Albena & Maxim-bulgarii de aur!

[whisper]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/SPORT/03...ry.skating.jpghttp://imgs.pravda.sk/sk_szsporty/A0...STAVISKI_V.JPGhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...waStawiski.jpg


Albena Denkova (born December 3, 1974 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian ice dancer. Her skating partner and boyfriend is Maxim Staviski. They are the first Bulgarian figure skaters to medal at championship events, including the European and World Championships.


Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski at the 2004 World Championships in Dortmund
Albena Denkova with Maxim Staviski at the medal ceremony at the world championships 2004 in DortmundDenkova began her athletic career as a gymnast and changed to figure skating at the age of 8 or 9. Her first ice dance partner was Hristo Nikolov. In 1996 she teamed up with Maxim Staviski. In 2000 they moved from Sofia to Odintsovo, to have better training conditions.

Until 2005 the pair was coached by Alexei Gorshkov in Sofia and in Odintsovo near Moscow in Russia. After the 2005 World Championships, Denkova and Staviski moved to Delaware, U.S. to train with Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponossov. In October 2006, it was announced that Denkova had been elected President of the Bulgarian Skating Federation. Her current term will run for five years.

Denkova has a younger sister, Ina Demireva, who is also an ice dancer currently competing on the junior level.

Although she holds a degree in economics from Sofia University, Denkova is currently a full-time athlete.


Maxim Staviski (born November 16, 1977 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia) is a Bulgarian figure skater in ice dancing. His skating partner (and fiancée) is Albena Denkova. They are the first Bulgarian figure skaters to medal at championship events, including the European and World Championships.


Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski at the 2004 World Championships in Dortmund
Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski at the medal ceremony at the 2004 World ChampionshipsMaxim is Jewish and originally from Russia, but has received Bulgarian citizenship. In 1996 he teamed up with Albena Denkova. In 2000 Denkova/Staviski moved from Sofia to Odintsovo, to have better training conditions.

Until 2005 the pair was coached by Alexei Gorshkov in Sofia and in Odintsovo near Moscow in Russia. After the 2005 World Championships, Denkova and Staviski moved to Delaware, USA to train with Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponossov.

http://www.albenaandmaxim.hit.bg/images/biography1.jpghttp://www.albenaandmaxim.hit.bg/images/links1.jpg

[whisper]

Beloved Bulgarians
Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski
April 10, 2005
Article and Photo © Barry Mittanhttp://www.skatetoday.com/articles04...A-STAVISKI.jpg

Over the past few years, Bulgarian ice dancers Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski have become fan favorites. And the feeling is mutual. "It's a pleasure for us to skate anywhere," Staviski said. "It doesn't matter if it's a Grand Prix event or a small show. Of course, placement is important in our lives because we want to become champions, but it's more important than placements if the public loves us."

And they have won a lot of medals. The dancers have been Bulgarian champions every year since 1996 and are the first Bulgarian skaters to win a medal at an ISU World Championship. They finished third and second at Worlds in the last two seasons and second at Europeans the last two years. They have also won two bronze and one silver medal at the ISU Grand Prix Final in the last three years. This season, the skaters took gold medals at the Bofrost Cup, the NHK Trophy, and Skate Canada, and a silver at Trophee Eric Bompard Cachemire.

Another reason that people love the couple is their courageousness in overcoming severe injuries and illness. In the most devastating incident, Denkova was severely injured in practice at the 2000 World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France when another competitor's blade slashed through her leg, severing two tendons and a muscle. She endured a lengthy operation to rebuild her shattered leg, then remained hospitalized for almost two months. It was over four months before she could skate again. Staviski also had a bad year in 2000, suffering from pneumonia for almost a month, and then both skaters fell ill from the flu during the European Championships in 2001, but managed to compete anyway.

Denkova and Staviski have earned the respect of fellow skaters by lobbying for fairness in judging. They were the first to challenge the judges at the 2002 World Championships in Japan when Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas were denied a bronze medal under suspicious circumstances. That included circulating a petition requesting a review of the results that was signed by almost all the ice dancers and holding a news conference to discuss the judging. This was the first organized protest by skaters against unfair judging.

Now that the new judging system is being implemented, they are closing watching its implementation and making recommendations for changes. "I think it can help the skaters," Staviski said, "but I hope they will make some changes before the Olympics. The new system is very difficult because it's just elements." "I have seen good and bad points in every judging system," Denkova added. "But there needs to be some changes. Now it's just element, element, element with no time for dancing and showing a program. They need to reduce some of the required elements and have elements without levels. We need more freedom to interpret the dance. It should be the choreography first and then the elements. Ice dancing is supposed to be about dancing."

Denkova and Staviski are admired not only for their technical proficiency as dancers, but also for skating unusual programs with strange positions. "People accept strange ideas," Staviski said. "We like to do something different every year, to show different characters." "We improvise a lot in the off season," Denkova stated. "We try to make our lifts different each season, but it's hard with the new rules. It's the same with all the moves unfortunately. Everyone wants to do the hardest, most difficult lifts. The difference between us and the other couples is what we do between the elements. We don't just do the elements and run together hand in hand. We do lots of steps and body movements in our choreography in between elements and that is very difficult."

Their early years didn't forecast a future as skating trendsetters. Denkova actually started in athletics as an artistic gymnast when she was four. "Gymnastics was very po****r in Bulgaria and we had just won all three medals at the European Championships," she remembered. "So my parents wanted to send me to training. Then when I was eight or nine, a skating coach came to our training center and asked me if I wanted to try figure skating. It was not known very much in Bulgaria but was on television, so my parents decided to let me try it. I liked the combination of artistry and strength, but I could not jump. Then I saw the ice dancing and thought it was very beautiful and very artistic so when I was 12 I started in ice dance."

Staviski began skating when he was four. Because he was in poor health as a child, his parents thought that figure skating would help him to be healthier. "Skating was very po****r in Russia at the time and they thought some sport would be good for me," he stated. "I competed for many years by myself and was doing all the double jumps. But when I was 11 or 12, I broke my leg. Not terrible, but I was in a cast for six months and after that I could not jump as well. My coach recommended me to Dubova's group and I became an ice dancer."

Denkova first competed with Hristo Nikolov but it didn't work out. Staviski began dancing with Anastasia Belova, reaching Junior Worlds in 1996 as the third Russian couple. "My partner wanted to continue to compete in juniors, but I was too old, so we broke up," he stated. "I got proposals from as far away as Australia but I wanted to stay close to Russia." When Bulgarian officials began looking for a partner for Denkova in 1996, Elena Tchaikovskaia recommended Staviski. "That's how I found Maxim," Denkova said. "I had not skated for a year," Denkova said. "But we matched each other so Maxim moved to Sofia."

Alexei Gorshkov coaches the dancers, who split time between Sofia, Bulgaria and Odintsovo, Russia. They spend six to eight hours a day training, six days a week. About 4-6 hours is spent on the ice with another 2-3 hours off ice. "We train a lot every day," Denkova admitted. "Every day we have a class in modern ballet, go to the gym, and work on our choreography and compulsory dances on the floor as well as on the ice."

"We practice a lot on the compulsories," Denkova continued. "So we have very good compulsories. Unlike most of the couples, we like the compulsory dances. That is the place where you can show your technical level." "The hardest ones are the easiest ones for us," Staviski added. "We like the hard ones, not the easy ones like the quick step."

Sergei Petukhov choreographs the dancers' programs. This season, they are using "Bach to Africa" by Lambarena for their free dance. "We had chosen a classical free dance in the summer, because our fans had asked us to do a classical program. But then we found out that the other top couples were doing classical programs," Denkova said. "So we decided to try something new. So we started our second free dance in June, which is very unusual for us because we usually start much earlier."

"Some friends of ours from the ballet suggested the music to us," she continued. "The London Ballet has also used this music. It is very good music because of our style and the fact that we want to be different. It has a nice back rhythm with the African music. Lambarena is a group that was formed especially to po****rize African culture throughout the world. We really like this music." They may use the other free dance for next season or go in an entirely new direction. "We have some ideas for the Olympic year, then we find some new ones," Denkova noted.

For this year's rhythm combination original dance, the couple is using a Charleston by Big Beat Band and a slow foxtrot to "You've Got a Friend in Me." "The Charleston is more fun to do than the Quickstep," Denkova explained. "There's no freedom in the Quickstep, no place to be artistic. It's not our favorite dance. We prefer Latin or blues."

"It's important to have good music and good costumes," Denkova noted. "I think about costumes when I'm listening to the music. I have ideas in my mind and then take them to our designer. I'm always watching the fashion channel on TV because I love music and clothes." Since her family used to own a garment factory, she knows a lot about clothes. "She has great taste," Staviski said. Even though she has a university degree in economics, she is considering a career as a clothing designer. "I'm a huge fan of fashion and I'm thinking of going to New York or Paris to learn," she stated.

Denkova is interested in art as well as fashion and reads a lot of art books. One of the reasons that she uses a computer is to look at CDs showing famous paintings and other works of arts. "I love museums," she said. "My first time in Paris I spent four days running around to see all of the museums." But Staviski is the artist of the pair. "I'm always telling him he has to draw," Denkova said. "He's very good." Staviski is more modest, explaining that he went to an art school for a few months because he was always drawing fantasy figures and his parents told him that he must know how to draw as a professional. Now he's doing computer drawing with a software program.

Both of the skaters enjoy visiting other countries. "I like to go everywhere," Denkova said, "but I don't like big crowded cities. I prefer old towns with small streets and lots of sights to see like museums and castles. We loved walking around in Paris but we got so tired because we're used to skating, not walking." Staviski cited Australia as the most interesting place that he had traveled. "We would like to go to Brazil and see Carnival, and to Argentina to see their dancing," he added.

The skaters don't get too much of a break from skating. "There's no time in the winter to think about anything except skating," Staviski said. "When we aren't skating, we just rest or sometimes go to the cinema or bowling. In the summer, we like to go to the sea and forget about skating for a week." He likes to dive and spearfish, while she likes to sunbathe. "I hate snow and cold. I want to go to places where it's sunny and warm," she said. Although they don't collect anything, Denkova keeps all their gifts. "They're all over my room," she laughed.

After the 2006 Olympics, the dancers will decide how long to continue. "We'll do the 2006 Worlds for sure and we have a lot of fans in Japan, so we plan to do the Worlds in 2007, but after that we don't know," Denkova said. "We may do some shows if we're not competing or do something other than skating." Staviski has a degree from the sports institute, so he may go into coaching, especially now that figure skating is more po****r in Bulgaria. "Figure skating is very po****r in Bulgaria now," Denkova said. "It is the most famous winter sport in our country." Even her younger sister, Ina Demirova, is now competing internationally in ice dancing as a junior.

[irinaidu]

cat sunt de frumosi!!!!!

[whisper]

http://www.fridsten.com/efsc2003/gala/043.jpg
http://www.fridsten.com/efsc2003/gala/044.jpg
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031130/sp12.jpg
http://www.bgolympic.org/fce/001/000...nkova2-pic.jpg
http://home.snafu.de/eberl/archiv/ph...99_fd_h_te.jpg
Asa zic si eu http://www.interq.or.jp/venus/toshiko/d3/maxim9.gif

[irinaidu]

mersi mult adelina pt threadul asta!!!! si un multumesc general pt forumul de patinaj !!!!

[whisper]

http://yelims1.free.fr/Amour/Amour35.gifCU placere!Dar nu mie trebuie sa imi multumesti(asta in cazul in care mie imi multumeai /sau in orice caz ) sau cel mai bine sa multumim fiecarui membru care a scris ceva pe sub-forumul de patinaj artistic .
Deci un mare MULTUMESC fs-oholicilor !http://yelims.free.fr/IPB/Invision-Board-France-611.gif

Cateva programe cu ei :
1999 WC OD Song of the Spirit.avi http://www.filesend.net/download.php...a045a52d8ade40
- 1999 Euros OD
http://s26.quicksharing.com/v/105454...rosOD.WMV.html (by Rady AM)
- 1999 Worlds FD "Sarabande"
http://s1.quicksharing.com/v/9833508...bande.avi.html
http://www.savefile.com/files/243030 (by Estelle)
http://s29.quicksharing.com/v/445776...port_.avi.html (by D&Sfan4ever
- 2002 OG OD Spanish Combination "Fugata - Duende"
http://s25.quicksharing.com/v/916278...uende.wmv.html (by poppy)
2003 Euros Ex "Absinth Drinkers"
http://s6.quicksharing.com/v/4554240...os_EX.avi.html - 50 MB (by Anasus)
http://savefile.com/files/367732 - 50 MB (by vivika64)
http://s19.quicksharing.com/v/533144...ships.wmv.html - small
- 2003 Worlds Ex "Objection"
http://www.filesend.net/download.php...9b4b0e3ffce0be - 13 MB (by bmunchen)
- 2003 Trophee Lalique Ex "Shakira"
http://s26.quicksharing.com/v/343292...akira.wmv.html (by Rady AM)
-2006 Reactions after winning - Bulgarian Eurosport
http://en.swoopshare.com/file/ddacb8...ORLDS.avi.html (by dobrovesta)
2006 Worlds Ex "You're Beautiful"
http://s25.quicksharing.com/v/373266...Lyke_.avi.html 50 MB,Dutch Eurosport (by eli)
http://www.savefile.com/files/432252 + encore (Adagio) - 24 MB,German Eurosport (by vivika64)
http://www.savefile.com/files/432208 - 13 MB,ESPN (by vivika64)

[alyosha_87]

intotdeauna e o placere sa scrii pe forum. cel putin eu de cand m-am aciuat, i got me new friends!!!
hai sa give you a big thank you: THANK YOU!!!

[peirsolgirl]

Mersi Adelina
Programul meu favorit e Objection
De obicei mi se pare ca e waay to much drama in programele lor, o drama dusa la extrem, anul trecut "Adagio " mi-a dat dureri de cap, dar in general sunt ok
Programul de anul asta chiar incepe sa-mi placa.Si au mai avut ei niste costume verzi absolut superbe pentru dansul original din 2003.Anul 2003 a avut cel mai inspirat OD din cate am vazut.Foarte frumos,si bulgarii, si N&K si Isa&Oli au avut costume si programe foarte frumoase.

[irinaidu]

pai nu au avut costume verzi si anul asta????
oricum eu nu am observat pana acum sa nu le stea bine in ceva.

[peirsolgirl]

au avut si anul asta, dar alea erau mai frumoase.astea erau preaa....prea mult intelegi..

[alyosha_87]

just floating on ice!

[whisper]

Mie mi-au placut mereu nu conteaza asa mult ce costume aveau...

[Elly23_05]

ooooh i love this thread ce poate fi mai frumos decat sa vad ca printre atatia fani alexei si bri mai e impartasita si pasiunea mea pt bulgari boy i do know i love this forum go albena...go maxim! sper sa reuseasca la mondiale sa isi recupereze titlul..apoi banuiesc ca se retrag si ei

[irinaidu]

off, sincer sper sa nu se retraga!!!! cu toate ca inteleg ca albena s-a implicat in partea de manageriat a patinajului din bulgaria....

[Elly23_05]

dap...si nu mai e tocmai in floarea varstei patinajului dar..poate il vedem p maxim la proba masculina :ras-plans:

[whisper]

poate il vedem p maxim la proba masculina

:ras-plans:
Nu cred ca ar face asta ,nici el nu e chiar tocmai la inceput
Da din ce am inteles este ultimul campionat pentru ei Asa rau imi pare De ce trebuie sa se retraga?Stiu nu imi raspundeti dar ,totusi
Go Albena Go Maxim!

[irinaidu]

uff, dupa ce s-au retras gwendal si marina am fost distrusa. bulgarii m-au ajutat sa reusesc sa ma uit iar la proba de dans. acum iar o sa fiu trista, mai ales ca rusii astia nu ma inspira de loc.
de fapt am avut 2 suferinte grave : retragerea lui yags si apoi a marinei si gwendal. poate de aceea nu i-am putut inghiti pe plushy si pe navka/kostomarov.

[ladyrrain]

totdeauna ma enerva faptul ca nu castigau...aveau programe care imi placeau mai mult decat alor celorlalti, dar erau ba pe locul 3, ba pe 4...inainte aveam si eu o fixatie cu plushenko si navka/kostomarov, care ma iritau...dar am incercat sa-i privesc din alt p.d.v...nu stiu ce s-a intamplat, dar apoi programele lor imi placeau la nebunie...navka si kostomarov cel putin pe pantera roz sau pe carmen, erau absolut dar tot bulgarii imi plac mai mult....

[peirsolgirl]

La Navka si Kostomarov,programul meu favorit e de departe Tosca.Yvonne ne-a inebunit cu "povestea pe gheata", dar avea dreptate.A fost ca un vis, o armonie totala intre muzica, miscari, costume....superb, ce mai...Tatiana, "in rolul Floriei Tosca" ,a fost perfecta.

[whisper]

de fapt am avut 2 suferinte grave : retragerea lui yags si apoi a marinei si gwendal. poate de aceea nu i-am putut inghiti pe plushy si pe navka/kostomarov

La fel si aici.Desi la mine a fost un pic mai usor pt ca imi placeau si Averbuch/Lobacheva si Albena/Maxim ,da cat decat si Navka/Kostumarov(nu au fost chiar preferatii mei,dar imi placeau )

[baboo]

uff, dupa ce s-au retras gwendal si marina am fost distrusa. bulgarii m-au ajutat sa reusesc sa ma uit iar la proba de dans. acum iar o sa fiu trista, mai ales ca rusii astia nu ma inspira de loc.
de fapt am avut 2 suferinte grave : retragerea lui yags si apoi a marinei si gwendal. poate de aceea nu i-am putut inghiti pe plushy si pe navka/kostomarov.

Exact la fel si in cazul meu!! Desi nimeni nu-l intrece pe Yags, l-am avut totusi pe Brian la baieti. La perechi mi-a fost mai greu, Totmianina/Marinim nu mi-au placut prea mult niciodata, pentru ca tinusem cu Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze inainte. Dar la dans a fost cel mai dificil, pentru ca ramasesem pentru prima data fara favoriti; preferatii mei fusesera Grishuk/Platov iar cand s-au retras ei m-au cucerit Marina si Gwendal. In 2003, nici nu m-am putut uita la proba de dans. Noroc de bulgari care m-au mai trezit din amorteala ulterior