Noteworthiest of 2025-26
Skating music hits differently in an Olympic season. And by “differently,” I mean in a way that often feels all too familiar. Enough warhorses to fill a small planet of stables; enough massive, arena-friendly voices to book Las Vegas residencies through 2027. And that’s before I start counting all those Backstreet Boys, J-Lo, and Ricky Martin rhythm dances…!
It’s enough to make a writer want to dig up her “Carmen Karaoke Theory” piece from 2018 and update it on her current blog… (Have you ever read it? Are you interested in an updated version? Please leave your thoughts in the comments!)
There was, indeed, a Carmen program this season– courtesy of Hai-in Lee-- as well as other usual suspects like Bolero, Carmina Burana, and Romeo and Juliet. But more importantly, there was magic in music choices, choreography, and overall performances that made the 2025-26 skating season unforgettable. As a whole, I call them The Noteworthiest Programs…
But as 15 individual choices, I call them the following:
Best Program Sequel: Smart/Dieck, DUNE Free Dance
Borne from a season that boasted no less than FIVE different Dune-themed programs, Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck created something so magical with theirs– the music cuts, the choreo, the packaging!-- that one year didn’t feel like nearly enough. Plenty of skaters recycle successful programs into Olympic seasons; in fact, some Dune programs received just that treatment.
But Smart/Dieck went a slightly different route with their Dune Part 2– a risk, given the possibility of it feeling like a mere rehash of its predecessor. What we got, instead, was a glorious extension of it, highlighting their improvements as a dance team in a way that sent time flying with every performance (“Wait, it’s over already?”). Huge props to Romain Haguenauer, who was involved in the choreo for both programs, for this achievement.
As a rule, great sequels are few and far between unless they come out of stellar source material. The conclusion to the Dune trilogy will arrive in theaters at the end of 2026. Will Smart/Dieck do a third program like this as well… and if so, will they somehow get hold of Hans Zimmer’s next soundtrack early? The mind boggles…
Best Program “Revival”- Carriera/Ponomorenko, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Free Dance
Johnny Weir took obvious delight in explaining the story behind the movie (entitled Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) behind this program of Christina Carriera and Anthony Ponomorenko, which they first used in the 2023-24 season). But suppose Weir didn’t detail the fact that the lead character had a superhuman sense of smell, and murdered women to capture their essence for his perfect perfume? How much of that could we gather simply by watching C/P’s performance?
Because let’s face it– stories, especially complex ones, are tough to convey amidst all the required elements of a free dance program. The music and the expressions do most of the heavy lifting.
But it’s precisely that– the seductively chilling soundtrack, enmeshed with choreo from the Ice Academy of Montreal’s finest and served with so much “face” from the skaters themselves– that make Perfume such a standout.
How on earth could Notre Dame des Paris (their original FD music for 2025-26 season) compete with it?
Best argument for more Japanese women at the Olympics: Yuna Aoki, La La Land Free Skate
When you need a lift during this off-season, and maybe, just maybe, you’re ready to pivot from Alysa Liu’s OGM performance for a while to keep it “fresh”... might I suggest this one?
Yuna Aoki first competed at the senior level for Japan over a decade ago, withstanding season-ending injuries and crushing competitive disappointments to deliver her best-ever finish (5th) at the 2025-26 Japan Championships. Which led to her being assigned to 4CC for the first time in her career. Which she WON.
And she did it with this– an outrageously satisfying tour through the La La Land soundtrack– assisted by the buoyant choreography of Alexander Johnson and Chelsea Thedinga (an actual dancer from the La La Land film). While it wasn’t enough to get Aoki to the Olympics, it gave her career a tremendous reboot. With any luck, we’ll now get to appreciate this 24-year-old’s competitive efforts a bit longer.
Most inspired (Men): Aleksandr Selevko, “Kiss” Short Program
The eye contact. The fingerography. (I love it when hand movement becomes such an important part of the choreo!) The body rolls. The hand-through-the-hair, which has got to be the male equivalent of a ponytail flip… all wrapped in an eye-popping purple and black mesh costume.
I want to say this short program was Selevko’s Cinderella (Cinderfella??) moment– a charismatic talent with sizzling choreo by Adam Solya that makes everyone say Whoa…Who was THAT?? at the Olympics-- but he already had such a moment, right? At Euros 2024?
Except… do we even remember the short program music he used that season? No.*
Did he use that less-than-memorable music at the Olympics? No.
So, I ask you… how Cinderella/fella-ish could it really be?
🤔🤔🤔
Guess that means Selevko was the beau-of-the-ball this season. (With a little help from a PRINCE, that is.)
*= It was “Why’d You Lie?” by Canada’s Colin James— a bluesy track from his 1988 debut album.
Most inspired (Women): Amber Glenn, “Like a Prayer” Short Program
I’m a sucker for programs that bubble over with that feeling the skater’s been waiting their entire life to show themselves in exactly that light. And Amber’s “Like a Prayer” was the embodiment of that, starting with a skate-ready mix of Madonna’s 1989 hit (taken from the 2024 film Deadpool and Wolverine) that had “the choir” building so perfectly over those two minutes and forty seconds, with no actual beat drop until the footwork sequence…!
All of this created an incredible canvas for choreographer Kaitlyn Weaver to work her magic. And having worked with Glenn since 2023, she knew what movement suited and showed off the two-time U.S. Champion best. The split falling leaf out of the triple loop, the sprawling-yet-controlled slides, the “let’s do this” high kick that cued the step sequence… all such stunning punctuation on a statement piece of an SP.
When the split falling leaf followed only a double loop in Milan, we might as well have watched the rest with a dark veil draped over our eyes. But when Amber gave this program her best, as she did many times… she was enchanting to watch.
Most inspired (Pairs)— Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps, Carmina Burana Short Program
Like Dune (or, more accurately, Hans Zimmer’s music in general), I devoted an entire post to Carmina Burana’s “O Fortuna” movement– by far the best-known part of Carl Orff’s cantata. Its ubiquitous presence in pop culture spread to figure skating around the start of the 21st century, when Deanna Stellato was a teenage singles skater on the rise.
Two and a half decades later, after injuries chased her out of the sport and an intriguing question posed at a work retreat drew her back in, Stellato-Dudek was a world champion pairs skater more than ready to take on the drive and intensity of “O Fortuna” with partner Maxim Deschamps (and choreography from Lori Nichol). Many might see the music as a reflection of their brand of skating itself.
(And although the assisted backflip was absent from the Olympics performance, they did it at Canadian Nationals (seen below)… and it was spectacular!)
Most inspired (Ice Dance)— Orihara/Pirinen, Moulin Rouge! Original Cast Recording Free Dance
Finland’s #2 dance team made a name for themselves this past Olympic cycle with their colorful, campy style. So when I saw they’d chosen the all-too-familiar Moulin Rouge! For their FD, I was– dare I say?-- a bit disappointed. But I should’ve known better.
For one thing, they chose cuts from the lesser-known MR stage musical (no “Roxanne” in sight for these two). But more importantly, O/P plugged their chaos-that-keeps-on-giving vibe directly into the kitschy costumes, the zany choreography (which involves Massimo Scali on most occasions, including this one), the “are they allowed to do that??” body spin & roll on this ice during the character sequence…
Suffice to say I was much more disappointed that this free dance had to sit out not only the Milan Olympics (due to Orihara not obtaining Finnish citizenship in time), but Worlds (when their Rhythm Dance scores kept them from qualifying for the finals)! But I’m holding hope that they both enjoy what they’re doing enough to push past their “advancing” ages (he’s 30, she’s 26) and hang in there for a few more years, if not an entire Olympic cycle.
Best program with a title that’s been made more PG-friendly: Kazuki Tomono, “That’s It (I’m Crazy) Short Program
28-year-old Kazuki Tomono is heading into his 10th season at the senior level and has taken on everything from warhorses (West Side Story, Moulin Rouge!) to recurring favorites (La La Land, Riverdance) to lesser-heard classics (Die Fledermaus) to Grammy-winning contemporary (cuts from Jon Batiste’s WE ARE).
Meanwhile, around the time of Tomono’s senior debut, a U.S. electronic duo known as SOFI TUKKER started releasing material, earning Grammy nominations (for its EP Soft Animals), prominent song placements (for Apple, XBox, EA Sports, and several TV programs)... and the ear of one Shae-Lynn Bourne, who has been a prominent part of skating’s choreography landscape for the better part of 20 years. In 2017, Bourne crafted Wakaba Higuchi’s memorable “Energia” SP, taking the track from SOFI TUKKER’s Treehouse album. Eight years later (aka last year), she returned to Treehouse and plucked a track called “Batshit” out for Tomono’s SP–
Well, almost.
“That’s It (I’m Crazy)” is the clean version of the same song. And Bourne gives him so much swagger (check out that head waggle in the opening seconds!), so much riveting movement, with one of those step sequences you cannot WAIT to see him unleash every time…
Did I just write that in the present tense? Yes, I did. Because Tomono is heading into his 10th season at the senior level and he apparently enjoys this SOFI TUKKER program so much, he’s bringing it with him.
“Crazy?” I doubt it.
Coolest Concept For a Program: Lara Naki Gutmann, Jaws Free Skate
In a world filled with unforgettable John Williams scores, how did his work from Jaws get overlooked until now?
I started out thinking that was a rhetorical question, but then I studied the list of tracks that composed Lara Naki Gutmann’s free skate. Much to my surprise, the Williams score was only represented in two of the five selections!* Just goes to show that while skate music editors (and/or Jaws choreographer Stephane Lambiel) may reach beyond a particular soundtrack to build a program (it happens more than you think), there’s plenty out there to create the desired theme.
But when a program is so singular to the athlete that it’s nicknamed after her (Sharknaki!), the Jaws program emerges more as a fully fleshed concept. Like a book or a movie so rich in detail, you catch something new each time you watch it: the “fin” she creates repeatedly with her arm, the jumpscare moves, the “attacks” (via her jumping passes)...
And that’s just part one. The sequence of spins midway through, followed by a stand-alone pose, carries us to part two– the water, the waves, the ocean itself (culminating in her “siren”
pose at the very end). Gutmann explains this in the Rocker Rewatch she did early in the season with Jackie Wong; definitely worth a listen if you enjoyed Jaws as much as I did.
*= The John Williams part is supplemented with cuts by Hans Zimmer (damn, he’s just everywhere) and Audiomachine, which is responsible for an ever-increasing amount of skating music… I might just have to do a deeper dive soon.
Coolest Concept For a Program runner-up: Stephen Gogolev, “Mugsy’s Move” Short Program
I almost named this award “most likely to start working like a dream once you’re skating pain-free” because Canada’s Stephen Gogolev has been THROUGH. IT. He started as a young phenom, mastering quads, winning his way up the ladder– even becoming the youngest ever to land a quad lutz in competition during the 2018 JGP. But serious growth spurts (he’s now 6’1”) followed by a persistent back injury contributed to Gogolev staying far from competitive podiums throughout the 2020s…
Until this past season (2025-26). That’s when everything finally started coming back together, earning him his first GP medal, his first Canadian Championship title, and Top-5 finishes at both the Milan Winter Olympics and 2026 Worlds.
One thing that came along for that wild, gratifying ride was his 2024-25 short program (which he barely performed that season due to injury). Benoit Richaud gets the choreo credit for this snazzy, swinging tale of a New York Gangster from a century ago who robs a bank (in part one of the SP) and gets away with it (in part two)... Royal Crown Revue gets the music credit, with a medley of tracks from their 1996 release Mugsy’s Move…
But Gogolev, of course, is the one who made it all come to life.
The Music Mashup We Didn’t Know We Needed: Julia Sauter, “That Home/Rain, In Your Black Eyes/To Build A Home” Free Skate
The challenge of any four-minute free skate program is for the music to build and recede organically, even when fusing multiple music cuts. But how tough is it to conjoin two renowned pieces of music that rarely share space with each other? That was the question Romania’s Julia Sauter wrestled with alongside her coach/choreographer Roxana Hartmann as they put “Rain, In Your Black Eyes” (by Ezio Bosso) alongside “To Build a Home” (by Cinematic Orchestra).
The final result started with 1:22 of Cinematic Orchestra’s “That Home” (which is a sort of reprise of “Build” that turns up later on the group’s album Ma Fleur)... then turned into “Rain, In Your Black Eyes” from 1:23-2:30… then concluded with “To Build a Home” for the back half of the program, giving Sauter the collection of cuts she started using midway through the 2024-25 season and stayed with all the way through the Milan Olympics and Prague World Championships.
The simplicity of all three cuts is key: The cut from “That Home” is a repetitive three-chord motif. While on one of those chords, it merges with the same chord as heard in “Rain.” The 1:07 cut from “Rain” is a repetitive four-chord motif that seamlessly becomes the three chords many modern-day skating fans recognize as “To Build A Home.” I initially thought it was “seamless” in part because both pieces were in the same key, but they aren’t– “Rain” is in D Major, while “Home” is in A Major. The two keys ARE very similar, though, with both F# and C# in common.
While I’m not schooled in music theory (can you tell??), I did discover that “Rain” delivers 70 BPM (beats per minute) while “Home” is more than double that (148 BPM), which is how this program really soared in its final 90 seconds.
(Also because Sauter is bursting with joy in the final minute of this, her personal best-scoring performance at 2026 Euros.)
Next-best use of “To Build A Home” Maxim Naumov’s 2025-26 Free Skate*
Speaking of “Home”...
Last year, I cited Ilia Malnin’s STUNNING “To Build a Home” exhibition program as my new favorite interpretation of that oft-used music. But when Maxim Naumov became the next American to employ that oft-used music free skate in his tragic-yet-triumphant Olympic season, I observed his emotion-fueled body lines, the determination as Naumov channeled his speed and strength into ever-improving technical components… and I thought Wow! Max’s program (choreographed by Benoit Richaud) is riveting too! Amazing how out of all the “To Build a Home” and “In This Shirt” programs out there for so many years, these guys are still able to…
What’s that? Max DIDN’T use “To Build A Home”?
He DID use “In This Shirt”?
😳
Yep, that’s right, I got these 21st-century staples of figure skating music mixed up. Again. Both are in the key of A Major, both are slow but steady-building tracks with minimal instrumentation and melancholy male vocals drifting over the top. I just can’t fathom how I’d confuse them 😂 …
In any case, even skating warhorses with “definitive interpretations” get reinterpreted all the time (e.g., the Julia Sauter FS I just mentioned). As many eyes were on Naumov’s Olympic free skate performance this season, I can’t imagine it will be long before a new cluster of “Shirts” populates competitive skating. And “Homes.” And– ugh, you know what I mean!
*= Understanding, of course, that Max did NOT use this music and I sit on a frozen throne of LIES.
Most Surprisingly Anticipated Olympic Performance: Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate’s “Minions” Short Program
At face value, Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate is a name that wouldn’t have garnered a second blink at the Milan Olympics. Yes, he’s been Spain’s top male figure skater for the past six years (making him an enduring successor to Javier Fernández). Yes, he had good enough international scores to represent Spain at the 2026 Games. But five years of unremarkable Worlds and European Championships results kept Sabate out of the spotlight, even as his competitive programs grew ever quirkier (Saturday Night Fever, Cotton-Eyed Joe).
Then came his Minions SP. Choreographed by Benoit Richaud, it was (all the way down to his corresponding yellow/blue costume) a singularly zany fan favorite that could’ve created a viral moment in Milan all by itself. Then along came the Olympic-level music clearances… three cuts that were given the go-ahead around the same time, and one (“Freedom” by Pharrell Williams) that didn’t come through until the Games had already started. As news of Sabate’s dilemma spread, so did the social media outcry– much of it, undoubtedly, coming from more passive fans of the sport who’d never heard of the skater till then.
In the end, he brought The Minions of Despicable Me to Olympic Ice after all. He didn’t get to do the same with his Saturday Night Fever free skate, but that’s because (sigh) he didn’t have an SP score high enough to qualify. Did Minion mischief win out in the end? I guess it all depends on how you look at it… but I have to think Sabate’s take was quite favorable.
Program most likely to peak ridiculously high on three different occasions: Alysa Liu, “MacArthur Park Suite” Free Skate
How did she make it work over and over again?
When Alysa Liu won 2025 Worlds with her “MacArthur Park Suite” free skate, it was delightfully clean, fresh, magical… a skating strike of lightning. But frankly? At the time? Much as I love me some Donna Summer, I was ready to see it retired at the end of the season.
When she brought it back in the fall, replacing what felt like an undercooked Lady Gaga free skate when she’d unveiled it at Lombardia Trophy… it still looked good and performed nicely. But after using “MacArthur” to win her first Grand Prix Final near the end of 2025… I was thinking Okay, the encore was great, but…Say, Alysa, how’s that Gaga program coming along?
When “that Gaga program” (newly revamped) helped Liu win her second consecutive silver medal at National– but still felt underwhelming– I wondered Is there still time for Gaga to go back in the oven a little longer?
But maybe it just suffered by comparison, for “MacArthur” proved to be the ultimate vehicle for Liu at this point in her career. The sparkling disco vibe, the playful choreography by Massimo Scali that “embraced bold lines and expansive movements,” the lyrics that felt surprising on-the-nose for Liu’s particular history with the sport…
I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers from the sky
Oh, and after all the loves of my life, yeah yeah
After all the loves in my life
You'll still be the one
So in Milan, with 26.7 million people watching, Liu’s OGM-winning, second encore of “MacArthur” proved to be the best of them all. Her undeniable piece de resistance.
How did she make it work? Simple… there was no other way to go.
Best “saved the best for last” program
“Yuma Kagiyama teased us with this sensational program at the start of the season at Lombardia Trophy… and we have all been waiting for this clean skate whereas the technical matches his sublime artistry.” Mark Henretty
Were we EVER! As I discussed in my “Turandot and Tosca: Puccini’s Skating Showcases” post earlier this year, Turandot was first embraced by figure skating in the late 80s and 90s… but perpetual silver medalist Kagiyama is the only one to use a custom-made edition of the opera with the finale by American composer/conductor Christopher Tin. Did that, perhaps, create a unique pressure to deliver? Only he knows for sure, but it had to be a monumental relief to skate that program the way he did at Worlds.
Henretty was far from the only one to rave about it, of course. Some spoke to how the breathtaking choreography (courtesy of Lori Nichol and Carolina Kostner) paired perfectly with the emotion of Puccini’s (and Tin’s) efforts. Some knew more about Tin than Kagiyama, and admitted to being caught off guard by the latter’s fully captivating performance.
And Lawrence Yee, a knowledgeable presence on Threads throughout the Olympics and Worlds, said this:
“I’m putting this out there… I think Yuma’s program is the greatest men’s free skate ever: the music, the choreography, and that final Ina Bauer literally brought tears to my eyes.”
No wonder Kagiyama is taking a break next season– all that pressure combined with the incredible season-ending delivery has got to require a bigger reset than the 4-6 month offseason can provide.
Those are my 15 “noteworthies” for all the reasons given! Did they line up with yours? Which others deserve a shoutout? I’d love to hear from you in the comments…
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more new SkateMUSIC posts in the coming season!
