Rodin’s famous “Kiss” at the Rodin Museum in Paris. It inspired many future sculptors and artists, along with Russian choreographer, Marina Zueva, who used its form as the ending pose in a piece she composed for Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov set to Rachmaninov’s Vocalise.
No greater were two figures on the ice than this married pair in the 80’s and 90’s. As a child, their careers taught me the art of ballet and dance, classical music and competitive sport.
Critics called their rapport unparalleled, flawless and timeless, and it won them four World Championships and two Olympic Gold Medals. They are the most celebrated figures in pair skating history and won nearly every professional competition they entered. Grinkov died of a heart attack on the ice in 1995 at the age of 28, and Gordeeva has had several new partners in the years since. She continues to deliver effortless skill and is still mesmerizing in movement and style, as though no time has passed. It’s as though she were born with blades attached to her feet, and strings whipping her arms and legs through the air like ribbons.
She will forever remain my icon to all that is soulful, cultured and beautiful in the world. Nearly twenty years after their career together on the ice ended, clips from their performances never get old.
