Blades on Ice - Another New Article

The new Blades on Ice has a pretty big article on Albena and Maxim, too. It's really about the dance teams at the University of Delaware, but it's mostly about them.

(It's long ) (There are also some pictures, I'll put them in the photo thread.)

An Afternoon in Newark, Delaware (Part I )
by Alexandra Stevenson

It's a hot, hot day in Newark. The sun is at its peak and the asphalt around the Fred Rust Arena is near melting point. The spacious University of Delaware campus is relatively quiet on this Sunday in mid-July. The students are on break and anyone who can, has found a beach on which to frolic. It's summertime and the livin' is easy.

But not for Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski or Melissa Gregory & husband Denis Petukhov. The Bulgarian World champions and the U.S. number two couple are struggling with the arduous task of getting ready for the season.

Both must be in peak shape by the end of October when they will compete in Skate America, the first of the senior Grand Prix Series. Inside the airy, clean arena they are going through the most boring of their sports' requirements.

Denkova & Staviski, who are known for their incredibly difficult footwork, work for hours on devising a few steps, continuously replaying a snippet of a popular Astor Piazzola tango ad nauseum.

Staviski falls and for a moment this observer thinks he is injured, but he is joking. Later it is learned that it is his sense of humour which gets him through these marathon sessions.

"Max is the class clown," Gregory explains. "They're a lot of fun to be on the ice with." Her husband elaborates. "We call them our sparring partners. They told us they were pleased to see us because, with another high-level team, it makes it more interesting."

On that day Gregory & Petukhov go through a shorter but equally intense session repeating again, and again, a few steps of the Westminster Waltz, hte compulsory which has been drawn for Skate America.

The demanding eyes of 1980 Olympic champion Gennadi Karponosov miss nothing and he repeatedly sends them back to the same spot to try a brief series of edges again and again. He seems to be shouting at them. Gregory seems stressed trying to implement his instructions and keeps shaking her head.

Later his wife, co-coach and skating partner, Natalia Linichuk, explains that today Karponosov was very subdued, inhibited by the presence of outsiders. He usually is much more vocal. "He is a little bit shy. Of course in the practice we are very emotional because, if the coach is not emotional, skaters will not get pushed."

And, to get pushed, is why Gregory & Petukhov decided to leave their former coach, Nikolai Moroaov, and seek help from the Karponosovs.

Gregory, 24, explained, "It was a wrench because we were in Connecticut for such a long time-- four years. We still consider Hartford our home. We have so many friends, so many fans there."

Linichuk said that the initial process with Gregory and Petukhov this year paralleled that they had followed when they took over the Bulgarians at the beginning of the Olympic season.

"We did a lot of special exercises, from the beginning up. It was very, very hard. And I can tell you, I never thought Melissa and Denis had so strong personalities. They know what they want. It came close to crying, close to a lot of crying, but they did it, and they did it, and they did it. It was pleasant surprise for me that they did so well."

The initial days were a struggle but it is already proving worth it, says Gregory.

"One of the main reasons we changed, the biggest thing for me, anyway, was that Natalia and Gennadi believed in us. From the moment we started talking to them, they said, 'You guys are great. You have something special. You just need to bring it out.' We were here by June 1.

"They are making changes to everything. It's not necessarily better or worse, just completely different. A fresh look, with fresh ideas. We feel they completely believe in us. We never felt that before. We are getting more attention."

There are many similarities between the two couples. Both Staviski and Petukhov came from excellent training centers in Russia. Both represented Russia in the World Junio Championships with earlier partners. Both became citizens of another country and fell in love with their partners.

Petukhov, 27, originally came to the U.S. on a tourist visa after corresponding with Gregory on the internet. They married in Las Vegas in February 2001. He became a U.S. citizen in February 2005.

Whatever you do, do not question Gregory about the marriage. It was a love match and not made for the purpose of speeding up his U.S. citizenship which allowed them to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games. She very hurt by their former coach telling the New York Times that he had assumed it was a marriage of convenience.

Petukhov is also convinced the Karponosovs are the right people to bring out all their talent and take them to the top. And he doesn't mind the grind.

He explained, "I don't know of anyone who has ever skated a compulsory perfect yet. So there is always room to improve. That's why it is so hard-- and boring in the progress-- but when everything is done it's rewarding."

The Westminster Waltz is the compulsory for both events in which the Bulgarians are the top-ranked competitors, Skate America and Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris. Gregory & Petukhov's second Grand Prix is in Nagano, Japan.

U.S. champions, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, will not be ready so early in the season having had an avalanche of commitments including the Champions on Ice tour, which didn't finish till August 16. They will skate in the Chinese and Russian Grand Prix events. (It is a situation that has displeased the U.S. fans and television executives.)

Inside the Rust Arena, the temperature is, of course, freezing, which somehow seems worse because of the contrast to the outside heat. The fashionably thin Linichuk is dressed in multiple layers and a wool hat.

"She sometimes comes from her car like that," explains Denkova. "She's always getting strange looks from people who don't realize this is an ice rink."

The skaters are less wrapped up and are actively working all their muscles. The sedentary coaches, and spectators, turn to numbed pillars of ice as the minutes tick slowly by.

Later, while Staviski palms off his broccoli to the visitor with a six year old's innocent smile and Denkova relaxes over a non-fattening meal, she reveals that she is as surprised as everyone else that they are still in competition.

So-- what's the status of the wedding plans?

A frost settles over the table. She looks at him. This is obviously a sensitive subject. Denkova will be 32 in December but he is three years younger. He eventually speaks. "We have to wait till we have time to make a celebration and children." There is a pause. He eventually continues. "But we are thinking about it."

With an intake of breath, Denkova said, "For him it is easy but not for me." She is obviously well aware of her biological clock ticking away.

There is also the possibility they could lose their title. Denkova is all too aware of the surprise result that have emerged under the new system. "I talked to Angelika (Krylova, the 1998 & 1999 World Champion). She said there is no difference between one or two World titles, so why go on?" So why are they?

"After Calgary," said Denkova, "we were going to stop but it was impossible. Bulgaria has so few top people to look up to in winter sports. The people in the streets recognize us and all come up pleading, 'Don't give up.'

"Even the President and the Minister of Sport asked us to continue because we don't have anyone to take over at the top. It was a very difficult decision to make. Everyone was pulling us in the same direction. We feel we have a duty.

"Even our coaches said, 'You have more potential. You didn't show all you could.' Even so, it was a very, very difficult decision. One day we would decide to stay and the next not to. We kept changing our minds. The final decision was only made in June.

"It helped that the next Worlds are in Tokyo. We have lots of Japanese fans and we love sushi."

(Part II)

The pressure from their government was similar to that felt by the Lithuanians, Margarita Drobiazko & Povilas Vanagas, who also decided to continue but, as this was being written, have changed their minds-- at least for the fall season and have withdrawn from the Grand Prix events.

What did Linichuk & Karponosov do for the Bulgarians that resulted in the big leap forward? "They told us we had to enjoy being on the ice every single minute and to show this to the audience," replied Denkova.

"Some teams-- they are great skaters-- but they are more into themselves. The audience doesn't warm to them. Natalia and Gennadi tell us the audience has to feel your emotion and you must build on that and that gets through to the judges."

So what happened at the Olympics? After the compulsory they were third with their training mates, the Italians, sitting first and the eventual winners, Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov, second.

For Linichuk, the OD was an absolute disaster. The Italians had a clumsy, messy fall after which Barbara Fusar-Poli gave her partner a most gargoylianly penetrating "killer" look which, for some viewers, proved the highlight of the Games.

Linichuk explained. "Albena & Maxim didn't do one very important element and, of course, with the new judging system the points, they fly away. And, of course, after this, you understand, it was very difficult. At Olympic Games it is impossible to do a mistake like this."

Staviski said, "We were terrified. It was really black Friday." Their fifth place was very disappointing.

But they rebounded from the experience in Torino and a few weeks later, in Canada, they won the World title. How does it feel to be world champions? Especially since Staviski was hampered by a bad fall two days before their event that injured tendons in his hand which, in turn, affected his ability to lift her.

Staviski said, "Actually when we took this first place in Calgary, we couldn't comprehend it. We were so drained of emotion. We had put absolutely all our energy into the skating. We didn't identify with people who, when they hear they have won, they begin to jump and shout. We were empty.

"But, when we came back to the University of Delaware, the people made a big fuss. They had waited three days for us to come. They didn't know when we were coming, so each day they would wait with banners-- very, very long banners-- and flowers.

"It was a big surprise. We didn't know. We didn't expect it. We had a big celebration here. We were very flattered. And that is when we began to feel like champions.

"And then when we got back to Sofia we got an incredible welcome. They took us to the VIP part of the airport where there were a lot of journalists, government officials, children from our skating club, with big, huge flowers-- so many we couldn't put them all in the car. There was not enough space.

"We took the next day off and then we started two months where we had non-stop engagements from morning till 11 at night-- interviews, meetings, celebrations, being given awards from the Prime Minister, from everybody."

Denkova said, "We even met Condoleeza Rice when she came to Sofia. We got a telephone call from the U.S. Embassy who said she wanted to meet us and we were to come to the airport. (The U.S. Secretary of State was in Bulgaria April 27-28 to sign a Defense Cooperation Agreement.) So we were one of the first people to meet her when she arrived."

Her partner added, "When she came from the plane, she said, 'Hello' to a bunch of people but then she stayed like five minutes with us and we did pictures with her and with children from our club. It was really cool."

Denkova was very impressed. "She said she was a skater and she asked what we were going to do next and whether we would continue. She said she watched Calgary and really enjoyed it."

They give credit to the Karponosovs for their victory. Staviski said, "Gennadi and Natalia are just another, higher level. They are very professional and they know what to do. For example, we make a more, very difficult move. We make a good approach for it. And we show her and she will consider and then say, 'No. I don't see it-- maybe in the next program but not here.' She has the eyes for it. She has a vision. And our last coach was a man. It helps Albena to work with a woman."

Denkova agrees. "When she shows us a movement, she is very artistic and for me, very feminine. I like to watch when she is showing me a move. She is very graceful."

Staviski says the coaches are able to see very clearly what must be done to improve. "It is very good that now there are skaters who we skated with who are calling the elements. They can clearly see what is difficult."

Denkova joins in to explain, "It is interesting that what is now considered difficult, is what we have been doing for many years. We were the first to do the spreadeagle life 8 or 9 years ago. The spreadeagle was easy for Maxim but not for me. He did a lot of ballet stretching early in his career."

As of this writing, they had not yet decided on their music. Staviski said, "We have been listening to music for two months-- everything. We don't want something that others have skated to. We were the first to skate to Cirque du Soleil. We were the only ones to skate to Bach to Africa. We like to use something completely different. THat's why we moved forward in the Worlds."

It's been a long, uphill journey. (They had to recover from very bad injury when Peter Tchernyshev's blade accidentally slashed Denkova's leg in practice at the Worlds in Nice, severing two tendons and a muscle. She endured a long hospital stay and three months in a hard cast.)

His partner feels, "For the last four or five years we've tried to do something very different. The best ideas come all of a sudden. We just heard something today that we think is maybe a possibility."

A journalist recently asked them what was the most difficult moment of their career? Was it the injury? Was it continuing to compete after dropping to fifth in the world after being second in 2004?

Denkova replied, "No. The most difficult decision was decising to change our coach, Alexei Gorshkov, because we were such a long time with him. We had been through good, bad, everything. And to come to train in the U.S. was completely unknown to us. We were so disappointed after fifth place in Moscow, we were desperate."

Staviski added, "He was not just our coach. He was like a friend to us. But he made it easier. He said he didn't know wht to do to get us back on the podium. So we had no choice. We had to take the risk."

Denkova elaborated, "We planned to come to the U.S. and go to various places but we came to Linichuk first and that was it. We talked to her one morning and she showed us her plans and she had the ice all booked for us, and a timetable prepared and music suggestions ready.

"Everything was set so we never even went elsewhere. She said there was no time. We had to get working. She even talked about costume ideas. She is a workaholic, the same as us. Sometimes it is even too much! But we wouldn't have schieved this without her."

Staviski said the change wasn't so difficult. "We hadn't been living in Bulgaria. We had been training in Moscow where we had an apartment, so it was not so much different having an apartment here."

His partner said they really enjoy the atmosphere in Delaware. "It's quiet. Nothing distracts us from skating. We are very happy about it. There are very good conditions for practicing. Russia was much colder and it was quite a pain."

Staviski also pointed out, "I like that it is quiet here. The traffic isn't bad. And a lot of people that I met in Moscow are now living not so far away. It's very comfortable."

Linichuk & Karponosov now want to do the same for Gregory & Petukhov. "I would like to develop their technical level. You know she skates very nice. He skates very nice. They are both very talented, very rich inside but we must open up. For me they have not enough life on the ice. They have not enough sparkle. They have a lot of feeling and emtion but they must open a window and send everything to the dance, to the judges, to the music, everywhere."

Gregory says they were so excited to be assigned to Skate America because it is in Hartford. "Denis and I have never done a Tango together before so we are looking forward to that." They are planning to work with a ballroom specialist.

Petukhov said, "We're looking forward to some new compulsories. It was very interesting to skate the Midnight Blues."

Summing up his impressions of their new coaches, Petukhov declared, "They are taking us as their challenge. Right now we're ninth in the world and competing at a different level. I think we need people like them."

Gregory is also very optimistic. "We have a strong U.S. team. Even being the second couple, we're beating people that are champions of their countries. We feel great.

"I think American ice dancing has taken such a leap forward. I think it's such a great time now because I think the U.S. is going to take over."

Thanks a lot, Grace ! Interesting article (although I don't understand everything ) Thanks for typing it for us, I suppose it was very hard work .

Kisses!

Well, of course, if there's anything you don't understand that you want to understand, just ask. I have to go to work now, but maybe Lana will be around, and if not, I'll of course be home from work eventually.

Thanks, Grace! Actually, I used online translator for some phrases I don't understand.

I don't like this commentary:

Quote :

With an intake of breath, Denkova said, "For him it is easy but not for me." She is obviously well aware of her biological clock ticking away.

Hm, it's not very polite to say this me, for example, I hate when somebody talks to me about the biological clock. Whatever, I won,t comment this

Quote :

Linichuk... has a vision. And our last coach was a man. It helps Albena to work with a woman."

Hm, that's interesting, I've never thought about the difference between man and a woman coach. Maybe the approach is different, who knows...

Vania wrote:

I don't like this commentary:

Quote :

With an intake of breath, Denkova said, "For him it is easy but not for me." She is obviously well aware of her biological clock ticking away.

Hm, it's not very polite to say this me, for example, I hate when somebody talks to me about the biological clock. Whatever, I won,t comment this

I wasn't quite sure what to make of that, either. My reaction was definitely a combination of and , though. But if someone published something about my biological clock, I think my reaction would be .

Quote :

Quote :

Linichuk... has a vision. And our last coach was a man. It helps Albena to work with a woman."

Hm, that's interesting, I've never thought about the difference between man and a woman coach. Maybe the approach is different, who knows...

I don't think it's so much that the approach is different, but the understanding is different. I've taken from men and women, and men might be very good technicians, but they are generally not very good at helping a woman improve her presentation because they have no idea how your mind works. Just like any other man!

GRACE!

Thanks for the art icle , !!!

It was like living again so many moments of these last two years!!



I really enjoyed it!!!

Grace wrote:

The new Blades on Ice has a pretty big article on Albena and Maxim, too. It's really about the dance teams at the University of Delaware, but it's mostly about them.

I just got this magazine, yesterday!!! I had some time before a training so I went to Chapters (a bookstore), because I was missing the new issue of Blades... and I almost screamed when I saw Albena and Maxim were on the cover. There were at least 3 articles with quotes from them: the one you typed up , "Denkova & Staviski and Meissner stay in Newark" and "A dream comes true for Bulgarian ice Dancers". It was fabulous. If you like I could type up the other two this weekend... but not any earlier than that. My Granny is coming to visit for the first time in 11 years, so I'm busy until Saturday.

Thanks for typing the "Afternoon in Newark" article up, Grace! It's a realllllly long article.

Oh, thank you, thank you, Grace! I don't have time to read the article now, but I saved it : )) I'll print it and will read it tomorrow during the break between classes & training

Lana wrote:

I just got this magazine, yesterday!!! I had some time before a training so I went to Chapters (a bookstore), because I was missing the new issue of Blades... and I almost screamed when I saw Albena and Maxim were on the cover. There were at least 3 articles with quotes from them: the one you typed up , "Denkova & Staviski and Meissner stay in Newark" and "A dream comes true for Bulgarian ice Dancers".

Albena & Maxim on the cover + 3 AM articles in a one issue????? Inbelievable Apparently, Blades on Ice is a fabulous magazine

Lerka wrote:

I'll print it and will read it tomorrow during the break between classes & training

That's what I do. I read my emails & some posts here during training breaks. I don't have hardly any time in the evenings. Including, now...

Quote :

Albena & Maxim on the cover + 3 AM articles in a one issue????? Inbelievable Apparently, Blades on Ice is a fabulous magazine

Yessss!!!!! It never happens. AM should really win Worlds more often. Blades is my favourite of the skating magazines, actually. IFS isn't as interesting. Spotlight on Skating is fairly good, though...

Kisses

Lana wrote:

That's what I do. I read my emails & some posts here during training breaks. I don't have hardly any time in the evenings. Including, now...

The same Now I try not to fall asleep, but it's sooo hard so, I'm leaving for bed in a minute

sestrichka wrote:

Yessss!!!!! It never happens. AM should really win Worlds more often.

Yup twice a year
kisses, my darling! 71 million hugs for you : ))) luv

I was thinking of doing the little one about them and Kimmie tonight, but I'm not going to bother with the first one in the issue because it's just a compilation of quotes we've all already heard. So if you want that one shared, Lana, you'll have to do it yourself.

Okay, here it is. I'm just going to put the whole thing in, maybe people will find other parts interesting. :study: I fixed some things, like names the author got wrong, and I assume that when he says the dance teams were working on the Yankee Polka, he means the Rumba. There's no need for them to be doing the Yankee, it's not a compulsory this year.

Denkova & Staviski and Meissner stay in Newark

Two banners in the entrance hall of the main rink of the University club of Newark, Delaware celebrate the two world titles of Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski and Kimmie Meissner.

When I entered the rink, I saw the former Czech champion dancer Jiri Prochazka just coming from the ice. His former partner finished her career in 2005. He could not find a newe partner in his country, so he came to the U.S. and found Alyssa McGill, a singles skater, as a new partner.

It was only 7:30 a.m., therefore the best dancers were not yet on the ice, because they had worked with Natalia Linichuk the night before until 1:30 a.m. behind locked doors. There was one exception: Gennadi Karponosov was working on the Yankee Polka compulsory dance with the Japanese dancers Nozomi Watanabe and Akiyuki Kido who were 18th at Worlds in Calgary and have been training in Delaware for at least six years.

Almost all morning he played the music again and again and had the couple do every moment and pose. On the ice there were also two Japanese junior couples, which showed that the federation trusted in the coaches also for the future.

Linichuk hired an Argentine floor dance couple from Los Angeles who showed the typical Tango poses to the three Japanese couples. But especially the young Japanese boys had problems with the macho poses and were a bit shy to treat their partners in the aggressive way which the Argentine tango requires.

A bit later, Denis Petukhov came to the rink and coached at first an American novice couple who made a tryout. During the resurface I asked him why he and his partner Melissa Gregory left Morozov. He only said they needed a change. Even now they would not be the couple number one, because the coach had taken the Israeli team of Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky.

Later Linichuk said: "I am improving the technical levels with them. Moreover I want them to show more emotion, because up to now they had always skated a bit cold. But they are volcanos which just have to explode. I will help them to do this." Their free dance music was composed for them-- and is still a secret, as for all Linichuk couples.

On the ice were the novice dancers Genevieve Deutch and Alexander Lorello who trained their free dance to a vocal version of Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony-- very difficult for these teenagers who look like young actors.

Another U.S. pair came on the ice: Kate Slattery and C.G. Lee. They left such a good impression at the dance competition in Lake Placid that they might be sent to Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany at the end of September.

Later in the morning the Dance World champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski came on the ice. They trained the Polka a little bit, but mainly their original dance for which they chose the well-known music of Libertango. The dance is ready, has an excellent speed and flow, and the elements are extremely demanding, but Denkova hit her partner twice in his lower leg with her free foot, so he had some pain for a minute.

After the morning training they came into the restaurant for an interview. Denkova said: "Our lower thighs have a lot of blue points, but these are Argentine tango movements. After our World title we had planned to finish our career. But Bulgaria was interested very much in us; our small country does not have so many world champions. For two months we got one invitation after the other. One day we were even invited to visit the President of our counry. He took a lot of time for us and promised that the ministry of sport would support us if we continue. We even were invited a second time for dinner when the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was in Bulgaria on a visit. We were kind of ambassadors between Bulgaria and the USA."

Staviski added: "Moreover we like Japan, where the next World Championship will be held, and we like the Tango. Therefore we decided to continue one more year and will decide then again." Like all Linichuk couples they skate to the Argentine version of the Tango because it is technically more demanding than the international Tango version, especially because of the close positions.

Later Linichuk added that their expression has become much more open than before and would be even better this season. Their free dance music is top secret until their first show or competition at Skate America.

Staviski said: "Our life in the USA is not much different from life in Russia. Because of the training on and off ice we have not much time for anything else than skating, eating, resting and sleeping."

During Worlds he skated with a bandage on his hand. "Afterwards we X-rayed the hand in Bulgaria and found out that a tendon had almost torn. I had terrible pain at every lift in Calgary, but I did not tell Albena, because then she would have been even more nervous. Now I have no problems with my hand."

After the end of their competitive career they want to build up skating in their home country. Denkova's younger sister skates on the Junior Grand Prix circuit.

Besides the ice dancers, there are always many good pairs and single skaters in Newark. The best one is World champion Kimmie Meissner, who trained in the top group jut as everybody else and did not behave as a star at all, which was very refreshing. Like the other skaters, she put on her skates on a bench next to the rink, she laughed with the thers and wore the same kind of normal T-Shirt and training suit and used no make-up.

She has grown some, so her jumps looked a bit less easay. But she still does her triple-triple combinations, only the triple Axel does not work because her jumps are a bit less high than last winter. She does not make a secret of her new music: "I was with Nikolai Morozov for the new short program which I skate to the romantic Russian piece of Snow Storm. This is exactly the music of Russian composed Sviridov that Olympic champions Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin interpreted so masterfully for their short program last season. "For my new free program, I went to Lori Nichol in Canada." It is a flamenco program with a slower Spanish piece in the middle.

After having changed she rushed outside because her mother was waiting for her in the car. Before that she said: "I have a driving permit and do drive in my hometown, but my mother doesn't let me drive on I-95 yet."

Has the world title changed her life?

"I got some TV invitations; the people on the street in my hometown recognize me and want to have autographs. And I did 10 shows with Champions on Ice, but only on the weekend. I have one more year of high school, and I want to finish it properly. I don't want everything to change in my life. I'm happy as it is. And I have no time for a boyfriend because of all the skating, the driving and school. My friends are my training mates on the ice."

What are her long term goals? "I'm young enough that I could skate until 2014. Then I'll be the age Michelle Kwan is now. She's always been my idol." Maybe Kwan will return to competition?

The head coach Ron Ludington still teaches a lot, in spite of his age somewhere over 70, but he does not want to speak about it. During the weeks before my visit, there were more than 20 skaters from Italy in Newark with coach Franco Bianconi, so the rinks were full and the noise big. There are four new pairs. The best male single skater in Newark is Geoffrey Varner who is quite happy that he got an unexpected Grand Prix invitation to the NHK Trophy though he was only ninth at last season's Junior Worlds. He trains his free program to a modern version of the Concierto de Aranjuez and the short to the well-known Sirtaki.

Christine Zukowski is the second-best female single skater. The bronze medal winner at Junior Worlds worked on her presentation with dance coach Linichuk, because it needed and still needs improvement. She gets some funding from the Michael Weiss Foundation.

Other American single skaters with international level are Megan Williams-Stewart, Benjamin Miller, Shawn Rogers, and Craig Ratterree who recognized me at once, because he gave me his first interview of his life last year when he had won the short program at the Junior Grand Prix in Montreal. They mostly work with Barbara Rolls-Williams and Jeff DiGregorio and choreographer Irina Romanova in a strong group. Also on the ice is the Italian skater Paolo Bacchini, ranked second in his country, and Joel Watson from New Zealand. The atmosphere is friendly, but they all train their elements and programs busily and take profit from the limited time on the ice.

Grace wrote:

So if you want that one shared, Lana, you'll have to do it yourself.

Well, I was offering to do that, innit?

Innit? Have you been hanging out at FSU again, young lady?

Thanks, Grace! Great idea to make the names of the skater bold, otherwise we have to read the entire article to find where is the info about A&M (me, for example, I hadn't enough time this morning)!

Thanks again!

Actually, it was like that in the article in the magazine, I just totally copied it. But I'm glad it was useful.

Grace wrote:

Innit? Have you been hanging out at FSU again, young lady?

Erm... Possibly. Sometimes it's good to visit the skating world that's outside of my Albena and Maxim cave. hehe.

Well, I enjoyed the article very much!
I think Albena and Maxim have moments in their wonderful career that they can be very proud of!

It was so pleasent to review some of their most sweet memories ....and others less sweet, but that's life!

Uhh..what an article!!

Like usual..I am doing more things in the same time: checking emails, writing emails, organizing some photos, reading and so on...

But I stopped with all this while reading the article. It was very, very interesting and uhh...looong. It took me more than 15 minutes to read it. Grace, thank you!! Probably it took some time to type it...I apreciate it a lot. I enjoyed the article.... and like Maria said (I think ) I re-visualised the last years..with good and bed.

But all in all, Albena and Maxim seem to feel much beter. They have faith and courage and will.... others have faith in them as well. And this matters a lot.

Thank you :<33: