By Matteo Morelli | Banner photograph by Anais Martinez y Maria Elena
After saying goodbye to aggressive skating on the finish of the 2021/2022 season, Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin launched into a brand new enterprise launching the SK International Ice Dance School in Madrid, Spain. They advised us about how the thought took place, what it took to develop it and the way they’re planning to assist the brand new generations of skaters leverage their potential.
Sara and Kirill, it’s a pleasure to speak to you. After leaving your aggressive profession on the finish of the 2021/2022 season you could have launched into a brand new journey as ice dance coaches. What led to that call?
Sara Hurtado (SH): Every time there’s an finish to an Olympic season. As an athlete you are taking a second to mirror and determine what you wish to do subsequent. Our Olympic season didn’t find yourself as we have been anticipating, so we needed to take a second to not take into consideration something and see how we felt. We had Revolution On Ice scheduled, the skating present that Javier Fernández has in Spain, which didn’t occur that season. Everything then snowballed round us. We needed to go away Russia and our coaches, discovering ourselves in Madrid with out correct situations to maintain coaching at excessive stage.
We have been debating on attempting completely different coaches or transferring once more. We realised that if we needed to maintain going, it was going to demand a whole lot of vitality and sacrifices from us. During that point, Kirill was serving to with the membership in Madrid, and I used to be serving to in Majadahonda, and we have been comfortable educating and training. The resolution to cease competing was sort of straightforward for us at that time.
You then determined to arrange the SK International Ice Dance School, which was in itself one other necessary resolution. What did it’s important to do to make it occur?
Kirill Khaliavin (KK): We needed to maintain going with the ice dance, so the subsequent step for us was to open a faculty in Madrid, the place Sara is at dwelling and the place I actually get pleasure from dwelling. I at all times knew I needed to turn into a coach once I completed skating, as a result of there are a whole lot of issues I wish to make on the ice that I haven’t completed but, visions to current by way of my perspective, and my very own thought of how ice dance ought to evolve. It was a milestone to complete as a skater and begin as a coach, surrounding myself with the athletes, coaches, choreographers and workers that share your thought and imaginative and prescient.
SH: When we discovered ourselves right here in Madrid, we realised there was no correct place for ice dancers to develop as they need to. Everything surrounding the game is tremendous straightforward to search out in Madrid, it’s such a giant metropolis that you’ve got the perfect certified folks to carry a superb staff collectively, together with coaches, choreographers, dancers, docs.
Thinking concerning the identify of your college, how did you give you it?
SH: We did a whole lot of brainstorming. We needed to generate one thing cool, however on the finish the best possibility turned out to be the perfect. Since it was one thing tremendous private for us, we needed to care for every part: we have been enjoying round with our initials, after which out of the blue we thought to name it SK, which is the start of the phrases skating and abilities – what we do and what we love – and it is usually each of our initials collectively. I referred to as a superb buddy of mine which did the brand with the design of the blade form, and all began to make sense!
Photo by Nacho Casares
When did you begin to work as coaches?
SH: We correctly began to work round October 2022.
How do you suppose the college has been evolving to date?
SH: Going to Worlds with one among our groups (Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov) meant a lot. I don’t suppose a coach can simply try this in lower than a yr!
KK: This was a giant milestone for us, notably due to the blokes having the ability to skate clear and qualify for Worlds. At the competitors in Holland, Maurizio (Margaglio) was congratulating me and advised me I ought to be celebrating, however I used to be already focussing on the subsequent steps. Right now, the objective in my head is to arrange the {couples} for the subsequent season. We are focussed to go from level to level.
SH: If we glance again, everybody has improved lots. We can see how they’re rising as skaters and as a bunch, they generate a really wholesome vitality all collectively. For us it is extremely necessary to care for that, of what occurs off the ice, have fun, get pleasure from. This first season was a superb check to see if this route was working or not, and reply is sure, it’s. There are issues we wish to enhance, however to date we’re actually comfortable.
How many college students are you working with in the meanwhile?
SH: We have 4 groups now, three seniors and one junior.
You should be fairly busy with the brand new season developing, new choreographies to make and new guidelines to implement!
SH: Yes! And every staff that involves the college means two extra programmes for us to work on!
Also working with you is Ksenia Monko, one other ex ice dancer turned coach, and it appears that you’ve got put collectively the suitable infrastructure round you to assist each skater appropriately.
SH: Yes, we do. For instance, Ksenia is definitely the skilled coach in right here, she has been doing this for longer than us. Between Kirill and I, we are able to handle the technical components, choreography and the music components. We additionally work with a dance studio and a coaching facility that covers physiotherapy off ice. This sport is so full and you may’t go away something out: it’s important to work on how you progress, the way you carry out, the way you handle your feelings on a programme, it’s important to be match and in good condition, have the endurance to have the ability to do tough routines. We have a giant “army” of eyes and arms that every one among us brings in.
Do you suppose you could have your individual fashion as coaches?
KK: If you do one thing, it’s important to do it from how you’re feeling and the way you suppose it will work. If the others say that we’ve our personal fashion, then we’ve it.
SH: The guys give us the way in which, we by no means impose a method to them, we attempt to carry the perfect of every persona out. We have 4 groups, however every one may be very completely different on the ice. They imagine in what they carry out, within the programmes that they skate.
You are focussing lots on psychological well being, which is an important element of teaching that’s lastly being addressed extra. How do you implement this along with your athletes?
SH: We have a whole lot of conversations, it is necessary that they know they will name or textual content us at any time with any doubt or drawback they’ve. Being younger makes it straightforward, they see us as authority however we’re additionally contemporary out of this: they really feel much less distance between them and us, they really feel extra open to discuss every part. We spend a whole lot of time collectively! Every time we see the vitality switching and we don’t see them having fun with it and dealing in a constructive means, we ask what’s going on, we test in with them. This profession teaches you to work as a staff.
Do you’re feeling you could have modified since you could have turn into coaches?
SH: I don’t suppose I’ve modified that a lot, it’s the means that we put who we’re at work which is completely different. What I can say is that the work now’s extra psychological than bodily, from the aspect of the barrier that you must focus lots and keep in mind all that must be completed. We finish the times being very drained, even with out the bodily efforts we have been used to earlier than!
KK: The priorities have modified. We see issues from a unique angle. If I communicate for myself, I believe I modified lots through the skating profession, however from the end of the skating profession to teaching I don’t see a giant change, notably in such a short while. Sara and I have been by no means scared to vary, to determine, to place issues on our shoulders, be accountable for programmes, components, preparation. We are at all times open to speak to our athletes and take heed to them, as our coach was doing with us.
Do you could have any long-term ambitions that you’re working in the direction of?
SH: Bring our groups to their greatest, whether or not meaning Europeans, Worlds, Olympics, so long as they’ve a protected {and professional} place in Madrid to skate and develop. The dream can be to place Spain and Madrid on the map of worldwide ice dance. We are right here and we’re open!