“Interview Eteri Tutberidze? Do you think she would agree? Evgenia Medvedeva about her show on YouTube, coaching, quints and Kamila Valieva
Translation of the interview with Evgenia Medvedeva. About ice shows, journalism and Kamila Valieva.
original source: Sport24 dd. 30th July 2024 by Konstantin Lesik.
In the interview with Sport24, Evgenia Medvedeva talks about her own ice show, youtube channel, Kamila Valieva, coaching path and quints, Here’s a translation of her comments.
“Q: You are performing in Ilia Averbukh’s show, one of the numbers includes a part from “Carmen.” Why were these particular programs chosen?
Evgenia Medvedeva: The first program is dedicated to my mother because our whole show is dedicated to family. My mother is the most important member of my family, and we recently had the Day of Family, Love, and Faithfulness. Everything just fell into place. In the second act, there’s “Carmen.” Since we plan to do it again in the fall, and here a good lineup has gathered —those who have skated “Carmen” before, and those who will… Dimka Aliev is currently skating the torero, and for him, it’s a great opportunity to prepare for the season. It’s a very energy-intensive theme, and it seems to me for hims it’s like skating a free program. So why not? It’s like a preview, showcasing that we have such a fiery performance.
Q: You’re soon going to have your own show. How much effort goes into preparing?
Evgenia Medvedeva: Currently, there’s active brainstorming going on. I think the main energy-consuming activities will start later, but we already have some preparations and a general idea of what we want. We just announced in advance that there will be an ice show named after me to see if the audience is even interested in it?
And we are lucky because all expectations have been exceeded. We didn’t even think there would be such a frenzy. Many tickets have already been sold, so there’s motivation to do even more than originally planned. We are negotiating with artists, there will be live performances, singers, a stage. It’s hard to negotiate with show business artists, it’s kind of a long-term job. It takes time, so the toughest part is still ahead of us.
Q: Were the expectations lower because the show market is overheated?
Evgenia Medvedeva: I think in my case, the concept of a one-time show played a role. We played on exclusivity, and therefore, the audience and investors have pretty high expectations — they buy tickets and invest money hoping we create something unique. That was one of the conditions, to make it interesting to watch, not just another ice show. By no means do I belittle my colleagues, but I still want something with a “bang!”
For me, the very fact that my show is being produced is already something special. I’m used to working as a hired worker — Ilia Averbukh calls me to perform. We sign a contract, work, get a salary, and make arrangements for subsequent performances. But now, I have to create my own. Of course, I’ve known Ilia for a long time and am aware of some difficulties, well, those that he can share. How to negotiate with the arena, how much the decorations cost. And they need to be stored… In general, I had a rough idea of what I was getting into, but our show is on a slightly different scale. One thing is to create a huge spectacle and another is to make an anniversary show.
Q: And how do you plan to create that “bang”? Maybe give us a spoiler?
Evgenia Medvedeva: No, there won’t be any spoilers because I’m in a position where I can’t afford to spoil things. You know, there’s always someone trying to do something before me and present my ideas as their own. So, for now, we’ll leave it without spoilers. I’ll just say that I’ll try to surprise you. I can’t promise that absolutely everyone will be amazed, but we really do have some unique ideas for figure skating that require a lot of resources and very good specialists. We still need to find them.
Q: You’re about to reach 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. Do you have any new ideas planned in that direction?
Evgenia Medvedeva: The thing about YouTube is that it’s a platform that supports you if you stay true to your direction. It’s important to maintain a consistent style. So far, my audience hasn’t grown tired of my content. By the way, my team and I recently recorded a very interesting interview — I won’t reveal the guest just yet, but I specifically flew to Moscow on my day off for this. And it will probably be the first episode that we split into two parts. (This interview is with Pavel Ostrovsky, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, a TV host, author, and blogger – ed.)
Usually, our sessions last 2-2.5 hours. And even that duration is quite taxing; by the end, you start to feel tired. But this time we finished, and I asked the guys how long we had been recording—it turned out to be 4 hours and 15 minutes. It was so interesting to talk… I asked questions that I’ve wanted to ask since childhood but didn’t know who to ask.
Q: Who would you like to interview among currently living and historical figures?
Evgenia Medvedeva: I can’t say right now, but I can mention that I was recently scrolling through feeds and stumbled upon an interview that excited me. It was an interview of Ekaterina Gordeeva by Nadezhda Strelets. For me, it was such an unexpected combination. I usually don’t comment, except to friends, but this time I went in and wrote “thank you.” Ekaterina Gordeeva, unbelievable! I’d like to create an episode where people haven’t even watched it yet, but they log in, see the guest’s name, and say: “Wow.”
Q: Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze?
Evgenia Medvedeva: Do you think she would agree?
Q: Of course.
Evgenia Medvedeva: Good to hear you think so.
Overall, I want to create a wow effect with the interviews. It will probably be a guest from the past. For example, we have not seen Ekaterina Gordeeva in our media space for a long time. I want to do something similar.
Q: You mentioned that you are not considering a coaching career. Why?
Evgenia Medvedeva: I get asked about this in every interview!
Q: Just want to know a bit more in detail. You have your own show, performances, flights, YouTube… Is coaching harder than all this?
Evgenia Medvedeva: It’s not harder, for me it’s about being responsible for someone’s life. Ask any skater, for them, sports is their whole life. When you become a coach, and you have some titles, people come to you, parents bring their children because you are a two-time world champion and they want the same. You take on that responsibility.
Maybe you’ll train a two-time world champion, but not everyone has a talent for this. I’m not ready to take on such responsibility at the moment. I have the education that would allow me to be a coach, but I would need to finish a master’s degree for that. I need time for this. I think for the next 5-7 years, due to media obligations, I will not find this time.
Taking up coaching now isn’t sensible. It’s a big responsibility, and I want to be able to sleep peacefully. Master classes — sure, follow the announcements, especially in the winter. It’s all non-professional. To be a coach: to get up every day at 9 AM, be on the ice at 10, and live it all with the athlete. Right now, I don’t have the time, and I don’t want to pretend to be a coach.
Q: Kamila has returned to the ice, also performing in Sirius, just across the road. Did you manage to go and watch?
Evgenia Medvedeva: We wanted to come to the premiere, but they told us: “We have a sold-out for Kamila.” There were no tickets, nowhere to sit us. We joked that we could go to a fishing store, buy a folding chair, and sit somewhere at the edge. I followed online, especially since she skates with Alexander Enbert, whom I saw today.
I am very glad that Kamila looks excellent, skates beautifully. Half a year without performances is tough, but that’s our sport — to make it seem like it’s not hard. Understandably, when you watch videos, the comments are displayed, and someone was indignant that she is doing double jumps. Friends, I don’t even know what to say to that. She hasn’t been performing, she wasn’t even allowed to train. Go find an ice rink where you can do triples. I think everything is ahead. There will be triples and, if she wants, quads. I think she looks fantastic.
Q: A significant development has occurred in figure skating the scoring of quintuple jumps.
Evgenia Medvedeva: Looks like mockery. It feels like the federation is working against complicating things. The difference between a quadruple and a quintuple is three points. ISU made it so that it’s better to work on choreography and get those three points in the second score. They decided to go that way. Well, good luck to them.
Related topics: Evgenia Medvedeva
Tuktamisheva did a quad in competition at over 20. Has Trusova been competing at over 20..?
Trusova did 4Lz at 20. She might be the first woman to do a quad in competition at over 20.
I think 4A and the quest for quints should continue. It’s how we know it’s achievable, how human body evolve. How sports science improve, how nutrition improve. Do it in CS series when you’re way ahead in SP.
In football(soccer), retirement age used to be 34. Now 37 or 38 is normal.