarking:
Notte Stellata is the first ensemble ice show with Hanyu as chairperson since the launch of his professional career, featuring a cast of international professional skaters with Jason Brown, Shae-Lynn Bourne-Turok, Satoko Miyahara, Akiko Suzuki, Keiji Tanaka, Takahito Mura, Rika Hongo, and hula hoop skater Violetta Afanasieva. The cast also included Japanese gymnast and three-time Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura, merging the sports of artistic gymnastics and figure skating for the first time. Canadian David Wilson created the choreography for the show.
Each show lasted 90 minutes, and they were opened by Hanyu with a performance to "Notte Stellata", followed by a group performance of the cast and individual programs by the invited skaters. The first half was concluded with a collaboration between Hanyu on the ice and Kohei Uchimura on the floor to the music piece "Conquest of Paradise" by Vangelis. The second half of the show was opened with a group number by Hongo, Suzuki, Bourne-Turok, and Mura to the song "Dynamite" from the K-pop band BTS. During the program, a dance performance of Hanyu was shown on screen and on the ice surface using projection mapping technology. A total of 20 programs was performed, closing with Hanyu's exhibition program to "Haru yo, koi", in which he expressed his thoughts on the reconstruction, and a group skate to "Kibōno uta" (lit. 'Song of hope') by Misia in the show finale.
The two athletes were taking turns in performing, Hanyu presenting multiple jumps and a cartwheel, and Uchimura showing four consecutive whips with a layout somersault among other elements. They finished the program with a synchronized sit spin and double leg circle rotation as well as a side-by-side quad toe loop and double twisting back layout. For Uchimura's pommel horse exercises, a mushroom trainer was installed in front of the floor apparatus.
The Sekisui Heim Super Arena is located in Rifu near Hanyu's hometown of Sendai and served as a morgue at the time of the disaster in 2011. The venue was sold out with an attendance of 6,000 spectators per day in 2023 and 6,100 in 2024. and tickets were again distributed by lottery sale with prices ranging from 15,000 to 29,000 yen ($111–214 as of 2023). All three days of the show were screened live at movie theaters in Japan as well as overseas in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In addition, they were aired live nationally on the subscription streaming platform Hulu Japan, and were broadcast on CS Nittele Plus on March 31, 2023. An extended version with behind-the-scenes footage was broadcast on April 23 on the same channel. DVD and Blu-Ray disc for the show are scheduled to be released on February 9, 2024. The event was sponsored by Kose's skincare and cosmetics brand Sekkisei, Towa Pharmaceutical, and the Japanese travel agency JTB.
Figure skaters
Guest artists