UPDATED/CONFIRMED: Evgenia Medvedeva leaving Tutberidze for Orser

[paskatefan]

So, does anyone else think the multiple tanos will disappear? Brian and Tracy have both said they think more than one tano is overkill. Although I think Tursy may have had more than one in her free last season.....

Please, let it be! No more than one tano per program!

 

[Meoima]

Can we leave Yuna out of this lol... She was never my favorite but I have come to appreciate her more. I like it when she was more aggressive/hunger on the ice. But in the end, it's the past now. Thankful to her for leaving her mark in the history.
Now, back to Med. I would say her programs in the Olympic season were kinda okay-ish. The SP so so. The LP good. But the programs in the season 2016-2017... nope thanks.
I like the idea of the LP that won her Boston gold. But now I rewatch it and I find it kinda... childish? It suit her that season though.
I wonder if Med is tired of the miming that Eteri and Averbukh constantly put on her. I guess she does. That's why she's running away lol.

 

[barbarafan]

Not such a shocker. I was never a fan of her programs, either. TBH I was never a fan of Yuna (was a huge Mao fan), but it sometimes happens that skaters I'm not a fan of turn me into one with certain programs - examples being Kevin Reynolds with rock'n'roll and the Shibs with 'Fix You'. That never happened with Yuna.

The commentators gushing over her got to me, as it had done with Sasha Cohen. I'm okay with gushing when I uber skaters (as I do V/M), but at other times it gets to me.

For example, when Kurt Browning commentated on the Sochi games, he said that Yuna 'had not equals' after she skate her FP. And then of course Sotnikova proceeded to win.

Maybe Kurt should have added except in the eyes of the judges.

 

[Miki89]

I find Averbuch choreography a bit much in terms of the themes and not that appropriate for the younger skaters who are asked to skate these programs. Yulia's Schindler's List program kinda worked because I think she had a more sensitive delivery of the music. Med's 9/11 program seemed to really jump the shark. It's pretentious in a very cringe-worthy way.

Granted, I am not much of a fan of Wilson or Jeff Buttle's choreography to be honest. In the recent Hersh article on Med and Orser, Wilson mentioned consulting Sandra Bezic on choreography. It made me wonder why don't Sandra come back as a full-time choreographer? Out of the choreographers who often work with Orser's students, only Shae-Lynn Bourne comes close to the creativity seen in Sandra Bezic's programs. But at least with any of these choreographers, Med would be getting programs with more appropriate themes and lighter music I hope.

 

[barbarafan]

I think there was something in that move that had to do with both Gauthier and Bruno being both able to get credentials for the olys. The rule is one coach per team/skater. It was Bruno ‘s 1st olys and Gauthier had been before so I think part of the move was so they could both go to Pyeong Chang.

Hard to say. At that point it was not known if either Liam or Elladj would make it to the Olympics. They had announced making the change as they felt they needed something diff. and Zimmerman as well as Kerr were mentioned..After that I never saw anything about Zimmerman be mentioned. I do think something else might have been the problem but we will most likely never know.(ie where they were skating,,,maybe any of the teams that were there who knows) In the last interview Meaghan said training at St.Julie was better....re ice time and only having a few single skaters and one other young pair there. I would think things are fine between Bruno and Richard as they still coach together on all the other pairs.

 

[barbarafan]

I find Averbuch choreography a bit much in terms of the themes and not that appropriate for the younger skaters who are asked to skate these programs. Yulia's Schindler's List program kinda worked because I think she had a more sensitive delivery of the music. Med's 9/11 program seemed to really jump the shark. It's pretentious in a very cringe-worthy way.

Granted, I am not much of a fan of Wilson or Jeff Buttle's choreography to be honest. In the recent Hersh article on Med and Orser, Wilson mentioned consulting Sandra Bezic on choreography. It made me wonder why don't Sandra come back as a full-time choreographer? Out of the choreographers who often work with Orser's students, only Shae-Lynn Bourne comes close to the creativity seen in Sandra Bezic's programs. But at least with any of these choreographers, Med would be getting programs with more appropriate themes and lighter music I hope.

Sandra was really turned off with the IJS system feeling we lost a lot of the artistry in skating but she really liked Lubov and Dylan's connection and artistry and so did their FP's for the last 2 years. I suppose she could be convinced to do some here and there but if she did she would pick and choose.

 

[quiqie]

I think Lipnitskaya was in a different situation than Medvedeva was. When Lipnitskaya was on the top, there wasn’t anyone from Tutberidze’s skaters competing against her in seniors. She was the star and as such she could say it if she didn’t like something. The nearest competitor in Tutberidze’s group (Medvedeva) was two season’s younger, and in her first junior season she was one of the top of her age, but not the completely best one. Additionally, I think also Lipnitskaya’s personality is more straightforward to say when she wants something or doesn’t want something, e.g. when she wants Schindler’s list, she would be stubborn enough to make sure she is heard). Unlike Lipnitskaya, Medvedeva had constantly someone stepping on her heels. Tsurskaya looked very promising in her first junior season and it seemed just matter of the time when she will be in seniors and catch up. A year later it was suddenly Zagitova who was catching up. That means that Medvedeva probably didn’t want to appear too difficult, she didn’t want to annoy Tutberidze, and possibly their close relationship at that time would also make it hard for her to disagree with whatever Tutberidze wanted. So the fact that Lipnitskaya had some input into her programs (relatively speaking) doesn’t mean that Medvedeva had the same, even though they had the same coach.

Of all the skaters in Tutberidze’s group, Zhenya was always her favorite, the ultimate teacher’s pet and I don’t for a second believe she would hesitate to voice her opinion about her programs if she had one.

There will always be skaters who prefer to let the coach make the decisions and carry the responsibility, some outgrow it later in life, some don’t. The coach gets blamed anyway, like Mishin who gets all kinds of flak for Tuktamysheva’s programs and costumes, even though they are all her and he actually listens to her and lets her stay in her comfort zone forever.

 

[Miki89]

Sandra was really turned off with the IJS system feeling we lost a lot of the artistry in skating but she really liked Lubov and Dylan's connection and artistry and so did their FP's for the last 2 years. I suppose she could be convinced to do some here and there but if she did she would pick and choose.

That is a shame. But if she is acting as a consultant for Wilson and probably others and doing a few programs, it seems that she still has some interest left. In my opinion, Lori and her were the best choreographers.

 

[skatfan]

I think there was something in that move that had to do with both Gauthier and Bruno being both able to get credentials for the olys. The rule is one coach per team/skater. It was Bruno ‘s 1st olys and Gauthier had been before so I think part of the move was so they could both go to Pyeong Chang.

That doesn’t make sense. They also coach MTM so they had a good chance just with Canadian teams, plus their other Oly teams (forgotten who they are).

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

I think there was something in that move that had to do with both Gauthier and Bruno being both able to get credentials for the olys. The rule is one coach per team/skater. It was Bruno ‘s 1st olys and Gauthier had been before so I think part of the move was so they could both go to Pyeong Chang.

Nope, that was not the case. They trained afterwards in Ste. Julie, not Montrealz where Gauthier was.

Even if they had to "choose", I guess she was better to keep her husband...

 

[Rock2]

I don’t think Yuna wasn’t expressive; I feel all her expression was very fake and put on. Nothing seemed very organic or natural. Her SPs were good but I found most her FSs forgettable. I agree with whoever said there was a vibe she didn’t care.

Med (and Mao, and other skaters like Wakaba, Akiko, Daisuke, Shoma, Yukari Nakano) just leave it all on the ice and you can tell they really love skating. And I love that.

Wow, I see it so differently.

I think if skating is to be authentic, you have to work with the skater you have. Some skaters are naturally fun and spirited, smiley etc. Yuna never fit into that category. Watch any interview with her off the ice or observe any part of her off ice life caught on camera. You see a reserved person who was pleasant but didn't smile a lot. Apparently when the cameras were off she was less reserved and funny but that was never her comfort level in public.

I would agree that her post 2010 skating wasn't nearly as compelling. Before that I felt energy to her performance and one of the things she does REALLY well is manage the position of her head to express the music in the same way you would position your arms or any body part. Those movements spoke in volumes to me with such a level of sophistication that I found both rivetting and unmatched in skating. Nichol has been teaching this to Sui as well. Watch Sui, say, pre 2016 and then really watch the short in Boston. She's not in your face facially but the position of her head brought so much to the performance and interpretation. Magic.

I don't require an OTT facial expression to be convinced someone is 'into' the performance. I value it more in ice dance where I see Krylova as the queen of projecting her face up into the rafters. I find the play-acting OTT surprised and joyous looks completely fake in a skater like Med who I do feel otherwise loves what she does. I think there's a new and mature level of authentic joy for skating that Wilson will tap into and showcase. I look forward to that.

 

[binbinwinwin]

I never connected more with a skater than Yuna Kim, she will always be my favourite while I never connected with Medvedeva. I hope that the Yuna Kim talk will end here here and we can continue to discuss Evgenia.

What I'm hoping for with Evgenia and David or Sandra that they will have programs where it's more focused on interpreting the music with more pure movement than skipping rope and pasting stories over a program. I saw Evgenia skate in person and I thought she had potential for something more sensitive and less literal than the programs that she had. Like I don't want you to tell me there's anguish and tragedy with hand waving and voiceovers and picking up the phone, I want to be shown. I'd like for Evgenia to explore a different side to her skating.

 

[PRlady]

I never connected more with a skater than Yuna Kim, she will always be my favourite while I never connected with Medvedeva. I hope that the Yuna Kim talk will end here here and we can continue to discuss Evgenia.

What I'm hoping for with Evgenia and David or Sandra that they will have programs where it's more focused on interpreting the music with more pure movement than skipping rope and pasting stories over a program. I saw Evgenia skate in person and I thought she had potential for something more sensitive and less literal than the programs that she had. Like I don't want you to tell me there's anguish and tragedy with hand waving and voiceovers and picking up the phone, I want to be shown. I'd like for Evgenia to explore a different side to her skating.

Agreed. I think Med handles that literal choreo as well as possible, but I hope for more sophisticated programs.

In my dreams, someone choreographs for her the way Akiko was choreographed - organically and rooted in musical expression.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Wow, I see it so differently.

I think if skating is to be authentic, you have to work with the skater you have. Some skaters are naturally fun and spirited, smiley etc. Yuna never fit into that category. Watch any interview with her off the ice or observe any part of her off ice life caught on camera. You see a reserved person who was pleasant but didn't smile a lot. Apparently when the cameras were off she was less reserved and funny but that was never her comfort level in public.

I would agree that her post 2010 skating wasn't nearly as compelling. Before that I felt energy to her performance and one of the things she does REALLY well is manage the position of her head to express the music in the same way you would position your arms or any body part. Those movements spoke in volumes to me with such a level of sophistication that I found both rivetting and unmatched in skating. Nichol has been teaching this to Sui as well. Watch Sui, say, pre 2016 and then really watch the short in Boston. She's not in your face facially but the position of her head brought so much to the performance and interpretation. Magic.

I don't require an OTT facial expression to be convinced someone is 'into' the performance. I value it more in ice dance where I see Krylova as the queen of projecting her face up into the rafters. I find the play-acting OTT surprised and joyous looks completely fake in a skater like Med who I do feel otherwise loves what she does. I think there's a new and mature level of authentic joy for skating that Wilson will tap into and showcase. I look forward to that.

GENIUS ANALYSIS!

 

[aftershocks]

BAd karma, man, bad karma!!

I felt bad for Gauthier. But it didn't apparently bring bad karma to D/R.

ETA:
And if Gauthier got to attend the Olympics with another team, maybe it was a mutual decision in this case. @alilou's earlier explanation makes sense.

 

[danibellerika]

I'm confused by this. V/M, P/C, Med and Zags all wanted an Olympic Gold medal.

And I didn't say they didn't. I was talking about Javi and Yuzu only. Javi said he'd be satisfied with any medal. For Yuzu he wanted only the gold.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

I felt bad for Gauthier. But it didn't apparently bring bad karma to D/R.

ETA:
And if Gauthier got to attend the Olympics with another team, maybe it was a mutual decision in this case. @alilou's earlier explanation makes sense.

It may make sense but that was not the reason.

 

[skatepixie]

What about her Danse Macabre?

Don't remember it...

 

[insideedgeua]

I felt bad for Gauthier. But it didn't apparently bring bad karma to D/R.

ETA:
And if Gauthier got to attend the Olympics with another team, maybe it was a mutual decision in this case. @alilou's earlier explanation makes sense.

Not replying to you in particular, but lots of skaters/teams have more than one coach. Unfortunately they can’t all sit with them in Kiss and Cry at the Olympics. They don’t part ways with them though. It just means they have to select which coach they want by the boards at the event.

I don’t know what the real reason was for this split, but it wasn’t because they couldn’t have Richard at the Olympics with them.

 

[screech]

I thought it was because they'd had disappointment the year before so thought they needed a change. Obviously they couldn't leave Bruno...

Whatever they did, they ended up with 2 medals at the Games, and were ecstatic with their results. And it doesn't seem like there's any hard feelings on anyone's parts, so Richard was probably pretty understanding of their decision.

 

[Meoima]

A big interview with Eteri on Russian tivi is coming https://twitter.com/leelona/status/995678918932770819?s=21

 

[Fairuza]

A big interview with Eteri on Russian tivi is coming https://twitter.com/leelona/status/995678918932770819?s=21

You can watch it here. I can’t right now.

https://youtu.be/rkbsnu9eAQg

 

[feraina]

A big interview with Eteri on Russian tivi is coming https://twitter.com/leelona/status/995678918932770819?s=21

Oh man. I’m not looking forward to it...

 

[Wyliefan]

I can just imagine.

 

[barbarafan]

A big interview with Eteri on Russian tivi is coming https://twitter.com/leelona/status/995678918932770819?s=21

Does she have ruby slippers? If she gets any tougher The Fed will have to build a hospital wing on the arena.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eFubQuK0dg

 

[Vash01]

A big interview with Eteri on Russian tivi is coming https://twitter.com/leelona/status/995678918932770819?s=21

Does she have ruby slippers? If she gets any tougher The Fed will have to build a hospital wing on the arena.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eFubQuK0dg

I don't understand anything. It was just a twitter thread and then the movie. The tweets about Eteri are not surprising but what did Eteri actually say to draw those comments (other than the already posted interviews)?

 

[Cherub721]

With English subtitles
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vqDLcWgotNA

 

[barbarafan]

I don't understand anything. It was just a twitter thread and then the movie. The tweets about Eteri are not surprising but what did Eteri actually say to draw those comments (other than the already posted interviews)?

I hope someone translates...but from subtitles it is like a threat...if Orser did not like what she was doing wait & see what she does now....The wicked witch had ruby slippers and the good witch waved her wand and they went on Dorothy's feet which would protect her from the wicked witch's sister who was more wicked than the other witch.

 

[Willin]

Eteri's comments are so but also so middle school.

Why does it seem like she's the only child in this situation? Alina and Evegenia both handled it well when asked in that TV segment, and Orser hasn't said anything bad about her.

 

[muffinplus]

God Eteri is such a bitter hag