Afanasyev's interview with Grishuk

[VGThuy]

Pasha sounds really chilled out and calm now.

She really does. I think she loves coaching.

In a personal stan note: it makes me feel great when I see her post supportive positive messages on the Shibs’ Instagram accounts from time to time. Makes me think she liked their ice dancing and it makes me feel a bit validated that arguably the best female ice dancer or one of at least liked them.

 

[Xela M]

I think she is the best female ice dancer of all time. Her skills/speed/musicality coupled with sheer abandon with which she skated were completely unmatched.

Platov was a great partner, but he just about kept up with the whirlwind that was Pasha When he teamed up with Maya it was a complete snooze fest for me. Maya couldn't hold a cup to Grishuk.

Plus who has ever provided as much drama on and off ice

Forever

 

[Xela M]

Need I say more...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8HIFeB04DA

Has there ever been a better ice dance than this?!

 

[canbelto]

Oksana left a very nice message on Gabby Papadakis's IG.

She wrote:

realoksanagrishuk
Congratulations to new Dance Olympic Champions ⛸ What an incredible and inspiring example, role models for new generation you both are.

 

[Amantide]

I think she is the best female ice dancer of all time. Her skills/speed/musicality coupled with sheer abandon with which she skated were completely unmatched.

Platov was a great partner, but he just about kept up with the whirlwind that was Pasha When he teamed up with Maya it was a complete snooze fest for me. Maya couldn't hold a cup to Grishuk.

Plus who has ever provided as much drama on and off ice

Forever

To be fair, each pot has their own cover that fits. Although some goes with different pots as well. I didn't like Grishuk with Zhulin either. Maya was a beautiful ID to watch but Platov wasn't great for her. He was perfect for Grishuk because she could be "wild" as a dancer sometimes and needed someone to balance that and keep her in check, so to speak.

 

[Amantide]

I very like their 1992 and 1993 free danse

Thank you. I still remember that program and love it. At that time I thought it was "weird", in a good sense, and so original. I think it was original and very creative at that time actually.
I wish they could've done more programs in that mood.

 

[Yuri]

I was there to WITNESS the entire development of their amazing 1996-97 programs! Hell I almost had more to do with their choreography than Linichuk! Frankly, Oksana & Evgeny did most of the choreography themselves. But that story is for another day...

I want to know, please...

OK, here's a small taste of the story. It took me days to find one of Evgeny's old Russian interviews from 2006. Some excerpts from a very comprehensive article from a website that has collected virtually every Platov-related Russian article over the years:

По разные стороны бортика. Борис Ходоровский, журнал «Фигурное катание» № 20/2006

Пресса о двукратном олимпийском чемпионе в танцах на льду Евгении Платове

platov-e-style.ru

- The biggest problems arose during the production of programs. After all, you always doubt whether the element is found correctly, you want each step to be unique. Fighting for this absolute perfection, we have broken many spears. But the programs turned out great! My favorite composition is "Arabic Dance". Grischuk and I did it ourselves without the help of coaches. I still watch it to this day and it gives me goosebumps. I remember how she was born.

- Which of the coaches still managed to cope with the uncontrollable Grischuk?

- Everyone helped to cope with Oksankin's crazy character. Better than others, Tarasova succeeded in this. We came to her a year and two months before the Olympics. At the European Championships-97 in the Bercy Sports Palace in Paris, they skated ready-made programs, but then they began to make Memorial. This composition did not work out for a long time, at first it did not go at all. We even wanted to return to "Arab passions". Only to Nagano did they manage to roll out a program that allowed them to become Olympic champions for the second time.​

Here, Evgeny confirms that he and Oksana created their 1997 free dance Arabian Passion themselves--in other articles I have seen them say they did 80% of the choreography--after they were abandoned by Linichuk and before they switched to Tarasova.

- Why, having won everything you can, becoming the first couple in Russia, Europe, the world, did you decide to leave Linichuk for Tarasova?

- Two strongest couples cannot get along with one coach. No matter how hard everyone tries, resentment and jealousy inevitably arise. We were friends with Angelica and Oleg, we even lived in the same house. When they were on a par with us in terms of sports, someone had to leave ...

- In this case, the second pair usually gives way ...

- I think Linichuk was tired of our scandalous training by that time. Now I myself am in her place and I understand: it happens that it is more comfortable to work with someone. With a ward who unquestioningly trusts you and fulfills all the requirements, you can practice around the clock. And another factor played its role: we have already become Olympic champions, but they have not yet. Raising two pairs to the top for a coach is cool! After Linichuk and Karponosov left with other couples for competitions and left us alone for a whole month, I realized that Linichuk does not give preference to us. Only a fan videographer helped us at this time. Oksana understood everything much earlier. Women's brains are more flexible.​

This so-called "fan videographer" was yours truly. For two months from mid-October 1996 through the Ultimate Four Pro-Am competition in Boston in December, I drove to the U Delaware rink up to 3-4 times per week to video them in their late night practices. I still have one VHS tape of some of our sessions, including for one evening where they asked me to help them choreograph one of the early lifts in Arabian Passion (both Evgeny and Oksana say it's their favorite program). Both of them testified to all of this (even saying I was their "coach" ) in their September 1998 (post-split!) mediation session of Linichuk's non-payment lawsuit against them, where I was the "star witness" confirming they did most of their own choreography in 1996-97. Ultimately, the judge recommended a settlement for just half of what Linichuk had demanded based on our testimony!

G&P even got me credentialed at the 1996 Ultimate Four to stand rink side with them on an unofficial basis during practices. I'll never forget the looks on the faces of Linichuk and Karponosov when they saw me there backstage with G&P. After a fall and 2nd place finish on their Tango OD , they came from behind to defeat Krylova & Ovsyannikov in the free dance. At an intimate celebration that night in Evgeny's hotel room, they "fired" me and broke the news they had left Linichuk and hired Tarasova as a consultant. But I still traveled with them to Europeans and Worlds as their "talisman" and quickly became my new best friend!

 

[Amantide]

OK, here's a small taste of the story. It took me days to find one of Evgeny's old Russian interviews from 2006. Some excerpts from a very comprehensive article from a website that has collected virtually every Platov-related Russian article over the years:

По разные стороны бортика. Борис Ходоровский, журнал «Фигурное катание» № 20/2006

Пресса о двукратном олимпийском чемпионе в танцах на льду Евгении Платове

platov-e-style.ru

Here, Evgeny confirms that he and Oksana created their 1997 free dance Arabian Passion themselves--in other articles I have seen them say they did 80% of the choreography--after they were abandoned by Linichuk and before they switched to Tarasova.


This so-called "fan videographer" was yours truly. For two months from mid-October 1996 through the Ultimate Four Pro-Am competition in Boston in December, I drove to the U Delaware rink up to 3-4 times per week to video them in their late night practices. I still have one VHS tape of some of our sessions, including for one evening where they asked me to help them choreograph one of the early lifts in Arabian Passion (both Evgeny and Oksana say it's their favorite program). Both of them testified to all of this (even saying I was their "coach" ) in their September 1998 (post-split!) mediation session of Linichuk's non-payment lawsuit against them, where I was the "star witness" confirming they did most of their own choreography in 1996-97. Ultimately, the judge recommended a settlement for just half of what Linichuk had demanded based on our testimony!

G&P even got me credentialed at the 1996 Ultimate Four to stand rink side with them on an unofficial basis during practices. I'll never forget the looks on the faces of Linichuk and Karponosov when they saw me there backstage with G&P. After a fall and 2nd place finish on their Tango OD , they came from behind to defeat Krylova & Ovsyannikov in the free dance. At an intimate celebration that night in Evgeny's hotel room, they "fired" me and broke the news they had left Linichuk and hired Tarasova as a consultant. But I still traveled with them to Europeans and Worlds as their "talisman" and quickly became my new best friend!

Thank you for your reply.

I had no idea you knew them. I so envy you.
Boy, I'm so happy we didn't have social media and cameras everywhere back then.

We need that VHS tape converted and see their sessions. Share it with us little Grishuks, precious. PLEASE!!!

 

[Xela M]

Omg please share!!!!

Grishuk & Platov were the object of my teenage obsession! I LOVED them!! Still think they were the greatest of all time

 

[gk_891]

I find it interesting that Grishuk referred to Zhulin in such a flattering way. But I guess it's been years since all the ugly events had happened and time does heal old wounds.

So it was Mark Gurevich who taught Dubova's teams such good basics. It's a good thing that G&P trained with Dubova and Gurevich during those years. Because while Linichuk & Karponosov's teams have a reputation for being technically good (at least during that era), I honestly think their teams were overrated. Their students skate very aggressively but one thing I've noticed is that almost all of her students have very poor handholds. I remember watching side by side comparisons in Nagano of the top teams during the compulsories and one thing that I noticed is that Linichuk's two teams (Krylova & Ovsiannikov and Lobacheva & Averbukh) had very tense handholds. Both Ovsiannikov and Averbukh didn't seem to know how to hold their partners' hands very well. They seemed to have been engulfing their partners' hands instead of holding them properly (like how Platov holds Grishuk's hand or how Peizerat holds Anissina's hand). IMO, the best teams that L&K ever coached were those who learned their basics elsewhere such as Grishuk & Platov who trained under Dubova and Gurevich as well as Denkova & Staviski who trained under Alexei Gorshkov. And what made Grishuk & Platov so special IMO was that they were able to get the best of numerous skating camps (Dubova, Linichuk, and then later on Tarasova).

 

[VGThuy]

Dubova’s ice dance basics and fundamentals from head to blade and ability to teach complexity, Linichuk’s instilling speed and aggressive presentation with confidence and an insane “in your face” shameless style of presentation despite some hideous programs (I don’t mean G&P specifically but Linichuk/Karponosov’s teams in general), and Tarasova’s higher class polish and packaging and love of long-held edges = . Grishuk/Platov really did have all the talent in the world and the best coaching Russia had to offer.

 

[gk_891]

Dubova’s ice dance basics and fundamentals from head to blade and ability to teach complexity, Linichuk’s instilling speed and aggressive presentation with confidence and an insane “in your face” shameless style of presentation despite some hideous programs (I don’t mean G&P specifically but Linichuk/Karponosov’s teams in general), and Tarasova’s higher class polish and packaging and love of long-held edges = . Grishuk/Platov really did have all the talent in the world and the best coaching Russia had to offer.

Their Latin free dance from the 1995-1996 season was definitely ugly (from the choreography to the costumes). It's frustrating because G&P were physically at their best in that season. Their compulsories that year were absolutely stunning and they seemed sharper than ever. It's a shame that their material that year was way beneath their abilities.

 

[vivika1982]

Oksana G. was great skater and she has good points.As for t"he enchanted program" of S/K in my humble opinion the credit should go to both Zhulin and Sergey Petukhov. None of Zhulin,s pupils came even close to his and Usova,s amazing dances partially because they were always missing some of the main ingredients that were needed to repeat the fluidity and magic of their ballet like dances.With this said S/K may come closer and I am happy he did not mess up this time After all Oksana G.was right that they stand the chance to medal .

 

[gk_891]

Oksana G. was great skater and she has good points.As for t"he enchanted program" of S/K in my humble opinion the credit should go to both Zhulin and Sergey Petukhov. None of Zhulin,s pupils came even close to his and Usova,s amazing dances partially because they were always missing some of the main ingredients that were needed to repeat the fluidity and magic of their ballet like dances.With this said S/K may come closer and I am happy he did not mess up this time After all Oksana G.was right that they stand the chance to medal .

Usova & Zhulin indeed had some enchanting programs. But most of them were almost devoid of any real content, especially relative to their teammates (Klimova & Ponomarenko and Grishuk & Platov). So they often had a lot of time to focus on their expression/artistry relative to other teams (both past and present). But that's just my opinion I guess.

 

[Amantide]

Usova & Zhulin indeed had some enchanting programs. But most of them were almost devoid of any real content, especially relative to their teammates (Klimova & Ponomarenko and Grishuk & Platov). So they often had a lot of time to focus on their expression/artistry relative to other teams (both past and present). But that's just my opinion I guess.

I agree with you. I've always been a Klimova&Ponomarenko girl. After them, Grishuk&Platov.

What I loved about Usova&Zhulin though was their chemistry and style. There was a certain sexual appeal to them (I mean that in the best possible way, not vulgar) that I loved. Which is why I was surprised to see the FD they chose for '94. I remember thinking; Who thought this was the best program for them? They were a perfect couple for a sexy blues, or french music like the one they presented as pro "La belle dame sans regrets".

 

[gk_891]

I agree with you. I've always been a Klimova&Ponomarenko girl. After them, Grishuk&Platov.

What I loved about Usova&Zhulin though was their chemistry and style. There was a certain sexual appeal to them (I mean that in the best possible way, not vulgar) that I loved. Which is why I was surprised to see the FD they chose for '94. I remember thinking; Who thought this was the best program for them? They were a perfect couple for a sexy blues, or french music like the one they presented as pro "La belle dame sans regrets".

Yes, U&Z had the 'it' factor. They were at their absolute best in 1991. Their programs were spellbinding. But I thought they regressed badly in 1992. There were times where Zhulin looked like he was dragging Usova around the ice.