'You are in gymnastics' - now with English subtitles

I woke this morning to find a message from Caroline Teiler telling me about a new, English language subtitled, version of the iconic 1978 Soviet documentary 'You Are In Gymnastics', available on Youtube.  I would like to thank Caroline and Miss Lyra, the originator of this translation, for taking the time and for sharing.  I have pored over the videos of this programme, atmospheric and telling even without the words, and now this translation adds dimensions of the historic and insightful.

The key 'players' you will recognise are senior national coach - Aman Shaniazov, national coach with responsibility for high level difficulty - Vladimir Zaglada, personal coach to Elena Davydova - Gennady Korshunov, Mukhina's personal coach - Mikhail Klimenko, personal coach to Shaposhnikova - Vladislav Rotstorotsky, team pianist - Evsey Vevrik and, last but certainly not least, choreographer - Emilia Sakalova.  At work on the apparatus you see the team in development for the 1980 Olympics (though not all made it): Elena Naimushina, Elena Mukhina, Svetlana Agapova, Natalia Shaposhnikova, a snapshot of a very young Natalia Yurchenko, Maria Filatova, Elena Davydova, Stella Zakharova and others.  All of them up and coming stars.  Nelli Kim, who went on to become World Champion in 1979 and won gold medals at the 1980 Olympics, is not in evidence.

Klimenko explains the context: in 1976 the Romanian star, Nadia Comaneci, wrested the initiative away from the Soviet Union, dominating the competition with high level acrobatics and originality that the artists of the Soviet team just couldn't match.  This film was shot in spring 1978, before Mukhina won her World Champion all around title in Strasbourg and at a time when the Soviets considered themselves to be at risk of losing their dominant position in the sport.  Their way of re-establishing their leadership was to create innovations that only the bravest could attempt.  Much was made in the Soviet media of the idea that women's gymnastics was now approaching men's for its difficulty and athleticism.  The only gymnasts capable of executing such outrageous acts were a new generation for whom the boundaries of the human body and mind were not yet formed.  Their efforts provided the basis of the sport today, in some cases creating skills that have yet to be matched today. Yet the Soviet tradition of grace and artistry flourished alongside the pyrotechnics.  In this era the Golden Gymnastics of the 1980s were conceptualised as the Soviets transformed pure technique and created the aesthetic that transcended mere sport.

Former national coach, Larissa Latynina, lost her job after the 1976 Olympics, and in her place came Aman Shaniazov.  The team had a national coach with responsibility for high complexity acrobatics, Vladimir Zaglada.  We also see here the personal coaches of so many of the gymnasts, the pianist and the choreographer.  There is a discipline and focus in evidence that puts the girls and their efforts first, regardless of any of the 'office politics' that so often imbue such creative enterprises.  No wonder the Soviet Union won so many medals.

If we have lost touch with artistry, this documentary gives us an opportunity to refriend, to understand that toe point, line and so on are basic requirements, that artistry is about feeling and transcends mere technique. 'You are angry!  Don't be in a good mood, you can't be!' choreographer Sakalova urges, as she coaches Zakharova on floor.  Pianist Evsey Vevrik says: 'It's just like they are actresses.  I imagine that every time there is a premiere'.  This is how great performances were made; the full time work the choreographer does with the gymnasts injects an awareness of presence, poise, emotion and drama that goes beyond 'selling' a routine.

The commentator explains that what we are seeing is the day in, day out grind of the life of an elite athlete, at the hardest time of her preparation, just a few days before departing for competition (in this case, the 1978 Moscow News tournament, which Mukhina won).  There are hard times as well as happier moments, tears and laughter.  Zaglada speaks of the importance of mutual respect in the coach-athlete relationship : 'If you aren't going to treat a child with respect, they are going to feel it and there won't be results'.  His lifelong friendships with his gymnasts speak volumes.  On the other hand, the tense atmosphere between Mukhina and Klimenko, the apparently relentless barrage of criticisms raining down on the gymnast, paint a sorry picture.

It is a seminal record of Soviet gymnastics at a time of change.  Thank you Miss Lyra, for making your translation available.

'You are in gymnastics'