Alysa Liu, Figure Skating, and Sparkle Valley
- J
- Jan 5
- 2 min read
60 Minutes produced a show on Alysa Liu, the figure skater, and her attempt to come back for the 2026 Olympics. On the surface it’s a typical comeback story. But what makes it so interesting is the shape of her arc, and how closely it resembles Sparkle Valley, but in reverse.
Most “finding yourself” narratives move from chaos to structure. Alysa’s is the opposite. She grew up with structure and rules – and endless repetition – the antithesis of childhood. Imagination took a back seat to precision. Her childhood was basically scheduled around training. Only now, as a young adult has she started to reclaim her freedom and control over who she is and why she skates. Toward the end of the video, she says she thinks of herself as an artist first, who also happens to be an athlete. That distinction matters because it’s not where she started.
Emily’s arc in Sparkle Valley is similar but reversed. Like most children, at a certain age, Emily drifts away from imagination – and Abigail’s whole journey is about trying to hold the line long enough for Emily to come back on her own terms. So while Emily begins in imagination and loses access to it as she grows older, Alysa starts in structure and has to fight her way back toward imagination. Different starting points. Same destination.
This is why figure skating is such a good metaphor for Sparkle Valley.
It’s New Romanticism made physical – Blue Flower thinking on ice. You're chasing art and beauty but it’s only accessible through discipline and structure. Jumps don’t care about your feelings. You have to stay grounded or you fail. This is the balance of Sparkle Valley.
Abigail isn’t pure fantasy – she really wants to be real, but ultimately she understands the cost and lets Emily go. She understands that it’s not about Emily remaining in Sparkle Valley, but rather about her not forgetting about it – about her integrating imagination (and Blue Flower thinking) into her complicated life as an adult.
Alysa follows the same arc. When she’s returns to skating it isn’t about the medals, it’s about expression. The structure of figure skating is still there – the rules, the discipline, the judging – but now she’s performing beyond the system. She’s skating for herself. Like Emily when she says goodbye to Abigail, she has agency.
Neither story treats discipline as the enemy. And neither story pretends that freedom doesn’t require sacrifice. When Alysa calls herself an artist she’s not rejecting the athlete (she revels in it). She now embodies the complete picture of a figure skater. And when Abigail refuses the Powder of Life she isn’t denying magic, she’s honoring it. Emily has grown up. Like figure skating itself, both stories reflect a fragile balance – where you stay grounded enough to survive in the world, but with enough imagination to still feel alive inside it.
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