Ihor Bobrin’s Theater On Ice

Igor Bobrin, a celebrated Russian figure skater, European singles champion, Merited Master of Sport, legendary Cowboy, Paganini, and Musketeer, is currently the artistic director of the popular Theater on Ice. The cast includes the excellent duet of Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrei Bukin, four-time world and five-time European champions, winners of the 1988 Olympiad, and actors specializing in various genres. The repertoire boasts spectacular shows and dramatized parables, fairy tales, and reflections. Igor Bobrin and his star troupe have toured Kyiv previously, but this stint is the longest. They gave three performances a day at the Palace of Sports throughout the New Year and Christmas holidays, invariably to packed houses. The audiences marveled at the program and professional skill.

Igor, you have a unique cast; you can handle any genre: drama, comedy, circus... Do you have only former figure skaters or can you hire any actor provided he or she can skate? What are the qualifications?

We have a mixed cast: figure skaters, acrobats, and variety performers, 24 persons in all. Our soloists are ex-European, world, and Olympic champions, currently ballet-on-ice dancers of international acclaim. The cast includes Russian and Ukrainian performers, all working under individual contracts, depending on professional level, be it a Master of Sport or an actor. Regrettably, we can’t offer much in terms of pay, so latter-day champions prefer to sign contracts in North America, but we are on very good terms with all athletes in the field. Of course, each is free to make his choice. If they want to give our company a try, they are welcome; we have a good reputation not only in the former Soviet republics, but also across the world.

Figures skating flourished in the Soviet Union during the period of stagnation. People were thrilled to watch the competitions. Was it easier for you to perform at that time? Do you have any favorites? Is it true that backstage intrigue is an inalienable component of all international contests? I mean the jury- bribing scandal at the last winter Olympics. The case is still open.

I try to follow closely every big-time competition, to keep track of the latest figure skating trends. Favorites? Any sportsman adding a dramatic element to his jumps and spins immediately attracts my attention. I remember times when there were many such skaters, now you can count them on your fingers. After all, there are technical merits and artistic impression. I know from my experience as a singles and pairs coach, I also know that artistic impression won’t help unless your technical merits are OK. Technical merits come first in figure skating. If you pass muster the jury will consider your performance on a six-point scale. As for backstage intrigue, I have always steered clear.

Also, I don’t think that what happened at the Olympiad in America was a scandal. Scandal is when someone gets into a beef with someone. In Salt Lake City, they sorted things out unilaterally to boost attendance ratings. This kind of notoriety played into the hands of TV companies, for they were worried about the popularity of broadcasts. It worked, attracting audiences numbering millions of people and dollars. I know about one pair: Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. I know how they trained for the contest, because I was their choreographer. Also, I know and respect their coach Tamara Moskvina. I know that she hasn’t given a single bribe in her life.

You are the artistic director and you are also a soloist. This Kyiv tour is quite intensive: three performances a day. Where do you find the strength?

In the audience. We are very well received. True, the schedule is very tight; we practically spend every day without taking off the skates. But after it’s over my colleagues don’t complain. They laugh and say why take off the skates, we might glide all the way to the hotel for the streets are ice- bound (we live at the Sport Hotel, a short walk from the Palace). This tour coincided with the New Year and Christmas [celebrated on January 7 in Ukraine], meaning that we had to work very hard. Some low-rate performers regard New Year and Christmas shows as drab or schmaltz. I consider our Kyiv tour as a hard but very important job. Performing for children is as important as for adults. We had to measure up and the young audiences charge you with such energy! This time we gave three performances: Alice in Wonderland, New Year in the Jungle (for children), Spring Opening Day, including the scene “We Love Classics” (staged by the excellent Kyiv choreographer Iryna Chubarets), and the Divertissement on Ice (a choreographed reflection titled “The Tango of Our Life”) for adults. We have no corps de ballet. Soloists dance in crowd scenes if necessary.

When did you take up figure skating? Who taught you?

At seven, which is late by modern standards. My first coach was Tatiana Laveiko. She still works in St. Petersburg. She gives some basic training and then her pupils are taken away [by other coaches]. That’s a hard trial for both the coach and her charges, but this woman is one of few that know their niche and talent when they see it. Later, I trained under Igor Moskvin, a coach of world acclaim and a remarkable personality. He was like a father to me. Too bad we don’t meet often these days, for he and his wife Tamara spend more time in the United States than in Russia. If I live to be his age, I hope I’ll be as energetic as he is.

Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrei Bukin were trained by Tatiana Tarasova, a very tough woman. How did they manage?

They formed a solid team. Andrei, Natasha, and Tatiana, each with his/her character and problems. They argued, all right, but they learned the road to victory, winning so many prestigious international contests; the pair is a four-time world and five-time European champion, and they won the 1998 Winter Olympics. After they parted with Tarasova and joined our company, I had to do their choreography. It was then they won an open US championship and a professional figure skating championship. At our theater they are both soloists and coaches.

You were also a member of Tarasova’s all-star team. Why did you quit?

It’s a long and unpleasant story. I don’t like recalling it. Anyway, first we had a single team, then there were two: my Theater on Ice and Tatiana Tarasova’s All Stars group. It was then we went different creative ways. Eventually, her group fell apart and I still have my theater. Tarasova is back to coaching.

Some fifteen years back, every city with a million residents would have a ballet-on-ice company, but then financial hardships destroyed them all. How did you manage to keep yours? Apart from a professional team on payroll, you have to pay for costumes, stage props, rent, and so on. You are an itinerant performing group, meaning you have to work out new programs while on tours?

We have three casts for different performances. One is in Cinderella, the second one does The Nutcracker, and the third one (currently in Kyiv) is made up of soloists. I’d hate to hurt my colleagues’ feelings, but now you have the best there is performing in your capital. As for rent, wardrobe, setting, accommodations for performers from other cities, customs declarations — all this costs a lot of money. We don’t have a stationary base as yet, but we’re working on it. When it comes to preparing a new program, we rent an indoor skating rink. We have been able to survive thanks to our business partners outside Russia. We often perform in France. While in Kyiv, we met and discussed a deal with a South Korean impresario. As a rule, we perform in Seoul twice a year. Our tours take us to different former socialist and Western countries.

Your book, A Pair Made Up of Three, came off the presses recently and caused quite a few waves. How did you conceive of the idea and why?

It took a long time and was then shelved. The first half was written after Natasha and Andrei won the Olympics and quit big- time sports. So I used their recollections, their road to victory, backstage wheelings and dealings, training, dramatization. And then it was perestroika followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union. No one seemed interested in the book. A year ago we met with Vitaly Melik-Karamov, a reputed sports journalist. He offered a sequel to the book project. Whereas previous it was Natasha and Andrei, now it was Natasha and Igor. In the second part of the book we tell about ourselves, our family and problems at the theater. So the book turned out in two versions, with an interval of ten years. It is about big-time sports, yet we tried to avoid scandalous aspects and hearsay — although we’ve had enough of all this and to spare.

How are the responsibilities allocated within the Bobrin-Bestemyanova-Bukin triumvirate?

Natasha is a soloist and manager of the theater. She shoulders a lot of routine duties and paperwork. Andrei performs and coaches the cast, breaking in newcomers, applying the finishing touches, bringing every performance into conformity with world standards. I am the artistic director. Our company is 17 years old, yet there are no frictions. Every year the cast is replenished with new performers and we stage new programs. It is very important to keep the team in shape and the audiences interested.

You were in Kyiv during the New Year and Christmas festivities. Did you celebrate or was it just work?

They say you’ll spend the rest of the New Year the way you celebrate its coming. On New Year Eve, after the performance, we gathered in the lobby of the Sports Palace and had a very nice party. Meaning that this year will be another busy one. And Christmas Eve is a very special occasion for my family, as Natalia was born January 6.

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Incidentally, Natalia Bestemyanova was greeted on her birthday after the performance by her husband, cast, Kyiv colleagues, and the packed audience. The Theater on Ice’s tour of Kyiv was organized by the concert agency Maksanna Ukraine in collaboration with Kyivstar, with presents for children and adults supplied by Svitoch.