The next episode of the Channel One ice show was dedicated to world cinema. One of the brightest couples of the project - Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky - took to the ice in costumes of Jewish prisoners of a concentration camp during the Second World War. Striped robes, yellow six-pointed stars on the chest. We danced to the song Beautiful That Way from the famous Italian film “Life is Beautiful.” We skated, all the jury members gave the highest scores. And then the Internet began to growl.
“I hope Averbukh is smart enough to never bring this number to Israel,” “We are in a concentration camp. We are Jews. We are having fun. Life is beautiful”, “This is an entertaining number staged for Russian TV by the famous figure skater Ilya Averbukh. We hope he is ashamed,” “Channel One is really bad with brains.”
Judging by the responses, some viewers were outraged by the hilarity portrayed throughout much of the “Jews in a concentration camp” number.
Be sure to check it out! One of my favorite numbers! Based on one of my favorite films, “Life is Beautiful”! Show this film to your children, be sure to #iceage @tatiana_navka @aburkovskiy PS: Our children should know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know!
English-language messages appeared almost immediately. “U should to apologize! My whole family was murdered in babi yar what a sick person are u?” (“You must apologize! My whole family died at Babi Yar, what kind of sick person are you?!”) wrote someone ornaazarya on Tatyana Navka’s Instagram.
Moreover, some angry messages were addressed to Western audiences from “this side.” “Shameful! From Russia” (“Shame! From Russia!”) – for example, a user with the nickname Ukraine-english-news writes on Twitter.
Meanwhile, it was enough to carefully watch this episode of “Ice Age” to understand what was happening. Especially for those who have not watched the film “Life is Beautiful,” the program explained its general idea. The heroes of this picture live despite the circumstances: even when they find themselves in a concentration camp, they are full of life in the name of saving a child. This is the idea that the skaters tried to convey to the public. By the way, director Karen Shakhnazarov, who was present at the recording of the show as a guest member of the jury, said that Burkovsky and Navka managed to convey the essence of the film. This was also noted by many Internet users: “They make films, paint pictures, and stage plays on the themes of the Holocaust. Why can’t this topic be understood in this way?” - tweets @semak515.
“Don’t listen to critics and insults, this is the biomass that is creaking with its rusty fingers, which is now killing in Donbass and burning in Odessa. And the liberals who joined them, always whining and stinking “how bad everything is here,” Navka @spiashchiiagent harshly summed up on Instagram.
This is not just a show. This is a theatre. And it is imperative to raise such topics,” Tatyana Navka commented on the situation to KP. - They need to remember! And if young people look and wonder what it is, and then find out about the Holocaust, concentration camps and the film “Dolce Vita” - then we have hit the mark.
“I don’t really understand this reaction,” Andrei Burkovsky admitted to us. - But I understand that people are all different and everyone has their own opinion. But the negative buzz around our performance is not justified.
The pair's coach Ilya Averbukh said as he snapped:
This is not serious. There’s nothing even to discuss!
“Life is Beautiful” to the song “Beautiful That Way” by Israeli singer Ahinoam Nini (Noah), included in the soundtrack to the film.
Dressed in striped pajamas with yellow stars of David, the “parents”, who according to the authors’ idea ended up in a concentration camp, are trying to convince the “child” that everything that is happening around is a game. During the performance, the skaters pretended to shoot at each other. As noted, “their beaming smiles are typical of figure skating, but did not fit well with the monstrous theme” of the number. In turn, the authors explained that the smiles, antics and what seemed to others to be an inappropriate joyful atmosphere were part of the script, repeating the plot of the film “Life is Beautiful.”
After the performance, Navka posted a collage of photos on her Instagram with the caption: “Be sure to look! One of my favorite numbers! Based on one of my favorite movies, Life is Beautiful! Show this film to your children, definitely. PS: Our children should know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know!”
Published 11/28/16 09:23A photo posted by Tatiana Navka (@tatiana_navka) on Nov 26, 2016 at 11:22am PST
However, not everyone understood and appreciated the allusions. Immediately after New York Magazine and Daily Beast author Yashar Ali retweeted the recording of the speech, a hurricane of criticism hit Navka and Burkovsky. Opinions on social networks were divided: from “I just can’t believe such insensitivity and tactlessness” to calls for Putin to force Navka to make a public apology.
Angry tweets poured in official account Russian embassy in London. Users suggested sending Navka and Burkovsky to a place “where they give out the same pajamas for free,” and also advised the artists to “starve for several months and work in the cold to get into character.”
“What are they going to convey through the choreography next, pogroms?” - Social media users are outraged.
This might be offensive if they hadn't taken such great care to recreate all the wonderful ice dancing going on at Aushwitz at the time. https://t.co/Nz0iDHqili
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) November 27, 2016
He notes that the performance was well received by the audience, adding that “the usually glamorous Navka even appeared in public without makeup for the sake of the performance.” The Jerusalem Post described the performance as "chilling," noting that in April, the Russian version of Dancing with the Stars also featured a similar moment when an actor dressed in a Nazi uniform mimed a search to find a young Jewish woman hiding behind a piano.
Navka herself in interview Radio "" called the reaction of the world media strange. “Honestly, I don’t understand what exactly disappointed people. In my opinion, it is good that this topic is touched upon. Look how many people watched the film just last night, and I received a huge number of calls, SMS, and people with gratitude and positive feedback say, thank you that we touched on this topic, that we remind you of that terrible time. It’s surprising what the foreign press picked up. “I’m more than sure that if this number was performed by any other skater on our show, then this number would pass by, no one would ever pay attention to it,” she said.
We, on the contrary, wanted to show with our performance, to somehow touch upon human qualities, spiritual ones, and only out of good intentions.”
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, in response to criticism of his wife Tatyana Navka, said that he was “proud of his wife.”
Her dance partner also said he didn't understand the overwhelmingly negative reaction to their routine. “I understand that people are all different and everyone has their own opinion. But the negative buzz around our performance is unjustified,” he said, adding that his brother from Israel called him and said that the number was wonderful. According to Burkovsky, the issue tells the story of how a child is not allowed to see all the horrors of war. As the actor emphasized, they did not want to offend anyone.
Couple coach, show producer and author of the show idea said, that he did “a lot of numbers on military and Jewish themes, absolutely different characters" “In the previous program we had an amazing number - an Armenian lullaby, also about tragic events. But no one paid attention, apparently because Tatyana Navka did not perform it. The theme of this program is world cinema. Each pair illustrated one or another film. A story when parents try to protect their child, paint a different world for him, makes him feel the tragedy even more, it becomes even more painful. And we talk about it.
I get the feeling that people didn’t watch either the act or the film. We saw photos of smiling people in robes and made some ridiculous conclusions - from bad taste, illiteracy, lack of education.
Perhaps these are the only words that come to mind when you receive this kind of reaction,” he said.
Official representative Maria spoke about publications in foreign media in an even harsher tone. “They didn’t like the number! The image of the prisoners of Auschwitz, you see, is not embodied on ice as it should be. Defenders of tolerance? Nothing like this! Hypocrites and liars. Moreover, they are cowardly hypocrites and liars fulfilling a political order,”
The controversial performance took place as part of the show " glacial period"on Channel One.
Real political scandal a global scale flared up in the media and blogosphere after the airing of the “Ice Age” program on Channel One, where figure skater Tatyana Navka and her partner Andrei Burkovsky showed a number about concentration camp prisoners.
In the release of the project on November 26, Navka and Burkovsky showed the number Beautiful That Way based on the film “Life is Beautiful,” which takes place during the Second World War. The film tells the story of an Italian woman who voluntarily went after her husband. intkbbee and son to a concentration camp.
During their performance, Navka and Burkovsky were dressed in prison uniforms with yellow stars David on the chest.
The performance on “The Ice Age” with the participation of the wife of the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov was assessed very ambiguously by the world media.
For example, the American online publication The Huffington Post simply noted that the Olympic champion in ice dancing and actor Andrei Burkovsky took to the ice in the guise of Auschwitz prisoners, and musical accompaniment The song “Beautiful That Way” by Nicola Piovani from the film “Life is Beautiful” about the persecution of Jews during World War II was chosen.
In turn, the Israeli publication Haaretz stated that this is not the first time Russian television, when in entertainment project The theme of the Holocaust is used. Journalists recalled that in April 2016, Russian state television already apologized for the number in the project “Dancing with the Stars” to the composition of Frank Sinatra Fly Me to the Moon, which told about the romance of a German soldier of World War II and a Russian girl, who were awaiting execution in end of the number.
The performance of Navka and Burkovsky caused a strong reaction on social networks. Thus, blogger @Lndcalling said that Channel One has gone crazy.
His post received over 500 retweets and many replies. Most users condemned the artists and the editors of Channel One.
However, there were also those who stood up for the number.
In turn, the members of the Ice Age jury assessed the performance positively, giving the artistry and technique of the performance a maximum of six points.
After the next release of “Ice Age,” the Internet is literally boiling with comments dedicated to the issue by Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky. In an issue dedicated to world cinema, the couple played the film “Life is Beautiful.” Parents who ended up in a concentration camp are trying to convince their child that everything that is happening around is just a game. That's why they smile, clown around a little and create an atmosphere of fun in every possible way.
Tatiana Navka and Andrey Burkovsky Beautiful That Way. Glacial period.. Fragment of the release dated November 26, 2016. Sixth stage. Speech by Tatiana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky.
Be sure to check it out! One of my favorite numbers!.. Show this film to your children, be sure... Our children should know and remember that terrible time, which, I hope, God willing, they will never know! – this is how Tatyana Navka described him on Instagram.
Some commentators, without even understanding what was going on, immediately began to be indignant at why Navka and Burkovsky were smiling while dressed in the uniform of Jewish prisoners of a concentration camp. Some representatives of the Western press decided not to understand the situation, but to immediately shame everyone. A newspaper is a large English publication, for example. In her article, she even posted popular bloggers sharply condemning the act, even calling for the Russian President to force the show's creators to apologize for "making a mockery of the Holocaust."
Some representatives of the Western press decided not to understand the situation, but to immediately shame everyone. Among them is a newspaper Daily MailPhoto: Website screenshot
Ilya Averbukh, head coach and producer of the Ice Age show, who came up with the idea for the number, decided not to stand aside and commented on the situation:
This number is my idea. I did a lot of numbers on military and Jewish themes, with completely different characters. In the previous program we had a stunning number by Ekaterina Barnabas - an Armenian lullaby, also about tragic events. But no one paid attention, apparently because Tatyana Navka did not perform it. And that's the whole answer. When you live away from this, you think that maybe ours are exaggerating, distorting... But the Daily Mail publishes completely unverified facts in this article. But this is not some newspaper, but one of the first publications in the country.
The theme of this program is world cinema. Each pair illustrated one or another film. A story when parents try to protect their child, paint a different world for him, makes him feel the tragedy even more, it becomes even more painful. And we talk about it. I get the feeling that people didn’t watch either the act or the film. We saw photos of smiling people in robes and made some ridiculous conclusions - from bad taste, illiteracy, lack of education. Perhaps these are the only words that come to mind when you receive this kind of reaction.
One of the largest Russian directors, Karen Shakhnazarov, who more than once addressed military theme, - explained Ilya Averbukh. “And his comments were absolutely excellent.” He said how delicately and delicately everything was done. And these words are much more important. And all this hype is an indicator of modern madness. I would call it “delirium tremens” and insanity.
OPINION FOR
It was sincere to the point of tears
Maria KOLYVANOVA
In 1941, a decree was adopted on the creation of front-line brigades at theaters. In Moscow alone there were more than seven hundred of them. They couldn’t stage full-fledged performances back then. Therefore, the brigades went to the front, performed directly in the trenches, trying to maintain the morale of those who dig these trenches and those who shoot from them... And it’s hard for me to imagine that at that moment letters would pour in to the Central Committee: “What a feast during the plague! And for some Western newspaper to write about what songs, dances and with what smiles Russians should properly fight.
When Yulia Lipnitskaya skated a program to the theme from “Schindler’s List” at the Sochi Olympics, the judges did not discuss whether she was wearing the right dress or whether a triple sheepskin coat was appropriate for this music. Or was it still necessary to do a quadruple...
Tatyana Navka and Andrey Burkovsky danced sincerely and played soulfully. The performance was based on a film where parents, in front of their little son, try to pretend that a concentration camp is some kind of game. Hence this clowning, forced, forced smiles, some exaggerated and ragged movements. The film, which inspired the artists and director, is a tragicomedy in genre, and all the laws of the genre were observed here.
Hence the tears, which many viewers admit. And me too.
Be sure to check it out! One of my favorite numbers! Based on one of my favorite films, “Life is Beautiful”! Show this film to your children, be sure to #iceage @tatiana_navka @aburkovskiy PS: Our children should know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know!
OPINION AGAINST
Dance better than vaudeville
Sergey EFIMOV
Navka and Burkovsky got into exactly the same story that actor Alexander Petrov had been in before them. In April, he performed in “Dancing with the Stars” on the Russia 1 channel in the image of a romantic Hitlerite who fell in love with a civilian girl. And the hysteria on the Internet was even stronger than the current one.
Both then and now, in general, the same question arose.
Can we dance about this? About human pain? About tragedies?
“They would have danced on ice skates about the execution at Babi Yar and about the gas chambers,” is a typical response from angry spectators.
In my opinion, the answer to this question is completely obvious: of course, it is possible. Dancing is a form of art, and art can speak about everything. Even about Babi Yar and gas chambers.
This is theoretical.
In practice, expressing the full range of emotions while skating is wildly difficult. Try to reliably portray suffering when you still need to take steps, support, and at the same time it is advisable not to stain the ice with your own blood. The conventions of the genre force the director to use a couple of dozen clichés: looking into the distance like this is sadness, but if that’s the case, it’s already pain.
But if figure skating- this is a theater, then the theater is quite primitive. Everything is fine as long as the vaudeville acts are dancing about love. Beautiful, I love it. But it’s hardly possible to stage a full-scale tragedy on ice. Because in this synthesis of sport and art, sport sticks out like a crooked tooth, overshadowing everything else.
I looked at the dancing concentration camp prisoners on TV and did not feel any indignation. Well, yes, according to the film. Yeah, the plot was conveyed accurately - everything was explained in detail in the program. But what the hell is this art that needs to be conveyed in words. That's not how it works.
MEANWHILE
Peskov about Tatyana Navka’s speech: I’m proud of my wife
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov responded to criticism of his wife Tatyana Navka for performing a number about the Holocaust on the Ice Age project (
Tatiana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky provoked loud scandal number “Beautiful That Way” to music from the film “Life is Beautiful”.
Latest issue The Ice Age program ended in a scandal due to the number “Beautiful That Way” performed by Andrei Burkovsky.
The theme of the program was world cinema, and Navka and Burkovsky skated a number based on the film “Life is Beautiful.” Let us remind you that in the plot of the film, parents who ended up in a concentration camp are trying to convince the child that everything that is happening is not real, but just a game, so they smile, clownish a little and in every possible way create an atmosphere of ease and fun.
Tatiana Navka and Andrey Burkovsky - Beautiful That Way. glacial period
The number received mixed reactions from viewers. Internet users, who clearly had not watched the film and did not want to understand the situation, responded very harshly to Navka and Burkovsky.
Even Western publications noticed the scandal. The English newspaper Daily Mail posted reviews from popular bloggers sharply condemning the show, and even a call that the Russian president should force the show's creators to apologize for "making a mockery of the Holocaust."
Didn't stand aside American edition The Huffington Post and Israeli Haaretz.
Coach Ilya Averbukh spoke in defense of Tatiana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky, who, by the way, staged this number.
“I did a lot of numbers on military and Jewish themes, with completely different characters. In the previous program we had a stunning number by Ekaterina Barnabas - an Armenian lullaby, also about tragic events. But no one paid attention, apparently because Tatyana Navka did not perform it And this is the whole answer,” said Averbukh.
Ilya shamed the Daily Mail for the fact that a serious, respected publication published absolutely unverified information. He briefly explained the theme of the program and retold the meaning of the film “Life is Beautiful,” which Navka and Burkovsky presented on ice.
“I get the feeling that people didn’t watch either the act or the film. They saw photos of smiling people in robes and made some ridiculous conclusions - from bad taste, illiteracy, lack of education. Perhaps these are the only words that come to mind when you receive something like this reaction. All this hype is an indicator of modern madness. I would call it “delirium tremens” and insanity,” Averbukh said.
