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China's Legendary Pair Skaters to Quit the Stage
China's Olympic gold medal pair skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo have announced that they will go behind the scenes to help coach young skaters for China's national team.
| Source: |
CRIEnglish.com |
| Date: |
June 12, 2012 |
| Author: |
Web Editor: Xu |
China's Olympic gold medal pair skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo have
announced that they will go behind the scenes to help coach young
skaters for China's national team. Their Artistry on Ice show Tuesday
evening is expected to draw their former competitors and friends to
the stage for a final show in Beijing.
To many figure-skating fans around the world, Shen Xue and Zhao
Hongbo, the first Chinese pair-skating team to win a World
Championship, are a miracle on ice.
However, Zhao Hongbo formally announced that he would quit the stage
at a press conference in Beijing Monday afternoon.
"Our 20 years of figure skating experience makes us feel that this is
the perfect time for us to bid farewell to our fans. The next step is
for us to train the students with our experience and techniques
accumulated in the competitive field. We really hope that the next
gold medalists will again come from China."
Kurt Browning, a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and
commentator, is a good friend to the skating couple. This four-time
World Champion said he would give a performance for the couple at the
Artistry on Ice show. He also said he can't wait to share his love of
skating with the Chinese audience, hopefully gaining him some new
fans.
"I get to come here and share my skating with a new audience. And I'm
very lucky to do this. I have one program that's called "I'm
Yours". It's not a comedy, but it's very light. It's very friendly,
and the object of the program is to say "thank you" to the fans and
I've skated for you. So at one point, on my shirt I have, hopefully
with some help, written the words "I am yours" in Chinese on my
back."
Besides Kurt Browning, a number of other heavyweights in the figure
skating industry, including Johnny Weir, a three-time U.S. National
Champion from 2004 to 2006, and Evgeni Plushenko from Russia as well
as his musician partner Edvin Marton, would make an appearance Tuesday
evening.
Edvin Marton said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday that his
cooperation with figure skaters is a combination of music and
sport.
"We made the history, together with Evgeni Plushenko in 2006 at the
Olympic Games, when we performed together. Never has sport and music
been so close on the ice. It's not just sport; it's art."
Tom Cruise's wife, Katie Holmes, an American movie star, has been
invited as the poster child for the 2012 Artistry on Ice show. Katie
is a fan of figure skating and shares Edvin Marton's view.
"It's a lot of hard work and that perfection is not easy to
combine. It's years of practice, so I really admire all of it. And I
admire the costumes, the music that's chosen and the level of
creativity involved, mixed with the skill."
"Artistry on Ice" was first performed in September 2010 with a wedding
ceremony theme by ice dancers Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo. It later
developed into an annual event.
The 2012 "Artistry on Ice" show, which first debuted in Taipei on June
9th, was hailed by local audiences as a success. After a one-day show
Tuesday night in Beijing, more than 10 world champions will continue
to give performances in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and
China's eastern economic hub of Shanghai.
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