Miki Ando, the reigning Japanese World champion and internationally acclaimed technical powerhouse, will not be on hand to defend her title at the World Championships in Nice next week and whose lack of presence will be felt by many.

This news, when it first came out, was a bit of a surprise to those in the skating community since Ando, also the 2007 World titlist, had been a major force in the elite competitive ranks for so many years and had worked so hard to reclaim her second World crown.

Last year, Ando also achieved heroic status when she clinched the World title only several weeks following the tragic tsunami that had devastated much of her country and helped to bring a sense of hope and renewal to her people. (Originally, the competition had been slated to be held in Japan, but was relocated to Moscow after intense deliberation.)

“Worlds were supposed to be in Tokyo and we had the tsunami which was a big tragedy,” said Ando during a recent appearance at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Ando, in fact, had been so affected by the tragedy she did not want to compete at all.

“I decided when Worlds were going to be held in Moscow instead I was not going to skate. I couldn’t be normal and did not understand the depth of the tragedy and the idea of competing after that,” she said.

Ando changed her mind, however, when she received a letter from the tsunami relief group.

“A person from the relief group had heard I was not going to skate in Moscow and wrote me a letter saying that my skating brought a lot of happiness to people in Japan and if I skated it would be good,” she said. “For the first time during the tragedy, I thought if I skated it would mean I could do something for the people in my country and that was when I decided to compete in Worlds.”

For Ando, the tragedy brought up painful memories of losing her father at age eight when he died in a motorcycle accident.

“I was very upset because I had lost my dad when I was younger and could understand the feeling of losing someone,” she said. “It was very sad to see that so close to me and I felt terrible.”

Ando’s 2011 World victory wound up becoming a turning point for her in regard to both her skating career and her personal life.

Following her win, Ando uprooted her home base from Moscow, where she had been training with Nikolai Morozov, to Nagoya, just about two hours south of Tokyo. Happily settled in her new locale, she likes to spend much of her time hanging out with her mother and friends.

Aside from relaxing, Ando also began to think about what she wanted to do with her skating. She then decided to take a year off from competition to work on developing her artistic skills.

Ando, who made skating history when she became the first female to execute a quad (she did it at the 2002-2003 Junior Grand Prix Finals at the Hague), felt that a year hiatus from training and competitions would give her a whole new perspective on skating.

Evidently, this approach seems to be working. Since embarking on such shows as “Art on Ice” with Stephane Lambiel, Stars on Ice in Japan with Shizuka Arakawa, West Coast Stars on Ice and “Pandora Unforgettable Moments of Love on Ice,” a Disson show that was held in Seattle last January, Ando has blossomed as a performer.

“I’m really enjoying doing shows and have learned so much from being part of this,” she said. “ If I hadn’t taken this year off, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity.”

According to Lea Ann Miller, the principal choreographer for the Disson shows and renowned U.S. Olympic and World program designer, this experience has helped Ando to achieve a whole new level in terms of her artistry.

“Miki’s trying different artistic styles in the shows and with each different event she gets better and better,” said Miller, who choreographed programs for Ando when she first came onto the international championship-level competitive scene at age 16.

By all accounts, Ando seems to be working alongside Miller again.

“I’m so happy to be with Lea Ann, I worked with her when I first started competing internationally] and she did great programs for me.”

In addition to doing shows, Ando has been active in helping to build the popularity of the sport in other ways, including the all-important grass-roots level.

Last January, Ando spent an entire Saturday skating with young members of the Greenwich Boys and Girls Club. She offered them tips for learning and developing their skills and also signed autographs.

“It is great that Miki spends time like this skating and interacting with the young skaters,” said Miller. “We have to build the sport from that level and it usually takes an idol for someone to really want to pursue a sport or something like figure skating.”

For Ando, dedication for this sport is a thing she had learned from her first coach.

“The person who really inspired me was my first teacher,” said Ando. “Even when I would fall and it would really hurt, my teacher was very good and would explain everything to help me understand why I fell. That teacher helped me learn to love skating.”

Ando’s perspective in regard to competing also seems to be the much of the reason why she managed to wound up on top of the podium at Worlds last year.

“Even at Worlds I never cared about the marks or placements, I just cared about what I was practicing.”

 So what are Ando’s plans for next season?

 Right now, this World Champion is just taking it day by day. Still, she always somehow seems to land perfectly on her feet.