Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

  ‘Here in Saudi Arabia I have already gained experience in composing floor routines, this was my first experience. I composed 5 floor routines remotely for Chinese gymnasts. And I will continue composing for our team here I really like this creative process. Plus I know the intricacies of gymnastics and I know what will be best for the gymnasts during the floor routines.’ ‘I also try to individually compose floor exercises. to select the movement specifically for the gymnast. the first experience was very successful! Although, I was very worried‘ Good luck, Elena, with this new branch of your increasingly successful career.

It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it ... Former Soviet international, now choreographer at the Leonid Arkayev Gymnastics Centre in Saransk, Natalia Karamushka leads her girls in this perfect floor complex. Attitude, balance, posture ... they all make gymnastics watchable and provide a basis for great form and amplitude in the acrobatic and gymnastic skills. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=469929073171664 The music is wonderful - it is Contrast by Igor Krutoy - you can download it from ITunes.

In gymnastics, the word 'choreography' is heard frequently in discussions of artistry, normally in respect of floor exercise, sometimes about beam (many teams have specialist beam choreographers, for example the Russian team work with the fearsomely experienced Larissa Ushakova) but rarely about the more athletic pieces, bars and vault. I was looking at the floor routine Anastasia Grishina performed at the Jesolo Cup the other day. It's beautiful and powerful and expressive. One of the best floor routines on the competitive circuit at present; in fact I would put it a close second to Afanasyeva's in the world rankings. But my analysis of the routine is this: 1 The actual dance composition of the routine as a whole is relatively ordinary, although good in parts. There is a predominance during the early part of the routine of straight line work. For the first 40 seconds, Nastia does not veer off the diagonal on which she started. This is because she is ...