Nanami Abe | |
|---|---|
阿部奈々美 | |
 | |
| Born | November 11, 1972 Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Education | Tohoku Gakuin University |
| Occupation(s) | Figure skating coach and choreographer |
Nanami Abe (阿部 奈々美,Abe Nanami, born November 11, 1972) is a Japanesefigure skating coach and choreographer. She studied underHiroshi Nagakubo, and coachedYuzuru Hanyu. She has choreographed routines for many skaters, includingDaisuke Takahashi,Tatsuki Machida, andAkiko Suzuki.
Abe was born inSendai, Miyagi on November 11, 1972. She began skating at 3 years old. UnderHiroshi Nagakubo's coaching, she competed in the girl'ssingle skating division. She competed in theJapan Figure Skating Championship twice; once during her senior year of high school and once in college, while attendingTohoku Gakuin University.[1] Abe graduated from university in 1995 and began performing forDisney on Ice.[1] She was influenced by the show's choreographer,Sarah Kawahara.[1] When the show was not touring she coached and choreographed for figure skaters as Nagakubo's assistant.[1]
In November 2001, Abe retired from Disney on Ice and began working as a figure skating coach and choreographer in Sendai.[1]Shizuka Arakawa andYamato Tamura were some of her first students. In 2004, when she became Arakawa's assistant coach, Abe traveled to America and studied underTatiana Tarasova andEvgeni Platov. She then began coachingYuzuru Hanyu, who went on to win the2010 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and a bronze medal at the2012 World Figure Skating Championships.[2]
After Hanyu left Abe to train withBrian Orser,[3] Abe returned to choreography. She choreographed for many skaters, with one of her most notable works beingDaisuke Takahashi'sshort program in 2012.[4] In 2014 Abe worked with theNHK on the choreography for a "making of" documentary on Yuzuru Hanyu.
Abe's husband, Toshinobu Yoshida, was not connected to the skating world until he learned to align the blades on figure skates to help his wife. He would often align blades for her students, and continues to align blades for Yuzuru Hanyu from his shop in Sendai.[5][6]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
