Figure skaters Zhdanova and Babaev-Smirnov took Georgian dance lessons to prepare for their free skate

Skaters Varvara Zhdanova And Timur Babaev-Smirnov practicing ice dancing, told that when preparing their free program for the 2022/23 season, they practiced Georgian dances in the hall.

Last season, which became the debut of the duet, Zhdanova and Babaev-Smirnov performed a free dance to Georgian music. In the 2023/24 season, the skaters took eighth place at the Russian Championship and seventh at the Spartakiad of the Strongest.

— I would like to talk about your free dance last year to Georgian music. How did the idea of ​​staging such an unusual program come about?

— Timur: The idea was proposed by our beloved coaching team. Special thanks to Ksenia Gennadievna Rumyantseva and Ekaterina Valerievna Volobueva, we love them very much! We thought about music for a long time and decided to try Georgian folk dances. We listened to music and started trying different characteristic combinations on the ice. We also practiced Georgian dancing in the hall. I wanted to display as much Georgian flavor on the ice cream as possible. A lot of work has actually been done.

“They even danced in the room!” Interesting. Who was your teacher?

— Varvara: I found a choreographer on the Internet. She is from Georgia. It turned out that the music for our dance was written by his relative. We worked on the floor first, then she came to the ice – and we transferred the movements. We thank the coaches for this production. The dance turned out to be unusual and memorable.

— By chance, did you receive comments from Eteri Tutberidze or Maurice Kvitelashvili?

— Timur: Unfortunately, there were no such comments.