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Alina Zagitova has been making us happy with new programs lately. Most recently, she performed “House of Flying Daggers,” staged especially for the Chinese public at a show in Beijing. This time the premiere took place at the opening ceremony of the Grand Prix in Ufa. In Bashkiria, by the way, Republic Day is celebrated on Wednesday. Therefore, despite the height of the work week and the inconvenient time, the hall was almost packed.
Zagitova, despite her long list of merits, was not the last on the list of performing artists: this prestigious place is now occupied by the current Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova. But Alina still received almost the most support. There is no point in competing in this, although the fans in the stands tried to start a verbal duel over which of the skaters was better.
Now about the premiere itself. The music chosen is viscous and sexy — I Feel Like I'm Drowning by Two Feet. Provocative text: “You are poison, and it’s true. All my friends think you’re vicious.” The choreography and image more than correspond to the declared level of provocation.
The dress is black, with a transparent skirt and spectacular slits on the hips and chest. In fact, it’s not even a dress, but a bodice and shorts under a transparent cape.
The first impression of the program is wow! What kind of cat is this panther! Magnetic, relaxed and bold. Alina had a lot of successful music, images, and costumes in her career and at numerous ice shows. Choreographers often played on her natural beauty and femininity. But almost always it looked somewhat rehearsed — like in the super revealing “Priestess of Fire” in a tiger suit, which Zagitova performed at the age of 15. It's like a little girl put on her mom's shoes and put on her mom's lipstick, but doesn't quite understand how to walk in those heels and take off her makeup when she gets tired of it. Even in the “Marilyn Monroe” number at the show program tournament, Zagitova seemed shy. Although the image demanded the opposite.
This time everything was different. Alina has probably never appeared so relaxed on the ice. She enjoyed the way she moved, the way she looked, and the way three thousand spectators at the Ufa Sports Palace looked at her with loving eyes.
How did this evolution happen? Time and experience probably helped. Alina became super popular at a very young age. This, on the one hand, gave her a sea of love and recognition. On the other hand, it made a teenager vulnerable, forced to grow up before everyone’s eyes. Every word, deed and even dress is under the supervision of thousands of people. Zagitova has lived and lived in this mode for the last 6 years. She was persistently offered images of adult young ladies with complex feelings, she tried to perform them, but she performed exactly what she performed. I did not understand and did not live.
But at some point the critical supply of experience becomes such that it noticeably changes a person. Not only externally, but also internally. Alina spent many years learning to be imperfect, laughing at herself, experimenting with hair color, makeup and costumes. In the wake of all these experiments and a newfound sense of inner freedom, it seems that this wild cat appeared, ready to seduce everyone who gets in her way.
All this energy is now an unlearned moral from the explanations of Eteri Tutberidze and Daniil Gleikhengauz. She is from the inside. That is why today everything worked out for Alina in the new program. And even falling from a triple flip did not affect the perception: with Zagitova it happens that the premiere does not go too smoothly due to excitement. Otherwise, the performance turned out great — it’s even a pity that there was no broadcast of the opening. There is no way right now to review the speech again.