Viktoria Borzenkova and Andrei Chuvilaev

from http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2003/121003.shtml
[B]Viktoria Borzenkova and Andrei Chuvilaev
Moskvina Grooms New Pair for 2006 Olympic Games[/B]
December 10, 2003
Article and Photo  Barry Mittan



After her fourth pairs team won Olympic gold, famed Russian coach Tamara Moskvina could have retired to St. Petersburg and a place in Olympic history. But earlier this year, some unique new Russian pairs skaters, Viktoria Borzenkova and Andrei Chuvilaev, came to her and pleaded with her to continue her coaching and help them reach the highest level of the sport. "We want to skate at the 2006 Olympics and continue until our health diminishes," Chuvilaev said. Intrigued by the couple's unique talents, Moskvina agreed to take them on. Borzenkova, at 167 cm, is tall for a pairs skater, but extremely flexible, allowing her to contort herself into interesting new positions that Moskvina devises. Chuvilaev is even taller at 200 cm, making him probably the tallest skater competing today.

The couple had good results before they began training with Moskvina in April. They won the World University Games in both 2001 and 2003, finished seventh at the European Championships in 2002 and 15th at the World Championships that same year. They were fourth at the 2003 Russian Nationals. This season, they finished seventh at Trophée Lalique and sixth at the Cup of Russia, their first experience with the Code of Points. "It has positive and negative parts," Borzenkova said, "but it's mostly good."

"They have a very nice look and are very hard workers," Moskvina said. "I have to teach them a lot of things and had to change a lot of their prior teaching. I have changed nearly everything from the roots and you can see them now as different skaters then they were last season. You can now look at them as a high level pair. They just need to do all the elements in the competition. For this season, we just want to see where their work will put them and continue to improve step by step. They were fourth last year and we will try for second this year in Russia. First is not possible." The couple trains for two to three hours on ice every day in St. Petersburg with another hour of daily off ice work. Of all the elements, Chuvilaev likes the death spiral most, while Borzenkova enjoys the throws the most. "I like the feeling of flight," she said.

Borzenkova, who was born on Christmas Day, began skating when she was five. "My mother was a gymnast and she wanted me to be a gymnast, but I insisted on skating," she said. The lovely blonde began pairs skating when she was 16. Chuvilaev began skating when he was three, but not seriously until he was five. "I had an older sister who was a competitive skater and the ice rink was close to our house," he said. "She had to quit skating because a doctor told her not to skate but I continued. I skated in singles and got to the high tests, but then switched to pairs at eleven. I tried dance for three months, but I didn't like it because there were no jumps or lifts, just steps."

Chuvilaev is Borzenkova's first pairs partner. "Andrei is very kind and caring as a partner and very reliable," she stated. He previously skated with other girls with limited success before he was matched with Borzenkova three years ago. "I didn't have much success before," he said. "Viktoria is bold and directed and can concentrate on everything," he said. "She is very hard working and tries to achieve everything."

Moskvina also choreographs their programs with assistance from Evgeny Sereznikov. They are using Time to Say Goodbye for the short and Fantasy on a theme by Ryabinin for piano and orchestra, Op.48 by Anton Arensky for the long. Moskvina received the CD with Time to Say Goodbye as a gift from performer Drew Tretick from Los Angeles. She originally wanted to use it for Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, but decided to use it for Borzenkova and Chuvilaev instead. "The long program music was suggested by the chore

Tamara的弟子都有些动作很类似，比如B/C的旋转很有M/D的特点，还有O/S的托举很象B/S。但她也为自己不同的弟子设计一些新动作，比如O/S今年自由滑中的连接动作设计，还有B/C在自由滑中燕式步的设计。

第一次在CoR看到B/C时，我眼前一亮。他们一看就是Tamara Moskvina的弟子。B/C的短节目音乐Time to Say Goodbye在表演中已多次被使用，如A&P, Sarah Hughes, S&Z, 但是在正式比赛节目中我还是第一次看到。他们的很多动作都让我想起B&S, 甚至M&D，我在CoR的帖子中也提到过。可惜的是他们年龄大了点，我最看好的俄罗斯选手还是O&S. 希望他们两队都能取得好成绩.

是啊，她给B&S设计的一系列spiral/spread eagle动作在98/99赛季首次亮相后，已成为B&S的经典招牌动作。她总能注意细节，在编排中只多加一些细小动作，就能使她的弟子成为最优秀的一对。她带出的几队奥运会冠军，从V&V到B&S都是这样，用Dick Button的话说就是"That little something extra makes a champion."

目前他们的难度和稳定性还不够好，感觉如果B/C和O/S技术稳定了，会很有竞争力的，Tamara真的像一出色的工匠，在她手中雕琢出了那么多宝石！