IN: Natalia Mishkuitonok interview

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Wow, Natalia IS GORGEOUSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! Always wondered what she looks like now.

Is it me or does she now also resemble Gordeeva now?????

The pairs teams of M&D and B&E in the very early 90s was a magical time.....

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2015...utenok-proud-to-be-inducted-into-hall-of-fame

 

[Loves_Shizuka]

One half of my favourite pairs team of all time

And yes she does look good.

 

[Sylvia]

I notice that Natalia spells (transliterates) her and her daughter's last name as "Mishkutionok" while "Mishkutenok" seems to be used by many publications like IN. Article excerpt:

Mishkutenok's daughter, Natasha, 9, is a competitive skater. Occasionally, she expresses an interest in pairs skating, but her mother would prefer she sticks to singles.

"I think she would like to do pairs because she's not afraid of things, but I don't know if I want her to do it," Mishkutenok said.

Young Natasha competed recently in a club competition in Kansas and her proud mother shared her videos:
Juvenile Girls SP (1st place): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQMhFELnO8g
Juvenile Girls Championship FS (4th place): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIUTsAVAQo

 

[Xela M]

She looks amazing! Who is fat now, Mr Dmitriev?!

 

[Spun Silver]

Does anyone know which skaters are training with her?

 

[Aussie Willy]

Thanks for posting this. Nice article.

 

[Vash01]

Wow, Natalia IS GORGEOUSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! Always wondered what she looks like now.

Is it me or does she now also resemble Gordeeva now?????

The pairs teams of M&D and B&I in the very early 90s was a magical time.....

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2015...utenok-proud-to-be-inducted-into-hall-of-fame

Did you mean B&E (Brasseur & Eisler) or B&P (Bechke and Petrov) when you wrote B&I?

M&D were a legendary pair, among the great pairs of the past.

Sorry but I wouldn't put B&E in the same league as M&D. I found them reather crude in some of their programs.

In any case, Natasha's daughter looks a lot like her mom. I remember seeing her vid in one of the M&D threads. IMO Natalia (mom) should just let her daughter do what interests the daughter. There will be obvious comparisons with M&D and there is more danger in pairs skating, but if that's what the girl wants, that's what she should go for. Anyway, she is only 9. She may change her mind.

 

[Sylvia]

Natalia M. was featured in an Inside Edge blog on IN back in April 2012:
Relevant excerpt about her coaching career at the time:

We had a short telephone chat recently with another former pairs skater, 1992 Olympic champion Natalia Mishkutenok. She has lived in Texas since 2003, after spending eight years in Colorado.

"I moved because the one rink was open, with three ice surfaces, one Olympic size," she said.

Mishkutenok has a 6-year-old daughter, Natasha, who is a skater. (She competed last weekend, the proud mother told us). In addition to her daughter, Mishkutenok is coaching a big stable of young skaters, including 2011 U.S. junior pewter medalist Steven Evans.

"When I moved here, I picked up all the little kids, and I started with him when he was 10, in learn-to-skate classes," Mishkutenok said. "I have a lot of kids that just graduated and went to college. I have little ones that just started skating with me this summer."

We wondered if the great pairs skater was coaching any up-and-coming pairs teams. She said she was, mostly younger teams.

"I have pair teams, but it's so hard to keep them together," she said. "One little boy likes doing pairs, but he does soccer and football; he has so many sports going on. Or one person gets unhappy and then that's it. We have a lot of recreational skaters and we have a lot of singles skaters, really good kids, but there aren't a lot of older kids that keep skating."

I think (not sure) the last time she coached at student at Nationals was Steven Evans in 2011 (Junior 4th place pewter medal). Evans moved up to Senior in 2011-12 but did not qualify for Nationals and I believe he stopped skating to focus on college full-time. I remember how proud she was of him after he won the Novice Men's silver medal at 2009 U.S. Nationals.

Does anyone know which skaters are training with her?

She mostly coaches younger kids below Novice level these days. I don't know of any pairs being coached by her at the present time.

 

[Vash01]

I notice that Natalia spells (transliterates) her and her daughter's last name as "Mishkutionok" while "Mishkutenok" seems to be used by many publications like IN.

May be she wants people to pronounce it correctly. When written with an 'e' in English (90% of the time) people will definitely pronounce it like an English e, and not as 'yo'.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Did you mean B&E (Brasseur & Eisler) or B&P (Bechke and Petrov) when you wrote B&I?

M&D were a legendary pair, among the great pairs of the past.

Sorry but I wouldn't put B&E in the same league as M&D. I found them reather crude in some of their programs.

In any case, Natasha's daughter looks a lot like her mom. I remember seeing her vid in one of the M&D threads. IMO Natalia (mom) should just let her daughter do what interests the daughter. There will be obvious comparisons with M&D and there is more danger in pairs skating, but if that's what the girl wants, that's what she should go for. Anyway, she is only 9. She may change her mind.

LOL yes I corrected it earlier today... Brasseur & Eisler. In those days I just kept rewatching M&D and B&E's programs..They were both awesome but in totally different ways... I couldnt get into G&G in the same way although I thought they were so good too. They were classical. But the other 2 teams I thought had much more innovation.

I cold NOT get enough of either team...but...if you put my feet to the fire I choose M&D....

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Natalia M. was featured in an Inside Edge blog on IN back in April 2012:
Relevant excerpt about her coaching career at the time:

I think (not sure) the last time she coached at student at Nationals was Steven Evans in 2011 (Junior 4th place pewter medal). Evans moved up to Senior in 2011-12 but did not qualify for Nationals and I believe he stopped skating to focus on college full-time. I remember how proud she was of him after he won the Novice Men's silver medal at 2009 U.S. Nationals.

She mostly coaches younger kids below Novice level these days. I don't know of any pairs being coached by her at the present time.

WOW... how strange.. TO BE COACHED BY OLYMPIC CHAMPION AND OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST (gimme a break.. shoulda been double Gold) I would think SO MANY USA pairs would be in Dallas DIEING to be taught by her..

I mean what did Delilah Sap ever do? Im not even sure???....??????

 

[Sylvia]

I recall Natalia M. coaching a Novice pair in the summer/fall of 2011 but they finished 5th at Midwestern Sectionals (1 place short of qualifying for 2012 Nationals). Being an Olympic/World medalist doesn't guarantee coaching success and Natalia herself mentioned the challenges of coaching pairs in the article excerpt in post #8.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I recall Natalia M. coaching a Novice pair in the summer/fall of 2011 but they finished 5th at Midwestern Sectionals (1 place short of qualifying for 2012 Nationals). Being an Olympic/World medalist doesn't guarantee coaching success and Natalia herself mentioned the challenges of coaching pairs in the article excerpt in post #8.

Yeah but still.. if this resource (Natialia) is in my back yard (USA) and I can take advantage of what she has to offer... why has no elite team sought her out?

 

[Xela M]

Brasseur & Eisler are the exception to my usual rule of disliking Canadian pairs. There was just something endearing about them. They were a great match - the tiny feisty bundle of energy Isabelle and the big baboon Lloyd who was more funny than annoying with his usual moaning. Their programs were always entertaining and their lifts were absolutely incredible!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Brasseur & Eisler are the exception to my usual rule of disliking Canadian pairs. There was just something endearing about them. They were a great match - the tiny feisty bundle of energy Isabelle and the big baboon Lloyd who was more funny than annoying with his usual moaning. Their programs were always entertaining and their lifts were absolutely incredible!

Their lifts were amaze balls.....

 

[nguyhm]

Natalia has aged beautifully. She is gorgeous.

 

[viennese]

"Liebestraum" was always my favorite of their free skates. They were a mesmerizing team, truly unique. I was so happy that they returned in 1994 and skated so well.

 

[clairecloutier]

Yeah but still.. if this resource (Natialia) is in my back yard (USA) and I can take advantage of what she has to offer... why has no elite team sought her out?

This is an interesting question. It could be that Natalia is just happy doing what she's doing and hasn't really sought to "market" herself as an expert to elite U.S. pairs. By this, I mean maybe she isn't actively in touch with other coaches/choreographers in the elite pairs community. Maybe she doesn't attend elite pairs events at Skate America and Nationals where she might be seen and sought out by people. That kind of thing. Of course this is just speculation on my part.

It is a bit odd that we have Natalia Mishkutienok and Elena Bechke both here in the U.S. and both coaching, but neither of them involved in elite pairs at all. Perhaps they might seek to get more involved when their own kids are older, I don't know.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Was delilah S ever a pairs skater? Im no sure as to her background at all....

 

[Sylvia]

Was delilah S ever a pairs skater? Im no sure as to her background at all....

There's an article with some info on Dalilah S's background linked from a post that mentions she skated singles & pairs, plus a little more info on how her competitive career reportedly was cut short): http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...aches-who-were-ex-skaters.81821/#post-3417454

ETA:

It is a bit odd that we have Natalia Mishkutienok and Elena Bechke both here in the U.S. and both coaching, but neither of them involved in elite pairs at all. Perhaps they might seek to get more involved when their own kids are older, I don't know.

Coaching elite skaters is very time- and labor-intensive and not for everyone; coaching pairs has even more challenges, as Natalia M. noted in her interview:

"... it's so hard to keep them [pair teams] together," she said. "One little boy likes doing pairs, but he does soccer and football; he has so many sports going on. Or one person gets unhappy and then that's it. We have a lot of recreational skaters [in the Dallas area] and we have a lot of singles skaters, really good kids, but there aren't a lot of older kids that keep skating."

 

[arakwafan2006]

"Liebestraum" was always my favorite of their free skates. They were a mesmerizing team, truly unique. I was so happy that they returned in 1994 and skated so well.

Wasn't it amazing. It has stood the test of time. The new judging system I believe hopes to inspire such skating. There is choreography and then there is art, which is what Liebestraum performed by them was. . That program was just mesmerizing for more reasons that I can articulate.

 

[Xela M]

Liebestraum was perfection on ice. It is in my view the most beautiful skating programme of all time (in any discipline). From the costumes to the tiniest of movements - it was mesmerizingly beautiful.

Having said that, Their 1994 Rachmaninov is still my favourite.

 

[arakwafan2006]

Liebestraum was perfection on ice. It is in my view the most beautiful skating programme of all time (in any discipline). From the costumes to the tiniest of movements - it was mesmerizingly beautiful.

Having said that, Their 1994 Rachmaninov is still my favourite.

RIGHT!

I watched it recently and I do NOT agree with the decision to crown G&G champs over them at Olympics. Is what it is but... yeah. Artur does not get enough credit for who he was as a pair skater. To me, Sergei Grinkov was probably better although they were masters at two different styles.... Anyway, their partnership was legendary... Natalia and Artur...

 

[lsusan]

I know this is off topic but is Natilia still married? I am just curious since someone mentioned her daughter having the last name Mishkutionok. I thought she had remarried.

 

[Xela M]

RIGHT!

I watched it recently and I do NOT agree with the decision to crown G&G champs over them at Olympics. Is what it is but... yeah. Artur does not get enough credit for who he was as a pair skater. To me, Sergei Grinkov was probably better although they were masters at two different styles.... Anyway, their partnership was legendary... Natalia and Artur...

Artur is too modest! Everyone and their cat has heard about Rodnina's 3 OGMs, but hardly anyone mentions that Artur was incredibly close to matching her record and should have done in my view because I disagree with M&D's 1994 Olympic Silver. Artur and Sergei were the two best male pairs skaters of all time, although as you say they were very different.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Yeah but still.. if this resource (Natialia) is in my back yard (USA) and I can take advantage of what she has to offer... why has no elite team sought her out?

Some coaches regardless of their career just want to be happy doing what they are doing. And some are better with certain types of skaters. There are coaches I know who are fantastic with little kids but are not great for skaters are higher levels. It also depends on the clientele around and what they want. And it could be that they are not coaching full time and don't want to. And some might want to slip under the radar and have a quiet life. Lots of reasons.

 

[loopey]

Yeah but still.. if this resource (Natialia) is in my back yard (USA) and I can take advantage of what she has to offer... why has no elite team sought her out?

. I agree. Both she and Elena, I think could contribute so much. I think part of the challenge is their location. This is one of the advantages that Dalilah has. Her pool of decent singles skaters willing to try pairs is large in comparison to other locations. And they both also had/have young kids. Coaching elite skaters takes long hours, and much traveling. And I believe Elena is a single parent which has to make long hours and traveling difficult. I don't know if any of this contributes, but maybe...

"Liebestraum" was always my favorite of their free skates. They were a mesmerizing team, truly unique. I was so happy that they returned in 1994 and skated so well.

This thread made me go back and re-watch this program. It's amazing, and still one of my all my time favorites. The music, the costumes, and the skating made for a brilliant combination.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Some coaches regardless of their career just want to be happy doing what they are doing. And some are better with certain types of skaters. There are coaches I know who are fantastic with little kids but are not great for skaters are higher levels. It also depends on the clientele around and what they want. And it could be that they are not coaching full time and don't want to. And some might want to slip under the radar and have a quiet life. Lots of reasons.

LOL, I dont care..If Im a pair skater in USA....its Natalia Mishkutenok or bust!!! Id work 2 jobs, 3 jobs.... I jst think its so cool to be coached by Natalia...and in USA of all places.....

Zimmerman and Delilah and Team SW Florida would not be my first choices at all.

But thats just me.

 

[Vash01]

Liebestraum was perfection on ice. It is in my view the most beautiful skating programme of all time (in any discipline). From the costumes to the tiniest of movements - it was mesmerizingly beautiful.

Having said that, Their 1994 Rachmaninov is still my favourite.

Those two performances were so different! Lieberstaum was lyrical, dreamy. Rach2 was passionate and forceful. They showed their versatility by skating to two different types of music. The 1994 performance was clean; the 1992 had a couple of mistakes, but that didn't matter because it was so beautiful. IMO they don't get enough credit for the 1994 performance, perhaps because the judges placed them second. I can't really choose between those two performances. Both are for the ages.

 

[nguyhm]

LOL, I dont care..If Im a pair skater in USA....its Natalia Mishkutenok or bust!!! Id work 2 jobs, 3 jobs.... I jst think its so cool to be coached by Natalia...and in USA of all places.....

Zimmerman and Delilah and Team SW Florida would not be my first choices at all.

But thats just me.

I live in Dallas area, Wilkipedia (spl??) lists Natalia as coaching in Grapevine and I happen to work next to this city but I don't know which skating ring she is working at. My son and I have agreed that if he has a daughter we are taking her to Natalia for skating lessons .