Nanami Abe
Abe | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 11, 1972 Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
| Occupation(s) | Figure skating coach, choreographer |
| Known for | Coaching Yuzuru Hanyu; choreography for Daisuke Takahashi, Tatsuki Machida, Akiko Suzuki |
Abe is a Japanese coach and choreographer specializing in figure skating. She was a pupil of Hiroshi Nagakubo and has coached notable skater Yuzuru Hanyu. Her choreography work includes programs for prominent athletes such as Daisuke Takahashi, Tatsuki Machida, and Akiko Suzuki.
Early life
Abe was born on November 11, 1972, in Sendai, Miyagi. She began skating when she was three years old. Under the guidance of Hiroshi Nagakubo, she competed in the girls' single skating category and took part twice in the Japan Figure Skating Championships during her high school and university years at Tohoku Gakuin University. After completing her studies in 1995, she joined Disney on Ice as a performer, drawing inspiration from choreographer Sarah Kawahara. Outside of touring, she worked as an assistant to Nagakubo in coaching and choreography.
Career
Abe concluded her performing career with Disney on Ice in November 2001 to dedicate herself to coaching and choreography in Sendai. Among her initial students were Shizuka Arakawa and Yamato Tamura. In 2004, she became assistant coach to Arakawa and pursued further training in the United States under the mentorship of Tatiana Tarasova and Evgeni Platov. She later coached Yuzuru Hanyu, who achieved victory at the 2010 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and earned a bronze medal at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships.
Following Hanyu's transition to train with Brian Orser, Abe concentrated primarily on choreography, including designing the 2012 short program for Daisuke Takahashi. In 2014, she partnered with NHK to develop choreography for a "making of" documentary centered on Hanyu.
Her husband, Toshinobu Yoshida, entered the figure skating industry by mastering skate blade alignment techniques to support Abe’s career. He currently maintains blades for Hanyu through his workshop located in Sendai.