The Moscow stage of the Figure Skating Grand Prix ended with a grand gala evening, during which the participants of the competition presented their demonstration numbers.
The organizers did everything possible to please the audience, and even as an exception, they invited athletes who did not participate in the tournament.
And if Kamila Valieva, who missed him in terms of age, has already managed to establish herself in the Russian Cup, then Alina Zagitova's rare performances attract special attention.
In "Megasport" the Olympic champion of Pyeongchang-2018 performed with two numbers created last season.
In the first one, called "Life", she went out on the ice to the song Outro by the group M83.
Zagitova herself more than once talked about the significance of this program, dedicated to the choreographer Lyudmila Shalashova, who died last year, and collaborated with the group Eteri Tutberidze.
The staging was performed by the late son Daniel Gleichengauz.
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During the execution of the program, the skater performed triple lutz and flip, but could not stand on her feet after landing the second lutz of the same difficulty.
It is noteworthy that this is one of Zagitova's favorite jumps, and she often performed it in a cascade with a triple rittberger.
In the second part of the gala show, the audience had the opportunity to enjoy the new program "Esmeralda", which premiered just two weeks ago.
Here the skater appeared in the equally tragic and touching image of the main character of the novel by Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral" to the music from the musical of the same name.
This number was intended for demonstration performances at the 2020 World Cup, however, due to the pandemic and a break in her career, Zagitova saw the light of day only now.
Zagitova skated this program more confidently.
She managed to complete the two most difficult elements without mistakes - triple lutz and flip.
In early November, the ward Eteri Tutberidze performed with a similar program at the show "In love with figure skating".
At that time, she did not go out on the ice for nine months and made more mistakes.
In Outro, both triple lutz were flawed, and a three-turn flip ended with a step-out and a fall.
At the same time "Esmeralda" and then did without blots, and both triple jumps were performed cleanly.
After the completion of the demonstration programs, representatives of the Tutberidze group thanked Zagitova and the other skaters for their successful performance.
“Our team, represented by Alina Zagitova, Kamila Valieva, Maurice Kvitelashvili, Arseny Fedotov and Nikolai Kolesnikov, gave us a huge celebration at the past demonstration performances!
Thank you, "said a message posted on the group's Instagram page.
The fans who missed Zagitova's performances appreciated both numbers, although Esmeralda caused a more violent reaction.
After the final chords, they applauded the athlete for a long time and even arranged a kind of flash mob, throwing several dozen red plush hearts onto the ice.
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The audience's enthusiasm for the hire of Zagitova was shared by the two-time Olympic champion in Sochi-2014, Maxim Trankov.
“Only the most positive emotions.
I can say one word - thank you.
Thank you for Alina with us today and decorating this show.
This is a real decoration when Zagitova goes out on the ice.
In her program, she gave her heart to the audience, skated very soulfully, ”Trankov said on the First Channel.
The four-time world champion Natalya Bestemyanova was in solidarity with the opinion of the ex-skater.
At the same time, she stressed that with such a program, Zagitova could not count on high places at official starts.
“Alina is definitely very good for demonstration performances.
She is a beautiful figure skater and looks great, but what she has shown is not enough to compete in competitions, "- quotes Bestemyanova" Championship ".
In turn, in an interview with RT, the famous coach Alexander Zhulin also emphasized that the inclusion of triple jumps in the programs does not mean that Tutberidze's ward is ready for something more than a show.
“Alina is Alina, the Olympic champion.
Every time she goes out on the ice, it is always a holiday.
A wonderful skater with an established style.
It is a pleasure to look at her.
But competitions are another story, and you need to prepare for them differently.
Therefore, they should not be compared with demonstration performances.
And it's not surprising that she included triple lutz in the program.
Wake her up at night, she will jump him, ”Zhulin expressed confidence.
In addition, he suggested that in order to return to the big sport, a figure skater should master several elements of the ultra-s level.
“When we see that Alina has started performing triple axel and quadruple jumps, then we can talk about a return. This is not the kind of athlete who will be content with sixth places. If we talk about the sports component, then it needs to abandon all "Ice Age" and start plowing. But it seems to me that now Zagitova feels very comfortable. She became feminine, knows her own worth, began to speak and move better. And I think he does everything right, ”concluded Zhulin.