Sisinka, I am really not going to bother to engage with you in long discussions on how bad I/K is. Take notice how much you have written on this page and how long are contributions of other posters. It seems that you feel very strongly about the topics, otherwise you wouldn't be writing such essays, but that still doesn't make you right! Maybe less attacking style would achieve more. Your writing style shows sort of desperation!
Dear Hanca, firstly I started this topic to give an opportunity for non-Russian fans to find something about their favourite skaters, to translate just a little bit about their Russian world, I also posted an address to Tanka who translated some interviews (thanks a lot, great job!). I know that many people are not satisfied that Russian language is so “different“ from English and that they can’t find anything about their favourites. Yes, in that moment I didn’t realised that most of interviews are made with Ilinykh only (since Russian Nationals she has more articles and interviews than Volosozhar & Trankov and Sotnikova together), so it looks like that other dancers, pair skaters and solo skaters are not existing for Russian media. Sorry for not expecting it.
If you are so attentive to count all my words and maybe even letters written here, you should go for more…and ask why are my posts so long…because when I write something and somebody other says: “No, you are wrong!“ or starts to be even so aggressive like you, I start to prove why I think it so. And videos, new judging system rules and comparison with other skaters are great helpers. I don’t know what is your job or if you are still a student, but if you were working and came to your job and started to say: “I think this because I think it, I think it, and it must be so because I think it and I am sure of it and I am right.“ I am not sure if you would be able to keep the job repeating such words without saying WHY you think so…but that is exactly the way you are talking to me. You are so sure of everything but you prove nothing…
I am not writing posts because I would love to create a “topic of a year“ and sincerely if people are not writing here much there are few possibilities – doesn’t know some reasoning, doesn’t want to discuss (like you, for example), or doesn’t want to write anything. It is everybody’s decision, I respect it.
If you were Russian and read some Russian boards probably you would be very surprised with the posts there. There are positive and negative criticisms in those posts and some of them are even longer then mine. And everybody who proves his or her opinions to fans who are very offensive like you is writing long posts…An example…somebody says (ballroom dance teacher looking at way he speaks) that I&K are out of the rhythm…suddenly there are some answers trying to offend and destroy the author of the first post (like you try to do, no, they are worse)…then author tries to explain what is quickstep or waltz about, how to count it, using video, proving everything what is possible…but another few posts are so offensive to him again because he wrote not positive words about I&K…but you know, everybody can see at every video that the couple is really out of the rhythm…but to everybody’s good sleep, some fans (who can’t believe that top world couple contender could be out of the rhythm) ask some relatives studing musical school or having musical education to look at them…people with musical education confirms that the couple is really out of the rhythm both in short and free dance…and what happens then…a few people continue to offend that author must be jealous to Lena and Nikita for sure…
At Russian Forum there is also a nice reasoning to prove that free dance is about nothing. Some of I&K protector says that the story of Swan Lake is beautiful, somebody answers that there is no Swan and no ballet in their dance pointing to body position. I&K protector says that it never minds because the couple is fantastic and by the way the dance is also about love and strong characters… somebody answers that she has swan costume but there is nothing for love and fight, there is no story, just few swan moves. Then I&K protector says that it never minds, that the couple is so beautiful that they don’t need a story, that it is enough to have elements only, that it is an abstraction. Somebody answers that if you have story of two characters, it can’t be abstraction and abstraction is about movements and Tchaikovski is not suitable for this – it is too strong music for just an abstraction. I&K protector answers that those people are jealous and make another offensive notes. Do you understand? It is funny. Anything what is not connected with I&K being perfect is punished hardly and in a very offensive way by few members of Russian forum.
Everybody who notices that the couple is not perfect is being punished for those opinions…but those people are not using any reasoning, they come with words you use (toilet, desperation etc). There not many people who would be protecting I&K like this at Russian Forum, maybe about 7, but everybody of them use such offensive and aggressive words that one starts to think whether they came from criminal or what…
I am for fans who support their favourite couples. It is nice thing and it helps I know. Let’s continue on supporting I&K. But if you like the couple it doesn’t mean that they are the best on the world. Coomes & Buckland and Tobias & Stagniunas have fans also, I am sure of it. But those fans never tried to make a Worlds Champions from them saying that they are perfect and wonderful and those fans never came with offensive words to everybody who would say that the couple needs to improve. I wrote many positive things about I&K (you probably didn’t notice), but as to rhythm, expression of music, connection to story, difficult choreo, dance holdings – those couple is loosing to other couples who make at least top world 6 right now...I refuse to admit those abilities mentioned above to couple who doesn’t have them.
Could you answer me why Weaver, Pechalat, Bobrova, Cappellini and of course Tessa and Meryl (and many others – all top 6 at Russian Nationals for example) are able to keep the rhythm and Lena and Nikita are not? Could you answer me why Lena has the most simple choreo this year from all GP medalists (and even many skaters who didn’t medal)? Why other dance ladies have more difficult choreo? Why choreo from 1986 program (Klimova & Ponomarenko free dance) is more difficult than Lena’s choreo? Is it normal for at least European medal contender to have such performance, especially when you can compare her to other ladies both from today and past? Let’s love Lena and Nikita, it is OK, but why you try to make a super team from them in all aspects when they don’t have those qualities right now?
I don’t understand why so many I&K protectors are so full of hate and tries to attack everybody who is not saying that the couple is not the best. This year I saw some discussions between Tessa and Meryl fans and most of them are not offensive to other people‘s opinion. No, they are writing what they think and why they think so. There are so many people who discuss their favourite couples…yes, they discuss, not offend. I told at GPF that Andrew Poje is not making his free leg straight especially in step sequences, I told that free dance of Tessa and Scott reminds me a second Mahler, and I wrote that Meryl has many jumping in their dances. Nobody from those skater’s fans came to offend me, why? If their fans are able to accept different opinions and let people with another opinions leave in peace, why you can’t do that? All those long essays starts with I&K protectors who desperately hates and offends all people who are not glamorizing I&K.
If you really love the couple, you should love them how they are, not how you would like them to be. But for this couple there is still a long way to go to achieve a level of a great Russian dancers of the past. They are still young, they can still improve a lot, it is just in their hands (but permanent repetition made by their fans that they are fantastic is not going to make their skating and dancing qualities better, I am sure).
