Tournament show programs, held at the weekend, continues to be hotly discussed. Among the reasons are its rules and the quality of the performances of the skaters. Sport talks about the shortcomings of the project.
The main thing to say about a show program tournament is that you should not rush to evaluate it as a kind of finished product. This format is similar in type to ice shows, but in terms of internal content and organization it is very different from them. Many things were «finished» by the organizers literally on the go. It is permissible for the author to judge this from the position of a participant who has been (albeit a little bit) both on the ice and behind the scenes. shortcomings. No, globally it turned out to be successful. Many viewers will vote with both hands for the sequel. It is simply necessary. Only to make it an even better show without some weirdness.
For example, eyewitnesses reported that the stewards did not let Elizaveta Tuktamysheva into the arena 20 minutes before the start of the broadcast. At the end of the show, she received the personal sympathy prize of the famous choreographer Boris Eifman. Perhaps Elizabeth was simply without accreditation, then the Megasport employees showed commendable vigilance. Although a little earlier, for some incomprehensible reason, they did not allow harmless posters to be brought into the arena in support of a team of journalists who performed at the tournament out of competition. Some fans, for unknown reasons, were even forbidden to throw toys on the ice. It is unlikely that such severity is appropriate at an event with such a benevolent climate. >Another strange observation lies in the rooms themselves. Too much, some of them looked like typical exhibition performances, wrapped in costumes, lighting and other solutions from the Ice Age tour. There is nothing wrong. But good too.
There is a feeling that the skaters and directors themselves did not fully understand the rules of the game. This is a show, but on the other hand, you have to somehow win in it. How can you beat another talented artist in the «presentation» and «composition» categories? Many decided that it was standard and proven moves, in which they are good, with the addition of a bit of healthy outrageousness. That is, we went about the same way as in regular competitions. However, this time it was not necessary to make a mandatory set of elements, but props were allowed.
The program of the Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova under «Seventeen Moments of Spring» immediately comes to mind. She turned out to be a sensual, insinuating number on a difficult topic. However, she could not surprise, because the repertoire of the champion of numbers with a lyrical tinge has already accumulated a lot. .jpg» /There were numbers where the bet was made on outrageous. Some of them didn't fire either. For example, from Alina Zagitova in the image of Marilyn Monroe, one could expect flirting with the pin-up theme, suggesting appropriate choreography and atmosphere. If you really capture the 50s with Marilyn, you simply cannot do without deliberate and at the same time stylish sexuality. At the output, the composition suffered — one of the evaluation criteria. From the crutches of the image — only a blond wig and a legendary fan waving a skirt, from the spirit of the time — a vintage microphone, which stood alone in the center of the ice for almost the entire program. This is too little to understand the image on autopilot, and the athlete herself, it seems, has not mentally grown together with the fatal blonde. Alina and stage director Daniil Gleikhengauz were a little cautious and did not finish. And they can even be partly understood. Because Matvey Vetlugin, for example, put the squeeze on all the money. Homage to Don Quixote by Zagitova, Toxic Tuktamysheva, Sex Bomb by Evgeni Plushenko and «Winter» by Alexei Yagudin — yes, with appropriate costumes, and with characteristic choreography for each of the passages!
Matvey did his best, shook the hall, and was remembered by the audience. And flew off to 21st place. Why, as they say, strained? Or Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Gallyamov, who didn't even make it to the middle of the table with a fresh, innovative football-themed number?
This leads to another ambiguity — refereeing. It was too subjective. Over the past couple of seasons, you can get used to the claims against the referees. However, so many shouts of «Not enough!», as this time, have not been carried from the stands for a very long time. On the other hand, is it possible to compare, conditionally, the theatrical act «The Little Prince» by Mark Kondratyuk with a bunch of props and the personal story of Alexei Yagudin — completely without third-party attributes on ice, but with a soul and understanding of nature? By what kind of objective criteria should one bypass the other?Here and now, on the contrary, it seems that the organizers made a Solomonic decision and abandoned the idea of determining the winner only by audience voting, which was in the air. On the sidelines, they say that the athletes rebelled against this method, and someone even showed their intention to withdraw from the tournament. This is quite expected. In this case, it would not be the number that would win, but the fan base of a particular skater. It would not be necessary for him to go on the ice himself.
A jury from figure skating is also a non-working option. Simply because the champion of a large-scale gala evening should not be determined by shouts and the degree of twist on jumps. Judges from cinema, ballet and the fashion industry, on the other hand, were absolutely objective in their subjectivity — having little knowledge of figure skating directly, I believe they judged more on the principle of «how you like it.» The main thing is that they helped to avoid talking about bias. In a subjective sport from head to toe, one cannot count on more.Probably, in the future, the organizers should think about clearer rules. For example, enter several criteria — lyrical numbers, comical, and so on. As a result, determine the winner in each of the categories separately, and not in a general hodgepodge of images and meanings. Or separate «veterans» and those whose careers are still ongoing. Yes, subjectivism will not disappear from this (perhaps even increase), but the judges will not get confused about who to compare with whom. The audience will understand a little better why one skater defeated another. On Saturday, there was not much understanding, and the most frequent phrase that sounded from the lips of the fans was something like «I would have chosen a completely different pedestal».
I am convinced that in the future the organizers will come to an ideal format. I am also convinced that the project clearly has a «future». Demonstration performances, even at official starts, sometimes gather more spectators than competitive rentals. The crowded «Megasport» at the «Russian Challenge» once again proved that the viewer is interested not only in medal cutting, but also in quiet entertainment without validol and drama. And if there is a demand, there will always be a supply.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors