Highlights from Tessa Virtue’s Vogue Japan Interview pt. 1

- On the motivation for coming out of retirement: “After the 2014 Olympics in Sochi finished, we tried distancing ourselves from competitive skating but felt strongly in our hearts that we wanted to compete again. We’d really fallen in love with working hard in pursuit of a single goal and making strong efforts, and of course, we were confident we could polish our skills even more. We felt we hadn’t lost the drive to test our abilities and advance as athletes.”

- On switching coaches for the comeback, she says they wanted to be able to control themselves better. All decisions had to be made with the athletes goals and visions in mind. Their comeback years were the most trying but also the most rewarding.

- She and Scott had joked about returning to competition, but one day while driving to the Great Wall of China they started thinking of their “dream scenarios” for a comeback — what music they’d use, coaches, styling, image, etc — and realized they needed to make it reality.

- Their years doing ice shows after the 2014 olympics helped them understand how to really present to an audience instead of solely focusing on perfection and getting lost in the details.

- Pyeongchang was full of meaning and felt like a fairytale. The atmosphere in the rink was unlike any other and winning gold in both events has become her greatest memory.

- She didn’t know that PC had gotten a world record score between they went on and isn’t sure if she would have been able to perform the way she did if she’d known.

- Shoma Uno asked VM for skating advice, but they’re so impressed by him that they said they wanted him to teach them how to skate!

Highlights from Tessa Virtue’s Vogue Japan Interview, pt. 2

- On being asked about her and Scott’s relationship: she sees the questions as praise for their “creation” up until now (the word used is 作品 which is used for creative output like works of art, novels, songs, musicals etc.) and interprets it as a testament to the love and respect she’s forged with her partner. Their partnership is stronger than ever and they’ve put all of themselves into making it that way so she can say that with confidence. She doesn’t know the best label for what they are, but is aware that it’s important for the rest of the world to be able to categorize what they are. In any case, it’s unique and special and she isn’t really able to put a name to it other than “this.” They are best friends, business partners, and each other’s biggest fans. She says Scott is the most charismatic, sincere, and warm-hearted person, and from the bottom of her heart she’s happy to have been able to grow up and live in this world with him.

- Scott came running from Shin-Yokohama to the shoot and was checking the photos earnestly. Scott knows how much she likes fashion and how she admires Vogue. She only told Scott and Jeffrey Buttle about the shoot in advance, and they were both “as happy as if it had been their own good news.”

- Previously at SoI in Japan, Tessa had said she’d love to be in Vogue someday. Dare she say it, she likes fashion even more than skating and dance. It was an amazing experience for her to touch the depth of the fashion world through her collaboration projects and she’s grateful for the opportunity. She likes the creative process and all the small details involved.

- When asked if she wants to be like Victoria Beckham, leaving one field to pursue fashion full-time, Tessa says that it’s not impossible but that it would require lots of study and commitment. She’s more interested in studying business and marketing at the moment.

- She had creative influence in the design of her costumes and worked with Mathieu Caron in Montreal, taking into account the entire program, from the story to the choreography to the music. She says the most important part of a skating costume is that it emphasizes the quality of the skating, rather than overpowering it. The interviewer asked about the cutout design of the MR costume and if it’s easier for Scott to hold bare skin as opposed to a flesh-toned panel; Tessa laughingly responded that bare skin just looks better.

- About the new rules for men’s and ladies’ singles, she said as an ice dancer it’s not really her place to comment, but that the rule change should be applied carefully and that the skaters’ response is important. Skating is physically strenuous and rules should be in place to protect young skaters from injury, because their careers after skating are much longer. She thinks the debate between judges’ scores and the artistic/athletic ability of skaters is one that will continue eternally. She believes the rule change will cause everyone to reconsider artistry, ingenuity, creativity, expression, etc.

- FoI is the longest show she’s done, at 3.5 hours. Seeing just how popular Yuzuru Hanyu is in Japan is eye-opening, but she’s not surprised because he’s so prolific. He’s very kind and always looking out for others, but the difference between when he’s under pressure and not is huge. No-pressure Yuzu is like a kid.

- She talked with Yuzuru about his goals for FoI and he said he’s been chasing the same dreams since childhood. It seems like the 4.5-rotation quad axel is his biggest motivation at the moment.

Highlights from Tessa Virtue’s Vogue Japan Interview, pt. 3

- She was asked if they’d debated using any other songs for the 17-18 season. Tessa said that from the very beginning they’d been set on Moulin Rouge. Scott originally suggested it and Tessa confirmed it was perfect; however, their coaches didn’t agree. MF and Patch weren’t on board with MR, but after seeing VM skate to it and capture the emotions of the piece, their minds were changed. MR was their biggest challenge, requiring them to tell a story with nuance across several songs — but ultimately it’s what they were pursuing all along. Compared to the FD, it was more difficult to choose songs for the SD. Marie-France suggested Sympathy for the Devil for the samba; VM were in agreement, but integrating it with other Latin songs while still telling a story proved more difficult.

- They begin their choreography on the dance floor, not the ice, and Tessa likes the floor work the best. MF translates the choreography smoothly to the ice and works on transitions.

- Tessa wanted to have skated to Pride and Prejudice but never got the chance. She’d also like to try another Pink Floyd program, namely “Wish You Were Here” because it was always playing in the rink when she practiced with Scott; they promised to skate a program to it in honor of their grandparents :’)

- They asked what her number one performance was, to recommend to new fans who might search for them on YouTube. She says they often watch playbacks to critique their performance, but that honestly she’s not good at watching herself on film. Nonetheless, she recommends 2007 Worlds Valse Triste, Farrucas from the 2010 Olympics, 2017 Worlds Prince SD, 2013 Worlds Carmen, and MR from the 2018 Olympics. She also recommended fan-made highlight reels!

- Her dream came true by getting to be in Vogue. She’s very excited for what the future holds. She says it would be great if she could take the thank you tour on a world tour (!!). She’s planning to start a greeting card business and is also thinking of a sportswear collaboration. She’d also like to give back to her community through charity work. She wants to lend her power to help young girls reach their dreams.