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Yu-na unveils two new programs

Kim Yu-na [YONHAP]

Figure skater Kim Yu-na on Tuesday unveiled two new programs, set to a ballet theme and traditional Korean songs, for next year’s world championships.

According to All That Sports, Kim’s agency in Seoul, the reigning Winter Olympics gold medalist will perform her short program to the theme from “Giselle,” a classical ballet.

The music for her free skate will be a compilation of traditional Korean music called “Homage to Korea.” It will include the well-known folk song “Arirang.” Kim is training in Los Angeles with her new American coach, Peter Oppegard.

“It will be my first time skating to a ballet,” Kim said through the agency. “But I love the stories in ‘Giselle.’ I’d like to express them well on ice.”

David Wilson, Kim’s choreographer, told All That Sports that the skater’s free program is her “love letter” to her native country.

Kim, 21, said she wanted to give back to her fans on home soil by performing to the famous folk song.

“David Wilson had previously recommended ‘Arirang’ as our music, but I always told him it wasn’t yet the time to do it,” Kim said. “But having skated successfully at the Winter Olympics, I think it’s now time for me to return all the love from my Korean fans.”

Kim had an acrimonious split with former coach Brian Orser in August and teamed up with Oppegard in October. She has relocated her training base from Toronto to Los Angeles.

After his separation with Kim, Orser said Kim’s new free skate routine would be set to a compilation that included “Arirang.” He was quoted as saying it was “a fantastic program, by far the best one I’ve seen.”

But Kim’s agency denounced Orser for breaching an unwritten code in figure skating by revealing a skater’s new routine in the middle of the off-season without the skater’s prior consent.

Kim has not skated competitively since the world championships in March. She decided to skip the Grand Prix season from October to December to focus on preparing for the next world championships in March 2011 in Tokyo.

Kim won the 2009 world title and the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

She holds the record for the most points in the short program (78.50), free skate (150.06) and overall points (228.56) under the current figure skating judging scale. They were all set in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Kim’s rival Mao Asada has struggled this season.

At the 2010 NHK Trophy event, Asada placed eighth overall with a combined total score of 133.40. And at the Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris last month, she came in fifth with a score of 50.10 in the short program and 97.92 in the free skate for a combined total of 148.02.

Yonhap