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Someone with such great skating skills wouldnt struggle to even mantain balance in a complicated twizzle sequence 60% of the time.
Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov Split
- Thread starter ilmiom
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http://www.team-russia2014.ru/article/figur/16830.html
...an interview with Elena Kustarova, Lena and Ruslan's coach...
“Practises of Lena and Ruslan are going very well. But they just begin – so it is too soon to judge. I can say yet that they are comfortable with each other, that they found a common language immediately. They have a common target – to win.“
When will Russian Federation announce final decision about I&K?
“I have no idea, we would like to know it also. At least kids became a couple, they train, they work. And what Federation think about it – we don’t know.“
So you are in dependent situation until now?
“I wouldn’t say so. We work. Federation got to know that kids became a couple and started with practises. Tomorrow a representative of Federation will come to us – to see kids. If he/she will come or not – I don’t know.“
sky_fly20 said:
pamela said:
Yes, Lena should take the most suitable partner for herself. While Victoria and Nikita decided for all those four skaters probably Lena and Ruslan should be free to choose partners on their own also...just the make conditions for all those four skaters equal.
Lena is a girl/woman who spend in figure skating many years - since she was four years old, she knows surroundings, off ice and behind the scenes rules, what is "in" and what is not "in". She certainly had many offers with who to skate with and she had certainly offers for tryouts - with Russian boys as well as with skaters from foreign countries. And she chose Ruslan.
Sky_fly20, how can you explain that a girl who knows figure skating and its behind the scenes rules prefers tryouts and now practises with ONLY ONE SKATER which is called Zhiganshin. What can be a reason that such beauty and skater with great skating skills chose somebody who you described like high school boy with almost all skating and non-skating qualities on poor level. Is girl blind? Or is she too young to make serious decisions? Or are you going to tell me that after getting fired from Nikita, she immediatelly fell in love with Ruslan? Or what? Or maybe she doesn't feel like 30 years old woman who would be too old for 21 years old young looking man...maybe she saw some qualities which is figure skating world discussing and only you don't know about it...
Overall there are three possibilities why Lena wanted Ruslan only until this time...
a) she got mad after Nikita's poor behaviour
b) she thinks that Bukin and others are much worse that very bad Ruslan
c) she thinks that she chose the best dancer and she likes how he skates/dances and want to skate/dance with him
Yes, she skated with Bukin and the kids didn't get along well, now they are older and more wise. It would be so easy to call Ivan and ask him for tryout...but Lena didn't do it. Why? Does she know something what you don't, Sky_fly20?
We don't know why he struggles with it. If they do have practice issues and reports were they did it, it may b he needed more practice on with his partner, but didn't get to have.
Some people need to have more practice in order to feel confident with their programs.
In general I think both he and Elena had consistency issues as a team. We will have a much better understanding of what the problem is, when they have new problems and how the team performs.
Can you just stop and explain me in what things Lena will overshadow Ruslan? In beauty? That's great, beautiful lady and partner who can present herself and still dance great, it sounds well, this is the same what Ruslan did past few years with Victoria, so nothing new. In which other things she will overshadow him? In temperament, passion? Come on. Lena is in trouble to make more than two dynamic arm's moves, but Ruslan can save it, he is a temperament "high school boy". What else? In rhythm? Come on, he feels the rhythm while she misses the rhythm, but maybe he will lead her in way that she will keep the rhythm also. Or is she going to overshadow him with not finished moves, head forward and not extended free leg? Funny.
Ruslan like any other skaters has much work to do, no doubts about it - in lifts, spin, consistency...really a lot of work, but realise that Lena has also some mistakes which should be repaired if she wants to be not only beautiful but also great dancer in future. She knows things which Ruslan need to improve - she can learn him twizzles which she is best in, he will learn her keep the rhythm and maybe he will wake up temperament and dynamics in her movements. Maybe he could also try to explain her that coming fully into a music/story means to look at her partner more that at judges, who knows.
As to being build like high school boy or girl - it reminds me of Charlie White, young Gwendal Peizerat, but also young Dubreil, and Meryl until today - did it stop them in front of dancing and showing mature and top level programs? Certainly not looking at Olympic and World results.
Some of you mentioned Zueva's article about Meryl not having perfect body for ice dance, if Zueva would be like you, Sky_fly20, and put everything into face and body build only....America wouldn't have Olympic Gold Medalists....and maybe even Scott Moir would be in danger, in 2010 he was far to well build boy in Vancouver.
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I think Elena and Ruslan (or whomever Elena ends up with) will come out on top, in this situation. While there could be some debate about whether Elena or Nikita are better in practice depending on who you talk to, Elena is a better skater in the individual sense, and she also works well in a pair with her consistency. If you look at skating skills from a consistency standpoint, she would be the stronger of the former(?) I/K pair. No matter whether your discipline is theatre, dancing, ice skating, indoor drumline, music, or anything else involving performances which are judged, it doesn't matter whether you can put on the best show in the world if you can't do it on a consistent basis. Yes, Nikita can be a skilled skater, but he needs to work on being consistent in his performances if he wants to reach his full potential. Elena is already fairly consistent. You can go a lot further with consistency and determination than just raw talent. That's why Elena and Ruslan have a better chance to succeed coming out of this than Victoria and Nikita. That's just my opinion, though, take it or leave it.
Nikita has been much more consistent with the twizzles this season worlds aside. She messed up the twizzles at Euro. And they got better partially because the two of them by all accounts were practicing more. If the rumors are true that he was the one who wanted to practice more. Than he may very well do better than her with a partner who is willing to put more hours in the rink. If your partner needs more work on the twizzles and your not willing to put in that work, than you are a big part of the problem.
Its hard to know whose at fault, but there were a lot of work ethic issues around Elena and Nikita which would explain their inconsistency. If the problem was one more than the other, than the harder worker may end being the one who comes on top.
I love both and hope both do well.
The problem with Nikita's twizzles in general is that the technique looks suspect. Lena's for the most part are smooth as silk. So that means she has been putting in the hours to train them, because in 2011/2 they could be a little wonky. Now Elena cannot practice with him 24/7 to correct his. He will need to perfect his technique on his own then apply himself when they come together. She has looked frustrated many a time because of his twizzle mistakes and I think part of the problem is Nikita maybe not taking full responsibility for his own shortcomings in this area. Look at replays of the WC SD its almost as if he wants to blame her for his own mistake when he is the one who messed up. Incredulous! So no Lena may have her faults but I sense that Nikita comes with his own set of issues.
With regard to looks, part of it can be connected to the personality an ice dancer has on the ice. I think you're right that Charlie White was able to use his boyish, puppy dog looks & laid-back persona in a way that worked for him. It also provided a contrast with Scott Moir who has a more aggressive, brash, outspoken personality both on and off the ice.
During the Worlds there were quite a few posters saying how good-looking Andrew Poje is. I actually don't think Poje has been able to use his looks until recently because he hasn't really had a lot of personality. Poje is a nice guy, but he's kind of soft spoken and low key. He tended to get overshadowed by Moir & White (and other dancers). I think Poje has begun to emerge a little bit more with confidence after recent improved results. He's still not as fiery or outgoing as Kaitlyn Weaver, but he has improved his presence.
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I fully agree.
Zhulin said years ago when he trained them that the problem with Lena was that you had to be strict with her to make her work, her attention would wander or she wouldn't want to practice certain things, but in a way that was easier to deal with if you have a coach that can instill discipline. The issue with Nikita is that you have to coddle him a bit more, he always has to feel he's the strongest partner & is leading the team, and he can be very critical, both of himself & of everyone around him. And I guess when he's the one making the big mistakes, as he has been this season - botching the twizzles at NHK & the key points they didn't get there or at Nationals were on the man's steps, catching Elena's skate causing the fall at Russian nationals, twizzles at Worlds, (and even Euros, yes Elena fell but he was all over the place on the first two sets & he said later that had probably unsettled her) - if he still has that kind of attitude of needing to feel he's the best, it could make things very difficult in their partnership.
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If Nikita really does feel a need to be coddled and always wants to feel like he's the leader in control of the situation, a new partnership won't change that. Changing partners doesn't get rid of a person's prima donna complex. That's not the way the world works.
Absolutely. To be honest, whatever it was that triggered this split, the underlying issue sounds like they were for a long time perhaps still too immature to really work as a team, and deal together with all the expectations and pressures that comes with being at the top of the international field. Even if they did manage to get things together this season, the damage was already done, and the question now is whether they can learn from what went wrong and meet the new challenges that they will be presented with.
He just needed someone more docile than Lena. He is a young man and he has every right to do what he thinks is best for his career. I don't sense that Lena was constantly overbearing or rude but rather not the type to waste time doing something wrong just to stroke someone's ego. They were like oil and water it would seem. Maybe also he has been lonely these three years to not have a partner that was also even just a friend off ice. So we have this result. I hope in the future though he learns to be more respectful to persons he finds difficult.
As per the video can anyone say when this was or what he's saying?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMYo_RsyQHI
Skyfly has already started a fan thread for Katsalapov and "Beautiful Blonde Sinitsina" who is "more attractive than Ilinykh". No thread yet for the non-blonde and the schoolboy, though.Soon we should start two different cheer threads one for each new pair
Such a kidder...lol.
^ The thread is waiting for your input!
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?50244-Victoria-Sinitsina-amp-Nikita-Katsalapov
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?50244-Victoria-Sinitsina-amp-Nikita-Katsalapov
http://itar-tass.com/sport/1123232
A representative from the Federation visited I/Z in training today, Kustarova said he wsa very pleased with what he saw & encouraged them to keep their focus.
A representative from the Federation visited I/Z in training today, Kustarova said he wsa very pleased with what he saw & encouraged them to keep their focus.
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