“Honey, I love him.” Did Tuktamysheva declassify a new short program at the Sochi fair?
Anastasia Matrosova September 11, 2023, 19:15 Moscow time
Premiere a week before the Russian national team’s skating trials.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva gave a brilliant premiere in Sochi a week before test screenings. The show number “Letters of Love” by Ilya Averbukh looks a lot like a new short program.
Initially, Tuktamysheva planned to remake the La Cumparsita tango from the show program tournament into a short tango program. She spoke about this at the end of August. This experience is not new for the skater; Last year’s short also went from being a spectacle production. But it seems that shortly before the screenings everything changed.
On Sunday, September 10, Lisa presented a new production of the song “Heaven I” by the group Sounduk. It is curious that this season a Russian figure skater has already choreographed a program to a song by this group (we are talking about Victoria Morozova and “Give Me Back to Me”).
On the one hand, the theme of the program fits into the concept of Ilya Averbukh’s show, but on the other hand, in terms of the design and arrangement of the elements, the production is very similar to the new short. At first, the skater does an axel with a twizzle, then a lutz (a butterfly happened in the program), then a spin and another jump. Then begins a step sequence with lots of twists and complex body work: it is unlikely that such an intense sequence would have been staged exclusively for a show number.
The atmosphere of the program is heavy, the music is complex: the arrangement is exclusively for cello, the rhythm is broken and the text matches. “Dear, me, dear, me, dear, don’t be afraid of anything, dear, me, dear, me, dear, dear, I love him…”
The director of the new program was the young choreographer Artyom Fedorchenko, who also performs in Ilya Averbukh’s show in Sochi. Some new discoveries resonate with Lisa’s signature movements and a complete and beautiful image is created.
The new program has something in common with last year’s free program “Soledad”, in which Lisa conveyed a deep image and reached a new level of dramatic experiences. But “I am heaven” is more tragic. In “Soledad” there is a change of mood, bright fragments are interspersed with sad ones and throughout the entire new program a kind of oppressive feeling is created.
I would like to see the production filmed professionally and after a certain time, when it is more mature, to be able to appreciate all its facets. Fan opinions are still divided: some consider the production to be very emotional and sensual, while others consider it suitable for the show, but too heavy for the competition format.
Tuktamysheva just left last year’s “Solitude” as a free show, though she typically tried to keep the shows in different moods. Two deep dramatic productions in one season is a risky decision. Although everything can still change, as it happened now.
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