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The most subjective form of figure skating is trying to develop in Russia under conditions of isolation. Two-time world champion Maxim Stavisky told in an interview with Sport how the legendary Natalya Linichuk wants to bring back the Soviet era to ice dancing, but not everyone can work with her, how much we need North American competitors and why the departure of Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin to Montreal could be a mistake .
“Linichuk needs subordinates”
— As far as I heard, this off-season you managed to work with Natalya Linichuk in Plushenko's Angels as a full-time employee.– Yes. We worked with Albena (Denkova – Stavisky’s wife and partner – editor’s note). I mostly rode, but I had to skip some training sessions, since my wife and I continue to skate in Ilya Averbukh’s shows. We worked for two weeks. It is clear that now Natalya Vladimirovna is going through a period of formation in a new place, it is always unpleasant.
She has a lot of responsibilities – managing time, monitoring coaches and choreographers, understanding their competence. It's complicated. Especially for those who do not yet have an established team and the phone numbers of all the necessary coaches. Anzhelika Krylova, for example, has four people on the ice, besides herself.
Albena and I still find it difficult to adapt to permanent coaching work, because it takes you completely away. Well, we were counting on a more partnership-like relationship with Natalya Vladimirovna, but she needs more, so to speak, subordinates. It’s okay, we parted calmly.
— You yourself trained with Linichuk.
“That’s why Albena and I were so interested in working with her.” In principle, we have found a common language on many issues, but there are disagreements, and this is inevitable. They ultimately led to the fact that now, at least, we will not work together.
— You said that Natalya Vladimirovna wants to revive Soviet figure skating in Russia skating. What is it?
— In my opinion, at the time when Natalya Vladimirovna was still coaching in Moscow, a lot of time was spent working on technique, gliding, and correct execution of elements. Base. Even running steps. At that time, every athlete knew the characteristics of each element, because we worked on them a lot.
But since then, when the “obligation” in dancing and among single skaters has faded away, there has been a tendency to just skate and run on the ice. The equipment began to wear out. Therefore, I took her words about the revival of Soviet figure skating exactly like that – that you need to first build a strong base, technique, and only then layer choreography and other elements.
On the one hand, I can support this approach. On the other hand, I remember how Torvill/Dean returned. And when they lost (at the 1994 Olympic Games they took third place, losing to the Russian duos Oksana Grischuk/Evgeniy Platov and Maya Usova/Alexander Zhulin – editor's note), with which many did not agree, one of the judges said the following thing: “If we put Torvill/Dean in first place, it would mean that in ten years figure skating has not progressed at all.”
You can also disagree with these words, because Jane and Christopher are wild hard workers; during the ten years that they were not in amateur sports, they plowed. Well, they definitely weren’t sitting on the couch. But if you look at this situation in a vacuum, you can understand that judge. Therefore, words about the revival of Soviet figure skating in our time can be perceived as a step back. Everything is very twofold.
—I often came across videos from the training sessions of Plushenko’s Angels, where Linichuk teaches using various exercises children slide. Even single skaters. This is all within the framework of the idea of reviving Soviet figure skating, as I understand it?
– Certainly. Natalya Vladimirovna has her own approach in this regard, but the idea itself is certainly correct – first you need a base.
– It turns out that there is no base in ice dancing now?
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This, by the way, is about how we can compete with Chock/Bates and Gilles/Poirier. That’s how to compete – it’s normal to do the base. The Canadians do not have such “proser” steps, as if taken. Chock/Bates has a lot more of these. When reviewing their performances from the World Championships, you can find a huge number of mistakes in terms of technique and base.
“You need a competitor who is breathing down your ass”
— Same mistakes is there in our dances?
– In everyone, including ours too. However, I do not agree that we are so far behind North America. I looked at our young guys – Khavronin/Narizhny, Leontiev/Gorelkin and so on. They all skate and don’t give up. They are looking for some interesting transitions. Leontyeva/Gorelkin also perform in Averbukh’s show, I noticed them there, but at competitions they are more serious – they have a certain claim to choreography, they experiment with music.
But you definitely need a sparring partner. This is not something so abstract – it is very important to have a competitor who is breathing down your ass. And if we talk about competition with North America, then until we go out, relatively speaking, twice a month to compete with them, there will be degradation. Both for us and for them – in the context of the fight against us.
I am sure that if Stepanova/Bukin had entered the World Championships with Chock/Bates and Gilles/Poirier, they would have been even better skated. This is a different responsibility, different responsibilities.
— Alexandra and Ivan were already leaving. And with Chock/Bates, and with Gilles/Poirier.
— Yes, but then Sinitsina/Katsalapov were still skating . Sasha and Vanya were the second couple, it’s difficult to fight here. And now they are alone, in every sense. It seems to me that they should have been allowed to somehow compete in the team tournament at the Beijing Olympics so that they would already have this title. And so – it’s insulting to them, and it’s insulting for them…
Now, after moving to Zhulin, Sasha has some kind of inner peace. I watch their performances and don’t see that they are any worse than Chock/Bates or the Canadians. They do microelements no worse, sit on their feet, and roll around widely. These are only cross-country racers, but if they were competing now at the international level, perhaps they wouldn’t swallow these cross-country racers.
— But are Stepanova/Bukin really now entering, conditionally, the World Championships? and immediately begin to fight for the top 3?
— Why not?
— Who should we beat there? Chock/Bates? They are two-time world champions.
— Theoretically, they can too. Based on what I see from both, I can assume that they can compete on equal terms purely in terms of skating. Another question is that while we were sitting at home all the time, Chock/Bates accumulated such a rating for themselves that it’s difficult to even get close to it. Here the federations should get involved in the work. Although now the situation is such that our federation will probably not be considered anything. They cut everything off for us…
— Do our couples have chips now?
– It seems to me that Vika and Nikita had one. Nikita is generally a very gifted person by nature. This caught my eye a long time ago, when I worked for Zhulin, and Nikita himself was still skating with the Ilyins. You tell him to do some kind of exercise, he goes into it – and falls backwards from the element. And he doesn’t even need to say anything at this moment, he will understand everything himself. He gets up, shakes his head for about 30 seconds, gets indignant, then comes in again and does everything right. He intuitively understood all these things. Vika, when she paired up with him, was noticeably behind, this is no secret. But she is such a hard worker that at some moments the opinion arose that she even rolled over Nikita.
For them, this point from which it all began, and the feature also became the free tango dance. That's when they became a real couple and went in perfect harmony. From that moment on, they merged into one and maintained it.
Vanya and Sasha, due to the fact that they were always the second couple, tried to find this trick every year. They experimented a lot and were constantly looking for something. Personally, I think they are like Romeo and Juliet. Bright people, bright images. If you put some kind of devilish stuff on them, it won’t work. They dissolve in each other, and Sasha in these images is so tender and airy.
Everyone else, I think, is in search of their own style. In my opinion, of the four of our “new bloc” the leaders are Khavronina/Narizhny. David is a little narcissistic, he enjoys himself. Their roll is a little different, they ride better.
— For dancing, it seems to me that narcissism is rather a plus.
— To some extent, yes, I can agree. If you take my favorites Virtue/Moira, then Scott is a unique narcissist, and this helped them. And Guillaume Cizeron loves himself, it’s noticeable. I remember when Albena and I just came to train with Linichuk, she said the following phrase: “If you don’t feel like champions in training, you will never become one in competitions.” It's the same with skating. If you want to make an impression, you must love yourself and your body. Look at yourself in the mirror once again, check if the position is normal. In dancing, this is all a plus.
“A new participant in our terrarium”
—Linichuk’s return to Russia was greeted unfriendly.
– Certainly. There is a new member in our terrarium – who will like it? In Moscow, spheres of influence are already divided, everyone has their own schools, their own coaches and students. And since she has her own team, it means that someone from someone else must come to her. Naturally, no one will kiss your gums after this. No, well, of course, it will be in public, but on the sidelines no one needs this new character in the fight. Especially someone like Linichuk.
—Won’t they eat her?
“I think many people can’t handle such a nut.” Natalya Vladimirovna has such a character that it is difficult to bite her. Right now it’s hard to say what will come of it. When her pairs go to test skates, then we will be able to evaluate whether she managed to revive Soviet figure skating and whether it was worth returning to Russia at all. In my opinion, it was worth it in any case, but we’ll see.
— How do you like the Shinkarenko/Angelopol pairing? Are there any prospects?
—They work soul to soul. Sasha, of course, needs to seriously improve his skating level.
— Is this possible in principle?
— The example of Vika and Nikita shows that yes, more than that. But now we need to give them time.
— Many were worried that Sasha and Valera would not suit each other in height.
“They really don’t have a very big difference in height, but at the time when I was still skating, it was optimal. Because it’s much more convenient to skate in this position than when you have a difference, like with greenhouses.
Now, of course, the standards for lifts are slightly different, so it’s more convenient when the partner is smaller. But Valera goes to work out and pumps herself up. Plus there must be technology, and Valera must master it. Sasha is not fat, and she should have enough incentive to get in shape for the season. Well, Linichuk really knows how to sum up the season very well.
— What do you think about the two main couples of Angelika Krylova – Vasilisa Kaganovskaya/Maxim Nekrasov and Elizaveta Pasechnik/Dario Chirisano? As I understand it, you work with them quite often now.
— I saw Kaganovskaya and Nekrasov at Averbukh’s show, I immediately liked them. He's healthy, he spins it any way he wants. Here it is also worth paying tribute to Angela – she offers a countless number of support calls, is in constant search.
Well, the guys had a huge influence on the fact that they work with Alexey Gorshkov too, because Vasya started drive. When she skated with Valera, there were many complaints that she glides poorly and does not reach him. Here she began to match Max, which is Gorshkov’s great merit. He rolled it out.
—Who exactly do Vasilisa and Maxim train with?
— As far as I understand, Maxim is registered with Gorshkov, and Vasilisa is with Krylova. Both coaches take them to the side. That is, it is like a collective creativity. Alexey gives the guys techniques, and Anzhelika gives programs. I believe that such cooperation has a positive effect on the guys. And Vasilisa only benefited from the change of partner, that’s for sure. And Russian ice dancing also benefits from this. She still needed a healthier partner. When they first became a couple, he drove her so hard that her eyes were already bulging.
In a word, a very good couple has formed, they have already gotten along. And their programs at this stage are very successful. There were thoughts that they would remake the Russian Challenge production into a free dance for the next season, but in the end they decided to stage everything new. They will compete at the highest level. Khudaiberdieva, Bazin, and even Bukin will add to the troubles.
— I remembered Lisa as a partner for a very long time. She skates great and has a presence on the ice. Once I came to Angela for training, she said: “Look, Lisa and Dario are doing a rhythm dance now.” I looked – and somehow everything was delicious, wide. And they feel each other great. True, they have their own difficulties, they must be dealt with. And improve your health. I think everything is real. Lisa rides on low legs, Dario is generally a great partner. The only thing is that they are also tall, this may affect the lifts, but in terms of skating they are doing great. The couple could turn out to be very good.
Davis and Smolkin… It's a pity. I would like them to skate for Russia too.
— In general, you often said that you like them. What exactly?
— When they performed a rhythm dance during the Olympic season, I watched them at work. I really liked their approach. How they interact with the coach and each other. They are such a family unit on the ice – both within the couple and at work.
They try their best to do what the coaches tell them. They are very working. And in principle they skate well. I think they have good prospects. I don’t know about direct heights, but there will be chances.
— Will the move to the Montreal Academy benefit them?
– Hard to tell. Everyone has already gathered in Montreal. No, Dubreuil and Lauzon are great, of course, although for some reason everyone here forgets about Romain Agenauer. He did Dubreuil/Lozona when they were still dancing, and now he runs the think tank at the academy.
They attract attention, people come to them. But maybe this is because there are no others left? Shpilband seems to be tired of all this, and Zueva, perhaps, too. Linichuk left for Russia… But I can say that Razgulyaev and Kilyakov are excellent coaches and technicians. And for me, the move of Davis/Smolkin to Montreal is probably a mistake. I don’t rule out that it would be better if they were Kilyakov’s only pair than the tenth in Montreal. But time will tell.
— And was it even worth leaving Shpilband, if that’s the case…
— As far as I know, there were certain dissatisfaction. I won’t speak for them, but this particular departure was just overdue. At some point, so to speak, menstruation arrived.
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