13th June 2020
Dear friends of Denis's,
I'm wondering how you have been remembering him. With respect to me, when I think of him, I play his video clip She Won't Be Mine on Youtube. I do it fairly often. Sometimes, I watch his performance and listen to his singing attentively. Sometimes, I listen to the song while I'm excising or doing house chores. Sometimes, I watch the clip that is playing without sound; this way, I'll be in a less emotional state of mind. More often than not, I simply look at the screen now and then, while the clip is playing silently. Once in a while I put the clip on with its sound muted before I start doing meditation, and then I end my meditation and open my eyes at around the point the play is about to finish. Whenever I play the clip this way, I feel as if I'm ringing Denis, an old friend of mine, to tell him I miss him. Out of respect for the people who have been involved in all aspects of the video-making and video-maintaining, I play the whole clip each time. Besides, instead of going straight onto the web page, I made it a ritual to type the title of the song in the search bar and then search for the clip every time I play it.
I know it for sure that some of you are also playing the clip, and I note that some probably play it as a matter of routine, doing it on a daily basis, at weekends or with some other regularity. I assume many of us who act in kind of a similar manner don't know each other. Whatever the case is, it's comforting to see that I'm not alone. And yet I was hoping more of you would join us, because I believe if we are in step, with our concerted effort that is embeded in the video view count, we can send Denis's family, his parents in particular, a strong message, letting them know we are still having Denis in mind, and thus to give them a lift when they need our spiritual support. I wasn't expecting that a high number of views would show up at any time, nevertheless, it's the sense of immediacy and the sense of warmth that we convey in our collaberation that really matters. The senses might be of significance to the family. As long as a few of us do it continually, we will be helpful. We can also give our regards to the family through the action. In addition, I hope, by means of the message, we pay tribute to Denis's parents. Frankly, I'm in awe of this great couple, who brought Denis into the world, and raised him with incredible effort. Many of us might not be aware that along with his teachers, coaches and choreographers, Denis's parents brought out the best on him, and that Mr. and Mrs. Ten had been in the making of Denis Ten, an outstanding human being, in many ways. To name but a few:
They piqued Denis's curiosity and inspired him to explore in the world of art and sport so as to gain insight. They encouraged him to develop his own vision and build his ambition. They let him be himself and allowed him time to find his feet as a figure skater. As a result, Denis's dazzling artistry, which is imcomparable in a way, together with his passion for life and the sport, which was manifested in his performances, became his permanent signature.
They fuelled Denis's determination. They taught him to be dedicated and persevering by being role models. They managed to give him the best possible start, and their endeavours enabled him to receive the best possible education and training all the way. Following the examples set by his parents, Denis was becoming resolute day by day. To my mind, among all of Denis's defining character traits, the fighting spirit demonstrated in his striving for life and career was the most inpiring one.
They live their values of responsibility, patriotism and bravery, and imparted the values to Denis. Facing challenges, at first, they guided him through the hardships, and following that, they had been along with him, watching over every one of his steps, while he had been staggering up the ridge leading to his unprecedented achievements, for figure skating, for their country, as well as for our society.
They also cultivated Denis's respectful and friendly mindset, otherwise, there wouldn't have been "Our Denis", who was pleased and felt he was honoured when he found that his works had a magical healing power upon us. It's proved that Denis could tell stories by moving across the ice in a unique way and so was able to enthral us, making us smile, laugh or cry, and he did bring much joy to our life, soothe our sorrows and reinvigorate us. However, he won our hearts not only because he worked hard and was charmingly gifted at expressing what we could feel but weren't capable of telling, but also because, as a person, he was so humble and sincere that it makes us feel he was one of us. We could effortlessly identify with him and then learn from his life experiences. I suppose he also learned from his fans, just as he learned from other atheletes so long as there was an opportunity. As far as I'm concerned, like many of you, I'm merely a spectator who never met Denis, and he didn't even known of me, but due to our shared values in life, shared taste in art, as well as his affability, I won't hesitate to call him a true friend of mine. Actually, I was wholeheartedly happy for him when I heard that, as an artist, he eventually learned to appreciate his own performances, and started to love himself more. In my eyes, he had been too hard on himself.
That's it. We can hardly imagine what if Denis hadn't had his parents behind him throughout those years of ups and downs. What's more, it's really touching that the couple have never given up devoting themselves to their son's beloved cause of figure skating which in essence probably has become the family's mutual cause since Denis turned professional. It's very likely that after years of self-study beside the rink, Mrs. Ten has become an expert in the field in her own right by now. After the tragedy, before long, while still in excruciating pain, they picked up the pieces and started to rebuilt their life. It must be that they know full well they have no choice, since escaping from harsh realities of life is not in keeping with the family's character. From the bottom of my heart, I admire them. I regard them as hidden heros, considering what they have gone through. Indeed, they deserve to be held in high esteme by all of us. In the meantime, we can't forget that Denis impacted upon us in a positive way. Some of his sparkling programs always brightened the day whenever we watched them; to some extent we can say he was one of those who made our life more wonderful and less miserable. As it happens, he is still influencing us; specifically, his spirit is still inspiring us to build our resilience and confidence to fight for a better tomorrow. More importantly, he was always ready to share his philosophy of life with us without reservation. In a sense, we are in his debt. In return, we should do something for him through helping his parents. We should attend to his parents' concerns and needs. Although we can't look after them in their daily life, we can at least do something else.
However, even if you will upvote my suggestion of playing the video clip, I suspect that for many of you, putting my idea into your action is actually a task fraught with difficulty, because it could still be an ordeal for you to even just look at Denis's photos, let alone to watch his skating and listen to his voice. You probably have already found that try as you might, your mind couldn't help sheering away from the topic about him, and all that remains for you to do is just to quietly bear him in mind. On this account, I think anyone having a traumatized heart because of his fate will more or less understand you and respect your choice.
In case you have already put your grief behind you, then you may be able to watch the clip from now on. To play it, you can go to Youtube and find the the clip She Won't Be Mine on the BossT Channel. Additionally, you can play the video clips of Denis's other performances, especially those on the channel Dimple Dimple and the channel Denis Ten Forever, as if the competitions and the shows are going on. Alternatively, you can choose to only play those clips other than the one I singled out, lest you should get bored with watching the same clip again and again. It will be a good thing if you choose to watch the ones with cheerful tunes, for in which case, during your watching, you may have less chance to experience many sad moments which could be too harsh for you to bear. If you feel it's a bit hard for you to watch the clip(s) frequently, or if you are busy, you might just as well do the job only at weekends or on the days you happen on Denis's name or his images in your thoughts. Regarding the channels, you can subscribe any of them if you need to or want to. More importantly, no matter which video(s) you are going to play, please be sure not to skip any advertisements that you see, regardless they are pre-stream ones or post-stream ones. Try to watch the whole video ads or interact with them. Having viewed Youtube channel monetization policies, I conclude that when we do our best, the advertiser would pay maximally, and after that, there is more chance that Youtube would recommend the clips to more prospective viewers. Also importantly, if we try hard, there is more chance that the current owners or managers of the BossT Channel and other channels relating to Denis could profit from our clicks; only by this means, can we contribute a little bit financially via YouTube to make Denis's vision of figure skating a reality, either directly or indirectly. As a matter of fact, it's not all about the income in our side, yet it's about letting Youtube make money; and more, in my opinion, viewing the video ads is also a way to show our appreciation towards Youtube, a social media platform that has been helping Denis introduce his works to a broad audience and is helping us out in keeping his legacy alive. I would also like to appreciate the advertisers who would like to advertise on those channels that are of concern to us all. On the other hand, the amount of money generated this way could be next to nothing, but it's the thought that counts. In respect of money, of course, if you are able and willing to donate, please remember to enter the name of Denis Ten Foundation onto your charity list, in which case you will play a more active role in Denis's cause. I surmise the foundation is one of the main concerns of Mr. and Mrs. Ten.
Furthermore, you can read Denis's biography and watch the feature film based on his script and directed by Timur Bekmambetov when they come out. Needless to say, up to the present, you can still view his profiles on some of his scial media accounts. Also, for now, you can watch the life and career documentaries of him, and read or listen to the interviews with this legend or about him online before they dissappear. If you want to and if it's legal, you can save the articles, videos and sound bites for the future. I bet you will learn a lot from those accounts like I do. As well, you can recommend all of the materials relating to Denis to whoever might be interested in him. Moreover, if you are available, you may want to participate or attend the activities concerning him, visit the exhibitions about him, or view his photographic works on display. You can visit his birthplace and memorial from time to time, or for just once, depending on where you are living. If I myself go to visit his memorial, I will bring him a flamingo plushy, my chosen plushy, and let it sit down at the foot of his statue for a while, for flamingo is graceful, elegant, and energetic, as was Denis, and even its temperament bears a similarity to Denis's. This bird of character always reminds me of him. I had imagined: Once I have gotten an opportunity to be present at Denis's live performances, for the first of his appearances in the ice rink in front of me, I will definitely toss a flamingo plushy onto the ice.
As for those who wish to actively do something for Denis one way or the other, I won't be surprised if you have better ideas. To you, I simply want to say, "Just do it!" I myself was taught an important lesson for my delay. I had been looking forward to watching Denis performing live, even if it would be for only once. I thought about attending his last show. I should have just seized the opportunity, snapping up a ticket online and got going on time, but I didn't. Had I been more sensible to human life, I could have made it to the show, and I would feel better off now. If only I had let him confidently know that he had one more friend who would like to travel overseas to see him, his figure skating friends, his country and the people on the land. In fact, somehow, I couldn't help regretting my miss immediately the show was over, and started to search for the videos of the show online since the second day after the show; meanwhile, I made up my mind: Next time, I will go given half the chance, but... For this reason, I fully understand Yulia Lipnitskaya's feeling occurred when she realized that she had missed out on "Denis and Friends" ice shows forever (I read it somewhere but can't find the report again). If I remember it correctly, Yulia went on saying something, like: If you really want to do something, do it soon. I have to say, her words that vested with emotion made the advice based on common sense immensely relatable. Well said, Yulia.
It's high time that we rewarded Denis and his parents. If we do something as soon as possible, then the day that some of Denis's ambitions are fulfilled may come sooner, and at the same time, his parents will receive our regards as early as possible and receive our tributes as many times as possible. I sincerely appreciate those who have been doing or have done meaningful things for Denis during the past two years. When all is said, let's take action together right now, shall we?
In the end, I hope and pray that with the combined effort from all who care deeply for Denis, his dreams become true. I especially hope Denis's home country of Kazakhstan keeps on being prosperous and hosts a Winter Olympic Games in the not too distant future. Surely, I also hope every one of us finds each one's best way to remember Denis while fulfilling one's own life. Last but not the least, on this special day, I would like someone to convey some of my thoughts and regards to Mr. and Mrs. Ten. I want to say to them, "We love Denis dearly. Thanks to you, we know him. It's fortunate that we are contemporaries of your whole family. I'm grateful to you for all you have done for Denis and for the world. I wish you good health and hapiness in life. We are with you and will be with you, as always."
Thanks for reading.
Denis Ten Forever.
Best wishes,
One of You