Another Bulgarian in the Finals: A Swan in Any Color

You know I love it when Bulgarian gymnasts perform well and the young Radina Filpova, who just placed 8th with hoop at the World Cup event in Lisbon is another example. Here is her final-worthy routine:



I really enjoyed the throws of the hoop, especially the catch in a backscale that she does. Her pirouettes may need some work on the shape of the leg and height of the releve, but she performed them especially cleanly in this event.

A couple of years ago, I watched videos of Radina, where she had to perform the same routine twice, once with a black leotard and once with a white one because of a problem with the music or some other issue. I remember thinking that she looked equally beautiful as a white swan and as a black swan! But at the time she had not become part of the national team.

I don't know if these are videos from the same event, but here she is, definitely doing the same routine with different leotards.  She has improved her expression a lot since 2011, but her distinguishingly long arms and legs were always beautiful to watch.

Black swan:


White swan:



Radina is less established in the national team than Mateva, Vladinova and Staykova, but I hope she will get the chance to show her best quality work at other competitions soon. She moves with grace in any color and many fans find her simply beautiful to watch, but I think as she adds more difficulty to her routines, she can become completely spell-bounding.

Neviana Vladinova Leaps Ahead of the Competition

Another short post about Neviana with very expressive photos by Dimo Dimov!

Neviana makes me very proud because she dares to dream and to go beyond what people can expect. Her recent finals with hoop and ribbon have really shown that she deserves to become part of the world elite. What distinguishes her is the risk, the artistic presence on the carpet, and the excellent choice of music that really brings out her personal style and character.

Good luck, Neviana! Stay strong!

Ribbon from Out of This World

Neviana Vladinova has been making the ribbon take on a life of its won for a while now. But this routine is extremely original, fast, risky and surprising. This is by far the best with ribbon we have seen from a Bulgarian in decades, better than Silvia Miteva or even Simona Peycheva. Enjoy watching!



Good luck to Neviana in Stuttgart where she has made her first ribbon final in big competition!

Thank you, Neviana, for this stunning, magical work with the ribbon.