#ksenia zhuk

[murawakomurpur]

ой блин забыла сюда запостить..

[artemlukyanenka]

[n0sacz]

ksenia and er artem ... naviband

[escfidgetspinnerconfessions]

[pyza-pyza]

I'm pretty sure that if the slavic gods were real there would be at least one goddess who looks exactly like Ksenia Zhuk

[anotherescsite]

BELARUS

Navi group

[artemlukyanenka]

Don’t forget Ksenia from Naviband!

[icedanceupstarts]

2020 Russian Nationals Preview

We’re in Nationals season now, and as the year closes, what better way to celebrate than with Russian Nationals? It’s got everything-- scoring shenanigans, soul-crushing dread, more scoring shenanigans, last minute injuries, just straight up nepotism, the realization that we’re not getting a single Popova/Mozgov gala this season, and the looming possibility that everyone might end up getting banned and this might be the last chance for your faves to make a championship event. Merry Christmas!

Sofia Evdokimova / Egor Bazin

Age: 22/24

Started Skating Together: 2007

Coach: Oleg Sudakov, Valentin Kuziaev, Artem Kudashev

Season's Best: 169.27

Rhythm Dance: 42nd Street

Free Dance: Well These Costumes Weren’t Nominated for Anything

Last year’s bronze medalists and masters of being available to take advantage of an opportunity if it arose have been having a bit of a struggle season thus far, but it certainly didn't stop them last season. They always seem to pop up just when everyone else has written them off, and with their longevity as a team and reputation for giving reliable and consistent performances, they are always capable of moving up the ranks and taking higher placements than people may have expected. Fourth year seniors, this was their first season to get two Grand Prix assignments and to not have to rely on a host pick for either. And now as one of the four teams in this field with Europeans experience, their reliability cannot be downplayed. That said, even as we say not to underestimate them, this isn't the best material they've ever had. They're up against another 42nd Street in the rhythm dance, and while their Schindler's List free dance is hardly one of the more clumsy attempts we've seen even just this season, it can sometimes come close to seeming a little bland. While that's obviously leagues better than causing an international incident, it's not the best for getting the judges to sit up and take notice in such a deep field. And they do have some great qualities-- their cantilever lifts are some of the best in the business, they have a nice flow and an incredibly natural way of relating to each other after so long. Forever the example of the merits of sticking it out despite the odds, they’ve had plenty of time to fix their levels and add a little extra wow factor to their programs, so there’s every reason to keep your eye on these eternal dark horses.

Ksenia Konkina / Pavel Drozd

Age: 18/24

Started Skating Together: 2018

Coach: Alexander Zhulin

Season's Best: 178.43

Rhythm Dance: 2nd 42nd Street

Free Dance: A Nice Start

This will be the first nationals of the first full season of two skaters we've been following separately for years. This will be Ksenia’s first senior nationals ever, though both had plenty of junior success before partnering up at the end of last year. Pavel is a former junior national champion and two time junior world medalist with his previous partner, and Ksenia is a multiple time JGP medalist with her previous partners. Picking up almost right where you left off with a previous partner while staying in juniors as Ksenia did several times is impressive enough, but jumping into seniors in a brand new partnership and already being an internationally competitive team is quite the accomplishment, even with Pavel’s season of senior experience. Right off the bat they had a technical prowess and matching that other teams try for years to achieve, with nice deep edges and long beautiful lines. They're still building their identity but they're a solid team without any notable flaws and their Challenger series results are not surprising, even with their limited competitive experience together. We've seen some express confusion about their quick rise (which is truly fucking incredible considering the next entry in this preview), but there's no extra political push here, just genuine, basic quality and a smoothly progressing partnership. We wish them the very best at their first joint nationals. It's hard to know exactly how they'll stack up as they’ve never faced most of these teams as a pair, but as long as the judges acknowledge quality they should be in the mix.

Annabelle Morozov / Andrei Bagin

Age: 18/23

Started Skating Together: 2017

Coach: Nikolai Morozov

Season's Best: 191.71

Rhythm Dance: It's Too Darn HIGH

Free Dance: Gazing Into The Abyss

In their third season together, Morozov/Bagin have grown into each other as a team and will be looking to...

You know what? We give up. We're done. Anyone who has read our blog at all should know our general philosophy at this point, but one must draw the line somewhere. We tried, okay? 

Normally we try to keep things positive and upbeat here at icedanceupstarts, but this team has had us on the verge of a mental breakdown all season, and this competition might be what hurls us over that cliff. Morozov/Bagin have the third highest season's best coming into this event, and it’s their rhythm dance score of all things truly pulling their score up, which is certainly a development. Not only is their SB third highest in this event, it is forty points higher than their SB last season (Golden Spin 2018 versus Golden Spin 2019). There’s year to year improvement in a new team and then there’s… that. Sure the Fed didn’t get them a Grand Prix assignment this season but frankly who needs it when you can score like that?? Scores might generally be a mystery, but we can't find any way to justify the numbers that keep popping up when they compete. It's not that they have no qualities whatsoever, it's that it's genuinely insulting to pretend that they're anywhere near the level of the other teams in this preview. They’ve undoubtedly improved their consistency this season but it’s still very much a case of when you’ve got all these unique, interesting, and massively talented teams, how and why is this the one with the huge scores. We feel like we've been screaming into the void for weeks now. People have been watching the competitions they've been at and commenting on the scoring but somehow NOT mentioning the glaring elephant in the room? This is the part where we generally list their good points, and we try to be generous, but in the wake of the judges own generosity we reserve the right for stinginess. Something something in their third Nationals together we'll see if Morozov/Bagin can use their combined powers of increased competitive experience, nepotism, and being tall to breakthrough into the top 5, and possibly onto the world team while your mods have to go get drunk. To live is to suffer.

Sofia Shevchenko / Igor Eremenko

Age: 18/22

Started Skating Together: 2014

Coach: Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk

Season's Best: 178.08

Rhythm Dance: Burlesque But Why

Free Dance: No Strings Attached

The reigning junior National champions may be moving into the deepest senior Russian ice dance field we’ve seen recently, but based on how they were skating by the end of their debut senior Grand Prix series they are more than ready to jump in and contend for some of the higher placements. While their step sequence levels can sometimes be a wee bit yikes, their elements are usually performed with ease and they have really creative lifts. The fact that we enjoy their rhythm dance at all is proof of their incredible charisma and performance quality. It's a program that rides on the strength of the skaters, and they're just such special performers. Their free dance is in the quirky, modern style they've developed, and also apparently about marionettes? Because sure why not. It’s worth noting when even the most experienced senior teams can show full ownership of their programs, but it’s a skill these two have been showcasing for several seasons already with their unique style that may not give a storyline you can follow but you’re also very sure that they know exactly what they are trying to portray. It never feels gimmicky or tryhard, these two just know exactly what they want. They’re such a treat to watch even when watching their TES box is vaguely alarming. They’ve shown a decent amount of consistency as well, delivering calm, strong performances even at this higher level and beating some surprisingly strong and established teams. It’s hard to tell where they’ll fall here as the transition from juniors to seniors in ice dance is typically a many season process, but if they can bring the levels with their performance, they’ve got a great shot at a good placement.

Anastasia Shpilevaya / Grigory Smirnov

Age: 20/22

Started Skating Together: 2012

Coach: Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk

Season's Best: 172.93

Rhythm Dance: Hopelessly Devoted to L1ving It Up

Free Dance: Magical Mystery Ride

These two finally made their senior GP debut after missing out on assignments last season and largely were able to make the most of it. The lightness of the Finnstep suits them well, though we’d prefer to see fewer L1s,  and they’ve got a real talent at pulling the audience into their performances whatever characters they are portraying. Both of their programs have gone through a lot of changes and improvements since test skates, but the free dance in particular got its moment to shine on the GP with reworked choreo steps that will not be invalidated like they were at Finlandia and a new split rotational lift. It’s not their most describable program but when they skate it with such joy and commitment it’s hard not to enjoy it yourself. These two could practically be the definition of fan favorites, they’ve just not had the consistent showings at competitions more than five people watch. Want an expressive team? There’s no one their ages with the same charisma on the ice or ability to build off each other to present even more to judges and audience. Want a team with good lines? Anastasia has some of the best extension and toe point out there, and even as a team with a rather large height difference you’d be hard pressed to find times their free legs don’t match. Cool lifts? Well that’s where their height difference and Anastasia’s flexibility come into play in a big way. Versatility? They have never repeated themselves and always make the effort to try something new with their program selections. Of course they’re a young team still working their way back after missing most of the 2017/2018 season and with plenty they need to improve - more senior presentation, better ice coverage, deeper edges, find some key points. Their season’s best tells that story, but they are a team worth watching whatever happens at this event. There’s also still the case of their missing PCS from Universiade earlier this year, which was also held in Krasnoyarsk, so hopefully that’s just been hanging out in a bar or something and makes its way to the arena in time for the competition. We’re always rooting for these two to get a bigger platform to showcase their talent, and maybe this will be their year.

Victoria Sinitsina / Nikita Katsalapov

Age: 24/28

Started Skating Together: 2014

Coach: Alexander Zhulin

Season's Best: 212.15

Rhythm Dance: Singin’ in the Sloppy Twizzles

Free Dance: Generic Loveliness

Sinitsina/Katsalapov have had an interesting career, to put it lightly. The Great Russian Partnerswap Drama of 2014, when the expected to be golden team was initially anything but, followed by more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, eventually leading to their current status as reigning world silver medalists and National champions, but recently placing last at GPF. They have remarkable skating skills and speed, and have improved their consistency recently, but they still tend to be a touch wild, a trait to their skating that might be better suited to a different style than the subtle elegance they’ve been going for with their recent free dance selections but also one that can majorly trip them up on big elements if they don’t keep it in check. Their rise to greatness last season was certainly not unprecedented. They’ve clearly always had the ability, it just took them some time to truly start skating together and it seemed every time they got close they were derailed by injury. They’re still a team who needs everything to align in order for them to contend with the best, no matter how many people have declared them the anointed challengers to Papadakis/Cizeron, and at the GPF the choreo slide was their nemesis, all but literally taking them down. A loss of balance on the slide was counted as a fall which lost them valuable GOE. Remember the whole massive GOE points for no-level choreo elements? Well this is an example of the opposite, or when small errors on choreo elements can have huge scoring consequences. A number of people have been writing them off due to their recent setback, but we think that would be a mistake. Presumably they're not about to make the same mistake twice, and while Nikita "What's A Twizzle" Katsalapov remains an ever looming threat to their scores, he mostly survives by the skin of his teeth these days. Their biggest issue is that the judges seem a little underwhelmed by their free dance. There are no problems with it, really, but to elevate it above the level of being a functioning product they need to at once clean up the little wobbly areas on some of the elements while also adding more abandon and passion to their interpretation. It does serve as a good showcase of their skating skills, but as their tango last year showed, they can both show off their skills and bring the drama and interest. The rhythm dance will be the important segment for them. It's been their money program, and they have the second highest scores of any team there, so they can't afford to have a subpar performance there like they did at GPF when the reception to their free dance has been a resounding shrug. If they can do their best in the rhythm dance and breathe a little more life into their free, it's going to be difficult for anyone to deny them a repeat of their title.

Anastasia Skoptcova / Kirill Aleshin

Age: 19/22

Started Skating Together: 2013

Coach: Svetlana Alexeeva, Elena Kustarova, Olga Riabinina

Season's Best: 169.24

Rhythm Dance: How Bout A Chance

Free Dance: Fifty Shades of Find that GOE

The 2018 Junior World Champions are having a wee bit of a struggle season. For the second season in a row they had injuries that forced them to miss pre GP events and impacted their assignments, which is suboptimal, and especially so in such a deep field. They're such a talented team but unfortunately this is a team full of talents, including a growing number of young teams with junior success, meaning even the smallest setbacks can add up quickly. Their technical ability can’t be denied but they’re going to need to bring their best to this competition which they have not been able to show yet this season. We genuinely do hope that the people who worked so hard on the Bonnie and Clyde musical only for it to close after less than two weeks know that at long last they have found true appreciation in figure skating. Reviewers might have called the musical "trite", "insipid", and "middle of the road", but apparently ice dancers can't get enough of it this year. We'd crack a joke about that saying something about ice dancer's taste, but we have generally enjoyed this season's RDs and most of the Bonnie and Clydes, so perhaps it is we who are insipid and trite? Anyway, this one isn't our favorite of the Bonnie and Clydes-- the slowed down This World Will Remember Us for the Finnstep is less than ideal-- but it's a solid program nonetheless. Their free dance feels like it builds off of last years while still being fresh and new for them. It's been very interesting seeing the different directions the younger teams have been going to try to establish themselves. For such a tall, leggy team with minimal height difference, they have some pretty acrobatic lifts. They manage to make their physical reality seem like a plus rather than a negative. Their step sequences are so smooth and a great display of their long, matching lines and elegance. They’ve had some struggles this season, with mistakes big and small keeping their scores down, but if they can avoid things like falling on their choreo elements they could repeat their top 5 placement from last year, or maybe even higher.

Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin

Age: 24/26

Started Skating Together: 2006

Coach: Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk

Season's Best: 208.81

Rhythm Dance: A Kiss May Be Grand But It Won't Get You Levels

Free Dance: Somehow This Music Mashup Works?

They may be two-time GPF pewter medalists, but this year Stepanova/Bukin are coming into nationals as the higher placing Russian team of the two who competed at the final, and so could have the momentum coming into this event. Fan favorites with great performance quality and a strong knowledge of what their strengths are as a team, this could be their big chance to win. The first half of their rhythm dance is so far the strongest part. For all that their kiss at the end has generated the most conversation, we think the much more pressing issues are the transition that feels too much like an ending and the fact that so far Your Song just lacks the dynamism of the first half. Also two out of three performances have featured them fighting their costumes in order to perform but perhaps they’ve finally cracked the code? For us, their free dance is the stronger program this year. We may have been filled with Fear when we first heard the concept, but it's very well put together and we like it a lot. They're continuing their modern and kind of sexy approach contrasting with Sinitsina/Katsalapov's more classic and stately approach. They even won that portion of the event at Skate America, even if they had slightly more struggles at GPF. The way things have shaken out so far, they’ll need to at least keep things close in the rhythm dance so they have a chance of overtaking Sinitsina/Katsalapov with their more dramatic and crowdpleasing free dance, but this is bound to be a very competitive battle for the top of both teams can put out their best.

Tiffani Zagorski / Jonathan Guerreiro

Age: 25/28

Started Skating Together: 2014

Coach: Svetlana Alexeeva, Elena Kustarova, Olga Ryabinina

Season's Best: 184.44

Rhythm Dance: The Greatest Circus Moths

Free Dance: Surviving

Several teams back in competition this season and several others seeing major score increases meant no Grand Prix medals or GPF for Zagorski/Guerreiro this season, but they still managed a relatively solid GP showing, taking fifth at both of their events despite not competing at any other international events so far this year. Skating can always be just as mental as it is physical but that will especially be the case for these two at this event and putting last year’s disaster as far away as possible. They wrapped up their GP series fairly early, skating in the first and third events, so it will be interesting to see how far their programs have come in that time. Their rhythm dance was a late offseason change and while the music cuts and distinctive yet nonsensical dress(darn copyright infringement but it’s nuts) may not make this the best Greatest Showman program for us, it’s got potential if they can skate it up to the level they are more than capable of. Their free dance choice is possibly a little on the nose but it’s very distinctive and has a ton of potential. Outside of the top two, no one in this field comes close to the competitive experience Zagorski/Guerreiro have - GPF, Europeans, Worlds, Olympics. They weren’t given any leeway with championship assignments following last year’s nationals, but their experience really does set them apart from the rest. The way they hold themselves and perform, their maturity, it all stems from that experience and is clear to see. We hope Zagorski/Guerreiro have tied their bootlaces a little tighter this year, or maybe even make use of a roll or two of skate tape, and show their very best. They have every chance of getting back to the championship level, and we wish them luck.

[murawakomurpur]

я нарисовала эту картинку ксюше на др в прошлом году и она ее заметила....

[artemlukyanenka]

💙

[evgeniamedvedeva4u]

Figure Skating Federation of Russia has published the list of candidates for the national team of season 2018-2019

Main Team 

Men - Dmitri Aliev, Sergei Voronov, Artur Dmitriev, Alexey Erokhov, Mikhail Kolyada, Alexander Samarin.

Ladies - Alina Zagitova, Stanislava Konstantinova, Evgenia Medvedeva, Maria Sotskova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Polina Tsurskaya.

Pair skating - Alexandra Boykova - Dmitri Kozlovsky, Natalya Zabiyako - Alexander Enbert, Daria Pavliuchenko - Denis Khodykin, Ksenia Stolbova - Fedor Klimov, Evgenia Tarasova - Vladimir Morozov.

Ice dance - Ekaterina Bobrova - Dmitri Soloviev, Sofia Evdokimova - Egor Bazin, Tiffany Zahorski -  Jonathan Guerreiro, Betina Popova - Sergey Mozgov, Anastasia Skoptsova - Kirill Aleshin, Alexandra Stepanova - Ivan Bukin. 

Reserve Team 

Men - Andrei Lazukin, Vladimir Samoylov, Anton Shulepov.

Ladies - Anna Pogorilaya, Elena Radionova, Serafima Sakhanovich. 

Pair skating - Alisa Efimova - Alexander Korovin, Elizaveta Zhuk - Maksim Miroshkin. 

Ice dance - Annabelle Morozova - Andrei Bagin, Viktoria Sinitsina - Nikita Katsalapov, Alla Loboda - Pavel Drozd. 

Source: http://fsrussia.ru/sbornaya.html

[peacocksonice]

On August 23, there will be an open media day at the rink where Team Mozer trains. The athletes will present their new programs and a press conference will follow.  The event will be attended by Ksenia Stolbova - Fedor Klimov, Evgenia Tarasova - Vladimir Morozov, Natalia Zabiyako - Alexander Enbert, Elizaveta Zhuk - Yegor Britkov, Daria Danilova - Dmitry Shulgin, Anna Kaportseva - Roman Pleshkov, Diana Mukhametzyanova - Ilya Mironov, Alina Pepeleva - Sergei Bezbrodko, Elena Pavlova - Daniil Parkman and Anastasia Yugay - Maxim Miroshkin.

[figureskatingcostumes]

Elizaveta Zhuk and Egor Britkov's short program costumes at the 2017 Russian Championships.

(© Veravalen and © Ksenia Fomina)

[noise-rm]

ПУСТ* from VOLNA on Vimeo.

ПУСТ* (PUST) is an interdisciplinary project exploring the processes of mythologization of a specific historical event – the Belavezha Accords of 1991. The project includes а light installation, dance, sound, multi-channel video, along with found and specially created objects.

The artists behind the ПУСТ* project are representatives of a generation that was caught up in the collapse of the USSR and felt the consequences of this breakup over two eras, but did not directly participate in the related events due to their young age at the time. The ПУСТ* Project is an attempt to fill in gaps in one’s own "mental map" and make this event a part of a restored historical memory.

Incorporating multiple artistic methods and approaches, the collective attempts to imagine the events in the Belavezha Forest from the perspective of its participants, drawing parallels between fear of the "wild forest" and fear of wild politics, between being completely adrift but also spontaneously decisive, between the enormous impact of this enormous political decision and a series of unpredictable and absurd factors that influenced it behind the scenes.

ПУСТ* is the resulting project of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory – a large-scale project of Goethe-Institut Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2016, the collective worked as guest artists in Karlsruhe and, as an outcome of the residency, presented the first outline of ПУСТ* in ZKM. In 2017, the collective visited the site of the historical event, the Belavezha Forest, and collected audio and video material for the exhibit. The final presentation took place on November 23–26, 2017 in St. Petersburg.

CREDITS

Original idea, design, objects Sergey Shabohin

Choreography Concept, performance: Isadorino Gore Dance co-op (Daria Plokhova, Alexandra Portyannikova) Costumes: VOLNA

Light installation Concept, production: VOLNA (Nikita Golyshev, Snezhana Vinogradova) Electronic assembly support: Nikita Savinyh Assembly: VOLNA (Dmitry Gavkalyuk, Katerina Morza)

Sound Composer: Yuri Akbalkan Development and programming of digital synthesizer: Sergey Kostyrko

Video installation Concept, editing, production: VOLNA Camera: Alexey Kubasov, Sergey Shabohin

Project documentation Camera: Polina Korotaeva, VOLNA Photo: Valery Smirnov

Goethe-Institut St. Petersburg Director: Dr. Günther Hazenkamp Initiator of the project, Director of Goethe-Institut St. Petersburg, 2014-2017: Dr. Angelika Eder Project coordinators: Jana Soboleva, Snezhana Vinogradova

ZKM Karlsruhe Head of the Institute of Music and Acoustics: Ludger Brümmer Light: Hans Gass Tonmeister: Sebastian Schottke Sound engineering: Matthias Müller Musical informatics: Götz Dipper Audio recording: Anton Kossjanenko Technical specialists: Bernhard Sturm, David Luchov Software Development: Chikashi Miyama Coordinators: Yannick Hofmanт, Luise Wiesenmüller Mediaartbase.de: Daniel Höpfer Video documentation: Anna Titova, Christina Zartmann, Sofia Kessel

Special thanks Alexey Bratochkin, William Cohen, Ksenia Diodorova, Vera Dzedok, Viktor Fiht, Justina Fink, Zhanna Gladko, Tatjana Kirianova, Beate Körner, Evgeny Korniag, Roman Krasilnikov, Klim Losovsky, Alexey Lunev, Simon Matikashvili, Pavel Preobrazhensky, Tatjana Pronina, Nemanja Sarbajic, Agata Semenova, Viktor Smolensky, Nikola Spesivtsev, Dzina Zhuk, Tatjana Zhukova

volna-media.com/projects/pust shabohin.com isadorino-gore.com en.remusik.org/akbalkan/

[icedanceupstarts]

2019 Junior Russian Nationals Preview

Because Nationals season is still not over - we wrap up with Russian junior ice dance. A new junior national champion will be crowned, with last season’s silver and bronze medalists the most likely to battle it out for the title. Spots for Junior Worlds will be determined and all placements will be a major factor for JGP assignments next season.

Ekaterina Andreeva/ Ivan Desyatov

Age: 15/17

Started Skating Together: 2017

Coach: Ksenia Rumyantseva

Season's Best: 137.00

Rhythm Dance: Chicago

Free Dance: Sherlock Holmes

Andreeva/Desyatov made their JGP debut this season and while doing something that helps you stand out is important, perhaps attempting to mix the Charleston with a tango isn’t the best way to be remembered. We’ve been iffy on mixing rhythms in general and Chicago tangos in particular, and this one is really something, although we do enjoy a good headband. Their free dance on the other hand, is a much better vehicle for them. It utilizes their speed, energy, and somewhat offbeat natures in a way that works for them rather than against them. Given that they missed out on a JGP medal, they'll be looking for redemption here and to beat out some of their more decorated brethren to set themselves up for next season.

Diana Davis/ Denis Smolkin

Age: 16/19

Started Skating Together: 2018

Coach: Svetlana Alexeeva and Elena Kustarova

Season's Best: 148.62

Rhythm Dance: Oblivion/Por una cabeza

Free Dance: James Bond

Davis/Smolkin also made their JGP debut this season and came away with a bronze medal. They are a new team this season, and the only team in this preview who didn’t compete at Russian Junior Nationals last year. They are off to a great start, a JGP bronze medal would be enough for a second assignment in any other country without such a stacked field as Russian junior dance at the moment, and while they are still showing signs of being a new team and getting used to skating with each other, they’ve got lots of potential. They've got some strong transitions and highlights for such a new team, such as her solo illusion spins during their choreographic step sequence, and despite their relative newness skate with a lot of attack. It'll be a tough task to aim for the podium, but if they can make a splash here, they can get an early start on next season.

Polina Ivanenko/ Daniil Karpov

Age: 16/18

Started Skating Together: 2014

Coach: Svetlana Alexeeva and Elena Kustarova

Season's Best: 151.69

Rhythm Dance: Tango

Free Dance: Peter Gunn

Back on the JGP for the first time since their debut in 2016, Ivanenko/Karpov ended up with two assignments, winning silver and then bronze, and were first alternates for the JGPF. They have great basic skating skills together and a strong foundation for their elements like their lifts and spins. It's a show of Russian ice dance's incredible depth that a team this solid will have to fight to have any chance of making the junior world team. But if they can bring their best, and there are missteps from the expected medalists, they could make it happen. Regardless they’ll be looking to place as high as possible to be one of the top teams for next season’s JGP.

Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva/ Nikita Nazarov

Age: 16/20

Started Skating Together: 2016

Coach: Denis Samokhin

Season's Best: 164.54

Rhythm Dance: Tango Amore

Free Dance: Human/Nemesis

Khudaiberdieva/Nazarov improved on two JGP bronzes from the debut last season to win two golds this year and qualify for the JGPF, where they finished in third. This is their final junior season as they age over the offseason and their last chance to make the Junior Worlds team. They're a fast, expressive team with some great memorable highlights that have stuck with us all season, such as the opening to their tango which makes fantastic use of Elizaveta's long limbs and flexibility. She gives excellent face, and they're both very musical, dramatic performers. They had some of the lower scores on the JGP circuit of the finalists, but rallied for the bronze in Vancouver and could place even higher here if they've continued to improve and shaken off the nerves that have sometimes plagued them in the past.

Eva Kuts/ Dmitrii Mikhailov

Age: 17/20

Started Skating Together: 2015

Coach: Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer

Season's Best: 142.97

Rhythm Dance: Prelude and Ricercare

Free Dance: Every Other Freckle

Another team back on the JGP in 2018 after making their debut in 2016, Kuts/Mikhailov won bronze at their one assignment. They are the second of three teams mentioned here who are aging out of juniors after this season. They have very solid partnering and a nice light quality to their skating, maybe not the most conducive to this season’s tango, but definitely evident in their free dance. Reaching the podium here would be a very tall order for them, but they can give two strong performances and improve on their 7th place finish last season.

Elizaveta Shanaeva/ Devid Naryzhnyy

Age: 15/19

Started Skating Together: 2016

Coach: Irina Zhuk and Alexander Svinin

Season's Best: 152.21

Rhythm Dance: Tango d’Amor/Maria de Buenos Aires

Free Dance: Samson and Dalilah

Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy had a strong start to their JGP debut season, winning silver at their first assignment and putting themselves in contention of the JGPF. But nerves and a few stumbles at their second assignment kept them off the podium. This field will be a great opportunity for them to show their potential, especially with two of the top contenders moving to seniors next season. They could even contend for a medal and a spot at Junior Worlds, as the spots have historically been awarded to the medalists regardless of the results of the fall. They've got some great elements, such as the lift in their rhythm dance that gained them so much praise on the JGP circuit, and they're very fast with a strong connection between them. If they avoid nervous jitters and skate their best, they may earn their first trip to junior worlds and begin preparing for a possible breakout next season.

Sofia Shevchenko/ Igor Eremenko

Age: 17/21

Started Skating Together: 2014

Coach: Irina Zhuk and Alexander Svinin

Season's Best: 170.66

Rhythm Dance: La Cumparsita

Free Dance: Witchdoctor/Lijo

The veterans of this field, Shevchenko/Eremenko have been competing on the JGP for four seasons, medaling at all of their assignments. They wrapped up their JGP career at the 2018 JGPF with a win by the slimmest of margins, but a huge testament to their hard work this season. Most notably, that they won the JGPF on tech, the place their scores have typically lagged a bit. Their tango is one of the best of the season, and their free dance builds nicely on their successful free dance style from last season while adding a more uplifting ending. Shevchenko/Eremenko might just be juniors but have some of the best twizzles in the field, great lifts, and one of the best uses of the choreographic step sequence. They have a great chance to win the title if they build on their performances in Vancouver and once again nail the technical side that has been their downfall in the past while continuing to deliver entertaining and memorable skates.

Sofya Tyutyunina/ Alexander Shustitskiy

Age: 15/16

Started Skating Together: 2016

Coach: Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer

Season's Best: N/A

Rhythm Dance: Tango Gosselin

Free Dance: Time of the Season/She’s Not Here

The youngest team in this preview, Tyutyunina/Shustitskiy are also the only ones who haven’t competed on the JGP yet. They were alternates this season following their 14th place finish at junior nationals last year. They’ll be looking to improve on that and maybe even contend with some of the JGP medalists here. They posted very promising scores in domestic events, even beating out some teams that earned JGP assignments over them. While they're lacking in experience and maturity compared to the other teams in this recap, they're great skaters with a precocious charm, and could place quite high if they bring their best. While they're unlikely to medal here, a great placement, especially with more established teams aging out, should earn them the JGP placements that they just missed out on this season, and set them up for a great international debut next season.

Arina Ushakova/ Maxim Nekrasov

Age: 16/18

Started Skating Together: 2015

Coach: Alexei Gorshkov

Season's Best: 172.81

Rhythm Dance: Libertango/Flamenco

Free Dance: Black Cat, White Cat

The reigning Junior World bronze medalists will be looking for a bit of redemption here. Finishing second at the JGPF by one hundredth of a point is an outstanding accomplishment, but they were no doubt looking for more after winning both of their JGP assignments with by far the highest scores of the season. If we’re being honest you’re either into their programs or you’re really not, but either way can’t deny that they’ve got a style all their own and a commitment to forming their own identity as a team that is pretty amazing for a relatively young team. Their biggest weakness is polish-- their speed and power is easily senior level, but they have a tendency towards messiness that sometimes takes away from their many strengths. Additionally their programs are always so...unique that it requires full confidence and security from them. Any time they're feeling a little off their programs lose impact. If Ushakova/Nekrasov can use their loss at JGPF to fuel them here to skate with full attack and perhaps a touch more neatness, they won't just be able to claim the title, but set themselves up for a victory at Junior Worlds.

[eurorangers-blog]

EV Profile: 🇧🇾 Naviband are Artem Lukyanenko and Ksenia Zhuk and will represent Belarus in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Story of My Life. Naviband have been performing since 2013 and in 2014 they received their first award for the single Abdymi Mine at the National Music Awards in Belarus. Their song for the Eurovision Song Contest will be the first ever entry performed in Belarusian. Naviband have recorded three studio albums and toured extensively in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2016, they presented the official anthem of the Belarusian national football team, Naperad Belakrylyja. Naviband won the right to represent Belarus in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest after winning the national selection earlier this year. Artem and Ksenia consider the language of their entry for 2017 to be one of the most interesting aspects about the song. "It is the first time that an entry in the Eurovision Song Contest will be performed in the Belarusian language. This year our nation is 800 years old. For us it is symbolic and meaningful, because we want to tell the history of our country, our culture and traditions through our song". Earlier today Artem and Ksenia published a video of them performing an Armenian folk song after being challenged by Artsvik, Armenia's representative in 2017. The pair have been performing on the promotional trail and recently appeared at Israel calling and will perform at Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam tomorrow evening. "All we want is during these three minutes to share our native language with Europe", they said. #belarus #naviband #historyjamajhožyccia #celebratediversity #eurovision2017 #Eurovisionsongcontest #EuroRangers #EuroVisionRangers #esc #eurovision (at Belarus)