Friday, March 28 - Ice Dance Free Dance Practice
Good Luck Man
I found 800 speed film at a Ritz Camera this morning. I planned to get up and get ready in keeping with when it would open and headed directly over to the MCI Center afterward. I skipped the Ladies Short Program practice.
I sat in the second row in the section next to the Kiss & Cry area. Some coaches were stationed on the boards in front of me, a short distance away. I tried mostly to observe and don't think I took many pictures or notes.
Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky - They set up for the opening pose during their run-through. He is down on one knee, and her skate is stepping on his thigh in a balance move into a lift. They fell completely out of this pose. They looked rattled initially after it happened, but recovered well for the rest of the run-through.
Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh - I saw with my own eyes the Good Luck Man that Irina carries around with her at competitions. She would sit him on the boards next to their coaches and pick him up and kiss him throughout the session - whenever she and Ilia stopped to confer with the coaches. So, who is the Good Luck Man? I learned about him through a NHK interview that was done with Ilia and Irina that really showcased the special relationship they have. The interview was done firstly in Japanese. Then, a translator gave the question in English. The Averbukhs would answer in English, and the answer was translated into Japanese for the audience. Ilia did most of the speaking. He is just a very talkative man and gave long and detailed answers to the questions. During the translations, when not giving answers to the microphone, he would kiss Irina's cheek lightly and talk softly with her. They carried a newlywed look in their eyes and smiled at each other often. When the interviewer tried to give Irina a question to answer, Ilia encouraged the interviewer to ask Irina. Irina had given some of her answer, then got caught in a long pause. Ilia stepped in to her rescue and continued the answer for her. Irina looked relieved and leaned in toward Ilia and nodded during his answer with a smile. She showed them the Good Luck Man as she calls it and Lucky Man as he calls it. Good Luck Man is basically a head with a painted face and wheat colored hair that sticks straight up. He doesn't have much of a body as the feet stick out shortly below the head. He fits in the palm of the hand. Ilia explained that Lucky Man traveled with Irina before they became partners, and now travels with them since they have been together.
Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski - They wore another set of costumes for their Middle Eastern theme free dance. These had a white background, and the reared snakehead was on the front of Albena's costume. Maxim was dressed like a pharaoh.
Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov - They also had a good run-through of their program. Roman is bigger and bulkier than he appears on TV. Maybe, the costume accentuated this, as his arms were free.
Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov - They looked focused during their run-through. Ruslan was taller from this angle than he appears on TV.
Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon - They practiced the cool move, where she rolls along and makes turns against his back with her eyes closed, in the corner where I sat. A strong level of intensity in the practice, may it continue to carry into their performance tonight.
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