Monday, December 14, 2020

The 12 Days of Christmas Countdown: Day 12: Michelle Kwan's "Winter Song" by Ingrid Michaelson and Sarah Barreilles

In 2010, Michelle Kwan made a rare appearance on the ice, performing in Yuna Kim's star-studded "All That Skate Tour." It had been a solid four years since anyone had seen Kwan on the ice (the last time I can remember was in the December of 2005 at a made-for-tv event. She skipped Nationals that year due to injury, received a bye to the Olympics, then sadly withdrew before the event began in Torino), so it was such a thrill to see her skate again! What struck me about this program is how even with so much time away from performing, Michelle was as fluid and radiant as liquid gold. As Dick Button once described Michelle, she was "luminous with joy." After Michelle Kwan's historic 1998 Nationals freeskate to "Lyra Angela," which earned a record-breaking perfect scores of 6.0, skating legend, and Kwan's inspiration that year, Janet Lynn, found a passage in her bible from the Letter of Jude, that summarized Kwan: "Faultless...with exceeding joy." Kwan's "All That Skate" performances remind me of a shooting star: A brief, magical, dazzling moment in time to be savored and remembered. I never saw Michelle perform again on TV after this, but this moment of exceeding joy will never be forgotten. (Side note: for those of you with Instagram, follow Michelle Kwan. She often posts clips of herself skating!) https://youtu.be/IGmlMmMs4B4

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