Tatsuki Machida's Iconic East of Eden Program and his Reverence of Michelle Kwan's Skating

Paradise Regained: The Beginning

The second season, Tatsuki wanted to skate to “East of Eden” and I asked him why.  He told me he loved and revered Michelle Kwan. I decided that Tatsuki Machida’s “East of Eden” would be a tribute to Michelle Kwan, who was also previously one of my students.

- Phillip MIlls

It is the 26th of March 2014 and we are at the Saitama Super Arena. Tatsuki Machida’s “East of Eden” ends. With his final gesture, the skater raises the audience to their feet. This is it. This is the dream that every skater dreams.

In the overwhelming cacophony of colors and screams, before the emotions and physical exhaustion started to kick in — in that blissful moment of unconsciousness before coming to his senses — what were Tatsuki Machida’s thoughts? What were his feelings?

Did he think of scores and places? Did he sense and enjoy the grandeur of the moment? Did he feel that he had accomplished something? Did he lose the sense of time and space, or was he still aware of his surroundings? Did he know, or could he at least guess, that he had just won the short program at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama? We will probably never know.

At that specific moment in time, there had been no pain as yet of losing the world championship title by a mere 0.33 of a point. There had been no disappointment, no frustration, and no retirement thoughts. It must have felt like pure bliss, a dream come true. It must have felt like Paradise regained and re-conquered: one that had been so close yet always unattainable on so many past occasions.

Six months before his shocking announcement, Tatsuki Machida had already found his Eden — and opened it for all those who follow figure skating and enjoy the beauty of this sport. This is, I believe, the true moral of the story that this program tells: figure skating cannot be reduced to medals and titles. Even when everything seems lost and doomed, a skate like this by its sheer beauty will reopen the gates once again and return the keys from the garden of Eden.

“East of Eden” is the central altarpiece of Tatsuki’s competitive career, one surrounded by many other masterpieces. The appreciation of this unique legacy — of this skater’s personal Eden — can never end. It begins only now.

Watch this incredible program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI3XASJeZAI

The full blog with an analysis of Tatsuki’s and Michelle Kwan’s programs can be found here: https://skating-to-music.blog/2024/01/11/paradise-lost-and-regained-on-tatsuki-machidas-eden/#comments