src=»/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/69d43d45830a05ea7c9f415d77aefef3.jpg» at the start for the Georgian national team, which will take place on August 1 in Lake Placid. However, their chances at the upcoming Olympic Games are highly dependent on the influence of the coaching staff. Sport tells how Eteri Tutberidze's daughter and her partner intend to survive in the cynical world of ice dancing.
In this discipline, they have not yet come up with another way to overcome the dislike of judges, except for the «correct» coach. You can hone hooks and counters as much as you like, but strength lies elsewhere. Dancing on ice is a specific sport, here a lot is decided on the sidelines, and competitive skates only help to consolidate the agreements already reached. Or, on the contrary, interfere with them. Look at least at the statements of recognized masters — nowhere else you will find such a concentration of the phrases «referee blocks», «as agreed» and «depends on the composition of the technical panel».
Perhaps that is why Russian ice dances have moved towards consolidation. Alexander Zhulin is the name of the savior of discipline, to whom everyone or almost everyone came to bow, as he himself said in an interview as part of the show «In Two Words». Why they came is a question without an answer, at least not officially. Although in fact everything is clear without words.Just take a look at Zhulin's pair scores last season. Elizaveta Shanaeva/Pavel Drozd and Sofya Tyutyunina/Andrey Bagin are two remake duets who have not even spent half a year together. In both, partners have certain shortcomings, which are pointed out by all specialists in behind-the-scenes conversations. And both duets are in the national top, at its very top. Shanaeva and Drozd almost did not become champions of Russia, although even in Krasnoyarsk it was obvious: the guys did not roll up to the end.And why did Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin and Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva/Yegor Bazin go to Alexander Vyacheslavovich, who surpassed Shanaeva/Drozd at the Russian Championship? Well, of course, behind the programs under Rachmaninoff. No, probably because of them too, but the key factor is still different. It was not in vain that Alexandra and Ivan unequivocally hinted that they «did not have much time left» in sports and needed to reach their maximum.
But we are still not innovators in consolidation. The academy of Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon has been functioning in Canada for ten years now, where half of the dance world now trains. You are promising and want to make a breakthrough — you go there. You are experienced, but there is a need to hone your skills — you are there. You are strong, powerful and categorically favorite — you go there. You just got on skates and took your partner by the hand — no, it's too early for you to go there. Here you ride for a year, learn something … Well, you understand.
Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir, Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Sizeron, Madison Chalk/Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donoghue, Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier, Olivia Smart/Tim Dick… Eteri Tutberidze is generally believed to have a monopoly on Russian women's single skating, but this list only lists the tops of Montreal, and even then not all .
Could it be one pair wider — a month ago Russian. According to information, Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin planned to go to the Montreal Academy, but cooperation has not yet developed. It is possible that negotiations were going on even before Alexei Kilyakov became the permanent coach of the duet.
Last summer, Diana and Gleb overtook a kind of crisis period when they stopped working with Igor Shpilband, one of the best dance coaches in the world. Igor Yuryevich himself said that he did not initiate the gap. The reasons are still unclear. At Shpilband, Davis/Smolkin approached the top level, performed at the European Championships and the Olympic Games.
You can shout as much as you like about Eteri Georgievna's «blat», but the lion's share of merit belonged to the hard work of the guys themselves and Shpilband's coaching talent. There is, of course, an opinion that at some point the most experienced specialist assessed the pair with a scrupulous look and relied on the charismatic Smolkin, and not on Diana, who had yet to be properly rolled out. This decision, they say, did not find understanding. But how can you really believe this?
One way or another, after leaving Shpilband, the couple needed a coach of a comparable level. There was talk about an attempt to establish cooperation with Marina Zueva, with the Charlie White Academy and Tanith Belbin. That allegedly even Benoit Richaud, better known as a choreographer and coach in single skating, was considered for a permanent job. But neither option came to fruition. Most likely, then the idea of Montreal arose.In all actions, there is an obvious logic. At that point, Davis/Smolkin were clearing the way for the US flag, and the entire North American dance top is training in Canada. It is almost impossible for formal foreigners who do not belong to the academy to withstand internal competition and break into the national team. And the opportunity to watch an opponent in training every day, analyzing his strengths and weaknesses, will definitely not hurt. Who, if not Eteri Georgievna, should know about this?
Surely the referee bonus also mattered. But not as global as it seems at first glance. In the end, leaving for Kilyakov — a coach without well-known adult duets — Davis/Smolkin is unlikely to collapse in the rankings. After all, the main force for overcoming referee dislike for them, obviously, is not the coach. More precisely, not their coach.
And yet it is difficult to imagine that with Kilyakov the guys will win high-profile titles. It will be joyful to make a mistake, but global trends show that success requires more impressive resources. Obviously, the bet on Montreal for Davis and Smolkin was equal to the chances for a medal in the 2026 Olympics, but alas. However, I admit that all is not lost. Now Davis/Smolkin is no longer a Russian couple without a certain status, but the first number of the Georgian national team — moderately strong, financially strong and relatively influential. Dance coaches around the world are trying to assemble an international team of students under their wing (for the sake of bonuses from judges from these countries, probably), and therefore the potential cooperation benefits both Montreal and Davis/Smolkin.
And only Montreal? Indeed, according to information, the Davis/Smolkin side has recently been considering the possibility of changing the base for training to the European one. Although it is unlikely to happen in the near future. Diana and Gleb are preparing for the start of the first season under the flag of Georgia together with Kilyakov — it is unlikely that another drastic change will contribute to a successful debut in the new team. But closer to the Olympics — why not? In any case, with regard to this pair, it is already difficult to be surprised at anything.