Early career
Ilya Averbukh was born in Moscow in 1973. He studied at the capital's State Academy of Physical Education. He began to get involved in sports as a child. His first mentor was Honored Trainer of Russia Zhanna Gromova.
When he decided on his specialization in figure skating, two-time winners of the World Figure Skating Championship Natalya Linchuk and Gennady Karponosov began working with him.
His first partner was Marina Anisina, who later began playing for the French national team.
Together with her, Ilya Averbukh went to the first serious competition in his career - the world junior championship in 1990. They took place in Colorado Springs, America.
Soviet figure skaters dominated the ice dance scene, taking the top two steps of the podium. Canadian pair Marie-France Dubrel and Bruno Ivars won bronze. Elena Kustarova and Sergei Romashkin took second place, Ilya Averbukh and Marina Anisina became winners.
Show Business
In 2004, he presented the “Ice Symphony” show, unique in its concept, in which figure skating stars take part. Two years later, the next show was presented to the public - “Stars on Ice”. Not only figure skaters, but also actors and singers are already taking part in it.
In 2010, based on the popular cartoon “Winx Club,” Averbukh created an interpretation of “Winx on Ice” and on October 14 of the same year he presented the musical “City Lights” to the general public, with which he toured the country for some time.
In December 2014, Ilya presented two productions for the new year 2015, and at the beginning of the same 2014 he produced the next season of the Professional Cup project.
Repeat success
In 1991, at the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Averbukh and Anisina performed poorly, finishing only in fourth place. They were surpassed by the Soviet pairs Kustarova and Romashkin (they got bronze this time), the French Marina Morel and her partner Gwendal Peizerat, who won silver. Another pair of figure skaters from the USSR, Aliki Stergiadou and Yuri Razgulyaev, won.
But in 1992, at the junior world championship in Hull, Canada, Averbukh and Anisina again found themselves at the top of Olympus. They had no equal in ice dancing. Second again was the Soviet pair of figure skaters - this time Yaroslava Nechaeva and Yuri Chesnichenko, bronze for the hosts - Amelie Dion and Alexandra Elaine.
Love and sport
In 1992, drastic changes occurred in Averbukh’s career. He fell in love with Irina Lobacheva, with whom he studied in the same group, but she skated with a different partner. They began dating, and soon performed together.
The defining year in the lives of the newlyweds was 1995, when they got married and moved to the United States. In America they trained for 7 years.
Biography and personal life of Ilya Averbukh
The biography and personal life of Ilya Averbukh are inextricably linked with ice. This talented man began his life’s journey in Moscow on December 18, 1973. Averbukh owes his success to his parents, who were fans of figure skating and firmly decided that their son should become a figure skater. At the same time, Ilya himself was initially, to put it mildly, not enthusiastic about this idea. However, already the first coaches saw enormous potential in the boy. He achieved his first victory at prestigious competitions at the age of 7. In adolescence, Averbukh is transferred to pair skating due to a sharp increase in growth.
Averbukh's first partner was Marina Anisina. Together with her, he twice won the title of junior champion. But later, due to the obstinate nature of his partner, he was forced to break up with her. Ilya’s second partner was Irina Lobacheva. It is worth noting here that she also became the skater’s life partner. After 3 years, the couple got married, although after a while the marriage broke up, but Ilya is raising his son Martin.
The 90s forced many athletes to emigrate. Averbukh and Lobacheva were no exception. They went to America, where they continued training, which yielded results - Ilya and Irina are repeated champions of the Russian Federation, silver medalists of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2002, at the peak of their sporting success, the couple announced their decision to end their professional career. It remains a mystery what prompted this decision, but Averbukh and Lobacheva really left the big sport and then performed only as amateurs.
In 2002, Averbukh tried himself as a TV presenter and commentator. Even then, he was hatching the idea of creating a big project for “former” figure skating stars. This is how his ice show was born, which attracts full houses across the country. Having gathered a team of professionals around him, Averbukh, who was a former professional athlete, puts on musicals that sell out in all cities of Russia, and millions of viewers across the country watch with bated breath the progress of events in the television projects on which Averbukh works. “Stars on Ice”, “Ice and Fire”, aired on central television, these shows had enormous ratings, which certainly flattered Ilya and gave him an incentive to move forward. After receiving a TEFI statuette (2008), he conceives a similar children's show and in 2020 the Ice Age television project comes out. Children".
Between 2008 and 2020, Averbukh became the author of several more high-profile projects that attracted massive public attention. So in 2010 the world saw the musical “City Lights”. In 2014, Averbukh was one of the directors of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi. Immediately after this, the ice show “Carmen” thundered throughout the country, which literally “blew up” Sochi, and then became a success throughout Russia. The last bright event in Ilya’s life was the premiere of the ice performance “Romeo and Juliet”, in which he invited his closest friends to participate. The main roles in the project were played by Olympic champions: Yagudin, Tatmyanina, Marinina, Kostomarov, Volosozhar, Trankov. This project is truly amazing with its pomp and decoration. More than 100 people worked on the creation of the costumes alone; the total number of members of the creative group exceeds one and a half hundred. The performance features 22 international-class athletes, ballet dancers, musicians and vocalists. However, experts are confident that this is far from being Averbukh’s last project; he will be able to surprise the audience, already tempted by his own talent, more than once.
First performance at the Olympics
In 1998, the couple made their Olympic debut in ice dancing. The competition took place in Nagano, Japan.
Figure skater Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva took 5th place after the compulsory program. The same results were shown in original and free dances. As a result, the couple took fifth place.
The Russians Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov won. Marina Anisina, who previously competed with Averbukh, won a bronze medal paired with Gwendel Peyser under the French flag.
Anisina and Lobacheva
After Zhanna Gromova, the famous figure skater and coach Natalya Linichuk became Averbukh’s coach. In 1989, he became one of the members of the Russian national team. Over the next three years, his biography in sports was decorated with victory: skating with Marina Anisina in the junior league, figure skater Ilya Averbukh became a two-time world champion. Everyone was sure that the Anisina-Averbukh couple would have a great future. But why, with such magnificent prospects, did this couple break up? There were frequent quarrels between the partners, and Natalya Linichuk decided to separate.
When 1992 came, Ilya Averbukh, whose photo often appears on the pages of various publications, became paired with figure skater Irina Lobacheva (and he had known her since childhood). And now he looked at her completely differently. Three years later they moved to the United States of America. There they lived and trained until the Olympics, which took place in 2000.
Victory at the World Championship
In 2002, Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbukh once again set out to conquer the Olympic peak. By this time they had already won the Russian Championship 4 times.
But they had to skip the season leading up to the Olympics. Lobacheva received a knee injury, due to which they did not compete at any stage of the World Grand Prix. Despite this, they were able to properly prepare for the 2002 season.
In March, the world championship took place in Nagano, Japan. Lobacheva and Averbukh left no chance for their competitors. In all programs, the judges invariably gave them first places. As a result, for the first time in their careers they became winners of the world championship in ice dancing.
It is worth noting that there were only two Russian couples in this type of program. Tatyana Navka, together with Roman Kostomarov, took only 8th place. Canadians She-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz took second, and Israelis Galit Hayt and Sergei Sakhnovsky took bronze.
Olympic silver medalist, figure skater and choreographer Ilya Averbukh spoke about his shows and his relationship with his son Martin.
Ilya Averbukh celebrated his 45th birthday on December 18, and is also preparing to celebrate 15 years since the premiere of his first ice show. And the New Year's Eve, as usual, is the busiest time for him - ahead of him is the premiere of the updated play "The Nutcracker" and, of course, many creative plans for the next year.
“My team and I have raised this genre so much, made it so popular both in Moscow and in other Russian cities, that over the past few years, ideas for ice shows have also appeared among my colleagues. The genre is in demand. Especially now, during the New Year holidays. I don’t see any decline in audience interest in such performances yet,” the skater notes.
In the spring, Averbukh and his team are going to widely celebrate the 15th anniversary of his creative activity by staging a large gala show in Moscow. “I tried to count at least the approximate number of projects that were implemented. And you know, sometimes you don’t believe that all this was created by your own hands. I have a certain satisfaction from the successes and goals that have already been achieved. I hope that I still have enough strength for some new projects,” says the choreographer. Averbukh dreams of his team having a roof over their heads, a house where they could rehearse and show their performances.
According to Ilya, for now he has concentrated all his energy on work. Even now he communicates very closely and a lot with his son Martin. “We spend a lot of time together, we live together - in general, I feel like a serious father. Thanks to Martin, there is a sense of family in my life,” admits Averbukh.
Ilya Averbukh with his son Martin
Martin is still studying, he is 14 years old. “Like many teenagers, he is tossed from one dream to another. Now he is interested in skateboarding and spends a lot of time on the board, training, and learning new tricks. I like his hobby. Martin dreams of being on the Russian team that will go to the Olympic Games - after all, skateboarding is included in the program. I see fighting qualities in him. This is probably not surprising, because he was born into the family of two world champions. There is an example before his eyes,” notes Averbukh in an interview with OK!
Martin doesn't skate and doesn't even like figure skating. “Lately I’ve at least started to take an interest in what I’m doing. “Before that, I didn’t watch my ice shows at all,” says the choreographer. “Martin’s favorite performance at the moment is “Romeo and Juliet,” which especially stands out to him. He is also going to watch The Nutcracker. I hope he will be pleased. “I tried to make this performance as dynamic and interesting as possible for audiences of all ages.”
Ilya Averbukh with his son Martin
Let us remember that in 1995 Ilya Averbukh married his partner on the ice and in life, Irina Lobacheva, and went to train with her in America. Having won Olympic silver in 2002, the couple ended their sports careers, and two years later their baby Martin was born.
Unfortunately, the birth of a son could not cement the marriage, which over time began to burst at the seams. Irina was not satisfied with her husband’s constant travel; in addition, she began to hear rumors about his infidelities. In 2007, Averbukh was suspected of having an affair with Alisa Grebenshchikova, which put an end to their family life with Lobacheva.
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Olympic Games in Salt Lake City
The couple arrived at the Olympics in the USA as one of the favorites. Averbukh Ilya Izyaslavich was seriously counting on a medal of highest dignity in ice dancing. But this time the competition was much higher.
According to the results of the mandatory program, the couple became second, losing to Averbukh’s former partner Anisina and Peyser, who played for the French national team. It was not possible to make up the gap in the original and free dances.
The Russians came second, the French won the Olympics. Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and her partner Maurizio Margaglio took bronze.
Averbukh and Lobacheva spent another year in amateur sports. During this time, they won gold medals at the European Championships and came second at the world championships, losing to the Canadian pair She-Lynn Bourne and Viktor Kraatz.
Personal life
Ilya Averbukh got married in 1995. His wife was his ice dancing partner Irina Lobacheva. In 2004, the couple had a child, son Martin. The couple lived in marriage for 12 years, after which they decided to leave.
There were several reasons for the separation. Firstly, Ilya’s mother did not like Irina, whose opinion he, like all Jewish children, valued very much; his two beloved women could not find a common language. Secondly, Irina accuses her ex-husband of often going on tour, spending a lot of time working on television projects, and besides, she began to hear rumors that her husband was cheating on her.
Despite the fact that Ilya and Irina no longer live together, he took upon himself the financial support of his son and ex-wife. I. Averbukh refused to divide the property. The skater left the house and everything else that was acquired during the marriage to the family.
Ilya and Irina managed to maintain friendly relations. They communicate warmly. Irina works in her ex-husband’s projects. Ilya sees his son very often. He takes an active part in Martin's life, in his education and upbringing. The boy is not deprived of the attention of his parents. Ilya Izyaslavich pays for his son’s education at the prestigious Moscow Lyceum. Father and son often go on vacation together.
Martin did not follow in the footsteps of his parents; he does not engage in figure skating and has no interest in this sport. The teenager is interested in Formula 1 racing.
After breaking up with Irina, Ilya is in no hurry to enter into a new marriage. Although there are a lot of women around him, thanks to fame and because of his work. The press closely follows I. Averbukh and all the representatives of the fair half of humanity who are noticed in his company. But there is no reliable information about whether there is a woman next to him and who she is. There are only rumors, the reliability of which is not at all certain. Ilya himself has not confirmed any of the novels attributed to him and does not advertise the details of his personal life.
After I. Averbukh got divorced, they tried to catch him in an affair with one of the participants in the Ice Age project, Alisa Grebenshchikova (daughter of the famous musician and poet Boris Grebenshchikov). Because of these rumors, Alice's common-law husband broke up with her. Moreover, when Alice gave birth to a child in 2008, the public immediately attributed paternity to Ilya Averbukh. But there is no evidence that Grebenshchikova really gave birth to her son from the famous figure skater. Alice herself denies the rumors.
A year later, when the sequel to “Ice Age” was released with other artists as competitors, Averbukh was credited with a new novel. There were rumors that he was dating one of the artists participating in the project, Valeria Lanskaya.
And this is not a complete list of women with whom the skater was credited with having affairs.
Personal life of a skater
Ilya Averbukh, whose personal life was of interest to his admirers and admirers, was married to Irina Lobacheva for many years.
It is worth noting that his parents played a big role in shaping the figure skater’s fate. Izyaslav Averbukh worked as an entrepreneur, and his mother Yulia Markovna Burdo taught at school. Ilya Averbukh is not the only son in their family. The personal life of the parents of the famous figure skater was successful. Ilya has a brother, Daniel, who also became an athlete. Now he is 27 years old, he is engaged in fencing. His highest achievement was winning the European Fencing Championships among cadets.
Together with Irina Lobacheva until 2007 there was Ilya Averbukh. The couple had children in 2004. Famous figure skaters have a son. They named him Martin. In 2007, the couple separated after being married for 12 years. Only Ilya Averbukh remained. Children suffered minimally from their parents' divorce. Martin stayed with his mother, but sees his father regularly.
"Ice Symphony" and others
Even leaving professional sports, world-famous figure skater Ilya Averbukh, whose personal life is constantly of inextinguishable interest to all his admirers, did not allow for a moment the thought that he would say goodbye to figure skating forever. The year 2004 has arrived. Ilya was finally able to breathe life into his long-time dream - the Ice Symphony show, because it is a wonderful theatrical ice performance. And the celebrities of world figure skating, which include world, European and Olympic champions, are the heroes of this project.
So, the dream has come true. But Averbukh cannot be stopped now. Two years later, in 2006, Channel One first presented to viewers a show of a completely new format, “Stars on Ice.” Along with figure skaters, pop stars, cinema stars, and athletes took part in it. The producer and coach was Ilya Averbukh.
The project was a tremendous success, so over time, original clones were created: “Ice Age”, “Ice and Fire”, “Bolero”... So that not only residents of the capital could enjoy the performances, at the end of each season in many cities of Russia (there was also no shortage of attention near and far abroad) the tours of the project participants were a huge success. The constant presenter was, of course, Averbukh.
The figure skater does not deprive younger audiences of his attention: in 2014, before the winter holidays, the premieres of his ice productions dedicated to the holidays, “Mama” and “Baby and Carlson,” took place.
And Ilya Averbukh’s mark remained in cinema: 2004 - debut as journalist Ilya Gavrilov in the drama “Time of the Cruel”, 2008 - Ilya - producer of the series “Hot Ice”, where, along with the actors, famous figure skaters also starred (Alexey Tikhonov, Povilas Vanagas , Irina Slutskaya and others).
Today, Ilya Averbukh’s team has begun rehearsing “The New Bremen Musicians” - another theatrical performance on ice, which will be released from December 26, 2020 to January 8, 2020. Everything, of course, is kept secret. But it was promised that the audience would be captivated and delighted by the pyrotechnic effects, circus tricks, and original scenery. The central roles are given to the “golden” couple of modern ice: Princess - Tatyana Navka, Troubadour - Roman Kostomarov.
