Ballet dancer with the Mariinsky Theater Aaron Osawa-Horowitz shares his emotions after arriving at the Academy for the Alina 2024 festival.Aaron Osawa-Horowitz told about the routine, where he will participate.<blockquote>“I take part in the routine that opens the festival. I am dancing in the segment with ribbons as a principal performer. I think an old variation by iconic Asaf Messerer; he danced the variation with the ribbon, served as inspiration to invite me to participate. Owing to that I was invited to perform the routine based on this variation.”&nbsp;</blockquote>He also told us about the first impression after coming to Sochi.<blockquote>“When I have just arrived here, I felt myself so happy owing to the wonderful weather and because I was surrounded by such magnificent buildings. It is so nice to stay here, in the Sochi Olympic Park. And this Academy is simply beautiful. I was shocked by being able to rehearse and perform in this wonderful building.&nbsp;</blockquote>Aaron Osawa-Horowitz separately highlighted collaboration with athletes and coaches during repetitions.<blockquote>“It is very easy to work with athletes and coaches. All of them are so professional and laboring so diligently. I am impressed by abilities of everyone. This is a great honor to work with such professional athletes.</blockquote>The Alina 2024 Festival will be held in the Academy in Sochi on March 2, and the Minsk Arena will be its host on March 5.&nbsp;

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The Alina Festival

Aaron Osawa-Horowitz studied at the Royal Ballet School in the UK and then graduated from the Vaganova  Academy of Russian Ballet, with Nikolay Tsiskaridze as his headmaster.

Ballet dancer with the Mariinsky Theater Aaron Osawa-Horowitz talking about rehearsals in the Academy before Alina 2024 Festival

Due to the emerging cases of mailings sent on behalf of the Alina Kabaeva Charitable Foundation representatives, we’d like to state that the foundation does not send letters and does not practice any fundraising.&nbsp;These letters are sent by scammers and have nothing to do with the foundation, the Olympic champion, the Academy, or the International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs&nbsp; Association.&nbsp;Please exercise caution.

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Academy Life

Due to the emerging cases of mailings sent on behalf of the Alina Kabaeva Charitable Foundation representatives, we’d like to state that the foundation does not send letters and does not practice any fundraising.

Important information!

Academy gymnasts talk about putting together one of the performances for a festive concert, in which they took part together with preschoolers from free early development groups.Polina Semenova from Ryazan said that the performance is called "New Year's Trouble", and its director was Academy coach Ekaterina Lots.<blockquote>"We rehearsed emotions, for example, when I push Lena, when Lena also pushes Sonya," she said.</blockquote>Sofia Smirnova from the Moscow region noted that taking part in this performance is not overwhelming for her.<blockquote>"We came and caused a ruckus. Little girls came and said what we did here and danced their New Year's dance. When you perform like that, you're not even afraid to go out," she said.</blockquote>And Elena Styushina from Ryazan shared that the production process was exciting for all of its participants.<blockquote>"When we were coming up with the performance, there were a lot of interesting moments," Elena said.</blockquote>A New Year's concert with the participation of preschoolers from free early development groups and older gymnasts was held at the Academy on December 23.

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Opinion

A New Year's concert with the participation of preschoolers from free early development groups and older gymnasts was held at the Academy on December 23.

Academy gymnasts talk about preparing a performance for a New Year's concert

A New Year's party was held at the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy.Preschoolers from free early development groups, older students, coaches and parents gathered in the competition hall. After the concert, the athletes received New Year's gifts.In addition, Father Frost&nbsp; came to the celebration. And our gymnasts and judokas from the Martial Arts Academy also attended a performance based on "The Nutcracker".

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Preschoolers from free early development groups, older students, coaches and parents gathered in the competition hall.

Academy hosts a New Year's party for gymnasts, coaches and parents

Academy preschoolers from free early development groups told us about what the New Year means for them on the verge of the holiday.Darya Zimina:<blockquote>"New Year is a big holiday, where there are gifts, New Year's Eve. There are presents and all the kids start having fun."</blockquote>Maya Gip:&nbsp;<blockquote>"For me, this is a very colorful, unforgettable holiday; for me, it is like joy in my soul. Santa Claus brings gifts, everyone is happy. I decorate the New Year tree with candies, gingerbread, balls, sometimes even gifts."</blockquote>Anastasia Nekrasova:&nbsp;<blockquote>"It’s gifts, Father Frost is arriving."</blockquote>Aleksa Prilomova:<blockquote>"It’s everyone’s holiday and mine."</blockquote>They also shared their New Year traditions with us.Darya Zimina:<blockquote>"We will go to Nizhny Novgorod. We will put together a New Year tree and celebrate the New Year there."</blockquote>Aleksa Prilomova:<blockquote>"I always celebrate at home. When the New Year was coming, we had snow. There were a lot of snow."</blockquote>The young gymnasts also said what they would ask Father Frost for.Maya Gip:&nbsp;<blockquote>"I would ask for everyone to be healthy and everyone to be happy about the New Year."</blockquote>Darya Zimina:<blockquote>"So that all the girls are happy."</blockquote>Anastasia Nekrasova:&nbsp;<blockquote>"So that they don’t get sick anymore and have joy."</blockquote>

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The girls shared with us how they decorate the New Year tree and what wishes they will make on the New Year’s eve.

What does the New Year mean for Academy preschoolers? The young gymnasts tell us themselves

A joint session of parents and young judokas was held at the Martial Arts Academy.Vladimir Romanovich, Dima's dad, said that training sessions like that are enjoyed not only by young athletes, but also by their adults.<blockquote>"Impressions are very positive. I liked it so much; it is cool that we have such activities. In actual fact, this is so uniting. And the child likes it, and the parents also. Simply excellent, many thanks! He really wants to go to training sessions, asking again and again, when we will go to the workout. His first question almost every day is, “Is there a workout today or not?’ He goes with pleasure; emotions are so cool," he said.&nbsp;</blockquote>Elizaveta Nazarova, Demid’s mother, noted that joint activities bring them closer together.&nbsp;<blockquote>"The workout was excellent. In general, joint workouts with parents definitely bring us closer to each other; they certainly benefit our health. We have experienced today the full weight of these workouts, how they go for children. We will be glad if such training sessions are held more frequently. He has become more disciplined. He goes to these training sessions with great pleasure; he always goes back in an excellent mood," she said.</blockquote>&nbsp;And Zaven Osipov, Robert’s father, emphasized that judo classes have become a significant part of the child’s life.<blockquote>&nbsp;"We saw how children were practicing, what new techniques they have, what are the new exercises for development. We liked it very much and Robert was very-very active; he practiced them with pleasure.While he had only cartoons and the kindergarten earlier, then he says ‘judo’ about 50 times per day, ‘Will we go for judo tomorrow?. Are we going for judo tomorrow?’ His physical activity has increased strongly and he is fond of practicing here," Zaven said.</blockquote>

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They told us how the session at the Martial Arts Academy went, during which they performed exercises together with their children.

Parents of young judokas share their impressions after a joint training session with their children at the Martial Arts Academy

Ahead of the New Year, athletes from the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, presented a production based on the fairy tale by Samuil Marshak titled Twelve Months.The Academy coaches made up the audience.

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The Academy coaches were in the audience.

Academy gymnasts presented a production based on the "Twelve Months" fairy tale ahead of the New Year

The Martial Arts Academy held a joint training session for young athletes and their parents.After the session, all judokas received certificates for their first successes in judo.

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MA Academy

After the session, all judokas received certificates for their first successes in judo.

The Martial Arts Academy holds a joint training session for young judokas and their parents

Jeweler Ilgiz Fazulzyanov, winner of numerous awards in Russia and abroad, spoke about all the stages of making golden en pins&nbsp; in the form of a personalized element of Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva.He explained what materials are used for decoration.<blockquote>"I have been involved in jewelry making for 32 years. So it is a very long journey. And almost fifteen years were spent to find my style, to go through some difficult journeys, to become a truly unique artist.&nbsp;In 1996, I presented the collection for the first time in France. I think it was a hit. I have been using hot enamel in my works for all these years, because it is color, it is paint, it is the emotions that I as an artist can pour into jewelry. These pins are made of 750-carat golden&nbsp;using hot jewelry enamel, the technique that made me popular. And pearls are used, a pearl in the form of a ball that a gymnast holds in her hand during a gymnastics pose, Alina Kabaeva’s droplet," Ilgiz said.</blockquote>He described in detail the stages of work, starting with the idea of ​​the pin.<blockquote>"The first stage for a pin is, of course, the idea. That is, everything starts with a sketch. Later we start to mold it from play-doh. After that, we make a cast, from which we make a wax model. We finish it manually and send it for metal casting. After we have cast it from metal, we receive it and begin working directly with the metal, processing its surface. It is absolutely necessary to completely level the entire surface with abrasive tools.After we have leveled it, we begin to process the surface. The enamel was processed so that it would really adhere perfectly to the metal surface. It is important that these two completely different materials are combined into one whole.&nbsp;Now that we have processed the entire surface, our task now is to give the main surface a certain velvety texture, an imitation of the body," the jeweler said.</blockquote>After processing, the enamel is subjected to an intense heating process&nbsp;— firing.<blockquote>"At a temperature of 950 degrees, we begin to fire this enamel. After the final firing of the enamel, the surface becomes smooth: the green color sparkles against the background of the shine of the metal, so all that remains is to polish individual details, especially on the suit," he said.</blockquote>The jeweler noted that the commemorative pin turned out to be unique.<blockquote>"I think it can also be included in the list as a piece of jewelry art," he added.</blockquote>At the international Sky Grace Cup tournament in Qatar, senior prize winners received commemorative handmade golden pins.

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Sky Grace

He shared the story of the creation of a unique golden decoration that the winners of international competitions in Qatar received as a keepsake.

Jeweler Ilgiz Fazulzyanov talks about making pins for the international Sky Grace Cup tournament in Qatar

At the international tournament Winter Fairytale in Baku, gymnasts of the International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association gymnasts won 19 medals. Of these, 12 are gold, four are silver, and three are bronze.Anna Vakulenko from Volgograd won two golds in the hoop and clubs events and a bronze in the all-around among gymnasts born in 2009-2010.Among athletes born in 2011, Yana Zaikina from Volgograd won the ribbon event and also won a silver medal in the all-around and clubs, while Polina Semenova from Ryazan won a gold medal in the ball event and came in third in the all-around.Among the 2012-born participants, Veronika Solomatina from St. Petersburg won the all-around and also won gold in the hoop event, Miroslava Monina from Penza won silver in the all-around and became the winner in the clubs event, and Sofia Smirnova from the Moscow Region came in third in the all-around and won gold medals in the ball and ribbon events.Among the athletes born in 2013, Malika Timurshina from Kazan won first place in the all-around and in the hoop and clubs events. Veronika Malinina from St. Petersburg won silver in the all-around.Congratulations to the girls and coaches!

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Competitions

International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association gymnasts won 19 medals.

Results of the Sky Grace gymnasts performances at the international tournament Winter Fairytale

A judge of the international Winter Fairytale tournament Anastasia Zhuravleva from Kazakhstan assessed the performance of the Sky Grace athletes.<blockquote>"The International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association&nbsp; gymnasts perform very well. The awards ceremony has just taken place, they were in first, second, third places, and it was very colorful and deserving.&nbsp;Their work, grace, choreography and, in general, very interesting and extraordinary productions, unusual. And you can see their professional upbringing," Anastasia said.</blockquote>She shared her impressions of the new FIG rules under which the competition was held.<blockquote>"This is the first start where we judge according to the new rules. All the judges are just getting used to each other, trying things out. Of course, the rules are new with new changes, the performances are interesting, there is a lot of work," she said.</blockquote>The judge also expressed her opinion on the influence of the International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association on world rhythmic gymnastics.<blockquote>"I&nbsp; think it has a colossal influence. The Sky Grace Cup was held in Qatar for the fourth time this year. Before that, it was held in Moscow for the first time, the second time in Sochi, the third time in Beijing and the fourth time in Qatar. I took part in two of them as a judge. It’s very interesting to judge world-class gymnasts," she said.</blockquote>The International Winter Fairytale Tournament with the participation of gymnasts from the International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association was held in Baku, December 14 to 15.

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The judge from Kazakhstan shared her impressions of the international competitions and assessed the performance of the Sky Grace gymnasts.