Failure, Total Failure

Some of you may already know that I supported Brazil in the World Cup and their loss yesterday made me feel very sad. It also made me take another walk in memory lane, this time to 1992, the worst year in history for the Bulgarian rhythmic group.

This is a disastrous routine from the European Championship, where they drop one ball out of carpet at the very end, after making several other errors. The team placed 7th out of 16 teams:




Just several months later, at the World Championship, it got worse just when we thought it could not. One of their ribbon handles broke completely and they had to run for the extra apparatus.This time they are 15th out 21 teams, which I believe is the worst of all times for a group from Bulgaria:




I know some of my readers are not old enough to remember 1992 and I know some don't care about these results even if they do remember it. So why I am a writing about it. Well, I just want to say that I still very much love these two routines and the girls who performed them and that I was not surprised when the Bulgarian rhythmic group went on to become absolute world champion in 1995 and 1996, just a couple of years later. Of course, it could have been 20 years later, but, to a fan, the passage of time is all relative. Relative to the beautiful memories and the great hopes we have, which feel larger than time.

So, I congratulate all the Brazilian fans out there: at least you didn't break the ball during the game, or try to play without the ball. From here, it could only get better. It always has.

Dream-Catching

I keep saying I have been working on a dance. I really have, but it takes time. And thought. I do have a small preview that I recorded. I would like to dedicate it to a very important and loved person, who made me catch so many dreams.

Georgian Salome Pazhava Brings a Powerful Dance Heritage into Gymnastics

This year, 16-year old Salome Pazhava from Georgia, who was a bronze medalist at the junior European Championships in 2012, has showcased an absolutely unique choreography with clubs, which stands out with speed, rhythm and originality. I think this is one of the few routines with clubs  not set to Latin dance music. It looks decisively, unforgivingly better than the other choreographies, because it comes alive with the music's tremendous energy and it takes gymnastics into a different territory.

 Salome represents the inspiring tradition of Georgian folk dances, which have astonished audiences all over the world.  She spins, she jumps, she adds fast step sequences, and she doesn't take a breath:




This routine is from an earlier competition where she received a bit under 17 points for it, but at this year's European Championships in Baku, Salome deservingly got a 17.400 mark, which was the 6th highest score with clubs. Congratulations to Salome's family and friends, and to her coaches and choreographers!

Here is Salome dazzling everyone at Georgia's got talent:




And, finally, if you have not experienced the world treasure that is Georgian folk dance, here is a treat you should not have missed. It will elevate your spirit and speed up the beat of your heart:




One of the most unforgettable experiences in life is to observe a young person reaching the depth of her peoples' roots and growing from them. Salome represents her ancestry with mastery and absolutely contagious emotion. She shows everything a gymnast needs to be: an athlete and an actress at the same time, but also someone who is able to both appreciate and enrich the world's culture.

Here is a photo collage in honor of Salome prepared by my friend Lidia Rozdilsky. With ribbon, Salome performs another very exciting routine, this time to music by Michael Jackson, which I hope to discuss in another blog post.