The Ice Dance section of the European Championships ended with a beautiful fairytale – Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski’s new Free Dance "The Firebird".
The mood of the dance was set up from the very beginning – the very minute they were presented. The costumes of ‘Dance Art’ studio are so colorful and bright that the athletes began to feel the right mood long before they started to skate, in the dressing room. And just as Stravinsky’s fascinating music filled the tribunes with it’s first chords, the Saku Suurhall ice rink turned into a forest where the Firebird faced the evil Black Crow. During that small period of time, Sergey the Crow catches Jana the Firebird and tries to force her to stay in the woods. And when she understands that he fooled her in order to keep her beside him, they begin to battle. It ends with a final fight – the Crow’s heart turns to stone by the first sunbeams, and the Firebird beats him. As in any other fairytale, Good wins over Evil!
It won’t be enough to say that the first presentation of the program was fabulously accepted. The Dance got, probably, the loudest ovations from the crowd, and after skating Jana, Sergei, and their coaches Alexander Vasilievich and Irina Vladimirovna were very much thanked and congratulated by media and colleagues. A 100-percent right theme, a wonderfully created program, bright bird-like plasticity, and very impressive presentation – that’s what both specialists and fans think about it. More unbelievable is the fact that this Dance is less than two months old! Not much time left to feel completely comfortable with the program and working on the step sequences but hopefully Jana and Sergei will get there right on time and will be able to make it as perfect as it was created to be.
We continue our coverage of the European Figure Skating Championships 2010 for those who don’t have a chance to watch it live. Kristina Koroleva, our photographer, is providing photos of Jana and Sergei for the site.
Though right now it is very cold in Tallinn, today’s Original Dance warmed up the crowd in a great way – practically everyone wanted to dance along with the couples. But of course, all they could do was just clap and dance staying seated. This heated the atmosphere on the tribunes even more – from the very beginning a tough battle was expected to happen on the ice of Saku Suurhall. Jana and Sergei withstood it, having made one small mistake though, and are currently third. Their Russian dance was judged highly and scored 58.59 which so far is the seasons best score. The Olympics are just about to come but still there is some time to work on the levels of the step sequences in order to conquer both the crowd and the judges in Vancouver.
The nearest goal is to make a good presentation of the exclusively new Free Dance called "Zhar-Ptica” by Igor Stravinsky. This program not only reflects the spirit of Russian fairytale epos; it reflects Jana and Sergei’s character. The fact that they are the first skaters and the first Russians to embody the famous music of the great Russian composer is very symbolic and significant. Especially now, when the whole world is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Diaghilev’s "The Russian seasons”, the trademark of which is the "Zhar-Ptica”. This dance may become a fabulous ending of the Free Dance programs – Jana and Sergei, exactly like a year ago in Helsinki, are scheduled to close the Ice Dance competition. Then why not make a tradition of skating a masterpiece Free Dance at the very end of the big battle?
1 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA 61.68 2 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 61.49 3 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA 60.08 4 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS 58.59 5 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR 57.05 6 Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY ISR 55.92 7 Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO UKR 54.30 8 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV RUS 53.03 9 Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE ITA 52.83 10 Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV UKR 51.22
1 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 104.27 2 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA 99.15 3 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS 96.46 4 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA 96.44 5 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR 93.81 6 Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY ISR 90.55 7 Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE ITA 88.76 8 Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO UKR 86.90 9 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV RUS 86.36 10 Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV UKR 83.37
Having a day off from competing is an extra chance for ice dancers to have a rest and walk around the city. Thought it doesn't mean that there are no trainings at all. During today's practice sessions Jana and Sergei once again inspired the crowd with fragments of their new Free Dance. Tomorrow will be a tough day - trainings in the morning and the second part of the competition, the Original Dance. Spectators will be enjoying the folk dance festival: this season skaters have prepared various programs - from Finnish and Australian to country dances and Hawaiian. One of these pearls is Jana and Sergei's dance to a Russian song called "Vdol' po Piterskoi" ("Along the Petersburg street"). No, it is not a pearl, it is an emerald since the couple will appear on the ice in brand new green costumes from Slava Zaitsev. Let us wish them good ice, great mood, and energy!
The Original Dance starts at 14:00 Moscow time, and Jana and Sergei are expected to skate approximately at 17:05. The TV broadcasting live is available on Russia-2 channel, online at Sportbox.ru, and Swedish STVplay.se.
Good dancers cannot be spoiled neither by an early starting number in a competition, nor by some difficulties and small injuries in the beginning of the season. Especially it is so when they have a chance to present their favorite Compulsory Dance after a long break. Opening the top ten dancers performance, Jana and Sergei didn’t give even a tiny reason to doubt the excellence of their skating. Their Tango Romantica was about great technique and artistic demonstration. The severe but elegant costumes underlined the athletes' mastery. The scored summed up into 37.87 and after the first dance Jana and Sergei came in second - the European champions are currently right behind the World champions
Now they can completely focus on their Original and Free Dances which are widely loved for the Russian beauty and amplitude reflected in them. We will see the first part of the Russian dilogy on Thursday; Jana and Sergei are scheduled to skate 21st by this closing the next-to-last warm-up.
1 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 42.78 2 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS 37.87 3 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA 37.47 4 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR 36.76 5 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA 36.36 6 Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE ITA 35.93 7 Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY ISR 34.63 8 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV RUS 33.33 9 Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO UKR 32.60 10 Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV UKR 32.15
Those who haven’t seen Jana and Sergei’s Tango Romantica can watch the video of the Russia-2 channel coverage below.
In a few hours European Championships 2010 will be opened by the Compulsory Dance of the Ice Dancers. Jana and Sergei are chosen to skate first among the top ten couples. Their tango "Romantica” is at 17:00 Moscow time. Four warm-ups will be shown live on Russia-2 channel at 15:50. The full online version from Tallinn is available on Sportbox.ru at 14:25.
Starting order and online results of the Compulsory Dance:
Warm-Up Group 5 18 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS 19 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR 20 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV RUS 21 Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV UKR 22 Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE ITA Warm-Up Group 6 23 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 24 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA 25 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA 26 Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY ISR 27 Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO UKR
Last three days Tallinn have been welcoming Europe’s best figure skaters at its main hall Saku Suurhaal - the European Figure Skating Championships 2010 are about to start. Jana and Sergei’s trainings have been bringing a lot of attention to all those who came to the ice rink. No wonder – in Estonia they are debuting with their dance called "Zhar-Ptica” ("The Firebird”). First impressions of the new program both from specialists and fans are more than positive – everyone agrees that it is greatly made. The brilliance of the dance, the expressiveness of the movements, and the creativity of the costumes prove that the program was worth working!
"The theme of the dance is taken from Russian fairytales but we decided to step away from Igor Stravinsky’s ballet piece" - says Alexandr Svinin. Jana and Sergei perform two opposing characters that symbolize Good and Evil – the Firebird and the Black Crow. The idea of creating such a dance had been in mind for a long time but it was very hard to find the right music version. Finally, they found a good one which made the dance look powerful and dancelike.
A lot of work was done to create this program. Jana says they had to watch many videos of the ballet staring Diana Vishneva, Nina Ananiashvili, and Gabriella Komleva which helped to get into the theme and copy the ornithic moves. Also they spent a lot of time in the gym working on the choreography with Igor as it is important to refer to the origin. Jana and Sergei did some research on the "ice history” of "Zhar Ptica”, and though no one has used this particular piece of music before it was very useful too watch Toller Cranston, Kurt Browning, and Midori Ito in their interpretations of it.
This year "Zhar Ptica” is one of the main hits and we are sure that the first ice dance based on Stravinsky’s music will become one of the brightest moments of the Olympic season. Keep focused on the European Figure Skating Championships 2010 in Tallinn, it’s coming soon!
Dear friends! Unfortunately, life is life, and it sometimes brings
unexpected changes into peoples' plans. On Monday, during the
Compulsory Dance "Tango Romantica" training, Sergey's knee injury from
the past got worse. Until the last moment, Yana and Sergey were still
willing to go to Saint-Petersburg and compete at Russian Nationals
winning their title for a third time in a row but the opinion of the
skating team's doctor was shared by the doctor of the whole Russian
skating team: in order to avoid difficulties in the future, Sergey is
recommended to minimize physical activities and get some medical
treatment.
Therefore, we are very sorry to say that Russian
Nationals this year will take place without the countries' reigning
champions. But it sure is better to leave out something less important
and spend time getting ready for the main events of the season. And,
what is most important for Sergey, to maintain his health facing the
upcoming big competitions. So hopefully see you in Tallinn!
Unfortunately, now and then long flights interfere with athletes’ health. Coming back from America, Yana caught a light cold, and missed training days from November 19 through 23. The doctor advised not to increase the exercise load and reduce the risk of a recurrent disease. Just for this reason Yana and Sergei will not take part in the Final of ISU Grand Prix in Tokyo next week. Now it is more important for them to thoroughly prepare for Russian and European championships, eliminating unnecessary risks.
Nevertheless, these minor troubles hardly affected the team’s positive mood. Very soon Yana and Sergei will tell about the changes that were introduced in the training after initial competitions. Keep your eye on the news on our site.
The Ice Dance section of the European Championships ended with a beautiful fairytale – Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski’s new Free Dance "The Firebird". 
Though right now it is very cold in Tallinn, today’s Original Dance warmed up the crowd in a great way – practically everyone wanted to dance along with the couples. But of course, all they could do was just clap and dance staying seated. This heated the atmosphere on the tribunes even more – from the very beginning a tough battle was expected to happen on the ice of Saku Suurhall. Jana and Sergei withstood it, having made one small mistake though, and are currently third. Their Russian dance was judged highly and scored 58.59 which so far is the seasons best score. The Olympics are just about to come but still there is some time to work on the levels of the step sequences in order to conquer both the crowd and the judges in Vancouver.
Last three days Tallinn have been welcoming Europe’s best figure skaters at its main hall Saku Suurhaal - the European Figure Skating Championships 2010 are about to start. Jana and Sergei’s trainings have been bringing a lot of attention to all those who came to the ice rink. No wonder – in Estonia they are debuting with their dance called "Zhar-Ptica” ("The Firebird”). First impressions of the new program both from specialists and fans are more than positive – everyone agrees that it is greatly made. The brilliance of the dance, the expressiveness of the movements, and the creativity of the costumes prove that the program was worth working!