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NAGANO 1998/FIGURE SKATING | FEBRUARY 9, 1998 VOL. 151 NO. 6 |
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Who Will Waltz Off With the Gold? By JULIE K.L. DAM
This proud tradition has produced two teams that have been providing fans with remarkable skating born of intense competition for the past few years. At the Olympics, their last competition as amateurs, defending champions Pasha Grishuk and Evgeny Platov want to go out on top before inevitably passing the torch on to Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov. Grishuk, 25, and Platov, 30, who have been partners since 1989, have won every competition they have entered--21 in all--since capturing the Olympic gold medal at Lillehammer in 1994. This season, they have put together an edgy, arresting free program. Set to music originally composed as a tribute to football fans who died in a stadium collapse, their routine memorializes past figure skating champions as well as the ups and downs of their own careers. What sets Grishuk and Platov apart is not only their innovative choreography but also their breathtaking speed while performing intricate footwork sequences. Grishuk, an aspiring actress who recently changed her first name from Oksana to avoid confusion with singles skater Oksana Baiul, is particularly admired for her ability to make quick, clean edge turns known as "twizzles." The high technical difficulty of their programs has resulted in a few falls this season, but the pair accept that risk. "If we made our dance easier, we would never fall," says Platov. "But we have some footwork that is extremely difficult. It is so fast and has so many turns that it makes us unique and unbeatable." Not if Krylova, 24, and Ovsiannikov, 28, can help it. During their three and a half years together, the younger pair have been following in Grishuk and Platov's dancesteps--even to the extent of moving to the U.S. in 1994 to train with the same coach. Now Krylova and Ovsiannikov are hoping to glide ahead of their compatriots. Despite their relatively short partnership, they have already won the Russian ice dancing title and collected two silver medals at the world championships. The 1.73-m, dark-haired Krylova makes a striking Carmen in the pair's free program. Although the music has been frequently used in skating, the duo have managed to create a modern, original interpretation. So fierce is the rivalry between Grishuk-Platov and Krylova-Ovsiannikov that at last month's European championships in Milan, the two pairs were engaging in a game of intimidation during the warm-ups, whipping by each other so closely that costumes were torn. In this most white-glove of sports, the gloves-off battle between Russia's best will certainly heat up the ice in Nagano. --Reported by Alice Park /New York |
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ince ice dancing--the combination of ballroom dancing and
skating with rigidly choreographed steps and floating
artistry--became an Olympic sport in 1976, Russians have won the
gold at every Games except in 1984, when Britain's Jayne Torvill
and Christopher Dean captivated the world with their Bolero
program. What gives the Russians an important edge in this sport
is their rich culture of ballet and theater from which they draw
their sense of artistry. On the technical side, Russian ice
dancers are trained to skate very close and frequently move so
quickly that they are a blur of arms, legs and blades.