Kim Yu-na begins and ends her career with tango

El Tango de Roxanne heralded the emergence of a figure skating queen. Kim Yu-na played with the short program music in the 2006-2007 season when she made her senior debut. At the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo in March 2007, she perfectly performed the Spanish dance in tune with the passionate rhythm of tango, garnering the then record-high score of 71.95.

Kim seems to have picked tango again with an intention for her free skating program, which will be the last stage of the figure skating star who will retire at the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia in February next year.

All That Sports, her management agency, announced on Monday that “Send in Clowns” will be her short program music and “Adiós Nonino” will be her free skating music for season 2013-14.

It is notable that the pattern of her performance leading from a short program to a free skating has changed. She used to choose charismatic music for short programs such as “James Bonds Medley” and “Dance of Death,” while selecting elegant music for free skating programs such as “Les Misérables” and “George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F” until last season. In this season, however, she will showcase lyrical performance in the short program as well as intensive and diverse performance in the free skating program.

Kim said on the music for her free skating program, “It’ll be completely different from previous tangos. I think it’s the most difficult and toughest among previous programs, but I’m satisfied.” said David Wilson, her choreographer who has been with her for the eighth year. “The short program fits Kim’s powerful and lyrical style.” On her free skating program, Wilson said, “As the music has rich emotions and sudden changes, Yu-na is the only skater who can perform with it.”