icenetwork.com

Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, known for their acrobatic spins, are always a crowd favorite. (Getty Images)

By Tatiana Flade, special to icenetwork.com

(05/15/2008) - A colorful exhibition gala in Moscow on Wed., May 14, showcased the skating talent of the Russian capital. The Russian sports channel "Telekanal Sport" organized this show with more than 30 skaters and couples, a synchronized team, and four ice ballet groups for the third consecutive year. The event was held at the Megasport Ice Palace, which served as the venue for the 2006 Ice Hockey World Championships and the 2007 Cup of Russia Grand Prix. The tickets for the show were free, but there was not much advertising. Regardless, a few thousand spectators attended the event.

World and European bronze medalists Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski won Russia's only medal at the 2008 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, are the top skaters of the Moscow Federation. Obviously, they headlined the show and performed an exhibition version of their spectacular free dance, "Night on Bald Mountain." Later, they came back with a new show number, called "Not a Pair," in which she dressed in hot pants and a fur, while he wore a sweatshirt and jeans.

"We had one week off after worlds, but no real vacation yet," Khokhlova said. "We have been training, now we are doing some shows and then we'll go on holiday in June." However, before the athlete finally can relax on the beach, she has to pass her final exams for her coaching diploma.

Andrei Griazev, whose season ended early when he finished a disappointing third at nationals and therefore didn't qualify for Europeans and worlds, presented himself in good spirits.

"I went home to Perm for a vacation, and now I'm training really well," the 2007 Russian champion told icenetwork.com. He skated with a lot of expression to the Russian song "Aeroporty" (Airports).

World competitors Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer, world junior bronze medalists Kristina Gorshkova and Vitali Butikov, and Tatiana Baturintseva and Ivan Volobuev are proof of the depth of the dance field in Moscow. Other teams also performed, including Elizaveta Shchetkina and Denis Smirnov and Ekaterina Pushkash and Dmitri Kiseliev.

2007 world junior champions Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev and the other teams of coaches Elena Kustarova and Svetlana Alexeeva are currently on vacation and were unable to take part.

The strong young men's squad comes from Viktor Kudriavtev's school "Moskvitch. "The elegant Alexander Uspenski skated beautifully to "Adagio" by Tomasini Albinoni, his brother Vladimir interpreted "Can't Help Falling in Love With You" by Elvis Presley, outgoing Ivan Bariev danced "Mambo No. 5" and the musical Artem Grigoriev chose music from the soundtrack of The Truman Show for his interesting program with the effective use of a walking stick. These young men are all good jumpers, Bariev, who was seventh at junior worlds, and Grigoriev, who will compete in juniors again this year, are expected to do well.

Griazev represents the rival school of the Army Club "CSKA" with head coach Elena Vodorezova. Tatiana Tarasova is also working with skaters in this club. World junior silver medalist Artem Borodulin didn't skate due to a foot injury, but youngster Murad Kurbanov, Russian junior national silver medalist Nikita Mikhailov. Alexander Stepanov and Alexander Nikolaev also defended the colors of the club.

Russia's strongest pairs are coming from St. Petersburg right now. World junior champions Ksenia Krasilnikova and Konstantin Bezmaternikh are from Perm in the Ural mountains, but Moscow has some promising junior teams as well. World junior silver medalists Liubov Iliushechkina and Nodari Maisuradze are on holidays and didn't perform, but Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalists Ekaterina Sheremetieva and Mikhail Kuznetsov turned in a dynamic "Flamenco" routine that included a throw triple flip.

There were also three other junior pair teams that appear to have great potential.

The ladies are still the weakest point of Russian skating. Veteran Alexandra Ievleva had a disappointing season and finished only seventh at nationals. She skated to "Star" by Zhanna Gusareva and showed off her strong spins.

"I'm working a lot on my jumps now; I learned the triple flip and Lutz," Ievleva said. "I'm even practicing the triple Axel, and it's going quite well."

Nina Petushkova, who trains with Ievleva under Zhanna Gromova, is a strong jumper and showed improvement in the other aspects of her skating in her performance to music from the soundtrack of The Professional. From the younger girls that were in the show, Polina Shelepen and Alexandra Deeva left a strong impression. Shelepen already did well in national junior events and has all the triples up to Lutz, while Deeva is very expressive.

Russia has a strong tradition of children's ice theaters. A lot of children who started to skate competitively but then either were not talented enough for high level sport or didn't want to become full-time athletes go into these ballets where they can skate and perform. The four collectives of "Aleko," "Amas," "Juzhni," and "Sianie Lda" entertained the crowd with their group numbers in colorful costumes, using big balloons, skating on stilts, and juggling big metal cubes. They also created transitions between the numbers of the athletes.