Interview with Zhenya
"Evgenia Medvedeva, two-time world figure skating champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, Olympic silver medalist, will play the role of Kitty Shtcherbatskaya in Ilya Averbukh's production of Anna Karenina. The other day she held a training session in the new Chkalov-Arena ice palace on Lotnaya Street, where she worked out the elements of the ice performance. We managed to talk with Zhenya about the new role, the transition to pair skating and about his hobby for Japan.
"By nature I am not such a flower as Kitty"
- Zhenya, do you skate in a dance duet now?
- Yes, and for me this is the first experience. According to the plot, my heroine is married to Levin, played by the skater Alexander Enbert, and I have to constantly remember that I am paired with him. To perform, I had to master the most difficult elements of pair skating: spins, jumps and even lifts. But with Sasha, I'm not afraid of anything. Even if I get scared in the air, I will catch it with one hand on the fly. As for Kitty, for me this is a very important character. She is also a seeker, and it is easy for me to understand her image, emotions. This role is in my role, and I don't have to strain too hard to get used to the character. Although personally by nature I am much more explosive than Kitty, I am not such a flower as she is.
- Do you already have experience of participating in the ice show of Averbukh?
- We have collaborated with Ilya before: in the children's play "The Wizard of Oz" I played the role of Dorothy. But there I was a single skater. Today I am very glad that I have joined such a great work. Together with me on the ice are such stars as Oksana Domnina, Roman Kostomarov, Maxim Shabalin, Alexey Yagudin.
"Not my favorite book"
- "Anna Karenina" attracts the best directors in the world. The novel has been filmed more than 30 times. And you also skated your Olympic free program in the image of Anna Karenina ...
- Initially, we staged Anna Karenina as an indicative number. The first time I skated it at a show in Japan. I felt this image well, got used to it. Everyone liked the performance so much that we decided: why not take "Karenina" for a free program to the Olympics?
- Zhenya, have you read the novel yourself?
- I read it for the first time at the age of seventeen. Before that, I watched several film adaptations. My program was based on the film with Keira Knightley. Karenina's theme - her love story, her feelings - are humanly understandable to me. But, to be honest, Karenina is still not my favorite book. The most is a collection of stories by Ray Bradbury, especially "The Martian." I read it several times, every time I find something new.
"Started learning Japanese"
- You mentioned Japan. They love you and know you well, especially after you appeared on the ice as your favorite anime character - Sailor Moon.
- I took part in the Dreams on Ice 2016 show as a guest star. And no one expected me to appear on stage as a Japanese character. The audience reacted very violently! We came up with the number spontaneously. Many people know that I am fond of Japanese anime, and I thought: why not act as Sailor Moon? It turned out interesting and funny. In Japan, I am really recognized everywhere, wherever I appear. But I can’t say that they don’t give me a pass. On the contrary, the Japanese respect your privacy. But figure skating in their country is really much more popular than in Russia.
- Do you know Japanese?
- I'm learning. I am very interested in Japanese, and when communicating with the fans I can even insert some phrases and surprise people. It is clear that this language is very difficult to learn. And the hardest part is memorizing the Japanese alphabet.
"Gonna stay afloat"
- Recently, on your Instagram, you commented on your non-inclusion in the Russian national team for the 2021/22 season. But they said that you don't finish with sports ...
- There are different situations. You can skip a season or two, then come back and achieve results. There were many such examples in the world of figure skating. Therefore, I reacted normally to the decision of the federation and do not plan to quit training. I performed at the test skates of the Russian national team last season, but after that I did not take part in the competition due to a back injury and coronavirus.
You know, I will do my best to stay afloat as long as possible. I love competition, I love this atmosphere"
Двукратный призёр Олимпийских игр тренируется в Покровском-Стрешневе Двукратная чемпионка мира по фигурному катанию и двукратный серебряный призёр Олимпиады-2018, серебряный призёр Олимпийских игр Евгения Медведева исполнит роль Кити Щербацкой в постановке Ильи Авербуха «Анна Каренина». На днях...
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