Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin

[Marta25]

I love Vlasova too, and I am with Uhh on changing Fed. It can be good or bad, both ways, but maybe better stick with Russia and just train hard and be the best is the answer.

By the way, I'm out of the loop, what happened with Y&M?

He dumped her out of nowhere and had already a new partner before breaking up with Yanowskaya. He is now skating with Popova, but I think they left Kustarova`s group a while ago. Anna is now in Svinin`s group with her new partner.

 

[Alba]

Geeeee the drama in Russian ID is endless.

 

[Abraxis12345]

The exact wording is "shall not unreasonably be denied". No clarification on what unreasonable is. Considering the reason why we have waiting periods in the first place is because a Russian skater threw a hissy fit about finishing fourth at Russian Nationals and decided to change countries and that the ISU also has statutes about denying clearance if they think a federation is trying to buy a national team, the Russian federation definitely has a chance at delaying releases.

 

[sunn1ly]

The exact wording is "shall not unreasonably be denied". No clarification on what unreasonable is. Considering the reason why we have waiting periods in the first place is because a Russian skater threw a hissy fit about finishing fourth at Russian Nationals and decided to change countries and that the ISU also has statutes about denying clearance if they think a federation is trying to buy a national team, the Russian federation definitely has a chance at delaying releases.

You didn't mention weight in a post. I am impressed. Could you please let me know your unbiased opinion on the marks and the placements at the nationals without talking anything about the whole season but just the performance at the competition. Thanks in advance.

 

[Abraxis12345]

Both I/Z and S/K were a mess and it was a toss up between both of them whose programs were less messy. You could build a snowman with the amount of flying snow I/Z generate from their step sequences. Viktoria's skating skills are the weakest of the four but she and Nikita look more like a cohesive unit, rather than Elena doing one thing and Ruslan doing another.

 

[Mattieu]

The exact wording is "shall not unreasonably be denied". No clarification on what unreasonable is. Considering the reason why we have waiting periods in the first place is because a Russian skater threw a hissy fit about finishing fourth at Russian Nationals and decided to change countries and that the ISU also has statutes about denying clearance if they think a federation is trying to buy a national team, the Russian federation definitely has a chance at delaying releases.

I think you are absolutely correct.
The ISU council put forward a proposal to remove the need for a skater to get the consent of their former federation before changing countries, but it didn't get approved, which is unusual for an ISU council proposal! I suspect that the big Federations voted against it, as it is not in their interests for skaters to have the option of changing nations with only 1 years ISU quarantine.
So in the end, nothing has really changed after the Massot, Zahorski release saga.
The wording is still suitably vague, and open to interpretation.
So the Russian Fed can say that they have invested substantially in Elena and Ruslan for many, many years.
They can argue that their numbers of top Ice Dance teams are at record lows and they simply cannot afford for teams to leave.
I suspect that the ISU would deem a 2 year quarantine period as 'reasonable' given the loss and investment!

 

[solani]

I don't think that switching countries would be wise. But they have to be super well prepared at the beginning of next season. The problem is that if Elena isn't super fit they look unbalanced physically. So either Ruslan has to gain muscle or Elena has to slim down. Best would be if both would do something to better match each other physically.
And let's hope that B/S and S/B can gain 3 spots for the Olympics, although I think they have the potential to be much better than Russian no. 3.

 

[Marta25]

People are going to call Elena fat until she retires. It`s the one go to criticism everytime something goes wrong for her. I don`t think anything was wrong with her figure the last two seasons she spent full time training with Kustarova. She and Ruslan looked very good together, IMO. Nobody knows what exactly went wrong in Novi. Some people were writing that she wasn`t motivated anymore, others were saying she was actually working very hard. Maybe she received the wrong fitness training amd she bulked up too much. It doesn`t really matter, IZ are not going to Euros, the Russian judges made sure of it. The only thing they can do now is working hard for next season and becoming so good, that they can`t be denied anymore.

 

[solani]

It's easy to criticize dancers for their weight of course. All dancers are in a difficult position regarding their weight, ice dancers are a little better of imo. People have been criticizing Tessa's weight for years but Tessa always had the advantage that Scott has a strong build. For me the problem this season was that Ruslan looked too slim compared to Elena, not that Elena isn't thin enough. I think that they have lost quite some points because of that this season. And the lifts could have looked easier. My point is - as a team they weren't as well prepared as they should have been. And they shouldn't fight for 3rd place at Nationals, they should at least fight for 2nd. I'm dissapointed that they won't got to Europeans and Worlds but at the same time I don't want them to go and place 10th or worse. They have to regroup and decide on what they want to achieve together.

 

[bramweld]

Lena will never look like Vika, Sasha or Katya, she's a different, very beautiful build. Lena reminds me of Vlasova in her day. I really wish they could work with Vlasova and Najarro next season, it could be magical. Lena looked mighty fine on the GP last season while working with KA. Whatever regimen Igor had her on did not work. Then there were the illnesses and injuries and the Bollywood FD.

Who are we kidding given the FEDs bend to appreciate everything classical. Look at how they gladly embraced Sotskova over Pogo this nationals? This was going to be a very tough sell for them, and they almost pulled it off. I agree with psusanne, they need to just continue on the path to improvement they've taken since Tallinn and really work smart for next season. IMHO, they could really pull of something lyrical either retro or modern with an edge next season.

I'm curious about everyone's possible music choices for them, for both the SD and FD.

 

[sunn1ly]

It is so hard to write posts here. I lost last night post and now my post never saw a daylight because of "uncensored word". The word was a.ss .

So the main idea is that they dont have weight problems but the design of their clothes is not done according to their body type.

Ruslan- should has to be forbidden to wear loose and long outfits. He looked great in Carmen with all the backside curves highlighted, he even looks fabulous in his practise clothes. If he has to wear coats they has to be short and tight.

Elena FD dress upper part is done totally wrong. The sleeves should be just a little bit longer. The skirt has to highlight her waist not her lower belly.
She looks fabolous in her exhibition dress like she has lost all the illusional belly from the FD. The colours are huge progress the design bold but not flattering. For exmaple last year SD dress apart from the lengh was perfect for her curves.

 

[bramweld]

It is so hard to write posts here. I lost last night post and now my post never saw a daylight because of "uncensored word". The word was a.ss .

So the main idea is that they dont have weight problems but the design of their clothes is not done according to their body type.

Ruslan- should has to be forbidden to wear loose and long outfits. He looked great in Carmen with all the backside curves highlighted, he even looks fabulous in his practise clothes. If he has to wear coats they has to be short and tight.

Elena FD dress upper part is done totally wrong. The sleeves should be just a little bit longer. The skirt has to highlight her waist not her lower belly.
She looks fabolous in her exhibition dress like she has lost all the illusional belly from the FD. The colours are huge progress the design bold but not flattering. For exmaple last year SD dress apart from the lengh was perfect for her curves.

I like they way you think. Their packaging has to be refined. Oh how I wish Anna C. hooked her up with a great designer or even Nathalie Pechalat

 

[bwayrose7]

It is so hard to write posts here. I lost last night post and now my post never saw a daylight because of "uncensored word". The word was a.ss .

So the main idea is that they dont have weight problems but the design of their clothes is not done according to their body type.

Ruslan- should has to be forbidden to wear loose and long outfits. He looked great in Carmen with all the backside curves highlighted, he even looks fabulous in his practise clothes. If he has to wear coats they has to be short and tight.

Elena FD dress upper part is done totally wrong. The sleeves should be just a little bit longer. The skirt has to highlight her waist not her lower belly.
She looks fabolous in her exhibition dress like she has lost all the illusional belly from the FD. The colours are huge progress the design bold but not flattering. For exmaple last year SD dress apart from the lengh was perfect for her curves.

I absolutely agree! I loved both their costumes from their first season, and I quite like Elena's SD dress this season as well, but they seem to poorly tailor Ruslan's costumes and Elena's don't seem to suit her in cut or in personality.

And speaking as a woman who is on the slim side by any standards, I can personally attest to the fact that clothing cut makes all the difference in the world. I'm short-waisted, so even though I'm pretty tiny, a lot of dresses make me look like I have a belly because of the way the fabric hangs wrong at my stomach/waist area. Being a girl is hard, y'all!

 

[gabriele]

It is so hard to write posts here. I lost last night post and now my post never saw a daylight because of "uncensored word". The word was a.ss .

So the main idea is that they dont have weight problems but the design of their clothes is not done according to their body type.

Ruslan- should has to be forbidden to wear loose and long outfits. He looked great in Carmen with all the backside curves highlighted, he even looks fabulous in his practise clothes. If he has to wear coats they has to be short and tight.

Elena FD dress upper part is done totally wrong. The sleeves should be just a little bit longer. The skirt has to highlight her waist not her lower belly.
She looks fabolous in her exhibition dress like she has lost all the illusional belly from the FD. The colours are huge progress the design bold but not flattering. For exmaple last year SD dress apart from the lengh was perfect for her curves.

The traditional Bollywood style outfit bares the midriff, like the one Meryl Davis wore or Tatiana Volosozhar last season. That's how it should be designed in keeping with the style. It will show a well-toned abdomen of these professional athletes who are in top shape. That's all I'm going to say.

 

[bramweld]

The traditional Bollywood style outfit bares the midriff, like the one Meryl Davis wore or Tatiana Volosozhar last season. That's how it should be designed in keeping with the style. It will show a well-toned abdomen of these professional athletes who are in top shape. That's all I'm going to say.

Puhlease, even at her smallest, Meryl or Tatiana, Lena is not. But suffice it to say if Ruslan has such a challenge keeping up with the "fat" girl, imagine how his dilema will change when she gets more swifty. People, Lena is just warming Ruslan up for the Hunger Games which are the olympic season. He's gonna be coming to practice thinking, she just might completely whip me today:scard8: Give this whole weight thing a rest. Basta!! If you need a fix just start a fat shaming thread elsewhere, you can call it "The Sk8trs We're Worried About " thread.

 

[bramweld]

I'm thinking of an Edith Piaf medley for them as a FD, La Foule and La Vie En Rose maybe. Considering their connection on ice and skills they could really pull it off. They seemed to put together their EX pretty quick as well, so I think they need to play a more active role in their choreo.

 

[Marta25]

I'm thinking of an Edith Piaf medley for them as a FD, La Foule and La Vie En Rose maybe. Considering their connection on ice and skills they could really pull it off. They seemed to put together their EX pretty quick as well, so I think they need to play a more active role in their choreo.

I think an Edith Piaf FD could be good for a not Olympic year, but they need something epic for the Olympics like their Carmen Short Dance.

 

[Barb]

why not Carmen again but like FD? they have nothing to lose.

 

[lennicky]

I also think that they should use a more classic and slow song in the next season FD. I will propose two songs that would be good options (in my opinion)
- Fruit tree by Nick Drake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQHXY4zqG3o (it has such beautiful string arrangements)
- Blu cobalto by Negramaro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUlkO9Mxmqw (to my mind, it is so suitable for dancing. In fact, two contestants from a Spanish dance TV contest used it for a choreo some years ago. This was the choreo :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMR7xuIXv2s and I can imagine Ruslena doing something similar)

 

[bramweld]

why not Carmen again but like FD? they have nothing to lose.

Yeah, nothing like their self respect and dignity. V/M just did this as well as C/L. Nah too overused.

They could do a Frank Sinatra and James Bond mash-up. They shouldn't just do slow, they need to show off their range the way they did in their EX.