I don’t usually watch a lot of TV, but that changes as soon as the Winter Olympics comes around. It feels like the world is just a little (tiny) bit saner when the Olympics goes well, and, of course, I get a thrill out of watching skiing, snowboarding, and bobsledding, which are all pretty close to flying.
But figure skating has that extra special piece to it – the story. This evening we watched the intense, final showdown between the top two skaters, both hailing from Russia and studying under the same coach. Oh – and they both skated to music with a classic literature connection! Alina Zagitova, who won gold, skated to the ballet based on Don Quixote, by composer Leon Minkus. Evgenia Medvedeva came in a very close second place with her performance to the Anna Karenina soundtrack by Dario Marianelli. [Marianelli is more famous for his Pride & Prejudice (2005) score.]
There were other skaters with bookish programs, too – Cinderella and The Phantom of the Opera, to name a couple. Needless to say, classic lit was well represented at the Olympics. 🙂
Though not from a classic book, this program was one I wanted to share. It’s Kaori Sakamoto, skating to music from the French movie Amélie. I haven’t watched it, but it’s lovely to see the creative and whimsical story she’s telling through her skating. This is from an earlier competition (YouTube is pretty strict about Olympics clips):
Classics Considered 
The only reason I paid any attention to the Olympics was to see how Evgenia did. I saw YouTube recordings of her a few months back and knew she was someone to watch.
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It's always exciting (and a bit of a relief) to see talent rewarded! There were a few competitions this Olympics that left me confused. I just have to trust the judges see a lot more than the general audience can…
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