quiqie
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Alexander Zhulin: I want to add colors to Sinitsina/Katsalapov http://rsport.ru/interview/20170530/1121152014.html
AZ: Bobrova/Soloviev's free dance is ready, we have to skate it to get out the kinks, and then Poklitaru will visit us a couple of times to add finishing touch. We had a great creative collaboration, I liked it.
AS: Do you have any worries about working with such an extraordinary choreographer in the Olympic season, that this experiment will be too difficult to understand?
AZ: Not at all. I work on these programs too, and I have the control to make sure that there is no deviation from figure skating, that footwork remains difficult despite the choreography. I see that everything will be fine. We chose the kind of music that I don't really want to start explaining before we show the program itself.
AS: But this will be the Bobrova/Soloviev we all know and love, skating their hearts out?
AZ: Hopefully we will get the idea across. The contemporary that Radu preaches suits Katya and Dima. We work in this vein.
AS: There won't be any self-flagellation on ice?
AZ: No.
AS: Will it make us remember the dance from the previous Olympics?
AZ: No, it is a completely different dance.
AS: In what condition did you get Sinitsina/Katsalapov?
AZ: Good. Most importantly, Nikita said that all injuries have healed and nothing hurts. Victoria's shoulder hurts a bit, but it is because she strained it while practicing new lifts. Luckily, there are no injuries. The athletes are hungry for work, I am satisfied with everything so far.
AS: So you can say they didn't waste this last season that was hard for them?
AZ: I think the problem was in their struggle with nature. I mean their different technique on many elements. My goal is to reconcile the differences in their technique as soon as possible. Then they will no longer struggle on elements, will feel more comfortable on ice, and will have more time for choreography, emotions. Now there are some minor technical difficulties that get in their way. I am certain that they did not realize even 30% of their potential.
AS: I see they are in a great mood.
AZ: Yes, and I see that having both Bobrova/Soloviev and Sinitsina/Katsalapov here, which many people were worried about... So far, I don't want to jinx it, but I don't see any problems.
AS: Speaking of technical difficulties that you mentioned, does it mean that previous coaches – Marina Zoueva, Oleg Volkov, Elena Tchaikovskaya – were unable to solve them?
AZ: I never discuss my colleagues.
AS: Ok, then: this technical incompatibility remained the same it was when they just teamed up?
AZ: I cannot say anything because I haven't worked with them then. Now that I got them, I see some nuances, and I try to help. If I succeed.
AS: What images will Victoria and Nikita show us this season?
AZ: Short dance is Latin, that goes without saying, but I think we found very unusual music that should work for them. It is very unusual Latin dance. And unexpectedly, we had the same idea about the free dance. I saw them skating big, wide, and I thought Rachmaninov would be a really great choice for them. They came to me and the first thing they said was “Sasha, what do you think about Rachmaninov?” It was mutual choice. My favorites are Concerto No. 2 and Vocalise, so we combined them in the free.
AS: Will you include the opening of Concerto No. 2?
AZ: Definitely. We will start the dance with it.
AS: The duo does well with Russian themes. The program should be a hit?
AZ: I think that this is the team that can show any kind of themes on ice. They hear the music, they are musical in nature.
AS: So Vika is not just a classical Russian beauty, melodical and skating wide? Proper.
AZ: I hope she will shine. In the last three years that I have been watching them, she improved significantly in terms of projection. She started to transform from the Russian beauty into the skater with a variety of emotions. But it needs developing, to make sure that there is a unified charisma, chemistry, this magical bond between the skaters. That they not only project it on their own, but as a couple.
AS: Our last interview was called “Ilinykh needs Katsalapov”.
AZ: Well yeah, as a coach I think so, but Nikita has made a definitive decision about his partner, and he did not want to hear anything. It seems that he feels comfortable skating and working with Victoria. It's ok, they are still a young team, despite him being an Olympic champion already. I think they will skate for at least five more years.
AS: Was there any pressure on Nikita about making him skate together with his previous partner?
AZ: I have no idea.
AS: There was a rumor that they even had a tryout with Elena this off-season.
AZ: Maybe. I don't know. He and Vika came to me and asked to meet with them, and the next day they were on the ice.
AS: You know all the skaters we talk about. Here is unofficial information that Ilinykh's partner Ruslan Zhiganshin had finished skating competitively. Do you have any thoughts in your head that theoretically there can be a same river twice situation?
AZ: I think if a married couple goes through with a divorce, things can hardly be the same. Figure skating is like that. They had split, I don't think they will be together again.
AS: Is it like with you leaving Maia Usova for Oksana Grishuk who later tried going back to her former partner Evgeny Platov with whom she won two Olympic gold medals?
AZ: Yes, it is kind of like that.
AS: So there is really no problem with competition in your group? Because our mentality is like that: there is a new strong team, does it mean that the coach changed his priorities?
AZ: The main coach has to have a very simple attitude: he must work honestly with all teams. I enjoy watching Brian Orser, Eteri Tutberidze, Marie-France Dubreil and Patrice Lauzon. It's a very sincere work, and all the skaters have everything that allows them to skate and hold their fate in their hands. The weak ones may be left behind, but the strong ones remain. If you are strong, you will only benefit from competition. If you are weak, what is there to talk about?
AS: Is it possible here?
AZ: Why not? When I was skating, we had a strong group: Marina Klimova/Sergei Ponomarenko, Usova/Zhulin, Grishuk/Platov. Result: podium sweep at 1992 Worlds. There were no quarrels, no problems, everyone worked hard. Natalia Ilinichna (Dubova) could have stayed away from the ice rink. We pushed each other and it made us grow.
AS: But you probably still had to think of the right words to tell Katya and Dima about Vika and Nikita?
AZ: We discussed this topic last year, I told them it would be great for them to have strong sparring partners. Competition is not enough, elite skaters like Bobrova/Soloviev need additional push at every practice. If they go on the ice and see how great Sinitsina/Katsalapov are, logically the next day they have to go out and skate their best. This is my approach. I personally would have done the same. When I saw Marina Klimova and Segei Ponomarenko, I could not imagine that I would not skate my program. Then we went to competitions and it turned out we all were in fantastic shape. Another example of great training mates – Virtue/Moir and Davis/White. Looking at them, I felt that they respected each other, even though one team pushed the other to the second place, and four years later, they switched places. There is respect, but it is hard to earn. You have to want to win.
AS: It seems that Sinitsina/Katsalapov and Bobrova/Soloviev have mutual respect.
AZ: We just started. Everything works fine so far, we will see how it goes. But for some reason, I hope everything will be ok.
AS: It's all good in theory, but when you said to Katya and Dima that Vika and Nikita were coming to train in your group, did they ask any questions?
AZ: No, they didn't. But I saw their worried looks. Nobody understood how it was going to be. But after a couple of practices, it all calmed down.
AS: Katsalapov is famous for being emotional in training process.
AZ: There are different athletes, some are superemotional, some are more calm. Nikita's goal is to keep his emotions in check, my goal as a coach is to control the situation. Maybe sometimes let him leave the practice early, sometimes find the right words. It is difficult to train a champion. Do you think Roman Kostomarov was easy? Far from it.
AS: But, as you said, he and Tatiana Navka were able to be back together after five minutes.
AZ: They were, because they wanted to win. It supersedes personal difficulties. If Sinitsina/Katsalapov do not suffer from emotionality, they have big potential. If not, we will talk, try to explain, deal with them. But now it is all theory. We work on choreography, training process hasn't started yet. And I will remind you that Nikita and Lena worked with me for four years.
AS: I remember.
AZ: It was not easy, but there were results, and they were good.
AS: On the other hand, Nikita without his emotions will no longer be himself, won't he?
AZ: Definitely! You cannot change the person, you can only change the direction. And for the most part, it depends on Nikita, because he is no longer 17. He has to start thinking and to understand what he wants to achieve.
AS: You said that they lack passion. Said it was beautiful, melodic, but lacking energy.
AZ: I agree, I have said that. Will try to address this issue.
AS: Do you understand how to light up Victoria?
AZ: I'm watching her, thinking about it.
AS: She is laconic, reserved, and she opens up only to Nikita, or so it seems.
AZ: For me, the most important thing is that they have new colors in their programs. There isn't enough. I need to add color to their skating. For that, I have Sergei Petikhov, the experienced choreographer, who spends a lot of time explaining what we are skating about. If they take it from him, or rather, if they want to take, there will be a new look for them.
AS: You have a great attitude, but it seems that our teams cannot hope for a place higher than fifth at these Olympics.
AZ: Why? Bobrova/Soloviev finished third in the free dance this year. If technical scoring in the short dance went a little bit different, we could have won a bronze. Olympic Games are a different matter, there is sport and there are politics, but no one can take away the skating, the factor of having a great program. Our competitors are very strong, but we will try to fight.
AS: Tiffany Zagorski and Jonatan Guerreiro left your group and switched to Elena Kustarova. It seemed they were like children to you, that you cherished them and believed in them.
AZ: Well... You see, it happens. Something must have gone wrong.
AS: It was their idea?
AZ: Yes, of course.
AS: They did not want to be number three?
AZ: It was probably the main reason.
AS: Do you think they would have been able to progress in your group with new team members or it would have destroyed them?
AZ: I think that would have been difficult for them. They are not the kind of skaters who would work twice as hard as these two teams (Bobrova/Soloviev and Sinitsina/Katsalapov), and prove to the coach that they are number one. Even in theory. They were not ready for that.
AZ: Bobrova/Soloviev's free dance is ready, we have to skate it to get out the kinks, and then Poklitaru will visit us a couple of times to add finishing touch. We had a great creative collaboration, I liked it.
AS: Do you have any worries about working with such an extraordinary choreographer in the Olympic season, that this experiment will be too difficult to understand?
AZ: Not at all. I work on these programs too, and I have the control to make sure that there is no deviation from figure skating, that footwork remains difficult despite the choreography. I see that everything will be fine. We chose the kind of music that I don't really want to start explaining before we show the program itself.
AS: But this will be the Bobrova/Soloviev we all know and love, skating their hearts out?
AZ: Hopefully we will get the idea across. The contemporary that Radu preaches suits Katya and Dima. We work in this vein.
AS: There won't be any self-flagellation on ice?
AZ: No.
AS: Will it make us remember the dance from the previous Olympics?
AZ: No, it is a completely different dance.
AS: In what condition did you get Sinitsina/Katsalapov?
AZ: Good. Most importantly, Nikita said that all injuries have healed and nothing hurts. Victoria's shoulder hurts a bit, but it is because she strained it while practicing new lifts. Luckily, there are no injuries. The athletes are hungry for work, I am satisfied with everything so far.
AS: So you can say they didn't waste this last season that was hard for them?
AZ: I think the problem was in their struggle with nature. I mean their different technique on many elements. My goal is to reconcile the differences in their technique as soon as possible. Then they will no longer struggle on elements, will feel more comfortable on ice, and will have more time for choreography, emotions. Now there are some minor technical difficulties that get in their way. I am certain that they did not realize even 30% of their potential.
AS: I see they are in a great mood.
AZ: Yes, and I see that having both Bobrova/Soloviev and Sinitsina/Katsalapov here, which many people were worried about... So far, I don't want to jinx it, but I don't see any problems.
AS: Speaking of technical difficulties that you mentioned, does it mean that previous coaches – Marina Zoueva, Oleg Volkov, Elena Tchaikovskaya – were unable to solve them?
AZ: I never discuss my colleagues.
AS: Ok, then: this technical incompatibility remained the same it was when they just teamed up?
AZ: I cannot say anything because I haven't worked with them then. Now that I got them, I see some nuances, and I try to help. If I succeed.
AS: What images will Victoria and Nikita show us this season?
AZ: Short dance is Latin, that goes without saying, but I think we found very unusual music that should work for them. It is very unusual Latin dance. And unexpectedly, we had the same idea about the free dance. I saw them skating big, wide, and I thought Rachmaninov would be a really great choice for them. They came to me and the first thing they said was “Sasha, what do you think about Rachmaninov?” It was mutual choice. My favorites are Concerto No. 2 and Vocalise, so we combined them in the free.
AS: Will you include the opening of Concerto No. 2?
AZ: Definitely. We will start the dance with it.
AS: The duo does well with Russian themes. The program should be a hit?
AZ: I think that this is the team that can show any kind of themes on ice. They hear the music, they are musical in nature.
AS: So Vika is not just a classical Russian beauty, melodical and skating wide? Proper.
AZ: I hope she will shine. In the last three years that I have been watching them, she improved significantly in terms of projection. She started to transform from the Russian beauty into the skater with a variety of emotions. But it needs developing, to make sure that there is a unified charisma, chemistry, this magical bond between the skaters. That they not only project it on their own, but as a couple.
AS: Our last interview was called “Ilinykh needs Katsalapov”.
AZ: Well yeah, as a coach I think so, but Nikita has made a definitive decision about his partner, and he did not want to hear anything. It seems that he feels comfortable skating and working with Victoria. It's ok, they are still a young team, despite him being an Olympic champion already. I think they will skate for at least five more years.
AS: Was there any pressure on Nikita about making him skate together with his previous partner?
AZ: I have no idea.
AS: There was a rumor that they even had a tryout with Elena this off-season.
AZ: Maybe. I don't know. He and Vika came to me and asked to meet with them, and the next day they were on the ice.
AS: You know all the skaters we talk about. Here is unofficial information that Ilinykh's partner Ruslan Zhiganshin had finished skating competitively. Do you have any thoughts in your head that theoretically there can be a same river twice situation?
AZ: I think if a married couple goes through with a divorce, things can hardly be the same. Figure skating is like that. They had split, I don't think they will be together again.
AS: Is it like with you leaving Maia Usova for Oksana Grishuk who later tried going back to her former partner Evgeny Platov with whom she won two Olympic gold medals?
AZ: Yes, it is kind of like that.
AS: So there is really no problem with competition in your group? Because our mentality is like that: there is a new strong team, does it mean that the coach changed his priorities?
AZ: The main coach has to have a very simple attitude: he must work honestly with all teams. I enjoy watching Brian Orser, Eteri Tutberidze, Marie-France Dubreil and Patrice Lauzon. It's a very sincere work, and all the skaters have everything that allows them to skate and hold their fate in their hands. The weak ones may be left behind, but the strong ones remain. If you are strong, you will only benefit from competition. If you are weak, what is there to talk about?
AS: Is it possible here?
AZ: Why not? When I was skating, we had a strong group: Marina Klimova/Sergei Ponomarenko, Usova/Zhulin, Grishuk/Platov. Result: podium sweep at 1992 Worlds. There were no quarrels, no problems, everyone worked hard. Natalia Ilinichna (Dubova) could have stayed away from the ice rink. We pushed each other and it made us grow.
AS: But you probably still had to think of the right words to tell Katya and Dima about Vika and Nikita?
AZ: We discussed this topic last year, I told them it would be great for them to have strong sparring partners. Competition is not enough, elite skaters like Bobrova/Soloviev need additional push at every practice. If they go on the ice and see how great Sinitsina/Katsalapov are, logically the next day they have to go out and skate their best. This is my approach. I personally would have done the same. When I saw Marina Klimova and Segei Ponomarenko, I could not imagine that I would not skate my program. Then we went to competitions and it turned out we all were in fantastic shape. Another example of great training mates – Virtue/Moir and Davis/White. Looking at them, I felt that they respected each other, even though one team pushed the other to the second place, and four years later, they switched places. There is respect, but it is hard to earn. You have to want to win.
AS: It seems that Sinitsina/Katsalapov and Bobrova/Soloviev have mutual respect.
AZ: We just started. Everything works fine so far, we will see how it goes. But for some reason, I hope everything will be ok.
AS: It's all good in theory, but when you said to Katya and Dima that Vika and Nikita were coming to train in your group, did they ask any questions?
AZ: No, they didn't. But I saw their worried looks. Nobody understood how it was going to be. But after a couple of practices, it all calmed down.
AS: Katsalapov is famous for being emotional in training process.
AZ: There are different athletes, some are superemotional, some are more calm. Nikita's goal is to keep his emotions in check, my goal as a coach is to control the situation. Maybe sometimes let him leave the practice early, sometimes find the right words. It is difficult to train a champion. Do you think Roman Kostomarov was easy? Far from it.
AS: But, as you said, he and Tatiana Navka were able to be back together after five minutes.
AZ: They were, because they wanted to win. It supersedes personal difficulties. If Sinitsina/Katsalapov do not suffer from emotionality, they have big potential. If not, we will talk, try to explain, deal with them. But now it is all theory. We work on choreography, training process hasn't started yet. And I will remind you that Nikita and Lena worked with me for four years.
AS: I remember.
AZ: It was not easy, but there were results, and they were good.
AS: On the other hand, Nikita without his emotions will no longer be himself, won't he?
AZ: Definitely! You cannot change the person, you can only change the direction. And for the most part, it depends on Nikita, because he is no longer 17. He has to start thinking and to understand what he wants to achieve.
AS: You said that they lack passion. Said it was beautiful, melodic, but lacking energy.
AZ: I agree, I have said that. Will try to address this issue.
AS: Do you understand how to light up Victoria?
AZ: I'm watching her, thinking about it.
AS: She is laconic, reserved, and she opens up only to Nikita, or so it seems.
AZ: For me, the most important thing is that they have new colors in their programs. There isn't enough. I need to add color to their skating. For that, I have Sergei Petikhov, the experienced choreographer, who spends a lot of time explaining what we are skating about. If they take it from him, or rather, if they want to take, there will be a new look for them.
AS: You have a great attitude, but it seems that our teams cannot hope for a place higher than fifth at these Olympics.
AZ: Why? Bobrova/Soloviev finished third in the free dance this year. If technical scoring in the short dance went a little bit different, we could have won a bronze. Olympic Games are a different matter, there is sport and there are politics, but no one can take away the skating, the factor of having a great program. Our competitors are very strong, but we will try to fight.
AS: Tiffany Zagorski and Jonatan Guerreiro left your group and switched to Elena Kustarova. It seemed they were like children to you, that you cherished them and believed in them.
AZ: Well... You see, it happens. Something must have gone wrong.
AS: It was their idea?
AZ: Yes, of course.
AS: They did not want to be number three?
AZ: It was probably the main reason.
AS: Do you think they would have been able to progress in your group with new team members or it would have destroyed them?
AZ: I think that would have been difficult for them. They are not the kind of skaters who would work twice as hard as these two teams (Bobrova/Soloviev and Sinitsina/Katsalapov), and prove to the coach that they are number one. Even in theory. They were not ready for that.
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Only that K&P left the group four months before the Olympics because they weren't getting enough attention, and you were cheating on Usova with Grishuk, and tried to convince Grishuk to leave the sport to be with you until she heard from Usova you were cheating on her as well with Navka. 
might actually be the fire Russian ice dance needs during the Olympic season, my only questions at this point are:
