Every little thing about Ami Nakai and her array of movement is just exquisite.
Is it as if every performance is made of hundreds, thousands of beautiful moments, while still being flowy, and liquid, and telling a story from top to finish.
Those were our thoughts while watching Ami Nakai’s debut in Bergamo, at 2025 Lombardia Trophy, her first senior international competition, and then looking at the photos documenting her presence, each move with purpose, with intention.
See for yourselves – we’re publishing Ami’s photos from Bergamo, this September, and then her photos from Angers, while also telling you more about her.
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Story by Florentina Tone
Photos by Alberto Ponti / Bergamo and Angers
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First of all, she’s 17.
Born in Niigata, Japan, on April 27, 2008, currently a high-school student and the twentieth woman to land a triple Axel in an international competition (2022 Coupe du Printemps, Luxembourg).
But also winner of the gold medal in Angers, at 2025 Grand Prix de France, her senior Grand Prix debut – can you believe it? – and highly awarded on the junior stage before that: Ami Nakai is the 2023 World junior bronze medalist, 2024-2025 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a six-time medalist on the Junior Grand Prix circuit.
In need of a recap already?
This season, her first season in seniors, Ami Nakai won silver in Bergamo, at Lombardia Trophy, gold in Angers, at Grand Prix de France, and, more recently, bronze in Saskatoon, at Skate Canada International.
Most likely, her next event will be the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, in December.
But let’s start with the beginning, shall we? When the beginning is 2025 Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, this September.
LA STRADA: OLYMPIC HISTORY
In her first senior season and with Milano-Cortina Olympics in sight, Ami Nakai has had her short program set to the remarkable, highly skateable music of Nino Rota for the movie “La Strada”. Choreographer David Wilson chose it for her, Ami mentioned, being suited for where she’s at in her career, and with Winter Olympics being held in Italy next February.
And this music has already Olympic history imprinted on it: Japanese legend Daisuke Takahashi used it with great success for his free skate during 2009-2010 season. He won the bronze medal at 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and the same year he was crowned World champion in Turin, on Italian soil.
15 years later, watching Ami Nakai skate to La Strada we’re somehow reminded of that particular performance at the Olympics… No doubt: there is this Daisuke feel in Ami’s performance, in terms of music, details, costume, contrasting emotions, sadness-playfulness, at the center of the program.
And if you feel the same, you’re not mistaking, we’re not mistaking: Daisuke Takahashi helped Ami Nakai refine her short program, Japanese media reported this autumn, and Ami herself talked about Daisuke “the master” when the season started.
HYMN TO LIFE
For her free skate, Ami meant to keep her Cinderella program from previous season, working on a revamped version with David Wilson, but copyright issues made it difficult to use the program/music after all – so she decided on a new one, choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto to “What a Wonderful World”, the version played by Lexi Walker and The Piano Guys.
And what a wonderful skater Ami Nakai is.
The program might feel easy in terms of music choice, let’s say, and she makes you feel it’s all easy when she glides with so little effort and so much joy within – but, trust us, nothing Ami Nakai does on the ice is easy, and especially her trademark triple Axel, a star in itself.
And what a great solution this new long program proved to be, playful, joyous, hopeful, and Ami Nakai is so serene while skating it.
A hymn to life, we called it.
NEXT: Golden Ami Nakai in Angers, at 2025 Grand Prix de France