Russian Senior Test Skates 2022

[Dreamer57]

I gotta say that Mukhortova/Evgen’ev we’re standout for me in pairs, not to detract from M/G, but I kindda feel that Moskvina’s team is dropping the ball on programs’ comps. And men were a total gift for my birthday. Like, who knew that Russian men can carry a FS? Glad to see Ignatov, Danielian, Kolyada, Mozalev and Aliev all reaching for the right stuff.

I quite liked M/G's Elvis program, it looked like fun!

Are Stepanova/Bukin ok? I didn't see them. There were a lot more newer couples in the ice dance...and S/B would have done a great intro too!

& many happy returns!

 

[AlexBreeze]

Are Stepanova/Bukin ok? I didn't see them.

There were rumours that Bukin is going to take part in Ice Age. Nothing official though.

 

[Paz]

I thought the voiceover at the start of Kamila's free skate from the Truman Show soundtrack, but I read that they used actual news reports from the Olympics. If that's correct, I'm seriously impressed with Gleik.

I recognized Christine Brennan’s voice but not earlier ones because the idiot announcer talked over the first few seconds of the program. I wonder if Phil Hersh or others were also used?

 

[lariko]

What! It's your birthday?! I wish you all the best and for Mozalev to dominate this season, haha. How's your birthday going, everything well?

Oh, yup! Mom’s visiting, so we watched all the figure skating we wanted, and mom loved Mozalev’s FS this time. She didn’t like it in StPb. So, pretty happy! Just wish Schizas did better in Nebelhorn

 

[lariko]

quite liked M/G's Elvis program, it looked like fun!

Well, if nothing else, Galiamov could be observed from the deep reaches of outer space in that costume.

 

[Jontor]

Late to the party. Finally seen the free skates.

Kamila - what a wonderful performance from her! She really is a lovely skater. The program was a bit tasteless though, but as this won't be competing internationally this season, I'm thinking it's fine for the domestic audience and makes its points...hmm.

Sofia A - Another great skate. She is the Russian future star. I'm still feeling a bit irritated and conflicted about the fact that we won't see her at seniors until the next Olympic season.

(I am sooo missing Anna BTW, and Sasha apparently WD)

Sofia M - Loooved it. Sofia has the potential to become my future favourite Russian skater. I'm just not sure if Plushenko is the right fit for her as I think she might have a bit of Butyrskaya nerves, and can he handle that?

Adeliia - She was one of my favourites in the junior years. The problem I have now is that she still looks like 12 and it all still looks very junior-ish to me. I expect more at this stage. Great skate though.

Sofia S - A bit rough around the edges but I loved it anyway. Always good to see a nice Lutz-Loop combo. That means she got it. Recently changed coaches so I expect her to polish it all up later on.

Liza - Oh Liza. How much I love her. She's still going strong at 25. Everything seems to be there, just need a little polish. Did I mention how much I love her?

OK, as you guys know, I don't watch dance and pairs, so skipping ahead to the boys now...

 

[lariko]

Sofia M - Loooved it. Sofia has the potential to become my future favourite Russian skater. I'm just not sure if Plushenko is the right fit for her as I think she might have a bit of Butyrskaya nerves, and can he handle that?

Mom and I agreed that he’s really good for her a in terms of emphasizing the drama of the performances. He skated in a similar manner himself, so I can’t really think of any coach who I themselves was a huge performer like she is.

With Pertrosyan I noticed that she adds a lot to her program as the season goes on. So, I think, her FS might mature.

 

[Jontor]

The boys

Artem - I think he is the weakest of the Russian male skaters. Haven't seen the others yet, but I'm kinda sure they will top this? But Artem is still young and maybe he can convince more in the future.

Alexander - His quad Lutz is fantastic...when he lands it. He is still stiff, like a stick on viagra. Loved the music choice, but unfortunately Alex can't do anything with it imo.

Makar - He is always great technically the first 2 minutes, then he runs out of steam. Rukavicin really needs to introduce some sort of stamina program for the boys. Artistically, hmm, has Makar regressed or has he always been like this? I found him as stiff as Alexander.

Evgeni - Great skate! Technically it needs some work, but Evgeni seems determined to grow. And he has! The puppyness seems to be gone now. This program has a lot of potential me thinks.

Gleb - Fantastic skate! Mishin really has a diamond in the making here. This was the best so far, both tech and artistically. Loved it. Oh what a pity the GP finals were cancelled last season, Gleb would really have been a great opponent to Ilya.

Mark - has a lot of work to do. The jumps clearly not there yet this season. He seems like a truly artistic person, isn't this music choice a bit lame for him?

second group soon...

 

[Jontor]

The boys continued...

Petr - Wonderful skate!! The first one who really went for it all the way with full technical content. Which is a good sign. This program has GREAT potential. Loved it.

(BTW, love the intros with the guys where they all try to seem cool. It's so cheesy, but great fun at the same time.)

Alexey - (Victoria looking fierce, love her). He has some work to do technically as well. But despite the lame Cathedral music I think this might be a good program for him. He might solidify his position by the Russian men this season. Hope so.

Artur - Seems like Artur is on his way back after two disappointing seasons. Great stuff. Needs some work but he will surely make this program something special this season.

Mikhail - Just fantastic. Didn't go all in technically, but wow what a performer he is. It's sad when you look back on his career that it's not that great, because I think he might be the greatest male skater Russia ever had. He is just wonderful.

Andrei - Great stuff! Andrei has really cemented himself as one of the top Russian men. Looks like he has this program under full control and can develop it nicely this season. Wonderful.

Dmitri - Wow! Dmitri looks more fit than ever! That's the European champion we have missed for a couple of seasons. Surprisingly great!

This second group really brought it. Great stuff!

 

[Corwin]

championat.com gives a full interview with Valieva from the mixed zone.

— What are the feelings after the performance?
— The main thing was to carry your story through the program. I think it succeeded.

— Can you tell us how the program was staged, whose idea was it?
— We worked on the production with Daniil Markovich and Eteri Georgievna, as usual. They asked in advance if I wanted to touch this topic. It seemed to me that it could and should be lived. I agreed.

— How do you like the support of the audience? Literally everyone got up after your skating.
— I am very glad that so many people have come to support us today. I'm glad I could touch them, their souls.

— At the beginning of the program there were news that I don't want to believe. How did it feel to listen to them now?
— When I first listened to the words and music, I couldn't hold back my tears. How many times I rolled the program in training, there were no such emotions. When I came out now, it was as if they had dipped me in there again, tears welled up again, and I need to show the program. There was a tremor, but I'm happy that it became my free program, that I was able to show it to people.

— It often happens in life that something needs to be said out loud and after that it will be possible to move on. How important is it for you to do this?
— It's important.

— You guessed the word "faith" in the short program. Why exactly was this not enough at the Olympics?
— Let me keep this. Everyone always interprets differently. My interpretation is this.

— There were no thoughts to withdraw from the free program due to the fact that not all elements are ready?
— For me, the main thing now is not the fulfillment of the elements. After all, this is not the Olympic season, so that you can be ready for everything from the beginning of the season. There are other priorities now.

— How did you manage to fulfill the goals that were set today?
— The goal was to show the program, try not to fall off the jumps. I prepared for the start of the season as best I could. In general, I am happy with the performance.

— Kamila, tell us a little about the dress, how did it appear?
— Hood — it is clear what the reference is. The dress itself was created more by Eteri Georgievna and Olga Ryabenko. I told what details need to be changed. I think the dress will probably continue to improve.

not the best translation, but at least something

 

[Jontor]

And I love the music choices for both the women and the men here. There was an 'Ave Maria' in there, also a dreaded Cathedral...but that didn't matter much. The Russians really brought it...unlike the Challenger/JGP competitions I've seen so far which overall had mostly horrible music.

 

[Amei]

The YouTube still for Evgeni Semenenko's FS is fantastic

*edit boo its not showing when I paste the link in

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Likewise late to the party...
Petr, Artur and Andrei tied for my heart
I missed Artur so much in the last couple of seasons, love the new artistic images in both programmes. I still remember watching junior test skates for the first time in 2019 where he, Vetlugin and Kutovoi stood out for their beautiful step sequences. Petr seems to have grown into his body; besides the obvious jumping improvement, last season he was a wee bit gangly but now his lines look smoother. The dramatic tendency is still there but a tad more refined. Andrei's looking much improved from SPb test skates, the numerous choreographic nuances look less busy and more deliberate.
Alexei brought out the Moskvich lucky shirt again! Now I'm really curious as to whether Andrei Anisimov has gotten his own costumes, otherwise if they enter the same event will there be a shirt handover JGP Riga-style?
Enjoyed Zhenya's K-pop programme way more than I expected! Automatic +GOE for the suit too.
And yeah, so many of the boys look adorably goofy in their video intros With the exception of Alexei, who made me a bit shy...

Some highlights from the other events:
-Mukhortova/Evgeniev's artistic projection is on another level from most if not all of the field
-I have a strong urge to sing along with Artemeva/Briukhanov's LP
-Liza Tuk's programmes are both really nice surprises - a bearable Feeling Good programme and a convincing lyrical piece

 

[Lucky Star]

Decided to share with you guys some of my live impressions as I watched SP on the arena. First of all, I shouldn't be allowed to cheer for young ice dance couples since every single one of them I liked (except Ilynykh Katsalapov, but that's another story) either split or retire and don't make it anywhere in seniors, but in case of K/A I really really want to. They are just adorable and very promising, and Vasilisa is such a sweet girl, we met her at the hall in the break and everyone was charmed by her. Also she is really tiny, I'm about 160cm myself and she is pretty much the same height which surprised me as she looks very different on the ice. I think I liked these youngsters the most in dance and don't agree that "they should be in juniors, who let them here" as some Russian fans say.
As for the ladies, I think I enjoed Adelia's programs the most, her SP is especially lovely and I just love the dress.
I like Kamila as well, I think she is a very unique skater and even though she is clearly not in her best shape yet, her skating was very precise and more emotional than I ever saw her skate. Honestly, I would remove all the tricks with news headlines, the hood, etc and just keep the programs because they suit her just right and, again, I've never seen her so emotionally involved.
Liza is great as always and impossible not to like, her jumps are very easy looking and beautiful, but I don't like her ice coverage, I notice it every time I see her live. Her skating skills are not bad at all, why not cover the ice better as other girls do?
I barely recognized Samodelkina, she is so grown up! But in person she is quite small too, I've seen her passing by after the skates.
Sofia A is called Supersonic by Russian fans for a reason! She is very light on the ice with big jumps (that 3A was huge!), very promising skater.
Oh, and I liked Sasha's new program! I think it's a good choice for her and she clearly enjoy preforming it, wishing her (and Anna and Maya) a speedy recovery.
As for pairs, TM win hands down. They are just in their own league and while I love younger pairs too, TM are just special and everything I love about Russian pair skating. I'm just grateful they decided to stay and hope to see them live again in competitions this season. I stood up to applaud them after the SP because it was impossible for me not to, most of the people in the arena did it as well. Just bravo

 

[LiamForeman]

Sofia Samodelkina is my pick for this season’s dark horse.

She was my pick last year, except due to poor coaching/strategy she ruined her chances. Now with injury, more growth, I'm not as strong to her. I hope she figures her new life out, and has a few good seasons at/near the top. She's wonderfully musical, soft in her movements, and then has all the ultra-Cs.... She's Sasha with grace, musicality and style. I'm Team Samodelkina. I'm also seeing A LOT of improvement in Petrosyan which I never understood why Eteri would accept her (like Maya). Now I'm seeing it, the potential, and not just jumps. She is limited by her body which is VERY small. But Adeliya is stretching that tiny body to her maximum and doing her best to get 'adult' lines into her skating. Most improved in my book.

 

[bramweld]

I really like Irina and Dario. They are original, they have a point of view and their skills are impressive for first year seniors.I also like K/A but on ice they still look like kids, too cluttered and fussy. As they mature they will be gems.

The short programs for the dancers were more or less disappointing but I keep watching Irina and Dario, especially their FD. Trying to get not too excited. What a pity.

I know K/B are very experienced but their programs only highlight their weaknesses. Liza needs to stop losing weight and work on her posture and power.

 

[AlexRus]

I was at Test Skate both at Saturday and Sunday. Place was good enough to normally see all.

Ice dance.
No serious surprise.
Irina KHAVRONINA / Dario CIRISANO were the best.
Elizaveta SHANAEVA / Pavel DROZD were not so good in RD, but much better in FD.
Others - about as expected.

Women.
I know all them for many years (have seen alive from very young age them all except Tuktamysheva) so I see changes.
Valieva and Trusova became big, Muravieva tall - of course, relatively for skaters.
Petrosyan is very tiny as she was.
Skating was nice.
Mistakes at 3A and quads were multiple (and Tuktamysheva's mistakes on combos - only one combo in FS, no combo in SP) - nothing strange for beginning of season.

Pairs.
No doubt they were great.
The best were Anastasia MISHINA / Aleksandr GALLIAMOV and Evgenia TARASOVA / Vladimir MOROZOV.
TARASOVA / MOROZOV were better in SP.
MISHINA / GALLIAMOV were no doubt better in FS.

Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN show very complicated programs.
Anastasia MUKHORTOVA / Dmitry EVGENYEV - young talented pair, in FS they were close (or maybe even better) to PAVLIUCHENKO / KHODYKIN
Very nice (especially in SP) were Iuliia ARTEMEVA / Alexey BRYUKHANOV, new pair. They are really talented, well known with their previous partners, but in this partnership they look stronger.
Other three pairs are good but level lower than mentioned five pairs.

Men.
So many talented men now.
Artur DANIELIAN because of injury in past did not try quads, only 3A, successfully. Will restore quads. Good skating skills and presentation.
Evgeni SEMENENKO did not restore fully so he landed only triples and 2A. But shows very emotional, nice skating in both programs.
10 other men tried quads and 3A including 4Lz and several 4Lo. Sometimes successfully sometimes no.
Aliev and Kolyada show why they got high PCS, while Kolyada was not so good in jumps.
Nobody was absolutely clean (normal for start of season), nobody did not look as "not promising".

 

[Alex Fedorov]

Alena Kostornaya's opinion on test skates:

https://tass.ru/opinions/15877969

The new season of Russian figure skating started this weekend with test skates at Megasport. If someone had told me six months ago that I would be watching them as a spectator, I would probably have laughed - "well, not me." I would have known then that in the summer I would have an operation, after which I would have to recover for at least another six months, that hospital life would become commonplace for me, and doctors would become almost family people. And to them for their work, by the way, many thanks.

Nothing can be done, as they say, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. And of course, yes, I was offended that I was not on the ice. But since it happened, I'm not going to give up and stop. So, I will do what I can. For a long time I entertained myself with drawing - I'm pretty good at it, by the way. But this is not enough for me, so I decided to learn a new profession, and the choice fell on journalism. It was always interesting to be on the other side of the ribbon in the mixed zone, to ask your question to those with whom you recently competed on the same ice. And somewhere to show and tell people about figure skating from an unusual angle.

You may be wondering why TASS. Everything is simple here - firstly, this is the name. TASS is an agency with a long history, and these four letters are known all over the world. I myself have given interviews to this agency more than once. Secondly, if you start to learn, then you need to do it, as I think, just like that. So that in the future, no matter what field of journalism I choose, and I consider this option quite seriously, I had a really serious school behind me. I am sure that here they will help me, teach, support. And I was also very surprised to learn that TASS, it turns out, has journalists who write and shoot for the agency even from space, from the International Space Station.

And now I will try to pass the first exam, talking about my emotions after what I saw in Megasport. It would be appropriate to say "do not judge strictly", but no - judge, I'm used to strict refereeing. Due to the fact that I myself compete in single skating, I will focus on this discipline. And I would like to start, oddly enough, with the men. Although I understand that my analysis of the female skating may cause more interest.

As many as 12 participants, but I would stop at a few. For me, the discovery was what Yevgeny Semenenko did on ice in the free skate on Sunday. If someone does not immediately remember him, then this is a guy who hit his head on the ice on the show so hard this spring that everyone was watching his health then. I also performed in that show in St. Petersburg, and everything that happened then really scared everyone. That is why I am doubly happy for Zhenya - he annealed it so that sometimes I wanted to ask: "Zhenya, is it really you?" Yes, even if the program has not been work out in yet, even if it is the beginning of the season, but he just fired the audience. My first thought was: "My God, this is a masterpiece." A man for the offseason pumped all his skills.

Mark Kondratyuk. And again, his costume in the short program reminded me of Nathan Chen. But in the free skate, he was in a completely different image, and here, unfortunately, due to errors, it was not possible to reveal this. I think this can be explained by the fact that now is the very beginning of the season. I'm sure we'll still be happy for him. As for the new programs of Mikhail Kolyada, I have not yet got it. Let me be criticized for subjectivity, but I loved his early programs for their lightness, smile and a bunch of positive emotions that he gave to his fans. Perhaps because the skating of Javier Fernandez has always been close to me. But here to each his own.

Arthur Danielyan surprised me in a good way. Most recently, he changed his coach - before we skated in the same group with Elena Germanovna Buyanova, and now Artur works in St. Petersburg. Artur has done a lot during this time - and programs with coaches have been set up, and he even managed to skate them. Yes, there is still a lot of work, but if a person is gaining momentum so quickly, does it mean that he is still charged for the result? At this pace, he can do a lot this season. I believe that he has not yet revealed his full potential. Just a little more confidence in the results of your work and in yourself.

And in fact, Makar Ignatov showed the cleanest performance on Sunday. And I would like to wish him that the way he skated served him as a good start for the whole season. And at least - do not lower the level.

In the performance of the girls, of course, a lot of attention was paid to the performance of Kamila Valieva, who devoted her free program to what happened to her at the Olympics. As for the very idea of the program, I leave this question out of the brackets, because it caused me rather conflicting feelings. And I would not like to talk about this topic for a long time, if only because I myself am an active athlete. I can only say that this skating, of course, evoked emotions. As for the program itself, in terms of music, it had an interesting start, this is a good find, as well as an unusual ending. Kamila skated mentally, subtly, loudly. But if you compare all of her programs, starting with "The Girl on the Ball", they are in a similar style. In them, first of all, Kamila, then music. I would like to see her new.

I really liked the short program of Sofia Muravyova, despite the mistake on the triple axel. But she glided, showed, skated, interpreted her program. I also liked Liza Tuktamysheva with her new free program in the form of a blind girl, although at the end there was not enough skating power. But she was sick, so this is understandable, this program has a lot of potential, I'm sure. Yes, she is unusual, yes, everyone is used to the incendiary Lisa, and it really suited her.

I was very upset for Sofa Samodelkina - such a cool quad loop turned out at the warm-up, but it didn’t work out in skating. Sonya Akatieva has kept her short program from last year - a fluffy, thin, sonorous, interesting free skate, and in general, for her age, the image is excellent. Adelia Petrosyan also had a very good junior performance.

And yet, following the results of the skatings, I saw the same athletes, but with new programs. There were interesting ideas, finds, but many after injuries, they are still recovering. In the end, these are just test skates, and they are primarily for the athletes to show their work in the off-season, to outline their programs, it was a test of themselves at the beginning of the season. So, anyway, it was before. Now it's still more like a competition.

There are a lot of competitions this season, and our federation managed to make them even more significant. I hope that I can still perform in some of them. And of course, it would be interesting for me to perform in the show programs tournament. It seems to me that this is primarily a competition of "creatives", and this is interesting. By the way, the tournament has no name yet and, as I heard, proposals are accepted. I urge the fans to be a little creative. The only thing that is not very clear to me yet is refereeing. Because if the victory will be awarded only by the opinion of the audience, there is a nuance. After all, some athletes have more fans than others. This means that an athlete whose fan base is obviously smaller loses his chances. Our fans are very devoted, and that's great. But this may not play into the hands of the objectivity of the assessment.

Well, the test skates are over, the season begins. And for now, I can only say that the next ones will not pass without me. I believe that. And I want to perform on them in combat mode. The doctors said you can. So I can

 

[Kittosuni]

I really like Irina and Dario. They are original, they have a point of view and their skills are impressive for first year seniors.I also like K/A but on ice they still look like kids, too cluttered and fussy. As they mature they will be gems.

The short programs for the dancers were more or less disappointing but I keep watching Irina and Dario, especially their FD. Trying to get not too excited. What a pity.

I know K/B are very experienced but their programs only highlight their weaknesses. Liza needs to stop losing weight and work on her posture and power.

Totally agree about your assessment. If this was an actual competition then Irina and Dario would have won. K/A are very exciting and have a lot of exciting tricks under their sleeves but the mistakes they made especially in the FD would have buried them in the standings. Too many step outs for my liking. But out of all the teams that was out there they have the highest ceiling potential wise.

Im afraid to say this but I feel like K/B have hit their ceiling already. Still very inconsistent element wise. So much stuff going on from waist up but their footwork are clumsy.

Having a great program is one thing but consistency with hitting your elements gets you the points. Consistency have been an issue with most of our teams.