"We've never done anything like this!" Moscow group gymnasts, Alisa Medvedeva and Arina Tkachuk talk about preparing for the “Alina”‑2026 festival

The group gymnasts from the Moscow national team, Alisa Medvedeva and Arina Tkachuk, spoke about their preparations for the “Alina”‑2026 festival, working with choreographers, and the unusual choreography for them. 

The group members admitted that participating in such a project is a new and interesting experience for them: 

"The atmosphere is like one big family that hasn’t seen each other in a long time. It’s very friendly, everything is clear. It’s a great honour for us to work with such people. We’re very happy and we’re trying our best, getting into the work. And we adapt quickly and do what is required of us. I think this is very interesting, because we’ve never participated in anything like this before. This is something new for us. We hope it will be grand, excellent, and very beautiful. And, so to speak, it will leave a lasting impression."

Alisa Medvedeva specifically mentioned working with the director, Alexander Mogilev, and the new knowledge that can already be applied not only at the festival but also in exercises:

"The rehearsals are going according to plan; we’re training a lot. It’s a really cool idea. You can already feel the scale. It’s such a big show, and we’re trying to put all our strength into it, everything we can. There are a lot of details. I’m a huge fan of Alexander Mogilev. It’s a great honor for me to work with him. He actually tells us a lot of very useful and important things that are interesting — things that will come in handy not only for the show but also for our exercises. I’m trying to absorb as much as possible from what he says; it’s very interesting. I hope it will be a really cool concert and a very vibrant performance. We’ve never done anything like this before, and I hope it turns out really great."

Arina Tkachuk said that the gymnasts have to master unusual movements, work with a dancer, and learn to convey their characters: 

"We’re working with a dancer. The choreography is a bit unusual for us. Sometimes it’s really hard for us. We’re trying our best, and we want to make sure we deliver on the director’s vision. It seems to me that we’re at the beginning of the journey, and we’ll do our best to make everything work out. I hope it will be interesting from an artistic perspective, because it’s a bit unusual for gymnasts. It’s this kind of dance‑based theme, with these broken movements, a mix of styles. I hope that everything will work out for us and that each of us will be able to convey our images to the fullest, to the maximum, to 200 percent."