Was Prague Yumandot perfect?

No, when he missed his rocker-counter exit out of his opening 4S which he takes pride in. (Part 1)

No, when he missed the extension moves of his arms and his free leg on the landing curve of the 4T3T combo and when he omitted the second LBO cross roll. (Part 2)

No, when he entered his Ina Bauer a little too early (could be that he couldn’t afford to glide any longer without hitting the board in such a narrow rink) and consequently opened his right arm at the end of the ChSq a little too early to the beats of the music (doubt he could hear the music at that time!) (Part 3)

No, when he struggled a little bit on the 3f3lo landing and was not able to pull off that little forward jump with his arms wide open embracing joy. (Part 4)

No, when he had a very shallow RFO entry edge and RBO exit edge of the Counter turn in his cluster because he lost the precision of where he put his weight and when he even omitted the jumps and toe steps afterwards. (Part 5)

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But was it not perfect…

When he landed that second 4T, which had escaped him for the entire season, with such sureness and his trademark flow? (Part 6)

When he waved his arms with his palms wide open in such excitement and ecstasy when he proved that love triumphed and was about to show the stars how to be free (“mostreremo alle stelle, come essere liberi”)? (Part 7)

When he did this again when the sun of love shined and lit up the entire world (“l’amor il sole del mondo”)? (Part 8)

Also as much as we value staying true to the choreography, we would contend that the fist pumping out of the rawest of emotions when Turandot turned into Turandot the Merciful (“Turandot la Clemente”) could overcome
1) the abbeviated eagle entry and not landing the 3A on the music (nothing can top the summer cup performance in this one!), and
2) omitting the upward arm move showing the newly dawned mercy to people up there and to the sky. (Part 9)

Let him celebrate for himself at that moment as the inner authenticity there was even more contagious than any outward presentation to the world.

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All in all, it wasn’t impeccable technically and choreography-execution-wise, but it WAS perfect as it left no stones unturned and no hearts (cold as stone as they could be) unfilled with love and joy.

A once-in-a-life-time performance engraved on our heart and on figure skating immortality. An articulation of a powerful new Turandot ending that only Yuma, with his unparalleled mastery of the blade, with the amplitude and cohesion and control of the moves of his entire body, with his purity and openness and the deepest love for figure skating, with the genius work of Christopher Tin and everyone involved, with the crowd in Prague O2 arena, was able to deliver.