Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin

alithia said:

I don't even bother to be honest. I have heard all that around for the last couple of years, at least now some can understand who was going around with this.I even expected worse. And for me is not worth caring, if you care you give people what they want.Attention.It wasn't really surprising that someone shoulld say all this as an excuse if people were more familiar with the person. And it's no worth wasting any salive I prefer to adopt I/Z attitude to all this, and what Elena said in the recent interview, fans shouldn't create wars, things are the past, she and Ruslan are doing their job.I admire and respect the way they are so above this, while fans still talk about fed and support, and stories from russian forums.It honestly exhausts me, and I think it's just drama for the drama. So I choose to be with the ones that first of all I prefer as skaters and don't care about the drama.

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This is a great posts

Bramweld, you have a pm

alithia said:

Bramweld, you have a pm

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Thanks.

Let skaters speak with their skating, yes….but until skaters will take their skates and show publicly, there will be always talks about many good and bad, smart and stupid teories….

…but I want to correct some things written here…

Mattieu said:

Reports I heard from the test skates said that Elena and Ruslan looked unremarkable.
They did not look good or bad, just nothing special.

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Mattieu said:

Don't get too excited about this couple, the early reports indicate that they are nothing special
It would appear that Nikita and Elena were only special together.

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Abraxis12345 said:

One of the "nothing special" reports was Olga Ermolina who is the press secretary for the Russian fed. I will add that she did say that their problems can be fixed before their Grand Prix.

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Abraxis12345 said:

All I did was point out that the negative reviews were coming from either a federation official who wasn't afraid to use her name and a respected FSU poster, and were not a rumor started by some teenie in love with Nikita.

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1. Ermolina didn’t officially wrote her personal opinions, instead she used her user name at Russian Forum “Firstolia“ – from that user name I had absolutely no idea that it was her.

2. It is impossible to judge quality of the programs without judging technique as well.

3. Ermolina praised Stepanova & Bukin for their dances but for example my opinions from Open Test Skate are almost the opposite (I much more appreciated Monko & Khaliavin’s programs).

Abraxis12345 said:

It is pretty telling they skipped the open skates though

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4. Watching Open Test Skate – nobody from Russian dancers is ready to skate at Grand Prix next day – two senior dance couples were even not able to skate whole free dance.

5. Some couples mentioned that they were skating maquettes at Closed Skate, but I read somewhere that Lena & Ruslan (surprisingly like new couple) skated with all elements which is more difficult. How to compare competive version of program with maquettes, I don’t know.

6. Also I wanted to see all dances couples at Open Skates. And hiding in front of public eyes because a couple is not ready looks to be a very logical reason….but then… why all other couples – Bobrova & Soloviev, Kosigina & Moroshkin, Zenkova & Sinitsin, Zahorski & Guerreiro didn’t skate at Open Test as well? Were they afraid and not ready also? Why Yanovskaya & Mozgov skated SD only? And why Vika & Nikita didn’t even come to Closed Test?

Alithia said:

But I noticed that after I/Z finally talked together in an interview, some people got angry.

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Yes, some reactions after the interview was published were suprising for me…

7. Comparing Lena and Ruslan‘s results is not very wise. Ruslan won Junior World Title in 2012, while Lena in 2010. Ruslan entered senior stage two seasons later and big competitions like Euros and Worlds three years later than Lena.
In their first European and World Champs Vika & Ruslan got the same placement like Lena & Nikita had during their first trip to those competitions. Why to expect that Ruslan doesn’t have three medals from Euros while he was competing there just once…

8. The leader thing…it is not necessary about medals. The leader supports his/her partner, protects him/her, overall gives the main direction. Lena told already twice that she gave Ruslan a leadership after Closed Test Skate – in a moment when pressure is on then a strong character rises.

Lena is the one who skates with Ruslan, so she knows perfectly whether she feels save with him or not. Why are other people surprised with that, I don’t know.

(Remember how Ruslan and coaches supported Victoria at 2013 NHK Trophy after her bad fall during Finnstep. While Lena in her new interview said that she was making excuses whole day after FD at European Champs….did Nikita supported her or instead did he make her excuse the whole day and was angry at her?)

Alithia said:

...For me it's a bit strange to think that skaters of that caliber can be that bad and to be honest I don't like it when in a fan fest thread,people enter to say how bad someone is to people that like them....

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I agree.

9. As to quality of the new couple…both Lena and Ruslan are one of the Worlds top 5 as to technique. Lena is very visible on the ice and she knows perfectly how to make diva look and present herself…Ruslan is a very passionate and expressive dancer…if you mix such two people in one couple…you can’t get an average couple with weak technique near level of Carron & Jones and pale presentation of Storkh & Rand. Of course you will get much more. It doesn’t mean that Lena & Ruslan will get high marks and high placements immediatelly first season….but to think that the couple may look terribly bad like some people try to offer – I find this stupid.

Finally Sisinka sorts the trash. Thank you

Also I wanted to see all dances couples at Open Skates. And hiding in front of public eyes because a couple is not ready looks to be a very logical reason….but then… why all other couples – Bobrova & Soloviev, Kosigina & Moroshkin, Zenkova & Sinitsin, Zahorski & Guerreiro didn’t skate at Open Test as well? Were they afraid and not ready also? Why Yanovskaya & Mozgov skated SD only? And why Vika & Nikita didn’t even come to Closed Test?

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I believe Solviev injured and according social media, Zahorski was here at France without Guerreiro, for visa?
I am guess that the others did not have full programs, so not ready show at public.

9. As to quality of the new couple…both Lena and Ruslan are one of the Worlds top 5 as to technique. Lena is very visible on the ice and she knows perfectly how to make diva look and present herself…Ruslan is a very passionate and expressive dancer…if you mix such two people in one couple…you can’t get an average couple with weak technique near level of Carron & Jones and pale presentation of Storkh & Rand. Of course you will get much more. It doesn’t mean that Lena & Ruslan will get high marks and high placements immediatelly first season….but to think that the couple may look terribly bad like some people try to offer – I find this stupid.

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I did not hear of the technique was bad, just the IT factor was not that was present with I/K

Kosygina and Moroshkin train in Togliatti and 1) were competing in Samara a few days after and 2) their coach was away with Evdokimova and Bazin. No sense going all the way back to Moscow without their coach for the open skates. They got decent scores for their FD At the Russian cup btw.

Elena's error may had cost them Europeans, but Nikita cost them the Worlds. :scowl:
And Victoria attiude towards Ruslan is depressing, oh how i hope S/K will get silver to each gold I/Z may receive

Mattieu said:

I did not hear of the technique was bad, just the IT factor was not that was present with I/K

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I think for any new couple is difficult at takes time to have the IT factor.
In this case (or S&K case) it will be even harder, and more time will be needed, because many are not yet over I&K.
So they somehow expect I&K 2.0.

Ice Dance needs more time than pairs, IMO.


@sisinka

3. Ermolina praised Stepanova & Bukin for their dances but for example my opinions from Open Test Skate are almost the opposite (I much more appreciated Monko & Khaliavin’s programs).

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I fully agree. :yes:

Mattieu said:

I believe Solviev injured and according social media, Zahorski was here at France without Guerreiro, for visa?
I am guess that the others did not have full programs, so not ready show at public.

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Dima was injured, I agree.

But I think that Zahorski didn’t want/plan to skate at Open Test, so she went to France, maybe for visa (but I guess that on Saturday and Sunday the offices are not open not only in Russia, but in France as well), not reversely.

Abraxis12345 said:

Kosygina and Moroshkin train in Togliatti and 1) were competing in Samara a few days after and 2) their coach was away with Evdokimova and Bazin. No sense going all the way back to Moscow without their coach for the open skates. They got decent scores for their FD At the Russian cup btw.

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Open Test Skate is an opportunity to show competive form of programs and see where are problematic parts which occurs under the stress (this can’t be explore during training process).

Coaches don’t need to be at Open Test Skate.

A flight from Moscow to Samara takes one hour and forty minutes.

Evdokimova & Bazin competed at JGP in Ostrava that week, the competition finished on Saturday and the couple was able to pass through the distance twice as long then Moscow-Samara and skated on Tuesday at Russian Cup in Samara.

In past seasons skaters were able to include Open Test Skate into their competive schedule. Kosigina & Moroshkin competed at JGP Volvo Cup finishing 3rd of September 2011 and 7th of September they skated at Open Test already.
Zenkova & Sinitsin skated at Open Test 4th of September in 2011 and their JGP in Australia! began 9th of September.

I have no real excuse for Kosigina & Moroshkin, Zenkova & Sinitsin, I&Z, S&K, Zahorski & Guerreiro for not participating Open Test, but it is their problem to miss a chance to find and correct mistakes when it doesn’t count.

Mattieu said:

I did not hear of the technique was bad, just the IT factor was not that was present with I/K

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IT factor is something what has a skater and then the couple may be called like having IT factor no matter whether both of partners or only one partner has it.

There was Averbukh’s show called “Profesionals“ where top Russian skaters changed partners every week. Not surprisingly skaters with IT factor kept this factor with different partners. So IT factor can’t be lost when you create a new couple.

I&K IT factor versus I&Z IT factor….if you believe that only Nikita has IT factor then it would be Ruslan only having IT factor in the couple…but many people believe (me as well) that Lena has IT factor (with or without Nikita), so in this case everything is OK with Lena & Ruslan.

Still IT factor may be a subjective thing…some people think that a certain skater has it, but other people think that he/she hasn’t. And who is wright?

I believe that IT factor is more appreciated by fans who are supporting skaters with IT factor (in fan‘s eyes) more than skaters without it.

But even if I would try to imagine that both Lena & Ruslan would loose IT factor….look at history…I take Olympic and World medalists only…
1) Only one partner has IT factor: Navka & Kostomarov, Denkova & Staviski, Krylova & Ovsiannikov, Khoklova & Novitski…
2) In my meanings partners without IT factor: Davis & White, Delobel & Schoenfelder, Fusar-Poli & Margaglio, Grushina & Goncharov…
BUT PLEASE, all those couples had some wonderful or interesting programs and some of them were overall great couples in their times, but they didn’t force me to stare at them all the time and I didn’t take them visible between five other couples on the same ice.

Kerrs visibly had IT factor but they never got higher than Bronze Medal at European Champs.

Btw. I don’t know about anyone but Ermolina who described I&Z from Closed Test Skate. Who else saw them and told openly about a lack of IT factor?

Well, I'm hardly the expert on ice dance technique, but...

- It's ridiculous to write off Elena and Ruslan just because of a few bad comments from a few people. Who knows if those comments are accurate to reality... and even if they are, why can't they improve? It's their first season and they haven't even started competing! (Also, Sisinka makes a good point--how could you put together two people with good technique and good performance ability... and end up with horrible technique and super bland presentation? Something tells me the reports are exaggerated at best).

- Are there really people who believe Nikita was with only one with IT factor and I/K only succeeded because of him? I mean, there's no accounting for taste, but...

Sandpiper said:

Well, I'm hardly the expert on ice dance technique, but...
- It's ridiculous to write off Elena and Ruslan just because of a few bad comments from a few people. Who knows if those comments are accurate to reality... and even if they are, why can't they improve? It's their first season and they haven't even started competing! (Also, Sisinka makes a good point--how could you put together two people with good technique and good performance ability... and end up with horrible technique and super bland presentation? Something tells me the reports are exaggerated at best).
- Are there really people who believe Nikita was with only one with IT factor and I/K only succeeded because of him? I mean, there's no accounting for taste, but...

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Well, I am not surprised if all the negative rumors about Elena and Ruslan are from Zueva's camp. have you read S/K interview with Zueva recently?

Yeah, I saw that one. They can say whatever they want--but they have to back it up on the ice. I did at the "Lena is mistake-prone" part. I mean, if you're Charlie White, you might be able to say that (not that Charlie ever would), but if you're Nikita Katsalopalov?

I just find it weird some people are saying "don't get excited, they have no sparkle"... when they haven't even done a single competition yet! Talk about writing someone off way too early.

Nobody is writing off nobody, just some people want to make anything left from I/K dissappear to ease the pain, others trash them to make people believe they won't be good.
What they are will be shown on the ice, and it will be changing from month to month since they are a new team.

alithia said:

Nobody is writing off nobody, just some people want to make anything left from I/K dissappear to ease the pain, others trash them to make people believe they won't be good.
What they are will be shown on the ice, and it will be changing from month to month since they are a new team.

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My dear it would seem that persons (Vika and Nik included) actually believed that Rus and Lena would disappear after the perfect couple of Sin/Kat were formed. Call me a conspiracy theorist but I believe this was in the works for a long, long time. Just something in the way it all panned out doesn't add up. All the same I am past it.

I/Z apparently are an unplanned for annoyance hence the chattering. Poor Nikita and Victoria they have to face the ex-partners they treated so handsomely. Boohoo they are adults, they should know better by now.

All will be clear when they take the ice. Albeit I must say that with the exception of their last season IMHO Morozov completely neglected Lena. He practically gave her no choreography. ANY that she was able to wring out in the beginning of the season by the end of the season it was gone. Morozov doesn't really do choreography so I don't know why people pay him. Morozov to me seemed to invest all his energies in bringing Nikita up to par with Lena! What a waste of her talent these last three years. I hope the new team does a better job with polishing her talents as well as Ruslan's.

Vaytsekhovskaya's interview with Ludmila Vlasova `I don't work with the skaters for money' for sport-express.ru
http://www.sport-express.ru/velena/reviews/49019/

Thanks to TAHbKA for the translation: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...i-dont-work-with-the-skaters-for-money.93151/

EV: Is it hard to communicate with those who are not really into choreography?
LV: I was always lucky. A lot depends on the coach. I worked just fine with Tarasova not only when she was working with the Italian dancers but later as well with Asada. Sasha Zhulin always understood how important the choreography is. Working with the juniors Ilinykh/Katsalapov while they were in Zhulin's group was a pleasure. I sometimes offered them to skip a practice so they would be more rested for the competition, but they always declined and just went on working. Take into an account the work with me is quite hard and it was usually after their main training, i.e. their legs were tired by then.

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EV: How did you survive Takahashi's `Hip Hop swan' by Morozov to the `Swan Lake'?
LV: I loved that programme! It was great! Later when I started working with Nikolai he tried convincing me choreography is not that important in figure skating and the less gracious the skater is on the ice - the better.

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Cute birthday greeting from Lena to Ruslan today:http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-1103267565/blackswanei/photos/ig-817059565914298405_1103267565

It's adorableCute babies they were

aw, happy birthday to Ruslan! Hopefully this will be a good year for him (and Lena!)