Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze uber thread

[Vash01]

(This thread is inspired by Lulu's link to their 'Barcelona' exhibition' in the V&V thread)

I miss them so much. I have practically all of their performances on tape.

Here are some of them from youtube.

Barcelona Ex (posted by Lulu)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AB1i...ature=youtu.be

Barcelona Ex at Goodwill games (1998)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PGqI...=results_video

1999 COI (Impossible dream)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3udRlrt8I7k

2002 Oly SP (Lady Caliph)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB2lyUWrEcE

1998 GPF SP (Swan Lake)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49UJxZLtUYM

1998 GPF LP (Dark Eyes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUsVK_sbA5M

2001 COR LP (Citylights)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLpXj6PD9HE

1999 Worlds SP (Happy Valley)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qzy7VRWwE4

1999 Ex (Let me be your wings)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6VUULbSaKo

2001 worlds SP (Meadowland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3mFOfy_J-Q

2002 Olympics LP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_VDRBCOslo

Color of the night (Pro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7udaGeUjVk

Let me fall (Pro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX-MLnVQMzo



Carry on.

[lulu]

Thanks for the thread Vash. I copied my comments from the V&V thread:

I love to gush about B&S too. I so wish I could have seen B&S skate live. : I still think Anton S. had the best spiral of probably any male pair skater-such great extension.
I always wondered how a hypothetical match up between G&G and B&S would have played out. Both teams had excellen basic skating skills. I think B&S had better transitions and choreography and did sbs triple jumps, compared to G&G's double jumps, but G&G were more consistent overall.

ETA: Their Lady Caliph SP, City Lights & Meditation LPs are my favorite B&S programs. I think in terms of sheer talent B&S were probably the greatest pair team in the sport-JMVHO, YMMV. As with Mishkutenok & Dmitriev, B&S had great versatility as performers.

[Whitneyskates]

Their Lady Caliph sp is my favorite pairs sp of all time.

[lulu]

Their Lady Caliph sp is my favorite pairs sp of all time.

Igor Borbin & Tamara Moskvina choreographed that routine. Borbin also helped choreograph City Lights and Meditation.

[shan]

I loved this 98 Europeans SP performance of Swan Lake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJCGGBmCmf0

[Katarzyna]

Vash01 - thank you so much for starting this thread and the video links. I too looooove B/S and I consider myself very lucky, cause I was blessed that I could watch them live a couple of times even though they then already retired from eligible competitions. Still they were magical!

[Grannyfan]

I love this pair and miss them so much. I was fortunate enough to see them skate at the GPF in Kitchener prior to the 2002 Olympics. Those were the days when skaters did two long programs, so we got to see the City Lights program as well as the brand new Meditation. I loved the costumes they wore for it; a sort of light salmon color and very, very simple. As far as I know, they never wore them again. I saw them a couple of times in Stars on Ice as well. Loved their Kalinka and Let Me Fall programs.

In my opinion, they're the most beautiful skaters ever. Today's pairs, even the best ones, seem so sloppy by comparison.

[Vash01]

I love this pair and miss them so much. I was fortunate enough to see them skate at the GPF in Kitchener prior to the 2002 Olympics. Those were the days when skaters did two long programs, so we got to see the City Lights program as well as the brand new Meditation. I loved the costumes they wore for it; a sort of light salmon color and very, very simple. As far as I know, they never wore them again. I saw them a couple of times in Stars on Ice as well. Loved their Kalinka and Let Me Fall programs.

In my opinion, they're the most beautiful skaters ever. Today's pairs, even the best ones, seem so sloppy by comparison.

Here is their SP at the 2002 GPF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB73WdJcsQQ

and the debut of Meditation. They had one major mistake, so they could not win, but you already see the potential of this program.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NGOODNMbkE

[Vash01]

I went over my records to see how many times I saw them skate live- Thirteen times! I am so lucky.

1998 COI - Barcelona
1999 COI- Impossible dream
2000 COI- Smooth
2001 worlds- Citylights LP
2001 COI- The kid
2002 Oly- Lady Caliph SP
2002 Oly- Meditation LP
2002 Sun Valley- The kid and Meditation
2002 SOI- Elvis & Marilyn
2003(?) Valentine's day in Tucson - Elvis & Marilyn and Meditation
2004(?) SOI- Let me fall
2005(?) SOI- If I could
2006(?)SOI- You are so beautiful (it was the last time I saw them skate live)

[Cloudy_Gumdrops]

Gods I love them. I think they're the most amazing pair ever (both they and M&D are better than G&G imo) and I can't imagine them ever being surpassed as my faves.

Lady Caliph is amazing, but I preferred Meadowland as far as their short programs go. Valse Sentimentale is my favorite pairs LP ever.

I really miss them. And I think Moskvina does too. I'm convinced that the programs she creates for K&S are envisioned with Elena & Anton in mind. That's how I explain away the fact that those programs never fit the type of skaters K&S are.

[lulu]

Vash, How wonderful for you. What is your favorite B&S performance out of the ones you've seen live?

[Vash01]

Vash, How wonderful for you. What is your favorite B&S performance out of the ones you've seen live?

This is practically impossible to answer.

Lady Caliph is the best pairs SP ever IMO, and I was so thrilled for them, but I was very nervous also. I was both happy and relieved when they finished. I was able to enjoy the skate more when I watched it on tape later.

I think I really enjoyed 'Impossible dream' with COI, and 'Meditation' at the Valentine's day show.

One performance will always stand in my memory as totally mesmerizing, and that is (surprise!)- 'If I could' with SOI. As I recall, the whole arena was quiet during their skate, and it was so beautiful. I felt like I was on another plane. It was awesome.

[judgejudy27]

They are probably my favorite pair team ever. Their effortless and yet enormous speed and flow over the ice, their understated elegance, their big technical elements, their gorgeous positions and lines, their ability to interpret different types of music so beautifully.

[Vash01]

A few quotes about them:

"The elegance of this pair is mind boggling"- Dick Button (at 2002 GPF)

"They both are magnificent skaters"- Dorothy Hamill (at 1998 GPF)

"I never thought I would see a pair that skates as fast as Rodnina-Zaitsev, but these two do"- Peter Carruthers at a 1997-1998 GP (I think it was the one in Germany)

(about their death spiral into another move at 2001 COR)- "This shows mastery over the blade"- Suzie Wynn

[judgejudy27]

A few quotes about them:

"The elegance of this pair is mind boggling"- Dick Button (at 2002 GPF)

"They both are magnificent skaters"- Dorothy Hamill (at 1998 GPF)

"I never thought I would see a pair that skates as fast as Rodnina-Zaitsev, but these two do"- Peter Carruthers at a 1997-1998 GP (I think it was the one in Germany)

(about their death spiral into another move at 2001 COR)- "This shows mastery over the blade"- Suzie Wynn

The amazing thing is they were as fast or I dare say even faster than Rodnina & Zaitsev, but they did it with such effortless, they barely had to push to gain the speed, and with soft and lyrical edges. Gordeeva & Grinkov were similar in their effortlessless in still garnering huge speed but they were not quite as fast as B&S (or the very agressive R&Z).

[Whitneyskates]

They were an exquisite pair on the ice. I always loved how they were able to seamlessly combine elegance and rifinement with power and athleticism. I also thought they were a very balanced pair. One didn't outshine the other, he presented her beautifly, but they were equals in terms of presence on the ice.

[Vash01]

In 1999-2000 they really struggled with their Radetzky March SP. I loved that SP when performed clean. It showcases their speed, power and innovative moves. Here is a clean performance of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qaz4...yer_detailpage

[Katarzyna]

One performance will always stand in my memory as totally mesmerizing, and that is (surprise!)- 'If I could' with SOI. As I recall, the whole arena was quiet during their skate, and it was so beautiful. I felt like I was on another plane. It was awesome.

They belonged to the very few extraordninary special skaters who not only skated great programmes in view of technique and artistry, but they also managed to create a special atmosphere which stays with you even if you saw them skating years ago, but once you just hear the music of one of their programmes e.g. on Radio or TV you get that special feeling again.

[judgejudy27]

In 1999-2000 they really struggled with their Radetzky March SP. I loved that SP when performed clean. It showcases their speed, power and innovative moves. Here is a clean performance of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qaz4...yer_detailpage

I think this was the season they really began to branch out their artistic styles alot more, and wanting to experiment with new themes. Their programs the first 3 seasons while all beautiful, and somewhat unique from one another, all had essentialy the same style of skating. I think alot of that as Moskinva's plan for the early years until they got their consistency down being a relatively new pair still. They really began to challenge themselves more with their 2000 programs, especialy their short program, and continued to evolve from there, especialy with their Chaplin program. The choreography of that short program was so unbelievably intricate, and I think that coupled with some of their off ice problems was why they struggled with consistency with it early on, but they finally skated it cleanly at that years GP final and it was great.

[blancanieves]

They were an exquisite pair on the ice. I always loved how they were able to seamlessly combine elegance and rifinement with power and athleticism. I also thought they were a very balanced pair. One didn't outshine the other, he presented her beautifly, but they were equals in terms of presence on the ice.

Yes. I have to say though, it takes a pretty special male partner to be able to garner as much attention as the female in the team. The nature of the leader/follower relationship tends to emphasize the woman's role. Anton was quite a spectacular partner.