Technical revolution. What the leading Russian figure skaters showed in the Open Test Skates
In the upcoming season, from our single skaters, improved programs are expected
The Small Sports Arena of the Luzhniki complex on September 7 and 8, hosted the Open Test Skates of the Russian national figure skating team. Despite the fact that this event does not have a competitive status and was created only in order to present new programs to specialists in a relaxed atmosphere, the performances were held in the presence of a huge number of fans. The main characters in these Test Skates traditionally are the Ladies Singles.
Sof'ya Samodurova. Short program: Gipsy Kings - Bamboleo. Free: "Roxanne's Tango" from the movie "Moulin Rouge"
Samodurova quickly burst on the stage of adult skating last season. Having no strong technical content, the skater stood her own with the help of nerves of steel and incredible stability. This helped her not only to reach the Grand Prix finals, but also to win the Gold in the European Championship, beating Olympic champion Alina Zagitova.
Now Sof'ya has to confirm her high status. In terms of choreography, her new short program is a bit like last year's, but this is not the first thing that caught my eye. In the Test Skates, the 17-year-old skater had a fall in the short and free programs (both times on the Flip). And this is alarming, given that in the season-2018/19 Sof'ya practically made no mistakes on her jumping elements.
Her free program to the music from the movie "Moulin Rouge" reveals Samodurova from a new perspective. Despite the fact that there were some mistakes, the athlete was able to convey the image. It should be noted that Sof'ya has not yet decided to complicate her program, and after her short program skate she admitted it is hard for her to enter the season.
Stanislava Konstantinova. Short program: Leonid Levashkyevich - “February”. Free: soundtrack from the movie "Moulin Rouge"
Another skater from Sankt Peterburg and another free program under the “Moulin Rouge” in the upcoming season. Her skating speaks brighter than any words for Stanislava (graceful, but, unfortunately, not error-free), and in this regard, the athlete stays level. Before the start of the season, 19 year old Konstantinova trained a triple Axel with support, but decided not to rush to include this element in her programs. However, her efforts were certainly not in vain. The double Axel as performance in the Test Skates looked amazing, which leaves hope that the skater will be able to add another revolution in the future.
Alina Zagitova. Short program: Yasmin Levy - Me Voy. Free: soundtrack to the movie "Cleopatra"
This season, Zagitova will present herself to the world from a new perspective. In her first two senior seasons, Alina skated to the classics, but now, together with her coach Eteri Tutberidze, the 2018 Olympic champion decided to go in the direction of avant-garde productions. The skater herself noted she was interested in looking for herself in other images.
Zagitova showed that she is in excellent shape. Earlier, the skater in an interview with TASS said that she would not complicate her technical content this season, which was confirmed at the Test Skates. In her short program, it was decided to preserve the jump arrangement from last season, in which the starting element is a complex cascade of triple Lutz and triple Rittberger. In “Luzhniki” Zagitova brilliantly performed her short program, without making mistakes on any element.
In the free program there have been small changes. So, in the new season, the 17-year-old skater, apparently, will drop two combinations with the Lutz. Instead, the cascade of double Axel - triple Toeloop coat will return to Zagitova’s “standard content”, and another triple Lutz will be used as a solo jump. This decision is clearly dictated by tactical considerations. Last season, both triple Lutz's in the free program of Zagitova were done in cascades, which in case of an error did not leave her room to save the situation.
Yevgeniya Medvyedeva. Short program: third part of the Muse Exogenesis song cycle. Free: soundtrack from the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha"
To work towards Medvyedeva’s new short program, it can be said she went back to her roots. More precisely, to the director Il'ya Averbukh, who worked with Eugenia when she was engaged in the group of Eteri Tutberidze. In the very first seconds of the routine, some really outstanding sliding caught my eye; recently, the two-time world and European champion has been adding more and more to this component. The impression was spoiled by a fall on a triple Toeloop - triple Flip cascade, but after that Medvyedeva was rehabilitated with a clean double Axel with a good margin.
The final element in the short program of the 19-year-old skater is the triple Lutz. Apparently, at the moment, the problem of jumping with the the wrong edge could not be solved. However, given the changes in the rules of the International Skating Union (ISU), due to which the penalties for such errors in the coming season will be significantly reduced, this should not be critical.
Free program also did not turn out clean. In the second half of her program, Medvyedeva had problems with a double Axel, and later the athlete had a two foot landing in order to avoid falling when landing a triple Flip. Earlier it was reported that the ward of Brian Orser is working to include a quad Salchow in her free program, however, in the layout of the free program for the 2019/20 season as shown in the Luzhniki Stadium, no place was prepared for this element.
Last summer, Medvyedeva, along with Zagitova, participated in a large number of ice shows and, apparently, has not yet managed to get back in shape for the upcoming season. However, before the start of the Grand Prix series, the athlete will still have time to fix this.
Aleksandra Trusova. Short program: Edward Grieg - "Peer Gynt". Free: "Game of Thrones" soundtrack
Fans sometimes criticise the choreographer of the Tutberidze group, Daniil Gleikhengauz, for using the same characteristic elements in every skater's programs. Before the start of this season, in which perhaps the most talented trio in the history of women's single skating - Aleksandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova and Alyona Kostornaya - will debut in the seniors, these fans' fears only intensified. However, all this, as it turned out, was in vain, since Gleikhengauz did an excellent job.
For example, in Trusova, both programs obviously emphasise the main weapon of this 15-year-old skater - her incredible jumping technique. Strictly speaking, these are programs literally honed and sharpened for jumping. Aleksandra has repeatedly admitted that jumping elements are her favourite part of figure skating, liking everything else to a lesser degree. She loves to shock the audience with her incredible physical capabilities, and new programs will help her in this.
Trusova’s jump program in the short will be the same as Shcherbakova’s, a cascade of triple Lutz - triple Rittberger in the bonus zone. Opening her performance will be a double Axel. After the end of last season, Gleikhengauz announced that the entire formidable trio will work on a triple Axel, and the fruits of their efforts are clearly visible. Trusova’s double Axel has become much higher and longer, but at the moment Tutberidze’s coaching staff is in no hurry to add one more turn.
Moreover, in the case of Aleksandra, this may not be necessary. In her free program, the young skater will perform no less than three quadruple jumps - solo Lutz and Toeloop, as well as another quadruple Toeloop in a cascade with a triple. At the Test Skates Trusova accurately performed all of these elements, and this alone practically guarantees her victory in tournaments of any level. In the new season, Aleksandra will have the highest technical base value in women's single skating, and if nerves and health do not let the young athlete down, it will be difficult to compete with her.
Anna Shcherbakova. Short program: soundtrack of the film "Perfume". Free: Igor Stravinsky - Firebird
Another example of the delicate work of Gleikhengauz can be seen in both programs of 15 year old Shcherbakova. We can say Anna in the new season received almost the most original performances among the entire top in Russian women's skating. And the trick with changing the colour of her dress right during her free program will definitely become one of the hits of the season.
At the same time, Shcherbakova herself, an already very “component” skater, seriously added to her skating over the summer. Amazing plasticity in her spins is still in its place, natural artistry and grace are also unanimous with her. And even her valuable quadruple Lutz has not gone away. Yes, at the Test Skates she had a fall when it was performed in her free program, but the attempt was close. By base value of the technical elements alone, Shcherbakova, of course, is slightly inferior to Trusova, but Anna will have every chance in the upcoming season to become one of the leading skaters in terms of the ratio of technical to component assessment.
Alena Kostornaya. Short program: Max Richter - Departure (Lullaby) and November. Free: Twilight movie soundtrack
The oldest of this killer trinity - 16 year old Alena Kostornaya - in the new season will be the only "senior" pupil of Tutberidze who has saved one of last year's productions. In the case of Kostornaya, we are talking about a short program which helped her win the junior final of the Grand Prix of the 2018/19 season. At the moment, it is not known what caused this decision, however, figure skating enthusiasts are unlikely to worry over this.
Kostornaya has been learning the triple Axel for a long time now, so this element is constantly expected from her. In “Luzhniki” it even seemed for a moment that she performed it in her short program, but in slow motion it is clear that the Axel was double. However, it’s “double” only nominally, and the basis for a triple there has been laid down. At the same time, Kostornaya did not complicate either her short or her free program, which under conditions of the highest level of competition can be critical.
Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva. Short program: Astor Piazzolla - Oblivion. Free: Duke Ellington - "Caravan", The Hot Sardines - jazz covers
Initially, Tuktamysheva's short program was staged under a song from the band Florence and the Machine - Drumming Song. It was for this composition that choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne, with whom Yelizaveta worked in the offseason, staged a program, but then the skater, along with her coach Alexey Mishin, decided to perform under a piece of Astor Piazzolla - Oblivion, while retaining the recognisable features of the Bourne choreography.
Tuktamysheva has ambitious plans for the upcoming season: to jump three triple Axels during her two program. One of these will be in the short program, and during the Test Skates, it obeyed her without visible effort. Then she made a mistake in the cascade, performing two single jumps, and completed the short program with a delightful triple Lutz.
In the free program, the 22 year old athlete brilliantly managed the required jumps, including two triple Axels (one of which is in a cascade with a double Toeloop). If she continues like this, Tuktamysheva will be able to compete with the young quad jump performers.
Vladislav Zhukov
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From:
https://tass.ru/sport/6868009
very interesting
