Figure skater Kuryavina-Kuchuk: “We were afraid of Tutberidze. To be honest, I’m still scared.”

Pupil Eteri Tutberidze Figure skater Anastasia Kuryavina-Kuchuk said in an interview with that she and her classmates were afraid of the coach and to this day feel trembling excitement in front of her.

Kuryavina-Kuchuk is Eteri Tutberidze’s first student in Russia. She trained under a coach from 1998 to 2005, then switched to pair skating. In the first set, Viktor Adonyev, Artemy Punin and Polina Shelepen also trained with Kuryavina.

— What do you remember most about training under Tutberidze?

— Our programs were very brilliant. Eteri Georgievna choreographed everything herself, and it turned out great! We always stood out at competitions, and everyone immediately understood: Tutberidze’s students were playing. From my repertoire, I particularly love the “Jewish Dance” and “Petrushka” programs. Already in our second year together, we began to actively win medals at tournaments in Moscow. In the youth and sports categories, I have always held management positions, and I completed the “sports master candidate” category.

— What was the now famous coach like a quarter of a century ago?

— Very emotional, with crazy energy on the ice. She has always been heard and seen. We were afraid of her. To be honest, I’m still scared. Not in the sense that it will offend, but, you know, how it goes… trembling excitement in front of a person! But what is important is that Eteri Georgievna loved us. She loved all her athletes madly, sincerely and generously. She helped us in various situations, including outside of sports. I had a problem somehow: I had a serious accident. The coach therefore supported him morally and financially.

I love and respect her madly. I always treated her like a second mother, because Eteri Georgievna, of course, did a lot for me. She was constantly there, going to all the competitions, setting me up and motivating me. Her mother, Eteri Petrovna, also supported her. Yes, Eteri Georgievna is strict, harsh, demanding. In this regard, she always kept the image to keep us on our toes. But I understand that all this is for our good, ”Kuryavina-Kuchuk said in an interview with .