- I know that you have already managed to teach friends and family the fact that you make all important decisions about your own life by yourself. How did it happen this time, when you had to choose the university?
- Just like that. As soon as I went to eleventh grade (NT: last year of school), I immediately began to think about where I wanted to go. I didn’t want to go to the Institute of Physical Education, and I began to wonder if I even have something concrete in mind? The year before last I had a rather interesting experience as a choreographer: I choreographed a program for a little girl. So I had this idea: why not try to enter GITIS, the ice choreography department of Tchaikovskaia? But it turned out that Elena Anatolyevna did not take in a group this year. And I fell into the hands of choreographers. The course to become a "Ballet Choreographer".
- Do you imagine how your studies will progress?
- Very vaguely. On September 1 (NT: first day of school year in Russia), I will find out what it is. Psychologically, I am ready for the fact that the workload will be greater than it was at school. But I already talked to the teachers, asked if it was possible, in some cases, to skip classes, I was told that there is no big problem in it, but I will have to pass tests and exams like everybody else. It does not frighten me, I did it in school, I studied mostly as an external student. Of course, I will try to attend classes: classes at the university start at 8 am and go until 10 pm, and I will have such opportunity.
- Did you get nervous during the GITIS entry exams?
- Oh yeah. It was a creative competition and an interview. At first, we were asked to perform an improvisation to the “Gypsy Girl”, then we had to invent two dances by ourselves, and after the interview I was forced to sing. Since I have no musical talents, it was probably a lot of fun. Fortunately, there was no large audience at this exam - only a teacher.
- What were you asked at the interview?
- They asked to tell the whole story of ballet. This is such a vague concept - in the sense that you can talk on this topic for days, because the story is long and very interesting. I tried to summarize it, and in general I scored well. 97 out of 100 for the creative competition and 87 for the interview. In fact, it was so interesting to prepare for the exam that I spent almost all time during the camp reading the most diverse ballet literature, I watched historical films, about ballet, about ballet choreographers, about dancers. I found a lot of factors that have something in common with figure skating. And teachers behave the same way, and the work as a whole is very similar. Therefore, actually, I am eager to start studying faster. I can't wait.
- Did it take long to create the programs that Peter Chernyshev made for you for the new season?
- We choreographed both programs at the end of May. My free is Summertime, jazz. The short program is Latina. I myself insisted on this, although Elena Germanovna (Buianova) resisted for a very long time.
- Why?
- Because she, until the very last moment, didn't see me in such character. But I wanted it so much, I was so dreaming of this plan. Quite some time ago I had a Latina - Black Magic Woman. But then I was still very little and could hardly convey the full steaminess of the dance. Now I really want to bring something new into my presentation, to give myself some kind of new push for development. So that the spectators and the judges would see that I can be many-sided and different. So I insisted on a Latina.
- Did you muscles hurt for a long time because of the movements you are not used to?
- I prepared for everything in advance. At the end of the season, I practiced ballroom dancing on the dance floor, danced a lot, tried to stir myself up somehow, dance myself up for a future program. I understood that if I was going to take Latin American rhythms and use them in a program, I had to do it well. Accordingly, it was necessary to prepare the body. I was ready for the fact that it would be hard. With the free program, everything turned out to be easier. The work on the programs went very quickly, from the very beginning everything worked out well. And in general, everyone is happy with the result.
- Last year, using the example of Alina Zagitova, showed how great can be the advantage in complexity in women's single skating. Is there a space where you can move in terms of increasing the complexity of your own programs?
- For the current season, I do not have such goal. This is possible in terms of the elements, but the main task lies elsewhere: to show that the Olympic season gave me a push, that I grew as a figure skater, that I am more mature. That I can be completely different on the ice, not the same as the judges and the audience used to see me. At the same time, I watch attentively enough the competitors, watch their skates, note certain things, borrow certain things. For example, (Canadian) Gabriel Daleman skates very fast, flies over the ice. And I'm trying to somehow develop this strength and power in myself.
- And what can be borrowed from Alexandra Trusova, who starts the season with three quadruple jumps?
- Here, you can only applaud and admire. I currently cannot jump quads.
- Have you tried?
- Last year, I tried the quad Salchow, at the very end of the season. I realized that if I work very hard on this, it is possible to land this jump. But it was right when we were preparing for the Olympics, and I did not consider it necessary to focus on landing a quad at all costs.
- I saw your feet without skates and concluded that the process of breaking in new boots was extremely difficult.
- This problem goes on for the third season. I can’t do anything about it, it’s probably chronic already. My skin is thin, there is constantly some chafing, squeezing, I have to use special silicone pads in my boots, and besides them I also wear homemade "donuts", made with three dishwashing sponges with specially cut holes. But as a whole, breaking in boots is a fairly standard process. For a week, I try to push through new boots, because they are very tough, then everything goes fine, I almost don’t feel pain. By the end of the season, however, even the toughest boots turn into something cloth-like. They get wet constantly in the process of training and soften.
- Mao Asada used to have two pairs of boots for a season.
- I occasionally have this idea, but somehow I haven’t had such a need yet. The point is not that two pairs are difficult to break in. But while skating in one pair, the second very quickly shrinks, dries. And you have to break them in again every time.
- Did you manage to take a break from figure skating this summer?
- Yes, in Turkey. For the second year in a row we went there with Polina Tsurskaya.
- Doesn't it bother you that you are rivals on the ice?
- No. When Polina joined us in the group, I, frankly, feared a little bit whether daily competition would affect our friendship. It turned out the opposite: training together made us even closer. Sport and life are different things after all.
- But you skate nonetheless on different ice. Or is it not always?
- Frankly speaking, I don't care who I skate with, because I don’t see anything during workout: I focus only on myself, on my tasks. With Polina, we really mostly skate on different ice, so I don’t even see what she is doing. And she does not see what I do. But to be honest, when we find ourselves on the same ice, it encourages me.
As for our communication outside the rink, we discuss completely different things, not related to figure skating at all. Well, or some common problems that periodically arise. Like I am getting fatter, I need to lose weight.
- How do you solve this problem for yourself?
- I close the fridge. And mouth. For me there is no difficulty in this, although there was a period when I was constantly very hungry. This was probably the very pubery that is so often talked about. When you constantly think only about food and mentally say to yourself: “No, you can’t, take your hands off the food”. Earlier, when I was little, I ate a lot of things and it didn’t affect me in any way. Then, it seemed to me that all the talk about weight was some kind of nonsense. But then very quickly I realized that "nonsense" is capable of playing a very bad joke with an athlete. That there are no trifles in sports at all. One extra kilogram - and it becomes much harder for the legs to push yourself; the risk of getting injured immediately grows. Therefore, I try to keep my weight within certain limits and not to go beyond them. Here, the question is only in the correct setting of priorities: either you want to eat and eat, or you want to skate and somehow limit yourself. Mom helps me to organize my eating correctly, but I try to do it myself. Now, on the Internet, you can find anything you want on this subject. Obviously, there is a lot of nonsense, but it is not a big deal, if you use your head, to find what you need.
- You talk like one of the people who are responsible for their own life and clearly understand what they want in this life.
- It has come to me long time ago. Probably when I decided to move from Svetlana Vladimirovna Panova to Elena Germanovna. At that time, I thought a lot about the fact that, since I’m on my own in changing something in life, I should be fully aware of what I’m doing and what consequences this may have.
- Victoria Sinitsina said in an interview not so long ago that the athlete should be a bitch inside, because bitchiness gets people's attention and helps to cope with difficulties.
- Here I agree with Vika. I know that there are skaters who are able to skate well only on anger. Got angry - they go and do everything in spite of everybody. I never had it in me. But you just realize with age that there is a real sport of great achievements around you, a lot of competitors, and that you need to cling to every opportunity, every chance. That there are 30 people claiming the three spots that enable you to go to the Olympics, and the kind and gentle will sit at home. This makes not just your inner bitch to wake up. You just have to go and slay on the ice.
- How well do you manage it?
- At first it was hard, I am a completely different person by nature. Then everything began to happen involuntarily: you see the goal, you go to it, and everything else does not bother you. I wanted to go to the Olympics, and the other people's desires simply did not exist for me during the Russian Championships. Who was there, how they skated, I do not remember at all. I went there and pulled out every element, every step, with my teeth.
- What is your goal for this season?
- I, as always, want to do my job flawlessly, so that I can be pleased with myself. Well, and, of course, I want to get on the podium at the European and World Championships. In this regard, I still have a very strong dissatisfaction.
- Despite the fact that you went to the Olympics?
- Yes. I gained invaluable experience in PyeongChang, but I was disappointed with the result. The most difficult thing was that I messed up the short program. For me, this was a complete surprise, because throughout the whole season I skated my short program immaculately. And then... The whole next day was for me a day of self blaming. I understood that I needed to get myself together, get everything out of my head, but I just couldn't do it. Without my coaches, I probably would not have been able to cope with the situation at all. They talked to me a lot, convinced: "Masha, come to your senses!" Thanks to them, I came out for the free in more or less adequate condition.
This one experience, when you need to get yourself together at any cost, when you need to show your fighting qualities, I consider it invaluable. Although it was all very hard.
- For two seasons in a row, you spent the first half noticeably better than the second. Did you try to understand why this happens?
- Yes, me and my coaches analyzed it. Personally, I think that the problem is that I put out too much at the Russian Championship: I leave all on the ice, and then I simply don’t have enough strength to quickly recover and enter the same rhythm. But there is no other way; the price of a mistake is too high at these competitions. I thought a lot about this issue and realized that this problem is solvable. I will not make it public now, but it seems to me that I found the opportunity to work on the mistakes in this regard.
- How “thick-skinned” are you in terms of perception of the criticism, which sometimes floods the Internet? And do you read what is written about you?
- To be honest, I read everything.
- What for?
- I am interested in the people's oppinions. This does not mean that I will listen to everything, for this I have my close people, but it is useful to know some things. I do not mean comments on social networks under some vacation photos, like everyone is working and Masha only travels. If I do not expose my training process on social networks, it does not mean that I do not work.
- Do you show other photos because you want to, or because it is fashionable now?
- For me, Instagram is a kind of an album that I carry for myself and my friends. So that people have the opportunity to see some interesting places that I visit, the interesting things that happen in my life. I like it.
- And during the competitions, do you somehow limit your Internet activity?
- Yes, in general, I turn off the phone on the days when I skate. I do not want anything to confuse or distract me, I try to isolate myself from everything. On the day of the competition, for me there is only the competition itself. Because anything can happen, including not too pleasant things. I'd rather find out about it after, and not before going on the ice.
