Italian skating/skaters news

[pingu]

At Thornhill I had the chance to meet Paul Parkinson, and the next week we did an interview via email...even if he wrote in engish, I had to translate a few sentences from the italian article, so please let me know if I've done any mistake

http://www.artonice.it/?q=en/node/10525

[quiqie]

http://sport.ria.ru/interview_sport/...552398223.html

Interview with Carolina Kostner: To play Carmen on ice is a challenge for me

Last Saturday, Italian figure skater Carolina Kostner became European champion for the fourth time in her career. She hasn't won Olympic Games or world championships, but has long been considered the embodiment of artistry in figure skating. "When she is out on the ice, it's like she talks to you," - these words of one of the Russian coaches very clearly reflect the essence of Carolina's skating. Andrey Simonenko, R-Sport agency correspondent, had a little off-ice chat with four-times European champion.

- Carolina, for some reason it seems to me that this victory for you was the most emotional out of all four ...

- Perhaps it's true. You know, now, when I go to competitions, I think, maybe next year I won't be here. I've been skating in championships for so long - these European championships for me are tenth in a row. And I think for me it is not only a great achievement, but also a honor and responsibility. You know why, a week ago, one journalist told me: do you know that you are now on the same list as Irina Slutskaya and Katarina Witt? No one else has achieved it. And these athletes have always been idols for me. And I thought, wow, maybe now I'm someone else's idol, too. An idol cannot go out and skate badly. Must meet their idol status. These are my thoughts right now.

- I've been wanting to ask you for many months, how did you get an idea to make your short program to Shostakovich music? What is this strange choice?

- My choreographer Lori Nichol sent me the music via e-mail and said, just listen, this is something unusual. I listened, and at first I thought, it was awful. These sounds (pictures): "wiiiiii, wiiiii" ... But then I scratched my head and thought, well, I don't know, Lori couldn't send it to me just like that, there must be something to it. I listened to the melody again, and again, and again, and I thought: if Lori and I make a program to this music, it will, at least, be interesting. And I told her: let's try and see how it works out. I generally like to try interesting things. Well, I came to her on the ice, we played this music, and suddenly a bunch of little girls, who were there at that moment, started to dance. We laughed, looking at that - and said to each other: yes!

- What kind of music is easier to skate to: when you have a certain role on the ice, like in 'Carmen", or some abstract piece of music, like Shostakovich?

- For me the main thing is for the music to not be too well known in skating. For this reason, for example, a couple of years ago I skated to "Riders On The Storm" by The Doors. I like to discover something new, not only for audience but also for myself. I would like someday to make a program to "Carmen". But I don't feel ready for it yet.

- But you performed to two very well-known arias from "Tosca" and "Carmen" at the show "Opera on Ice" recently. Which one, by the way, did you like more?

- Actually, I liked them both. They are so different. I think I looked more natural in "Tosca," because I'm so not Carmen. I'm not like the heroine of the opera (laughs). I think you understand what I'm talking about. And for me, it isn't easy to play Carmen - even on the ice, for the two minutes that the program lasts. I would call it a challenge. But you probably know, Stephane Lambiel was the choreographer of this program, and when we were working on it, he went all out - started waving his arms, saying you should do so, this position (shown), then this one. I covered my face with my hands and said, okay, well, I'll try ...

- Are you going to make any other program with Lambiel?

- We didn't plan anything else so far. But I think he's a very good choreographer, he has a great talent for that. In general, Stephane has a very artistic nature, I think he has taste for art. I'm sure he will make a lot of outstanding programs in the future.

- Carolina, now in Russia there is a boom in women's singles figure skating, yet in junior. There is a large number of talented young skaters. What do you think about Adelina Sotnikova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva?

- I like them very much. Sometimes, by the way, when I look at them, I remember myself at their age. I think: wow, I will soon be twenty-five, and it feels like I was fifteen just yesterday...

- When I look at Sotnikova, I also remember you at 15.

- It's true, Adelina looks like me when I was younger. And Polina Korobeinikova, too. But you know, I'm not implying anything, they are already very good skaters, but to become great champions, they still have so much to go through... I was there, too, ten years ago, when I just entered the international circuit, I had no idea what it would be like... There were so many things to adjust, to adapt to. Somehow I remember a saying: the road of life is never straight forward. When I was younger, I thought that I could be a superhero, do anything. But then my life has proved many times that I'm not a superhero. And eventually I came to the conclusion that you just have to do what you can. Do not fly in the clouds, but stay on the ground. And to fight, fight all the time.

- What do you think about your future rivalry with the young Russian skaters in European and world championships?

- I want to compete with them, of course. But I will be honest: this rivalry doesn't have any special meaning to me because they are like me. They are my competitors just like everyone else.

[Ozzisk8tr]

Regarding the above post. I love Carolina's candour and diplomacy. What a very classy interview. Thanks so much for posting.

[IceIceBaby]

Any new of Anna & Luca and how they are feeling after the Europeans?

[Sylvia]

http://sport.ria.ru/interview_sport/...552398223.html

Interview with Carolina Kostner: To play Carmen on ice is a challenge for me

Thanks for the interview translation and for posting it as a separate thread in GSD so more fans could read it!

New interview with Stefania Berton and Ondrej Hotarek: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news

Icenetwork.com: Will you change something in your programs for the World Championships?

S. Berton: The most important thing we are going to change is our twist that will be triple. Then we'll think about improving our interpretation and [gliding] on the ice.

O. Hotarek: At first, we are going to leave our problems behind, and we want make the best out of our preparation. No big changes for the programs.

Icenetwork.com: Tell us, please, about your training plans for the World Championships?

S. Berton/O. Hotarek: We'll start from recovering from our illnesses. Then we'll go to practice in Detroit for some weeks to work with Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova and Jason, but then we'll go back home to finish our preparation.

[love_skate2011]

any news of Italy's junior worlds representatives ?

[pingu]

Thanks! I didn't know that icenetwork had done an interview with them.
They are one of my favourite pairs now (and not because they are italian), I love that they put a lot of effort into interpreting their programs

[0July0]

any news of Italy's junior worlds representatives ?

Men: Maurizio Zandron
Ladies: Carol Bressanutti
Pairs: Cernuschi/Ambrosini - Manacorda/Macii
Dance: Sforza/Fioretti

[jiggs]

It was Carolina's 25th birthday yesterday. I hope she had a great day!

[pingu]

Yesterday Alessandro De Leonardis died:
http://www.ghiacciofilia.it/il-mondo...-de-leonardis/

[...]Born in 1969, De Leonardis was an ex-ice dancer, a doctor, artistic director and organizer of figure skating shows. The summer tours of Stars On Ice, which brought in the main touristic mountain areas international and Italian champion of our sport, were unforgettable. Alessandro revealed to the public many figure skating secrets, also through his participation in the tv program Nights On The Ice.
He had recently moved to Sweden, where he obtained a prestigious position as Medical Director of the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim for nordic countries.[...]

He was riding a motorbike in Spain on a circuit, he fell off and the riders behind ran over him. It was the last time he was riding his motorbike, as he was going to sell it. His girlfriend is pregnant

I have never had the pleasure to talk with him but I have been to several gala practices in Italy and I remember how he was patiently trying to teach to the skaters the finale and beginning of the show, even if they just wanted to chat
I feel lucky that I was able to watch so many shows in Italy, I started to watch figure skating at the Torino Olympics but it was after watching live one of his shows the following Fall that I decided to watch all the competitions, and two years later I started working with ArtOnIce doing interviews in a show organised by him.
Figure skating is a small world, and we are a small country in this world, he will be missed by a lot of people

This is his facebook page, if you want to write something there or on his girlfriend's page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php...490067&sk=wall

[julieann]

^ How terribly sad, my heart goes out to his fiancé

[eleonorad]

He is very well know for skating tours that he organized all over the italian alps each summer, where a lot of people go on vacation and there's nothing really interesting to do, so..his shows were always sold-out and people appreciated it very much.

I think that the very first time I watched elite skaters live was in one of his shows in 2005 in the rink I used to skate at, in which there is a very small skating club and nothing really happens, just some very minor competitions.

The year after or the same year, Savchenko/Szolkowy were in that show too, besides Barbara and Maurizio who skated often with him.

So he really did a great job bringing elite figure skating where it was totally unknown and therefore promoting skating all over Italy. I believe he also managed to do a show in Sicily.

Rest in peace, Alessandro

http://www.artonice.it/?q=it/node/11910

[Sylvia]

Luca Dematté has listed himself on icepartnersearch.com (12th at 2012 Europeans with Carolina Gillespie).

[pingu]

Luca Dematté has listed himself on icepartnersearch.com (12th at 2012 Europeans with Carolina Gillespie).

Thanks for the info! He's also focusing on university now (economics or something like that)

[pingu]

http://www.goldenskate.com/2012/04/i...k-gain-ground/
A very nice interview with Berton/Hotarek on goldenskate

[pingu]

http://www.artonice.it/?q=en/node/11993
article about Gillespie/Dematté's split, with their comments

[pingu]

Yesterday evening I went to a charity gala held in Milan for the World Food Program. Here you can find a list of the cast.
Berton/Hotarek skated to "I had the time of my life", and every step was exactly the same as the one in the movie Cappellini/Lanotte skated to their tango exhibition. It was the first time I had seen it live and I loved it, they can really portray the tango feeling on the ice. Valentina Marchei skated to "Someone like you", wearing a sparkling black dress, and the Hot Shivers on "Va' pensiero", the number they performed at Opera On Ice last year. It's a breathtaking exhibition.
Uhm that's all I can remember about the exhibitions.
There were a few funny moments during the show, especially during the closing number. There were lots of kids skating for the skating clubs of Milan, and Ondrej told them to skate around and wave at the crowd, they looked thrilled It reminded me of this
After that, they all crowded around Ondrej and a little girl asked him if she could touch his biceps, and the other kids wanted to do that as well. There were like thirty kids his arm
It has been a nice gala, I usually prefer the smaller shows because you can enjoy the atmosphere and talking with the skaters afterwards. They all looked relaxed and happy.

I am also writing this post because artonice is organizing an interview with all the italian skaters, so if any of you has a question for them, you can send me a pm or just post it here.

[npavel]

thank you

[pingu]

thank you

You're welcome

Since the Grand Prix assignment are out, I thought I'd make a list of the Italian skaters who will participate:

Men:
Samuel Contesti (China/France)

Ladies:
Carolina Kostner (China/France)
Valentina Marchei (USA/Russia)

Pairs:
Berton/Hotarek (Canada/France)

Ice Dance:
Cappellini/Lanotte (Canada/France)
Alessandrini/Vaturi (USA)
Guignard/Fabbri (China)

Saturday Stefania told me she had ever been in Paris and was hoping to get assigned to TEB

[npavel]

France is definitively the place to go, but I don't think I'll manage it.
Euros is still more important and I think I'll be there