So, here´s the report I promised you about yesterday´s show in Düsseldorf. I only hope I will find the right words here to express my feelings before, during and after the show
. Sorry that I can´t give you better news
!
First the report about our two favourite dancers.
To make it short: There´s one good, but many bad news. Sorry
! The good news is that Albena was there and that she was performing, the saddest news of all: Max wasn´t there
!!! I mean it might be that he was there somewhere in the arena, but he was not dancing
!!!
Because Ilya Averbukh made the moderation himself, I could understand nothing of what he said; he was speaking Russian (and I don´t, as you know). So I can´t tell you here what he said according to Albena
.
Albena made two little dances - together with Alexei Makarov from IceAge, puh! I mean, in this show it was o.k. that she did it, because a lot of the non-skating stars from IceAge have been there and were performing. And because there was a lot of, hm, don´t know exactly how to call it, perhaps "slapstick" or "theatre" would be the right word for it ... (sorry, I really can´t describe better ...). But I don´t think that doing it this way could be the final solution for her
. If really the worst will happen and she will have to skate without Max (please, God, help that this will never, never be!) then, in my opinion, she should try to find another way to perform...
So, she and Makarov made two dances, both really IceAge-like, and very short. During the first dance I think she was wearing one of her dresses from IceAge, but I´m not really sure about this ... Perhaps on the pics we will see better ... They had a stumble (I think not everybody of the spectators noticed that), but did not fall completely. They got applause (but not as much as many others there, sorry!).
Their second dance, puh, I hardly know how to describe this ... Albena was wearing a deep-red dress, covering her hair. I have never seen it on her before. And the dance ... To make it short: They had a big fall in the very last seconds
. Alexei Makarov tried to make a ... yes, what was it? I think a spin-movement-combination would describe it best. He stumbled, fell, and Albena was laying on him and they could only get to their feet after the music had stopped. It was so sad
to watch her! At first, there was hardly applause, puh! After the music stopped they tried doing it again, and this time it functionned. And now they got their applause
.
Believe me, I´m glad that I was not in Albenas place yesterday. I don´t think that she could
really enjoy this. I mean, she was smiling after the dances, but, sorry that I say this directly
, I think it was only a show-smile. Deep inside her, I´m sure, she felt another way ...
Albena took part at the closing, together with most of the other skaters, but she left the ice as one of the first, head and shoulders down
... And she looked very, very alone at this moment! Poor Albie! She has so much of my sympathy, and I was helpless yesterday, sitting there and could do nothing! Believe me, that was hard!
Besides, I could not manage to meet her outside
. I think most of it was my own fault
. I was there very late, after 15:00 o´clock, because I had car problems yesterday, had to take the train therefore and, because of some private problems in the morning, could not use the train I wanted but had to use a later one. So I think all of the skaters were already inside the arena when I arrived. And they didn´t come out, and there was no lobby to go and to meet the skaters
...
I could not throw my little present for her on the ice, because I was sitting too far away. After the show finished I tried again to meet her, but was stopped three times by security
! I´ve never seen so much security, not even at worlds 2004! I did not want to take my present home, so I gave it to one of the security workers. He said he would give it to her, but, to be honest, I don´t believe in it
.
So far to Albie and ... Makarov. Sorry that I can not give a better report here,
I really wish I could ...
O.K., at the end of my report I will try to give you a short inside in the rest of the show.
Something really very, very sad happened to Alexei Yagudin. His first two performances were really excellent. I really thought there was the "old" Yags skating. He performed parts of his programm "Winter" of 2002, and his steps were as they had been in 2002! Really great! Then, during his third performance, skating to "Legenda", he made a tripple jump, stood it, made two steps further and felt to the knees. He could not stand up alone, his face full of pain. Averbukh and two other skaters had to help him of the ice. He got many minutes full of standing ovations, but this did not help him. After the show I heard he was hospitalised in Düsseldorf first, was released later and was brought back to the hotel. I heard he was already limping, but he said it was not one of his hips! I really hope he will be better, soon!
Rita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas really made my evening! They were great, excellent, first class! During the first dance Rita was completely in red and Povilas was like a torero. I did not know the programm (I´m sure Vania would have known!). The second programme was "Pirates", I think everybody knows this, the one with the pirate flag and Rita and Povilas making a duell with the swords ... It was fantastic, and beside Yags, they got most of the applause!
Other skaters were Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (perfect as always), Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov (they often changed partners), Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov (they got a lot of applause, too), Elena Sokolova, Alexander Abt, Ilia Klimkin, and one performance directly from Ilya Averbukh. And besides many performances from the non-professional IceAge stars. I hope I have not forgotten anyone!
I think I have to finish here. All in all, concerning Albie and Max, it was a sad evening
. Sorry, Albie, if you read this
. I missed Max so much
! I mean, Albies dances were "nice", but it was so strange watching her on the ice with another partner live, even if it was only Makarov!
So again I wish the best to Max and Albie and now I write here again what I could not tell them yesterday:
Hold on! Don´t give up! Keep on fighting! I wish you the best!P.S.: Here´s a video of Yags from yesterday someone made while he was helped to leave the ice.[url] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO8dWT-I86c [/url] Very sad indeed!
P.S.S.: The pics, if they are usable, will be coming later this week!