Navka's Holocaust-themed ice dance has sparked fierce controversy. Foreign media criticized Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky for their dance dedicated to the Holocaust Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky dance “Life is Beautiful” video

Heated discussions on social networks about the performance on the ice of Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky do not subside, and in recent days they have crossed the borders of Russia. Posts about this collected thousands (!) of comments (as, for example, on the Facebook page of the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova).

World media, including CNN, BBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, published materials and reports about the dance to the music from the film “Life is Beautiful” (La vita è bella).

And this already looks like some kind of artificially whipped up hysteria, and about an issue that clearly does not involve such large-scale online debates, RIA Novosti believes.

Last Saturday, Tatyana and Andrey performed a number in the “Ice Age” program (Channel One) in the image of concentration camp prisoners - in striped robes with a Star of David on the chest.

The theme of the competition that day was famous movies. The couple, together with coach Ilya Averbukh, chose the song “Beautiful That Way” from Roberto Benigni’s tragicomedy “Life is Beautiful” for their performance. In the dance number, the prisoner parents pretend to play a “wonderful life” for their child in order to protect him from the horrors of the concentration camp and not let him realize what a terrible reality they are all in.

But can you imagine what the viewer thinks if he doesn’t know that the performance is based on “Life is Beautiful” (the film, by the way, won three Oscars, the Cannes Grand Prize and many other awards)?

Tatyana and Andrey cheerfully dance, play, almost fool around on the ice - they show the child a “wonderful life.”

And at the same time, there are bars all around, a blinding spotlight, a camp metal mesh; Security shepherd dogs bark, machine gun fire is heard. The main character dies. The hall at the end of the room froze - ringing silence.

Channel One video

But excerpts from videos of actors dancing merrily in uniforms with yellow stars and screenshots of smiling skaters against the backdrop of six-point ratings have spread across the Internet. How will social network users react to this when scrolling through their news feed? If you don’t delve into it for a long time, focus on catchy headlines without seeing the whole dance, then yes, a carefree dance in a concentration camp is strange.

And the headlines in recent days have been something like this:

The Guardian: "Holocaust on Ice" performed by the wife of a Putin official causes outrage."

The New York Times: “Russian controversy over Holocaust ice program:

Tatyana Navka, the wife of the press secretary of the Russian president, and her partner Andrei Burkovsky appeared in Ice Age dressed in striped robes with yellow stars.

Daily Mai: “Skating on thin ice. The wife of Vladimir Putin's press secretary is causing outrage at a Holocaust-themed program on a Russian dance show."

BBC: The wife of Putin's press secretary is being scolded for a number about the Holocaust.

Everywhere, in addition to the topic of the Holocaust, there is a mention of the wife of the press secretary of the Russian president. This, in fact, is the main topic for inciting a scandal. The words “outrage... Holocaust... scandal... wife of the press secretary... Vladimir Putin” stand expressively next to each other - a clickable combination, the reader/viewer will definitely react.

Dance director, coach and producer Ilya Averbukh was outraged by the negative reaction and criticism of the Western media:

“It’s crazy that this can be discussed at all. It’s wild in everything - in the presentation, in the hysteria, in the lack of professionalism that can be seen in articles from foreign media,” says Averbukh.

By the way, Ilya Averbukh also staged “Funeral Prayer” - the Olympic program of Yulia Lipnitskaya to music from “Schindler’s List”. The 15-year-old figure skater then became the champion in team competitions, and the director of the film, Steven Spielberg, then sent Julia a letter of praise.

Tatyana Navka also danced a number based on the same film in 2013.

The presenter of “Ice Age” Marat Basharov then cheerfully, like a circus entertainer, announced: “Tatiana Navka and Vadim Kolganov are on Schindler’s list!” And - nothing, there were no loud headlines or hype on the topic on social networks.

It’s just that at that time the Olympic champion was not the wife of the press secretary of the Russian president - that is, there seemed to be no news feed for an international scandal.

The theme of the Holocaust is now reflected in new genres, forms and subjects, they are beginning to talk about it in a different way - not only in the language of documentary chronicles and showing terrible footage from concentration camps.

The plot of “Life is Beautiful” echoes, for example, the plot of the film “Toyland” (2009, Oscar for best short film): a German Frau tells her child that his friend David is not going to a concentration camp, but to a certain “country” toys." Only now Henry decided to go on a “fairytale journey” after David.

Among the notable films that have been awarded various prizes, one way or another related to the theme of the Holocaust are “Gold-Rimmed Glasses”, “Sophie’s Choice”, “Süskind”, “In the Labyrinth of Silence”, as well as the Russian film “Shoes” directed by Konstantin Fama.

The film “Shoes” received more than 10 international prizes, including at the Jewish Festival in San Diego, and was nominated by Russia for the Oscar in 2012.

It's not even a filmed dance. In the novella, the main “heroine” is shoes, women’s shoes. There are no faces visible in the frame, no dialogue, only music.

This year, the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theater presented the opera “The Passenger” by Moses Weinberg based on the autobiographical play by Zofia Posmysz - about the fate of prisoners of Auschwitz.

And in St. Petersburg in 2015 at the Academic Ballet Theater. Jacobson staged the one-act play “Stone Coast”:

Surely there would be no stylistic and ideological complaints about the performances “Stone Coast” and “Passenger” such as “everything is for sale”, “how did it go” and “TV shows in camp robes is a shame” (and similar comments about the dance from “ There are a lot of Ice Ages now). In these and other works devoted to the theme of war and suffering, the presentation is most often familiar.

The number for “Ice Age” really stands out from the traditional style of staging such stories.

Much of the dance is about the feelings of a man and woman loving and protecting each other and their child.

All around is beauty unusual for the Holocaust theme: bright lighting, glitter, flowers. Of course, the style is completely different from Benigni’s film, but this is at least a different reality - television, and different technical capabilities, a different time (the tragicomedy “Life is Beautiful” was filmed almost 20 years ago).

Of course, using the latest television capabilities, it was possible to make a tragic, mournful number - as usual. But the plot of the film “Life is Beautiful” is quite unusual: illusory beauty, a great deception for salvation, an attempt to create a wonderful world for his son in the darkness of a concentration camp.

Tatyana and Andrey often smiled while dancing for an imaginary child, their cheerful movements sometimes seemed unnatural - and this is a game quite adequate to the plot: is it possible to easily portray joy when there is horror all around? If it were just a number about a happy family, then, of course, the emotions would probably be different, not so deliberate.

And that's all - to the sweet composition Beautiful That Way by Israeli singer Noa. Her video is subtle, gentle, seemingly carefree: the singer runs and plays with a little boy, all this alternates with footage from the film, including in a concentration camp - which, however, does not outrage anyone, does not offend anyone’s feelings.

It’s still surprising that a work created not for aesthetes, but for the mass audience of a popular TV show, caused so much controversy both in Russia and abroad. But this is also a search for new artistic forms - that’s how it turns out.

And it’s completely normal that someone doesn’t like it, someone finds it unacceptable, and we can discuss “Holocaust on Ice” for a long time from the standpoint of style and art. But why such hysterics?

Published 11/29/16 10:29

The performance of Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky in the show “Ice Age” with a number about the Holocaust caused a mixed reaction in society and the media. Peskov expressed pride in his wife who danced in the clothes of a concentration camp prisoner. And Averbukh accused the Western media of inciting hysteria around Navka’s dance.

Navka was surprised by the media reaction to the dance about the Holocaust

Olympic champion Tatyana Navka commented on the controversial reaction to her ice dance performance with actor Andrei Burkovsky, writes MK.

Earlier, as Topnews wrote, Western media criticized Navka and Burkovsky, who danced in prison clothes. However, the dance was based on Roberto Benigni’s tragicomedy “Life is Beautiful” about the Holocaust.

Navka said she was surprised by the strange reaction of the media. She suggested that the critics did not see the picture, the music from which was used in the issue intkbbee about prisoners of Auschwitz.

Navka and Burkovsky. Speech on the Holocaust. VIDEO

Figure skater Tatyana Navka and actor Andrei Burkovsky performed an ice dance dedicated to the Holocaust in the Ice Age show on Channel One. The athletes took to the ice dressed as Jewish prisoners of a concentration camp during World War II and danced to the song “Beautiful That Way” from the famous Italian film “Life is Beautiful.”
“Be sure to check it out! Based on one of my favorite films, Life is Beautiful! — Tatyana Navka wrote on on your Instagram page. “Show this film to your children, for sure. Our children must know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know!” - she emphasized.

Peskov commented on the performance of Navka and Burkovsky

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov commented on the performance of his wife Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky in the image of Auschwitz prisoners, RT reports.

“I don’t think this is an issue that somehow concerns the Kremlin. Due to my work, I am significantly limited in my ability to comment on this. I’m proud of my wife, that’s what I can say,” Peskov said in response to a request to comment on the reaction of the world media to the speech of Navka and Burkovsky.

The Jewish community approved Navka's scandalous dance about the Holocaust, but the chief rabbi of Moscow expressed doubts

There is nothing offensive in the performance of Tatyana Navka and Andrei Burkovsky with a number about the Holocaust on the television show “Ice Age,” Mark Grubarg, chairman of the Jewish community of St. Petersburg, told Baltika FM.

According to him, some bloggers and journalists artificially “inflated the story” on the topic of insulting feelings after watching the ice show. The speech of Navka and Burkovsky gave another reason to remember the Holocaust and comprehend the lessons of the past, the head of the community is sure.

“Many people are outraged that they are trying to talk about the Holocaust in the language of the show. But many wonderful films are devoted to the topic of the Holocaust. Why is a film possible, but a show is not? Is it worth labeling any genre?” Grubarg was indignant.

All works of art, without mockery and deliberate humiliation of a particular community, have the right to exist, says the chairman of the Jewish community. In his opinion, whether Navka and Burkovsky’s show meets the criteria of good taste will become clear after some time.

As the organization explained, the scandalous dance was conceived as a work about love, faith and victory over difficult reality. “And I advise everyone who is concerned about insulting Jews to come to the synagogue to engage in a serious study of Judaism and the history of the Holocaust,” Grubarg added.

In turn, the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, President of the Council of Rabbis of Europe Pinchas Goldschmidt did not approve of the performance of the wife of press secretary Dmitry Peskov in the show “Ice Age” in the image of an Auschwitz prisoner.

In his opinion, Tatyana Navka and her dance partner Andrei Burkovsky should have consulted with the relatives of Nazi concentration camp prisoners before staging a dance about the Holocaust.

“Many people liked it, but many were offended by the dance. The Holocaust and everything connected with it is too big a wound. She won't live for a long time. There are almost no Jewish families in which none of the ancestors suffered from Nazism or wore yellow stars, like on the costumes of figure skaters,” TASS quotes the rabbi.

According to Goldschmidt, the creators of the dance number needed to take care of the feelings of the victims' family members and consult with them in advance. The Chief Rabbi of Moscow expressed the hope that the directors wanted to convey the will to live and the best hopes of the concentration camp prisoners.

“Probably, the intentions were good, but every nation has its own pain, and we must try not to touch a nerve. I wouldn’t like to see anti-Semitism here,” Goldschmidt said.

Ilya Averbukh accused Western media of inciting hysteria: they confused Navka with Tatmyanina

Meanwhile, figure skater and producer Ilya Averbukh called it savagery how foreign media reported news about the dance of Tatyana Navka and actor Andrei Burkovsky in the images of Auschwitz prisoners in the show “Ice Age,” writes Lenta.ru.

“It’s crazy that this can be discussed at all. The savagery is in everything - in the presentation, in the hysteria, in the lack of professionalism that can be seen in the articles of foreign media,” says Averbukh.

As an example, he cited an article in the British Daily Mail, which confused Navka with another Olympic figure skating champion, Tatyana Totmyanina. In the published photo, Totmyanina stands next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the caption to the photo talks about Navka. Averbukh called it a “big blunder.”

From a conversation on Facebook:

“The theme of the program - foreign cinema - and the tasks facing the ice dance directors are absolutely clear. Averbukh, to the best of his abilities, made an unsuccessful attempt to recreate the theme of a very subtle and undoubtedly talented film. I will try to explain why it was unsuccessful. Any replica from a brilliant work of art - this is a slippery and dangerous path. Because it is almost impossible to try to “outdo” a genius. There are no such examples in the history of art. However, works aimed in advance at “imitation” of a genius author exist. And no less brilliant. Only one thing must be observed condition - change of genre. Classic/expressionism, post-classicism/modern, modern/pop art, etc... And here the laws of artistic ethics come into play, which inextricably accompany any aesthetic work that is offered to the attention of the public. There is a range of topics that, by default, according to the established laws of ethics (I’m talking about our modern times, perhaps in two hundred years they will be adjusted, even most likely!) are impossible for such “exercises”. These are, for example, scenes of extreme cruelty - dismemberment, scenes of sexual violence, images of child nudity with sexual overtones, images of mockery of physical disabilities, etc. This does not mean that the same topics cannot be covered in creativity in the form of allegories or associations that do not directly relate to the topic!

The topic of genocide is not an absolute taboo, but the Holocaust has its own framework for depiction and interpretation. Why? Because any genocide is a consequence not only of the mass extermination of people, but also a consequence of the mass participation of people in this extermination. Television is a mass media that not only entertains, but also shapes the tastes, preferences and worldview of TV viewers, educating them in a certain way. There is a whole science on this subject - about the impact of audio-visual information sources on the worldview. Therefore, how the topic of the Holocaust is presented on screen must be strictly subject to the author's internal censorship (or editorial censorship) and the relevant legislative acts relating to this. This is exactly how things are in civilized countries.
In the case of Averbukh, many of the above traditions were violated: inappropriateness, objective depiction of images of prisoners in a non-stereotypical (non-standard) form, separation from the proportion of the image of the tragedy, which was observed in the original (film), bad taste in the image/production and unscrupulous use of obviously advantageous themes with for the purpose of receiving personal dividends. All this is in no way consistent with the traditional use of the Holocaust theme either in art or in sports (!) (The way the theme was used in Lipnitskaya’s Olympic performance, where exactly an allegory was used - similar to the one that Steven Spielberg used in his film, but not less talented!). The educational moment, the goal that is traditionally pursued in depicting the Holocaust, was absent, and any other goal is an outrage on the topic."

This is the art critic’s detailed answer.

Whether you argue or not, you still can’t find such words.

The famous figure skater Tatyana Navka, the wife of Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, performed a dance about the love of prisoners of a Nazi concentration camp as part of the Ice Age show on Channel One. Tatyana staged a number together with comedian Andrei Burkovsky.

The dance was based on the Oscar-winning film “Life is Beautiful” by Roberto Benigni, which tells about the life of an Italian Jew, a prisoner of Auschwitz. Tatyana Navka wrote on her Instagram that “our children should know and remember that terrible time.”

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The performance caused a wave of indignation on the Internet; Russian and foreign media reacted sharply to the scandalous number. “You've gone crazy! Smiles in robes with yellow stars! A hall exploding with applause... No taste, no tact, no understanding... Incompetent direction,” writes an angry viewer (Spelling and punctuation hereinafter are the author’s. - Note edit.). Tatyana’s subscribers started a serious argument, and the majority was inclined to believe that “such a performance has no place on television.”

President of the Holocaust Foundation Alla Gerber tried to cool down the critics on the radio “Moscow Speaks” and said that the number should not be perceived so unambiguously. “The topic is so painful, so bloody, how should we address it, what are the criteria? This, first of all, it seems to me, should not be mockery, it should not be irony, it should not be a wry smile.”

Tatyana Navka was surprised by the criticism and commented to Life.ru: “I am surprised, of course, by the reaction. People probably haven’t watched this wonderful film “Life is Beautiful,” which won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and received three Oscars. Honestly, I have nothing to say. This is not the first time that the theme of war has been raised in our project; personally, this is not the first time I have performed a performance in the clothes of concentration camp prisoners. This is our creativity, and before it somehow did not cause any reaction in the world. And that means we make people think.”

The head coach and producer of the Ice Age show, Ilya Averbukh, also spoke about the show: “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.”

Viewers were divided in their assessments of her performance

A heated discussion over the past weekend was caused by the number shown on November 26 in the TV show “Ice Age” by the wife of press secretary Tatyana Navka and her partner Andrei Burkovsky. In the performance, its participants embodied the images of concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust.

The public’s reception of Navka and Burkovsky’s speech was diametrically opposed: some accused them of “mockery” over the memory of the victims, while others pointed out that the topic of the Holocaust deserves similar reflection. At the same time, a number of viewers judged only by photographs in which Navka and Burkovsky were captured in “camp robes.”

Foreign publications, in particular the Daily Mail, drew attention to the situation.

The author of the issue, Ilya Averbukh, explained to Komsomolskaya Pravda the reasons for the “joy” of the performers: according to him, the next episode of the show was dedicated to the theme of world cinema, and therefore the plot of Roberto Benigni’s film “Life is Beautiful” was embodied on ice. His characters - a Jewish family who ended up in a concentration camp - imitate the atmosphere of the game for their son so that he hides and does not get noticed by the guards. At the end of the film, the concentration camp is liberated by American troops, but the head of the family dies from a Nazi bullet.

According to Averbukh, such a plot and its embodiment on ice make one feel the tragedy of the Holocaust even more strongly.

It should be noted that the President of the Holocaust Foundation, Alla Gerber, also, unlike the Internet audience, refrained from criticizing the plot. She stated that although there should be no irony when covering the Holocaust, a smile is acceptable, since even in concentration camps people continued to live and love.

And here is a comment on the story on the Internet from one of the viewers: “You have gone crazy! Smiles in robes with yellow stars! The hall exploding with applause... No taste, no tact, no understanding.”

Navka herself, according to her, put a very specific meaning into the number. “Our children must know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know!” - she wrote on her Instagram.