" Le Petit Kulik Illustré "

Ilia Illustrated Dictionnary

Much corrected version after meeting him twice but...

still subject to wrong statements and non-objective assertions

COMING SOON : New version with many addings !

Ilia, if you read...

A B C D E F G H I J K L

M to Z

A ....like ......
    • Angel ... a heavenly vision on the ice...and outside ? well, not far from it at least :-)

    • Adams Family His short program during season 95/96. Perfectly skated in Edmonton where he took the lead to the free program. Black pants, black and white floating shirt.

    • Aladdin Season 95/96 free program. Perfectly skated in Edmonton. Ended second to Eldredge.Green pyjamas in early season green and blue eastern glittering outfit with mock daggers on the side.

    • Alexandr His father,an ingeneer.

    • Artistry One of his best weapon on the ice. Always had it, even in his early 94/95 season when we first discovered his genius on TV. Made it evolve since then to a more mature polish, with the help of his new coach.see Tarasova.

    • Autograph His used to be as huge as his jumps and took much room on our notebooks, programs and even one of our friends blue jeans !! that was the time when he signed in russian. He changed it soon after Nagano and now signs a smaller "IliaKulik".

    • Axel triple preferably ! One of his best jump if not THE best. One of the highest in the field.He even entered it from a spread eagle in Romeo & Juliet free program !

B ....like ......
    • Ballet

    • Baryshnikov one of his idols. "I'm not trying to be like him,...he influences much my skating"

    • Beautiful Do I need to say more ??!!!

    • Black ...is beautiful ! His favourite dressing color for skating and one that suits him best (although yellow..!!). Almost always for practice and quite often for programs. (An American in Paris,Romeo&Juliet,Adams Family,Faust, Samurai program and other exhibitions...)

    • Blades Wilson Gold Seal

    • Boots Graf (to be confirmed)

    • Body talk Ilia's first language on the ice.

    • Bon Jovi One of his first exhibition programs, season 95/96, was skated to the song "Always" and it goes "I will always love you".(You're welcome !!!).All dressed up in jeans.

C ....like ......
    • Charisma Sure, he has a lot of it !

    • Choreography elaborated with Tatiana Tarasova since Adams Family and Aladdin programs. Something he beats his rivals with, something he likes and interpretes wonderfully, something he'll be remembered for. Especially dense on his short programs, like Faust and this year's Revolution, not to mention Aladdin & Romeo !

    • Cigarettes He quit ! The story says...when he came to Marlboro !!!!! Well, that used to be the story...but he never really smoked and doesn't like it much (especially for ladies, right ?!)

    • Class A BIG touch of...

    • Coach Viktor Koudriavtsev until season 95/96 - - Tatiana Tarasova during seasons 96/97 and 97/98.
      He has none at present.

    • Consistency Something he had a problem with, but a forgotten nightmare on olympic season.

    • Costumes see Outfit

D ....like ......
    • Dance One of his hobbies and skating inspiration

    • Devil What I thought he was in his Faust program, a young and beautiful tempting little devil ! ... some fire burning deep inside.

    • Dream of Love ...and many broken hearts ! see Liebestraum

E ....like ......
    • Expression has a lot of when he doesn't hold back.Full body expression, including face,arms and hands to the fingers.

    • Eyes Dark brown, almond-shaped, smiling and very expressive. Sometimes wear a killing look, especially at the end of his programs. Reflect all his wit, kindness, strength and determination.

    • English His second language after russian and he's quite fluent in.

    • Elevation great on his jumps, especially 3axel and quad.



F ....like ......
    • Falls A few years back, Ilia was interviewed by a commentator as he was leaving the ice. The subject was that of falling : " I never fall. I fall only once a year. It is big. Very BIG."

    • Fans Many and in many countries. We are now more than 400 members in his official Fan club, the Kulik's Krew.

    • Faust season 96/97 short program.Dense choreography, breathtaking in everything, one of his best ever. Black and red costume with silver collar and belt and strings around the waist. Absolutely terrifying ! Hell couldn't have looked any better ! (Don't misunderstand me, I liked it)

    • Flow One of his top qualities.Something very hard to describe off ice. A kind of combination between speed and lightness, power and silence.

    • Footwork ...footloose ! If you didn't notice it yet, rush on tapes ! He does it difficult and he does it FAST.Much research and originality.


G ....like ......
    • Graceful Never inesthetic even when he misses a clean landing, even in practice when he skates around doing nothing or having fun with warm up single jumps and fences. Doesn't swear too much neither. Graceful he definitely is.Some other skaters would say it's his feminine side, and so what ??!!Ilia shows one can be a man without acting like a lumberjack !


    • Gemini His sign of the Zodiac, well suited to his moods and personality.

    • Gershwin His most lucky composer.Won two major titles on his musics : An american in Paris, Dortmund,1995 and Rhapsody in Blue,Nagano 1998.

    • Gifted for jumps and artistry, for gliding like a feather in a breeze... Add a lot of work to it and you've got the last Olympic champ !

    • Girafe Had to kill one to sew his olympic free program costume !

    • Good-looking Who's arguing about this ?

    • Gold The precious metal he now wears forever around his neck as 1998 Olympic champion.


H ....like ......
    • Hair Sandy, Wheat-coloured, too short or too long, there has been a lot of debates about this.Always floating in the wind when he's flying on or above the ice.

    • Hands Much used in his choreography, enhancing his expression, making him this dancer on ice. He's told to have always use them more than his rivals do.

    • Heartthrob uh ?

    • Height Around 1,80 m. Ilia is big and strong, a real athlete.

    • Hobbies Dance, music, marsmanship, tennis, ping-pong, soccer, and more recently skydiving and ocean sports.

    • Humour Ilia is very witty and has a good sense of humour. He has those shrewd eyes and smile.


I ....like ......
    • Iliiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaa ! Our war cry during competitions. Or a big desperate sigh when he's out of sight.
      I read that this first name was yiddish or slavian, meaning "The Lord is my God"
      To be pronounced with the accent on the second syllabal.

    • Ice The solid state of water (his sister prefers it liquid) he moves on. A very hard and cold floor but very sensual too.(Those who skate will understand me...)

    • Injury He faced several past season and this race to quad might not be innocent. In summer, he spiked his right big toe on a triple lutz, then a pinched nerve in his back bothered him after the Finale in Münich and he had to skip the Europeans for full healing before the Olympics.

    • Interpretation He likes music and he can live it when he skates. He involves his whole body into it when he's pressure-free. (watch "Revolution" at Skate Canada, for example ...) Photo Reuters

    • ISN'T THAT GUY THE BEST ??!!


J ....like ......
    • Jeep Grand Cherokee, the car he had in Marlboro.

    • Jumps Great ability for them, great speed and height, and elegant position in the air, very straight and natural.His 3 axel and 3 lutz are beautiful to cry (IMO !). He enjoys jumping a lot : "When you land a jump, that's the most wonderful feeling. When you did your jump, and you're standing in the landing , it's unbelievable, it's so great to feel that, it's almost happiness (big smile)". Photo : Snowlets eye.

    • Junior His first world title in 1995, in Budapest. A tsar was born and uncovered to the astonished eyes of figure skating world.


K ....like ......
    • Katana The weapon he chose for Olympics in Japan. A material sign of the new sharpness and strength of his mind this season. Something to kill his rivals in Nagano. His killing look when he stuck it into the ice in Münich was saying it all.

    • Kombat Mortal ! In France, the movie subtitle went : "Final destruction". That's what it was on this holy 14th of february in Nagano. And he skated his exhibition with the katana to the original soundtrack.

    • KULIK In russian, is the name of a ...bird ! (a sand-piper). might explain the landings ?!
      To be pronounced with accent on the second syllabal.

L ....like ......
    • Light One of his main characteristic on the ice.You never feel the pressure of his weight on it. His flow and silky stroking make him a gliding feather.Especially remarkable on the ...

    • Landings He does it like a bird, with such a beautiful horizontal line of arms as if sustained by the air beneath, and elegant free leg. He cushions the shock back to the ice in such a fine way , you can never imagine the several tones pressure on the edge.

    • Liebestraum,Litz One of his most brilliant exhibition program, very poetic and romantic. Revealing his high taste for ballet dancing and graceful gliding. (And this blousy white shirt !!!) see Xhibition for picture

    • Loneliness Something he may suffer from far from Moscow, something he may like too.

    • Lunatic He is Gemini and it shows.Either wearing a candid smile, either frowning. Willing to meet people or closed like an oyster (french expression). indecision and changing mind.Like all of us, He has his moods.
      " You never know what he will do from one minute to the next." Tatiana Tarasova.

    • Lutz His most beautiful jump after the triple axel, IMO.


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