“Waiting for a partner for years is not a solution”
— How did you get started in figure skating and especially synchronized skating?
Koltsova: My mother brought me to figure skating: she also studied and I tried to fulfill my mother’s dream. I also wanted to switch to synchronized skating. I was at the training camp at Sirius in single skating and the Crystal Ice team was training there at the same time.
I was interested in the interaction in the team, I had never seen synchronized skating before. I loved that the girls were practicing on the floor, doing grips, rolling in a line, and doing cool things. He said: “Mom, I want it!” I skated singles for another year and then we decided to sync – yeah, it’s great and we didn’t regret it one bit.
Lobacheva: My situation is a little different. My parents also brought me to figure skating: they saw me on TV as a child, and there was an ice rink nearby. It was fate (smiles).
I skated in singles until I was 13 years old. Then, due to the rapid growth and lack of coordination in the jumps, we decided we needed to try something new. My mother suggested: “Let’s try to synchronize!” I didn’t know what it was, but we came, I tried it, I liked it, I’ve been ice skating for the second year.
— Did you both start skating in Moscow or did you come from other cities?
Lobacheva: I am from Moscow.
Koltsova: And I’m from Kostroma. We have many athletes who moved to Moscow: some for ice dancing, some for doubles, some for singles. A good federation, the best coach. Maybe you watched the Russian jumping championship, where Ekaterina Koltsova performed – this is my sister (the figure skater reached the semifinals, where she lost to the current Russian champion Adelia Petrosyan – socialbites.ca).
— How did your sister manage to participate in such a big tournament? Did you just apply and get approved?
Koltsova: Ekaterina’s coach studied the regulations that say any athlete can participate in the tournament and decided: “Why not?” We did not expect him to qualify and participate in the individual tournament, but probably the stability of the triple jumps brought such a result against the background of the risk in the quadruple jumps. I think this was an interesting experience for Katya.
— When you decided to change the type of figure skating, did you have the option of going to pair skating or dancing?
Lobacheva: I had a choice, but it is very difficult to find a partner in dance. Waiting for years wasn’t an option, so I chose to sync.
“We spend the night at each other’s houses to get some sleep.”
— How did you start participating in Evgeni Plushenko’s program? Which performances have you attended so far?
Koltsova: I started participating in synchronized skating as soon as I started playing in the 1st team of the sports category. We were first invited to the New Year’s show in Moscow as the second act. Now Evgeniy Viktorovich and Yana Aleksandrovna Rudkovskaya often invite us and we are grateful to them for this. They held their shows regularly and not just on some holidays.
Between starts we have time to travel with the team to other cities and countries. This provides a push forward, we do everything together – we fly, we live, we work, we interact with single skaters. This is very cool and gives us energy for the start.
— I think rehearsals for large-scale shows take a lot of time and are also done at night. Is it difficult to combine these with your normal training process?
Lobacheva: We don’t have a clear program, things may change at any time. Often, active rehearsals occur just before the show; Two days before the start, you’re charged the maximum to collect everything, deliver things, and work with the single skaters. It may be difficult, but we manage.
Koltsova: We even spend the night at each other’s houses from time to time to get some sleep; with someone who lives nearby. And so the directors send us references and wishes, our coaches and I, I guess, raise our hands, work on pieces in our arena. When we arrive in other cities, we rehearse with the directors until the beginning of the show.
— The main director of the show is Nikita Mikhailov, who organizes programs mostly for singles and couples. How do you like working with him?
Lobacheva: Nikita is very careful about his work, he tells us everything that needs to be done in detail, we have a connection with him.
Koltsova: Always open to our ideas and tips, we can suggest: “We can do this here” and he tells us: “Yes, great, let’s do it!” Sometimes it directs us in the right direction, fixes something somewhere. He is a very creative person, immersed in the process as much as possible, doing everything possible and impossible.
“China is an unforgettable country!”
— In “Plushenko Tales”, in the program “Russian Seasons” you had separate numbers in which you actively interacted with single skaters – Yulia Lipnitskaya, Ksenia Sinitsyna, Elizaveta Nugumanova. How difficult was it to work with them?
Lobacheva: All skaters are very open and in contact. If the process is not very clear, we can easily explain something to each other. The same support – we are professionals in this matter, so we can easily explain it to a person who has not encountered such elements before – and everything goes well.
Koltsova: Many people see synchronized skating for the first time and are always surprised, then they watch our training, performances and support us. Before each of our axel performances, Lisa says: “Girls, I believe in you, keep going, you are the best!” Also Alexander Plushenko (son of Plushenko and Rudkovskaya, known at home by his pseudonym Gnome Gnomych – “socialbites.ca”).
It’s all very interesting to watch, especially when we jump something or do similar things on one skate – the same turns. They even repeat our unusual choreography (smiles).
— Has anyone expressed a desire to change their sport to synchronized skating yet?
Koltsova: They just want to interact with us a little bit, get into our atmosphere, try what it’s like.
— During the show, you often have to change your photos and wear new costumes. How many such transformations occur in an evening and is it a stressful process?
Lobacheva: Varies from show to show. At some shows there is time to change clothes and rest a bit, at some shows it takes a minute and then we continue.
— You had several performances at Plushenko’s team show in China last summer. What do you remember about this trip?
Lobacheva: China is right in my heart (smiles).
Koltsova: China is an unforgettable country! We were there for two weeks, on weekends we were taken to the coolest amusement park in the country, we tried national dishes. It was absolutely amazing! We were in constant contact with the single skaters; We were with Mark Kondratyuk, Sasha Samarin, Dima Aliev, Liza Nugumanova at the Great Wall. They got excited with our music during the warm-up (they smile).
We also had training camps and actively trained. The senior team went to a training camp in Kazan and we went to a show in China. We did not want to lose our shape, so our program included training on ice, general physical training (general physical training – socialbites.ca) and cross-country running. A complete training process was followed.
— Do you already know anything about the next shows you will attend?
Koltsova: It seems to me that the producers themselves know [подробности]and we are still living in the present, the main start of the season is approaching. We entered the training process.
— Do you think it is possible that synchronized skating will become more popular thanks to your participation in the show?
Lobacheva: Definitely yes. The more often synchronized skating is shown to the public, the more often people begin to wonder: “What is this?”
Koltsova: We feel that the interest in synchronized skating is increasing. Evgeniy Viktorovich and Yana Aleksandrovna are doing everything possible: they invite us and provide us with all the conditions so that we can ride horses, make public performances and gain experience. His contributions are immense, very beautiful, and appreciated by many.