Jesus Christ Superstar is one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most beloved musicals. It was first written in 1970, but has been revived many times in many different ways. One incredible way that Lloyd Webber’s compositions have come back to life is in this amazing figure skating performance by Russian athletes Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov.
The pair are National, European, World and Olympic Champions, which isn’t hard to believe when you watch them skate!
They take their positions in the center of the ice at the top of the routine. It is clear that the pair are trying to get into the zone, which makes sense when you see what’s to come. They do a few laps while doing final checks of the laces on their skates and warming their legs up.
They need to be 100% in the moment to pull off this incredible routine.
When they begin it is astounding! You can see that being World Champions means having flawless movement, and unfaltering grace. I can hardly skate going forward, but they skate backward, overlapping their feet as they maintain complete composure.
Oh yeah… I can do that…
As they continue their routine, they up the ante at every turn. Whether they’re spinning, twisting or doing amazing acrobatics, they clearly have unrivaled skill.
It looks like Tatiana could go flying off into the crowd at any time!
One thing that makes their performance so special is that they continue to be theatrical throughout. Not only are they nailing the incredible high-flying acrobatics, but at the same time they’re telling a story. The pair incorporate gesture, expression and movement to portray the characters and tell the story that the song relates to from Jesus Christ Superstar.
They are athletes AND performers.
More than once, Trankov launches Tatiana into the hair at high speed as if she’s a basketball and he’s Michael Jordan. As Tatiana soars through the air, she spins like a top. To be honest, while you’re watching it’s not totally clear whether or not she’ll ever return to earth or helicopter into the sky forever.
But she does land, and you would not believe how she does it!
The above image is of Tatiana landing from her highest throw.
She. Does. It. Backward. On. One. Foot.
And she glides away backward as if it were nothing….I don’t even…
On top of the pair’s incredible synchronicity, which the commentators mention is superb and superior to their competitors, they seem to have connected minds.
Trankov lifts Tatiana into the air on one hand with perfect form, as if she weighs no more than a feather.
Once again, another beautifully theatrical moment in the big finish.
They pose and hold, confident that they’ve just shown the crowd an incredible performance. As you can see, the crowd go wild and they even give them a standing ovation.
After they break out of their pose, they skate around on the ice picking up the roses, chocolates and teddy bears that their adoring fans throw onto the ice…and there are so many it takes them a while!
Watch the full video below to be stunned by these incredible figure skaters!
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