Skate Canada
Skate Canada
|
Report from Sally:
THE PRACTICE SESSIONS My first glimpse of Evgeni was on Wednesday, Oct. 29th, when he appeared at one end of the rink with Ryan Jahnke (USA) to watch the first group of men practice. A scream went up from the audience as soon as they spotted the blond skater in the red team jacket – they had been waiting for Evgeni Plushenko! In no time, a long line of autograph seekers had formed and it was pretty obvious that Evgeni wouldn’t get a chance to actually watch the other skaters practice. Before long, we couldn’t even see Evgeni anymore because he was lost in the swarm of fans. If Evgeni had wondered if he would be warmly welcomed in Mississauga, he wouldn’t have any doubts after this. He hadn’t even stepped on the ice yet! For his first practice, Evgeni wore black pants and shirt. He took it fairly easy in this practice, mostly doing a few triple loops, a couple of spin combos and some very nice footwork. He did not skate through his performance. He tried the quad toe jump twice but it wasn’t working for him on this day. He fell on both attempts.
For Thursday’s practice, Evgeni wore his Flamenco short program costume. Once again, Evgeni appeared to be taking it a bit easy, doing footwork, spins and not many jumps. It was obvious that the torn meniscus ligament in his right knee is a serious concern and he was not going to overstrain it. A wise decision. Evgeni was also suffering from a cold at Skate Canada and most likely didn’t feel up to going “all out” at this practice session, preferring to save energy for the actual competition to take place that night.
For Saturday’s practice, Evgeni wore his Adagio short program costume. This was a very short practice for him. He left no more than half way through the practice, after completing a 4/3 combo and another quad. The Free Skate was tonight and it seemed he just wanted to make sure that the quad was working for him. He did have a tough time getting off the ice though, as, once again, swarms of autograph’s seekers were waiting for him at the end of the rink and he kindly obliged everyone. THE COMPETITION Short Program – Tango Flamenco by Armik.
Placement: First. Total points: 81.25 Evgeni skated first in the second group of men. At the end of his warm-up, he had fallen on a triple axel attempt. When he first sat in the K/C, he looked a bit disappointed (most likely about the doubled axel in the program). But, the mood was soon lightened when a very funny thing happened when Evgeni attempted to put on his team jacket. His left arm went in fine; but, apparently, the right sleeve was bunched up and he could not get his right arm through. When he realized that the audience was watching this on the big screen, he immediately stood up, pushed his arm through the sleeve and then pumped both arms like a body-builder. The audience thoroughly enjoyed his sense of humor.
Elements completed: 4 toe; 3 toe; 3 axel; outside spread eagle to 3 lutz (very nice); 3 flip; flying camel to donut spin combo; circular footwork (very good); 2 axel; 3 loop; camel/sit/layback/Biellmann combo – changeover to back sit/half-Biellmann/scratch spin combo; Biellmann spiral; 3 salchow/1 toe; sit-change-sit spin; camel/sit/attitude spin combo to back sit/scratch spin. Placement: First. Total free skate points – 152.40. Total overall points: 233.65. For some reason we don't know, he didn't wear his new costume but the old Adagio costume. One of the gifts tossed to the ice at the end of Evgeni’s program was a big red heart (with arms). As he took his bows at center ice, Evgeni once again showed his delightful sense of humor by clutching the oversized heart to his chest and pumping it as if it was his own heart beating. The crowd really loved this and showed their appreciation by huge applause. Interview
Q: Coming of a magical season last year and this is your first Grand Prix this season, how did it feel? Evgeni: I feel actually after this skate...I feel good...you know I was injured, I have miniscus and one week ago I was sick also, cough, something with nose, I feel not so good, not comfortable. Well, I came here I couldn't skate 100%, I couldn't jump quad toeloop here a couple of practices but finally I did in the short program. So actually I'm happy. Q: Evgeni, we got news today that Alexei Yagudin has deceided to retire, how much of rivalry was there when you two where competing? Evgeni: You know, he is a great guy. He is famous. He is a great skater. Actually, I like to compete with him before; and, maybe he will come back and, in the future, I will skate with him and fight with him on ice. Exhibition Gala Music: Flamenco Selections
Evgeni received a huge ovation for his performance and left the ice. Of course, the audience wanted more. After MUCH applause and cries of "Zhenya! Zhenya! Zhenya!," Evgeni returned for his encore. Encore Music: St. Petersburg 300 He began with his straight line footwork sequence (huge roar from the crowd for this dazzling display). Evgeni then completed a 3toe/3toe/2loop combo and finished with a spin combination including his fabulous Biellmann spin. This performance brought another huge ovation with most of the audience on their feet. Evgeni looked very happy with the response he received from his Canadian fans. Once again, just at the start of the encore, we were treated to more "Plushenko humor." Evgeni took his starting pose at center ice and waited for the music to begin. For some reason, the camera zoomed in on his hand. The big screen in the arena was filled with a close-up of Evgeni's hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Evgeni saw *the hand* on the big screen - and, although he was *supposed* to be serious during this starting position, he couldn't resist the temptation to wiggle his fingers and make a *shadow puppet* on the big screen with his fingers. The crowd thought this was so cute and funny that they roared their approval. Then, in an instant, Evgeni was serious and "in character" again and the music began. One thing is for sure - no one left SC without realizing that Evgeni Plushenko is a true entertainer and will not miss a chance to bring a smile to the faces of his fans. Thank you, Evgeni. And, with the final bows of all the skaters, with Evgeni in the center of the line, Skate Canada 2003 was over. Comments from CTV commentators during Evgeni's gala performances:
Rod Black:
Tracy Wilson:
Rod Black:
Debbi Wilkes:
Traci Wilson:
Rod Black:
Debbi Wilkes: And, with the final bows of all the skaters, with Evgeni in the center of the line, Skate Canada 2003 was over. Good job, Evgeni. Thank you for all the wonderful memories. GOOD LUCK WITH THE REST OF THE SEASON. |
Photos © : 2nd and 3rd one by Larissa, last two by Mika, the rest are screenshots.
Skate Canada 2003 (Mississauga, Canada) was my very first time seeing Evgeni Plushenko skate live. I have been a huge fan of his since his first appearance at Skate America when he was just 14 years old. So, I’ve been waiting a long time to see him perform in person. It was well worth the wait.
At the end of the practice, my friend, one of his biggest Canadian fans, gave him a scrapbook put together by his fans from all over the world. Evgeni was delighted to receive it and posed for pictures holding the scrapbook. He received some other gifts from fans and then spent a very long time signing autographs before leaving the ice.
Friday morning’s practice went well for Evgeni, although, once again, no quads were completed. This time, those present got to see his new costume for his free skate – a Tribute to Nijinsky. The costume is a simple design, black in color, with sequins and "illusion" see-through parts. There is actually skin-colored fabric beneath the sheer material in this part of the costume.
Evgeni opened with a quad toe/triple toe combination. The intended triple axel became a double. His circular footwork sequence was completed with ease. Next came the triple lutz out of footwork. His sit-change-sit spin (8 revolutions on each foot) was followed by wonderful straight-line footwork, which brought loud applause. His flying camel to donut spin was followed by a camel/sit/layback/Biellmann spin combination with changeover to back sit/half-Biellmann/scratch combo.
Free Skate – Tribute to Vaclav Nijinski.
After his SP on Thursday night, Evgeni was interviewed by CTV. Here is a transcript of this interview.
For the gala, Evgeni wore his SP costume but did not wear any gloves. His exhibition was mostly a repeat of his SP with jump combinations scaled down. Elements completed: 3toe/2toe combo; 2 axel; circular footwork (with wonderful interpretation of the music with upper body, arms and hands); 2 axel; sit spin; straight line footwork (to loud applause); flying camel/donut spin combo; and, to finish, camel/sit/attitude/back sit/scratch spin combo (very fast).