Jeremy Abbott<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(JA)<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Actually, I am taking the entire season off now.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0My focus was going to be Nationals and the World Championships, but now as it stands, I am taking the entire season off. I have informed U.S. Figure Skating. FSO<\/strong>: Did you have programs choreographed?<\/p>\n JA: <\/strong>I did. I had a long program choreographed and it was becoming, once I started working on it, that we had to keep taking out more and more elements. So it got to the point that it was empty. So I scrapped the idea and I am saving it for another venue, hopefully for a professional competition when they come back around or in a different sort of competitive environment.<\/p>\n FSO<\/strong>: Are you doing any choreography for any skaters this year?<\/p>\n JA:<\/strong> Yes, I did a short program for Ashley Cain and a short program for Shotaro Omori. I also did Alissa\u2019s (Czisny) exhibition piece to Sia\u2019s \u201cElastic Heart\u201d that she skated at “An Evening on Ice.”<\/p>\n FSO:<\/strong> Talk about the rewarding part of choreographing. JA<\/strong>: It\u2019s a lot of fun. It\u2019s a great creative outlet for me, yet, I was learning about my own skating as I was teaching others. Therefore, it was mutually beneficial. I really had to learn how to choreograph for other people\u2019s skill sets. I had previously only choreographed for myself so I knew what I was capable of. So I have to learn another skater’s skill set, how they skate and what they can do. A lot of times they can do something I can\u2019t and then they can\u2019t do something that I can, so I needed to bring out their best and still impart my wisdom and vision. Sometimes if they can\u2019t do something I wanted, I had to learn something similar without dumbing it down. If you make it too simple, they aren\u2019t going to learn, but if you make it too difficult, they\u2019re not going to learn it as well. You have to find a middle ground with the same idea of movement without oversimplifying it so the skater can grow and develop also.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n FSO:<\/strong> Other than choreographing, do you have other plans?<\/p>\n JA<\/strong>: I was approached by other people, but that fell through so I have lots of availability now.<\/p>\n FSO:<\/strong> Earlier this year, you lost your father, Danny Abbott, following a long battle with Parkinson\u2019s disease. You did a beautiful tribute to him at Nationals. How are you coping?<\/p>\n JA:<\/strong> I\u2019m doing well. It was a really interesting time after my dad passed. I got to go home for Christmas and spend Christmas with my mom and family. My dad was also in the hospital in Colorado Springs at that time so it was kind of nice, though it may sound weird, because I got to enjoy my entire family after a very, very, very long time. I spent Christmas day with my dad and Christmas Eve with my mom. That was actually the last time I saw my dad. It was a good moment because Christmas has always been a big deal with my family.<\/p>\n It was incredibly sad to lose my dad, but it turned out to be so beautiful. My whole family came together. My dad had plans for his burial and had specific requests. He wanted to be buried in Aspen since he lived up there for over three decades. That is also where my sister and I were born and raised. He wanted to be buried there, but we weren\u2019t sure since most of the plots were private and there is only one public cemetery in Aspen, but it was very small. However, everything came together. They had a spot for him and it overlooked the Colorado River and the Continental Divide, which was so picturesque. You couldn\u2019t ask for a better resting place. Lucky man, he gets to spend eternity looking at the most beautiful scenery you could possibly imagine. My dad wanted a celebration of his life rather than to mourn his death. So we had a party with his old friends in the valley and many of the friends that Gwen and I grew up with as well. It became a community. We heard so many great stories that we didn\u2019t know. It was such a warm experience. Although we had tears, it was exactly how my dad would have wanted it. My dad lived a life he wanted to enjoy and he was there in spirit.<\/p>\n FSO:<\/strong> Lightening the mood, if you were a superhero, what power would you possess? JA<\/strong>: To sound clich\u00e9d, the power of flight would be amazing. I think that\u2019s something everyone dreams, like flying in our dreams. Just to have the freedom and not to be bound by gravity and certain constraints that we have. Practically, however, I think to have the ability to speak and understand every language to communicate with anyone would be amazing.<\/p>\n FSO<\/strong>: How long have you been living in Detroit?<\/p>\n JA:<\/strong> I\u2019m on my seventh year and I still love it.<\/p>\n FSO<\/strong>: Do you have long term plans for there? Maybe some place warmer in the winter?<\/p>\n JA<\/strong>: I\u2019m a bit nomadic. I love it for now and don\u2019t intend to move at the moment. Once my life settles and I\u2019m officially out of the competitive world, whenever that happens or however it happens. I love Detroit and the area, but I will go somewhere else. I\u2019m fortunate that I can choreograph and perform and that I have a structured, but open life that I can settle anywhere. I would love to spend some time in Europe working or in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle or Portland. I\u2019d love to be closer to my sister, but I don\u2019t know yet. I want to travel and work, then figure out a home base that\u2019s easy for people to get to me especially since it will be important for me to get more work choreographing. I would love to spend time located in different areas around the globe to understand what my options are and to find what would really work for me and my business.<\/p>\n
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