Russian Nationals, December 2009 in St. Petersburg
Q: How did you pick this unusual Original Dance?
Oksana: We’ve searched for a long time. We were looking at different choices. We wanted to do something unusual, not standard, something new, and therefore Natalia Vladimirovna suggested this music to us, but we first declined. This music was difficult to get for us when we heard it for the first time and I think it is also difficult for the spectators and others. But nevertheless, we decided that this would be something new and different and we decided to try it.
Maxim: I don’t remember what I thought when I heard the music for the first time. I think this music has found us, not we found the music.
Q: How did you create this dance? This is a completely different image for you, and you are doing moves that you’ve never done before.
Oksana: Actually we put this dance together rather easily although it is something unusual for us. We didn’t have and don’t have any no major problems with creating and doing these moves. We’ve watched video clips in the internet of these dances and it is really like this, complete with the leaves around the knees. If you are going to the internet and look for Australian Aboriginals, you can see photographs and videos where they have these huge bushes around their knees and dance with them. This is all real!
Q: How much was it a risk to pick this kind of dance?
Maxim: Of course, this is a risk, but we went for it, because we were hoping to be different from the other pairs.
Q: What about the costumes?
Oksana: They were done and sent to us to America.
Maxim: My window goes out to the cemetery and I lay in my bed at night, and suddenly there was lightening and I stand up and look out of the window. I see a burning fire, and strange people are walking around. I thought – what is happening? I ran out on the street, nobody is there, but I suddenly see the costumes were on the street. And it was just my size. Imagine what can happen (keeps a serious face while Oksana is bursting out with laughing).
Q: But what were you thinking when you saw these costumes, when they were laying on the street?
Maxim: I didn’t think anything. I just ran and took them.
Q: How long does it take to do the make-up?
Oksana: It goes fast for him, it takes about 15 minutes. For me it takes langer, maybe 45 minutes. This time visagists did the make-up, it wasn’t my work.
Q: Usually you are doing all the make-up yourself?
Maxim: No, usually we are sitting and chanting mantras for five hours (sings) and are applying the make-up to each other. This was at the beginning, but now the time is shorter and went down from five hours to about 20 minutes.
Q: Lets talk about the free dance. I’ve heard it should reflec the story of your career.
Oksana: The story of our career? Maybe. Why do you think so?
Q: I think I’ve read that you said it somehwere.
Oksana: I don’t remember saying that!
Maxim: This is interesting.
Oksana: Well, then it will be the story of our career (laughs). Actually, I meant that we on the technical side wanted to put everything together what we have learned. I don’t take the character of the dance, just the skating. We’re just trying to put everything into this program what we have learned in the past 20 years of skating. But in general we wanted to tell about passion, about love and hate, about these human feelings between man and woman.
Q: How did you chose this music?
Maxim: Again, the music found us.
Q: How?
Maxim: The music was wandering around the world until it found us.
Oksana: I will reveal a secret – it was actually my dog that found the music. When Maxim still was in Germany during the summer I arrived in the USA a little earlier. I just had bought the little dog recently and I went to Natalia Vladimirovna’s house to listen to some music. So we were looking at all kinds of music, there was so much, that the head was swollen. My dog was running around, and Natalia said, let’s be serious now, I’m suggesting this music and that music’, and she is switching on the music of the free dance, not the Requiem (for a Dream) part, but the other (The Double Life of Veronique), and my dog is sitting there and turning her ears (shows the gesture). She turned and turned her ears. We laughed but the dog had reacted to this music. When we switched on the music for the original dance, my dog started to race around the room like crazy and we understood that maybe this music is what we need. It was really like this, I’m not lying. For some reason the dog reacted to these two pieces of music. She didn’t react to any of the others.
Q: What others music choices did you have?
Oksana: For the Original Dance there was also a Scottish Dance. What else, Max?
Maxim: Dance of the Nordic people.
Oksana: Yes, dance of the people of the north.
Maxim: And dances of the people of the south, dances of the people of the east and dances of the people of the west.
Oksana: I wanted an Oriental dance. Belly dance has something to it.
Maxim: I wanted a Western dance.
Oksana: And what else did we have for the free dance...I suggested “17 Moments of Spring” (Russian movie soundtrack). It is hard to remember it now, because it is more than five months ago. We’ve heard so many different pieces. This happened in June.
Q: How long have you been in Germany this time?
Maxim: Four months, I came to America in July.
Oksana: Maxim agreed to our choice of music. We obviously listened to the music together and discussed it.
Q: How did the working process go?
Oksana: As usual, there were no changes. Ah, this year, I’ve composed the music for the first time. I’ve learned it finally! I did it myself on the computer, put something here and there, I did different versions and brought them. Well, the first few times it was very bad, you had to cover your ears, but then it went quite well. Of course, we sent it eventually to a person who is cutting music professionally, but just for the working versions we had mine. So we put the program together like usual. The Requiem we included when we realized that something explosive was missing in the music. The music is interesting, strong and beautiful, but there was a colourful moment missing. This already was a suggestion coming from Maxim and myself, because Natalia Vladimirovna wanted only this music, but when I put in this part I brought it and told her, ‘listen to this’, and I think that especially after the organ such an explosive piece of music is very effective. The bells we added as a nuance.
Q: Nevertheless, I think that you have changed your style and that you are looking different.
Oksana: Probably yes. We tried to change our style and our programs. For us this is difficult to say, it is easier to see this from the outside. We clearly changed in the original dance, in the free dance, I think, we never had a program like this.
Q: Maxim, how much is your knee injury affecting you?
Maxim: What are you talking about? No.
Q: But you are skating with a bandage?
Maxim: Yes, the knee is sweating.
Q: Is it for support?
Maxim: For support, yes, for mental support. No, I’m using a brace, to limit the movement to protect it.
Oksana: He first skated with a brace for old people and now with one for athletes.
Maxim: I was trying out different ones. There are a lot of models existing. First I tried one that was not visible to the eye, but they are done for people who don’t move around so much. So I had to change it after two days. Therefore I’m now using a brace specifically for athletes.
Q: This was your first competition of the year. What are you taking from here to your next event, the European Championships?
Maxim: A medal.
Oksana: Of course we got some experience, because after such a long break, more than 8 months, it wasn’t easy to return.
Maxim: We were training, but we had no competitions. We were missing this festive atmosphere.
Q: It is like a drug?
Maxim: Yes, the body longs for it!
Oksana (laughs): Yes, our bodies are telling us, ‘I can’t live without competition’. Maxim has been urging me since September, ‘when are you finally taking me to competition? We can’t sit around’. But, really, we had enough from sitting around, we wanted to get out and to compete. We got a lot of remarks what we need to do and we understood ourselves what we need to do. There is enough work to do, so we’ll continue to train.
Q: How did you like the fact that with Marika Humphreys-Baranova an international Technical Specialist was judging?
Oksana: We really liked that. We think this is the right thing to do, because the Russians are the Russians and others see things differently. The view from outside is helpful. We are very happy that she came and judges us. Whatever she sees she’ll give you.
Q: How happy are you with your levels?
Oksana: I actually don’t know all our levels (laughs). I know that we got a level three for the footwork.
Q: You had a level two for the twizzles in the free dance.
Oksana: Yes, I made an error, and in the spin, I also apparently didn’t hold my leg. I’m bad, yes. They told us all the deficits and we’ll now work on them.
Q: What do you think you have to work on the most?
Oksana: On everything! On the elements, on the run-throughs, on everything. It is hard to single out something. Technically it wasn’t a 100 percent, and choreographically either. There is so much work, I don’t even see the end.
Q: How many run-throughs of your free dance did you do?
Maxim: 15.
Oksana: I think we did more. It is hard to count, though.
Maxim: 15 to 40.
Oksana: Probably 15 since the break and before we did more, but more than we did last year before the Cup of China.
Q: How will you continue to train now? Will you do run-throughs every day?
Oksana: This we don’t know yet. Before she left, Natalia Vladimirovna said, ‘that’s it, I’ve been babysitting you for a year’ – she said babysitting in a soft way - and now we’ll see what she means when we go back.
Q: Will there be any changes to your programs?
Oksana: I think so. It is not going to be without changes. They’ve told us that we maybe need to look at the free dance. We’ll see. We’ll analyze our performance and decide what will be.
Q: You skated more freely in practice. What is the difference between competition and practice?
Oksana: Practice is one thing, competition is a different thing. The nervousness is there, regardless of the long experience.
Maxim: It is a different thing if you are singing in your soul or if you are getting out on the scene.
Oksana: Maxim tells the right example. When you are at home and nobody is seeing you, except for your coaches, you just go out and do calmly what you have to do. Obviously you get into the mood for competition and you tell yourself that you just have to go out and calmly show what you can do. But you get out, and there is the adrenalin, the emotions, and to deal with this, you do need the (competition) practice. Therefore it is not good that we couldn’t participate in the Grand Prix and we have to use these two competitions (Russian Nationals, Europeans). We will do shows if we have the opportunity in our area to skate our programs in front of an audience.
Q: Maxim, we understand that you have a new hobby, photography.
Maxim: Yes, I bought a reflex camera one and a half month ago. I'm just at the beginning, right now I'm interested in portrait and reportage photography. I'm learning from experienced photographers. My main model right now is my cat. She works for free, or better, for food (laughs).
Q: Thank you very much and good luck for the rest of the season!
