Cleopatra, Daenerys Targaryen & a geisha: Russian figure skaters to take on new roles next season
While world-leading figure skaters are still on an official summer break Russian athletes have already started their preparations for the new season, revealing the music and themes for their mesmerizing programs.
Reigning world and Olympic champion Alina Zagitova announced she will portray the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra in her free program for the 2019-2020 season.
“Meet charming Cleopatra in my new free skate program. Music by Peter Gabriel ‘The feelings begin’, Maurice Jarre ‘Lawrence d'Arabie ouverture’, Khatir Hicham ‘Ramses’,” the 17-year-old champion wrote on Instagram introducing her newly-created routine.
The renowned skater, who has been busy this summer with her skating tour around Japan, also revealed that she will be skating to Yasmin Levy’s –song ‘Me Voy’ in her short program, a part of which she has already demonstrated to her social media followers.
Russia’s long-time figure skating leader Evgenia Medvedeva has decided to make a Japan-themed program showing her love and passion for the country which she has always admired.
An unabashed anime fan, Medvedeva already tried Japan-inspired themes for her programs taking on the role of the magical girl from the Japanese anime cartoon ‘Sailor Moon’ several years ago.
This year the two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist has chosen the role of a Japanese geisha for her free routine skating to the soundtrack to the epic drama film ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’.
Russia’s rising star Alexandra Trusova, the first female skater to successfully land two quads at an international event, will assume the role of Daenerys Targaryen from the ‘Game of Thrones’ fantasy drama.
The 15-year-old, who will make her senior debut this season, chose Matt Bellamy’s ‘Pray’ (High Valerian) and Ramin Djawadi’s ‘The Night king’ tracks for her new routine.
The two-time world junior champion, who stunned women’s figure skating with her incredible quads, is expected to storm leading positions in senior skating where Russian ladies have been playing the dominant role over the past seasons.
One more junior who will be eligible to compete at senior level is Alena Kostornaya, who will assume the role of Bella from the ‘Twilight’ Saga.
One of the brightest stars of Russian figure skating, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, hasn’t yet revealed the theme for her free program, simply announcing that she will skate to the ‘Drumming Song’ by the British band Florence and the Machine in her short program.
The 2015 world gold medalist said she will abandon her bombshell ‘striptease’ exhibition routine which made a splash last season, replacing it with a tender performance to the ‘Shallow’ soundtrack from movie ‘A Star Is Born’.
