On the 19th of December Russian and world stars of figure skating went on ice of the GUM-Skating rink on the Red Square.
On the threshold of the show «Figure skating on the Red Square» in the demonstration hall of GUM a press conference took place. It was attended by the officials of the project: Mikhail Kusnirovich, Head of the company BoscoSport, the sponsor of the Olympic team of Russia; Leonid Tyagachev, President of the Olympic Committee of Russia, Valentin Piseev, President of the Federation of figure skating of Russia, Tatiana Tarasova, famous figure skating coach, Frenchman Brian Joubert, the winner of the Grand Prix of this season, Chinese couple Ksju Shen — Hongbo Jao, who has also won the Grand Prix this year.
The participants of the press conference gave a detailed description of the project, of its role in the life of the city and of the country, and of the activities planned on the GUM-Skating rink, and in particular of the show «Figure skating on the Red Square».
«Red Square saw Victory parades, festivals, concerts, sports basketball festival, — said Leonid Tyagachev. — And now with the permission of the main sportsman of the country, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, we managed to make the skating rink on the Red Square. The hockey match already took place on it, but hockey is a struggle, and figure skating is a beauty, aesthetics, it is the culture of our country».
The President of the Federation of figure skating of Russia Valentin Piseev gave a very detailed picture of the situation in combined Russian team in this kind of sport:
«On the forthcoming Championship of Russia there will be an interesting fight in men's single skating and pair skating. I'm sure that on the championship of Europe we'll be able to compete for prize places».
And the honored coach Tatiana Tarasova expressed her sincere joy in connection with the arrival of western stars of figure skating on this show:
«I thank my lucky stars for the fact that I am still alive and can see it all with my own eyes. The outstanding sportsmen of our time came to us. It was not us who went there to some magnificent show — as it has been for all my life, but it was them who came here — to us, in the heart of our Moscow; on the Red Square to show their numbers, to perform together with our great figure skaters and to win our hearts».
But on the 19th of December on the GUM-Skating-rink the figure skaters did not compete with each other and did not think about the required elements of the programme. They skated for their own and spectators' pleasure, and made a real ice fairy show with original and fiery dances. Near the Christmas tree, along the flashing GUM, and, of course, red Kremlin stars, the performances of the figure skaters under falling snow were fabulously beautiful.
The presenters of the show were: silver medallist of the Olympic games 2002 in dances on ice Ilya Averbouh, who already had great experience in organizing of such events, and the actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite.
About three thousand lucky men, who filled the stands to the full, could enjoy the skills of our Olympic champions Alexei Yagudin, Elena Berezhnaia and Anton Sikharulidze, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Olympic prize-winners Irina Slutskaya, Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbouh. Our illustrious coach Tatiana Tarasova led them on ice.
«Our foreign colleagues are shocked more than us, — said Russian figure skaters Domnina and Shabalin. — They are so delighted and they ask themselves how could it happen that such simple idea to make a show on the open skating rink in some especially significant part of their city hadn't come to their own mind?! During the training Oksana asked: „Who knows what's time is it?“. And the Spassk tower immediately responded with striking of chimes».
«The impressions from the skating against a background of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed and the Kremlin, are of course, amazing — confessed the many-times champion of Europe and of the world, prize-winner of two Olympic games in single skating IrinaSlutskaya. — A chance to perform on the Red Square may occur once in a lifetime. And I'm proud that it occurred to me. On the one hand, cold wind and snow disturbed. On the other hand, thank God that the weather was like that. It is real Russian winter! Maybe that is why there was such tremendous atmosphere on the ice. I personally didn't even feel cold, despite my light clothing».
Lithuanian couple Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagasu, Ukraininan Oksana Baiul, Frenchman Brian Joubert, Chinese couple Ksju Shen and Hongbo Jao, who won the finals of Grand Prix in St. Petersburg the other day, were welcomed very warmly. Of course it is such a good luck to see the Russian and world stars of figure skating under the Kremlin stars!
After completing his performance the ex-world and European champion in pair skating Alexei Tikhonov confessed, that it was as if he had returned in childhood:
«We were present at the great event, which will go down in history of Russian figure skating! — said Alexei Tikhonov. — This show is like a return in childhood for all of us. Every famous figure skater began skating in yards, where there also was a fir-tree, and the snow was falling on the ice. And I am happy that I had a chance to go through these feelings once again. During today’s training I didn't even want to leave the ice, as the whole atmosphere touched me so much».
The broadcasting of the event took place on the first channel on the 23rd of December at 21.20.
