And who are the judges: what surprised the “Russian Challenge” show program tournament, besides the underestimation of Gumennik and Sinitsina

To talk about figure skating programs using the criterion of “like or not” is pure taste.

But it seems that this was what guided the members of the jury: iconic people of all kinds of arts, but, unfortunately, not sports.

This was the default problem: when you see figure skating live only a few times in your life, or even for the first time, it is completely impossible to understand whether the performance is really original and new, or whether they are showing you some kind of ice consumer goods in which only a recognizable figure can catch your attention. melody.

Actually, this is precisely why one of the first sensations that involuntarily arose in the brain was: the show program tournament is sorely lacking in the panel of judges from Tatyana Tarasova.

It was there, and not in the commentary position.

There should have been at least one person among the referees who really understood what was truly cool on the ice?

There is no arguing about tastes, as they say, so it is completely pointless now to agree or disagree with the fact that Alexey Yagudin became the winner of the tournament for the second time in a row.

Another question is that the tournament itself did not work out.

It confidently moved into the format of tightly put together demonstration performances with a carefully selected line-up of guest stars, and it was not the organizers’ problem that someone wanted more.

Was the event held?

Did the audience enjoy it?

So what are the questions?

Seven out of 26 participants were left without prizes or nominations, and it is surprising that Pyotr Gumennik was among them.

It is clear that Scriabin’s 12th etude is not music for everyone, just like Malevich’s paintings, but this is precisely what the people of art at their desks should have appreciated.

But it didn't happen.

Gumennik’s act generally stood apart in the general program.

The skater skated to the music and dissolved in it, which at all times was considered a rare gift in figure skating.

Probably only Ksenia Sinitsyna could compare with Peter in this capacity, who managed to combine the amazing art of skating with a very deep understanding of music and a serious dramatic presentation of the program about the children of besieged Leningrad.

Taking into account these three components, I personally would give the championship in the tournament to her.

Why not Evgenia Semenenko or Sofya Muravyova, who also chose emotionally difficult topics for their speeches?

Probably because Evgeniy is noticeably inferior to Sinitsina in skating, but Sonya, with her crazy emotionality (what is the figure skater’s post-skating reaction worth!), is still a little lacking in the inner acting fullness.

The overwhelming number of speakers chose to skate the genre.

On the one hand, the choice is clear: the plot obviously embedded in the song and the clearly defined image seem to dictate to the performer all the necessary actions on the ice.

But here, too, you quickly begin to see the difference between real and deep acting work and simple skating “in character,” be it tragic or comedic.

Many of the performances, unfortunately, turned out exactly like this: beautiful, professionally put together, but... about nothing.

In the comedy genre, I would single out three.

Roman Savosin (“Heart of a Dog”), Maria Petrova and Alexey Tikhonov (“Hedgehog in the Fog”) and Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov (“12 Chairs”).

You can spend a long time finding all sorts of compliments about all three performances, but overall, I think Tamara Moskvina’s duet will be ahead in any case.

Thanks to an incredibly stylish production in all respects, created for a couple by Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk, the current champions of the country in pair skating appeared in rather uncharacteristic images, acted flawlessly in them from beginning to end, while the program itself was stuffed with interesting lifts , transportation and other original parts.

If the categories of originality, technical richness and execution were clearly defined in the judging criteria, Mishina and Gallyamov could be safely awarded victory in the tournament, and not just the audience award according to the media.

If we focus exclusively on the acting work on the ice, the championship in my personal rating is occupied by Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin.

There is not much objectivity in this choice, but rather a combination of factors and the deepest admiration for the characters.

In sports, Oksana and Maxim could well be considered one of the most tragic and underrated couples in ice dancing - both truly revealed themselves later, in the performances of Ilya Averbukh, and it was there that Oksana grew into an amazing dramatic actress.

And not only she alone, but almost all the skaters of previous generations who were lucky enough to go through the very serious ice performances of Ilya Averbukh in their post-sports life - from “City Lights” to “Anna Karenina” and “Carmen”.

It’s a pity, by the way, that it didn’t occur to anyone to give a special prize to Averbukh as a director.

As part of the tournament, he staged programs for Alexei Yagudin, Mark Kondratyuk, Dmitry Aliev, Evgenia Medvedeva, Domnina - Shabalin, Evgenia Tarasova - Vladimir Morozov.

Not all productions, however, were performed: the same “Dreams of Love” with a dedication to Lyudmila Belousova - Oleg Protopopov were always considered categorically incompatible with even the slightest errors in skating.

But Zhenya Tarasova fell from the ejection, and the integrity of the composition immediately crumbled.

Like Medvedeva, who sat down on the ice from a jump in front of Aida Garifullina, to whose singing the skater skated.

Is Yagudin's victory fair?

From a purely sporting point of view, yes.

Combining an actor's professional reading of one of the country's iconic poems with the need to control every movement on the ice, including the triple jump and the famous Olympic step sequence, is a very difficult job.

How this is possible just five months after knee replacement surgery is beyond comprehension.

And there is probably some symbolism in the fact that the theme for the issue was the legendary “Seventeen Moments of Spring.”

How can one not recall Stirlitz’s sacramental phrase, which has become a meme: “In any conversation, the last phrase is always remembered.”