I said stand up faster!
Catch it! Catch it!
Moscow is home to the world’s oldest
and most illustrious gymnastics schools.
But, for the ‘Pirouette Club’, founded only eight years ago,
it’s been a struggle just to compete.
What is this?
I just don’t understand!
Its core team of seven girls
have never made the podium in regional competition.
And the frustration is starting to show.
Why are you crying?
Are you feeling sorry for yourself?
When you drop an apparatus or do badly,
then you start crying and the coach gets very upset.
I get upset and sometimes even angry.
It’s not the nicest feeling.
Feel your knee pointing to the floor, knee to the floor.
Think!
They have to constantly keep motivated
to achieve their maximum performance and to make sure
they get a respectable result at the competition.
But if anyone can help break this team’s losing streak,
it’s Olympic Champion Margarita Mamun.
Rita gained the highest-ever score in a Rhythmic Gymnastics
Olympic Final, with her unparalleled combination
of athleticism and faultless artistry.
With seven world titles, there’s no-one better qualified
to know what it takes to achieve perfection
in Rhythmic Gymnastics.
Being a coach is totally different to being a gymnast.
As a coach I try to be as calm and patient as I can,
that’s so important.
It demands everything, you need to really love it.
You have to be passionate about it to reach the top.
At the Pirouette school, lead trainer Anastasia Juditskaya
gathers the team together for what the girls
think is just a normal training session.
Rita!
Hi!
These are our girls!
Hi girls, I hope it was a surprise for you?
I’ve come to help you get ready for the big competition
you have at the end of this week.
I hope I will be able to give you some tips to help you.
There’s a lot to do so let’s get going!
For the big competition, the girls will all perform
their individual routines and the cumulative scores
will determine Pirouette’s position against
their rivals from the whole of Russia.
This is Rita’s first chance
to see the girls’ performances up close.
Why did you let the clubs go? Why did you rush?
Why didn’t you release the club? That will cost you marks.
Watch the hoop, hold it.
No.
What kind of catching is that?
When the hoop is flying you need to catch it neatly
with straight arms.
This sort of catch is not acceptable, understand?
Try to throw it again. Now with straight arms, try it.
Catch the hoop cleanly with your palms.
Come on, catch it.
That’s it. Well done.
And the girls’ new coach is not pulling any punches.
The ball has to jump back and reach here.
But when you do it, the ball stays here.
And up. Down and up.
Do a small plié, a small one. Just a little bit.
Marta, at 14 is the oldest member of the team
and Rita needs her to set an example
for her younger team-mates.
The rope needs to go higher.
You need to go down and up.
Try it.
Down and up, that’s it.
To the point, to the point. Well done.
Before you go to sleep,
practise your routines in your head.
Do your routines in your head,
one minute and 30 seconds,
no distractions, and don’t fall asleep before that!
Don’t fall asleep in the middle of the routine.
This helps build your concentration.
There is a lot of work to be done
in such a short period of time.
I hope at least some things stayed in their heads
from today, because there was a lot of information.
I told them to write it all down. That’s very important.
Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
She is a legendary gymnast.
I’m so glad that I have the chance to work with her.
And that the training was so inspiring.
Margarita Mamun and I have a similar story.
We both started as figure skaters
and moved to rhythmic gymnastics.
People often tell me that I look like her.
She was also told that she had started too late
and would never succeed as a gymnast.
But she was determined to succeed and proved them wrong
by becoming Olympic Champion.
In this club it feels like a real team and this is
what I love the most about it.
It’s a great team. We’re all very close, it’s like a family
and this makes me really happy.
In competition after competition, the Pirouette team
has failed to reach the podium and Rita is determined
to find out what is holding them back.
While you are stretching, think about one word that
describes something that holds you back during
your competitions.
Are you ready? Please begin.
Accuracy.
- And you? - Sometimes I worry too much.
OK, nerves. What about you?
- I get nervous too. - Nerves.
Nervous as well. You have nerves too.
- Emotional. - Emotional.
Nerves.
Do you have the same? Nervous and emotional?
OK, almost everyone has the same.
Your fear of making mistakes makes you feel nervous.
That’s why you should try the following things to avoid
the mistakes in the first place. Physical-conditioning,
visualisation, and learning to remove negative
thoughts from your mind.
Change your position slowly and carefully.
Girls, why are you stretching like this?
You’re better not stretching at all.
It’s better to spend a minute doing a perfect
side split than waste five minutes doing it badly.
Aim at quality rather than quantity.
Do it right the first time so you won’t have
to fix it in the future.
I’m giving them a lot of information
and it’s difficult for them to process it,
analyse it and practise it
over such a short time.
But it is also difficult
because our sport is very demanding
and requires a lot of time for practising.
We don’t have enough time.
One of the club’s main hopes for success
is 11-year-old Anna-Sofi.
To succeed, you need to be very determined
and you need to want it.
And if you’re not fully committed then there’s really
no point in training.
The difficulty for me is that I’m rarely happy
with my performance.
When I watch it back I have to turn it off
as I can’t bear to see all the mistakes I’ve made.
I know what I’m capable of doing — I have so much energy,
I just want to get out there and rock the floor.
With just a few days before the big competition,
can Rita find those improvements to finally lift
Pirouette from the bottom of the leader-board
to a podium position?
Look girls, I say it again, yesterday for example, a hoop,
somebody had this element.
This one. To the back.
Raise a leg and then throw.
If you do it and your leg is relaxed like this
then your hoop will be loose and will roll away.
You need to do a strong roll with your arm straight.
Only then will it work.
You must put power into every element.
OK?
Understand? No matter how you catch it,
the rope must not be a mess.
If you see both ends, pull them and it should
make the rope straight.
Stand up faster.
Stand up faster! And again. No.
No, why do you bend your back leg? Don’t bend it.
Rita has helped me with my Chaine turns
and made my overall movements much better.
Since she arrived
my performance has really improved.
OK girls, I want to show you
this special exercise to help you focus
before a big competition.
For example, there could be ten gymnasts ahead of me
and I’m just doing the splits to rest before my turn.
So I’m sitting there and I press my fingers together
like this, and I give myself a task to work through
all the fingers and return to the index finger.
For example, index finger, thumb, index, middle,
index, ring finger, index, and pinky finger.
You distract yourself this way,
which is better than chatting
with somebody.
You focus on yourself, your own mind, your own body.
OK?
Today is our last training session.
Everyone will be walking out,
just as you do at the competition
just as if spectators and judges
were sitting in front of you.
Like you are at the competition already!
Rita is using this final opportunity to assess
the girls’ individual performances.
First up, it’s Pirouette’s nine-year-old twins, Polina
How can she do a turn like that?
...And Kseniia.
Every step should be with pointed toes.
But you think that because it is a dancing sequence then
you can step into it with a foot like this?
Next up, Anna-Sofi.
Catch it, catch it!
You see, I catch it from the top like this,
regardless of how it’s travelling.
It shouldn’t be flying like this.
I’m not catching it here, I’m waiting and it moves,
it’s constantly spinning.
That’s it, no, with your palms.
But former dancer, 13-year-old Anna, is still struggling
with her routine and Rita is feeling the frustration too.
Oh, dear. What shall we do now?
As soon as we do a rehearsal, everything falls apart.
All of the mistakes come out.
For the Pirouette team, the time to turn it around
has almost run out.
The most important day for you is tomorrow.
Don’t do it bigger or brighter.
Just perform the way we have worked during
this week’s training.
I see that the girls are trying and that they’ve made progress
in many areas.
It’s quite a difficult and nervous moment because
when they perform I won’t be able to tell them about
their feet, their legs or positioning.
I will need to be completely quiet.
That’s why it’s so difficult because when I let them go
there’s nothing more I can do.
The day of the Autumn Cup has finally arrived.
Nearly 600 gymnasts are representing 34 clubs
from all over Russia.
In countless attempts before, the Pirouette girls have failed
to even make the top ten.
Can they really reach the podium this time?
Girls, you’ve been working hard the whole week,
and I know that I can be quite demanding!
Today I want you to remain super calm and super motivated.
I hope that everything goes well!
The first group to perform,
is the ‘Under 11’ classification.
For Alexia, this will be the most important 90 seconds
of her gymnastics career.
Calmly breathe out, raise to demi-pointe.
Your legs should be strong, like this.
All week Rita has worked with Alexia to improve
her concentration during performances and make
sure she maintains her accuracy of movement.
Strong legs
And at last, she is executing her programme to the standard
Rita knew she was capable of.
Well done. Lower your foot, you’re standing.
Well done! Well done! Good girl.
And you pointed your legs too. Well done.
Good performances from the team’s twins, Polina
...and Kseniia, give Pirouette the chance for their best ever
competition score.
Competing in the senior category for Pirouette is Anna,
but she’s feeling the pressure.
Catch the ball!
What’s the matter? You’re not concentrating!
And at this level, the competition is unforgiving.
Chances are running out for Pirouette.
Can team leader Marta keep their podium place hopes alive?
Do everything slowly and for yourself.
Well done!
Catch it!
Marta has struggled with her catching
and release of the rope all week.
Under the pressure of competition,
mistakes begin to creep into her programme.
Keep it neat!
It’s already ended.
Marta’s disappointment is clear,
but Rita is there to support her as best she can.
When it’s not working in training,
it won’t magically work
in the competition. You know that.
I know you’re disappointed, but don’t stop trying.
Go back and practise and correct the mistakes.
Pirouette’s struggles in the senior category mean
their hopes of a podium position are slim.
In team competition, it’s hard to know the teams’ positions
until the very end.
In the final group their rivals are already impressing
and with only Anna-Sofi to take the floor,
it will need nothing short of a gold medal performance
to get her team back into the top three.
Strong arms, strong arms. Straight arms, that’s right.
Strong legs, and balance! That’s right.
Everyone knows it’s down to Anna-Sofi to deliver
the performance of her life.
And the 11-year-old is rising to the challenge.
Precision and passion in every movement.
Fifth position. Well done!
Catch it!
Focus!
Well done!
Catch it!
Well done!
Her team-mates know it and so do the judges.
Anna-Sofi has given the performance
of her young gymnastics career.
But will it make the difference?
A happy person! And you even managed the last throw.
Well done! And are you happy?
You did it for yourself, not just for the competition!
Of course the girls made some mistakes,
which means it’s going to be very close.
But I hope Anna-Sofi’s routine will be just enough to get them
on the podium for the first time.
As the judges add up the final scores, backstage,
the girls try to control their nerves.
The team could not have given more,
but only a first place for Anna-Sofi
will get Pirouette onto the podium.
Has she done enough?
First place goes to Anna-Sofi!
Congratulations! Well done!
A fantastic first place for Anna-Sofi.
Pirouette has achieved their dream.
A true team performance and a week none of them
will ever forget.
Girls, well done for everything you’ve achieved this week.
I’ve loved working with all of you and you’ve made
so much progress. You’re all very talented.
OK?! Hugs!
It’s been wonderful and a great experience
for both me and the girls.
I hope my advice has helped
and I only want good things for them!