Ekaterina Gordeeva and Ilia Kulik

Caption: Ilia Kulik and Ekaterina Gordeeva with their two daughters: Liza and Daria (daughter of the late Sergei Grinkov).


1998 Olympic gold medalist Ilia Kulik and 1988 and 1994 Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva (in pairs with Sergei Grinkov) have opened their own figure skating training center in Lake Forest, CA. The center is called Kulik's Skating. The Web site, , provides the following description:

"If you are a person who enjoys the sport of Figure Skating, enjoys physical activity and learning, then this is the place for You. Our facility is completely dedicated to sport of Figure Skating and will provide wide range of training activities for competitive and recreational skaters of all levels and ages."

Congratulations to Ilia and Katia on their new skating center. Considering the two are among the greatest figure skaters--Russian and otherwise--of all-time, one would imagine their skating school will attract skaters far and wide.

In honor of Ilia and Katia's new business and skating endeavor, I'm posting two videos of them skating together on the Stars on Ice tour. Their skating skills are a marvel.

The first program is called "Four Corners: Tell me Everything" by Adam Cohen, skated on the 1999 Stars on Ice tour. Ilia and Katia are joined by Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov in this number. I remember seeing this live in Madison Square Garden and loving it! This was the first time that skating fans saw Katia skate pairs since the death of her husband and pairs partner, Sergei, 4 years earlier. As this was also the first year that Ilia joined the Stars on Ice tour, fresh off his decisive Olympic victory, it was also the first time that Ilia and Katia skated together on tour.
Not to speculate, but perhaps sparks flew for them on tour that year, and in this pairs skating number, because rumors started circulating about their involvement soon after.




The second program is called "Si Tu No Estas/Casi Un Bolero." It is from the 1999/2000 Stars on Ice Tour. In this number, Ilia and Katia are joined by U.S. pairs and ice dancing teams, Jenni Meno and Todd Sand and Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur.

Kwan-spiration: "The Red Violin"

This commanding performance from the 2000 World Championships was the first time we saw, what my sister calls, "The Michelle Kwan fighter face." Michelle was on fire in this freeskate, moving up from 3rd to 1st. As the British commentators said, "Seven triples added to her supreme presence around the ice.".... "She still has a spellbinding presence."

Indeed!!

Back to School Inspiration: Kurt Browning's 1994 Short Program

One of my favorite Kurt Browning programs is his 1993/1994 technical program--the one he notoriously flubbed at the Lillehammer Olympics. I wasn't able to find a clean version of that competitive program anywhere on You Tube, but I did find this video of Kurt performing it at the 1994 World Team Figure Skating Championships. This isn't the best I've seen Kurt skate it, but it's still pretty darn good. There's no denying his technical genius (look at that footwork!) and his effervescent showmanship.

Enjoy!

Back to School Inspiration: Todd Eldredge's "Independence Day"

One of Todd's best competitive skates at the 1997 Champions Series Finals (now renamed the Grand Prix Final). Todd finished second here to Elvis Stojko. Stojko made history at the event with the sport's first-ever quad-triple combination.

Despite having no quad, Todd's skating had everything else: a high-flying triple axel, fast, centered spins, and dynamic choreography that built as the music crescendos at the end. Bravo to Todd, an American Champion!

Michelle Kwan's "No One" by Alicia Keys

I was listening to Pandora this morning and heard "No One" by Alicia Keys. Of course, the song reminded me of when Michelle Kwan skated to it in Yu-Na Kim's All That Skate show in South Korea two years ago. While I don't think this is my favorite Michelle program, it's still definitely worth a look, as all Michelle programs are. In any case, it's always a joy to see Michelle on the ice, especially since her appearances are so few and far between in recent years.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to me! Some All-time Favorite Performances

In honor of my 29th birthday today, here are some of my favorite skating performances of all time:



1.) Michelle Kwan's "Taj Mahal" from the 1997 World Championships:

2.) Artur Dimitriev and Natalia Mishkutenok's "Piano Concerto No. 2" by Sergei Rachmaninoff:

3.) Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko's 1992 Olympic Freeskate to the music of Bach:

4.) Alexei Yagudin's "Overcome":

Happy Belated Birthday to Michelle Kwan: "On My Own" from Les Miserables

Michelle Kwan celebrated her 32nd birthday on July 7th. Obviously I'm a little late with posting something in honor of her day, but better late than never, right? In honor of Michelle's birthday, here is her beautiful exhibition from the 1997/1998 season to "On My Own" from the musical Les Miserables.

Happy belated birthday to Michelle. Enjoy!