About the short program:
"When we chose that piece for her in the summertime, she was very much on board and it really matched the mood she was in, she was bright and excited, excited about life and excited about the changes and actually wanted to do something even more of a departure from her personality. So we actually thought it was doable. We had a lot of fun with her, she was just bubbly and excited the whole time and she turns on in every practice and every choreography she's just there and it was fabulous, and we were so pleased in how her first performance of that went in Russia and we were happy. But you could see as reality kicked in and the season was progressing, I think it was too far of departure from her comfort zone and when Brian called me and said she's gonna change it, and  do something else, I totally get it because a thing i've seen again and again with great champions is that they know themselves: they know how they have to feel, they know where to go to compete, and this was clearly too much of the departure for her and wasn't giving her the confidence that she needed to feel, so I completely was on board with the idea that she was gonna change it, and also because she was leading all her choices this year: the free program music was her choice, we brought the short program but it was still very much driven by what she wanted to do, so why not continuing that, it's her competition, it's her season, it's her career, so you really have to support that, which it's of course what Brian was doing and I would do in a heartbeat. I actually saw her in the airport, when they were flying back to Russia for Nationals because I was going to Spain and we ran into each other and we caught up. I adore that girl, and I wish she had more time, what she's doing this year is so brave, and you just have to support that, wherever way it goes, it's her journey. I really do wish the best for her"

If she has the fire to keep going.
"I haven't seen her in awhile, but that girl's fire runs deep and that's why she's so beloved too, even though she was brought up in a system that was very controlling, her personality always showed and came through. It's been a really difficult time for her because when you're young and winning every competition and then all of a sudden things change and reality hits, it's painful and confusing. But yeah, I mean, she's a sweetheart and her heart is massive"
About the dress:
"Originally I thought it would be really cool to do a number with a tuxedo vibe, and then that led to that piece of music and I thought it needed to be bright. [...] Then Matthew (dress maker) came with a tuxedo kind of thing and it evolved from there, but I think all of that was too much, too soon. The actual dress never got worn. And again, she's the one out there, she's the one who has to feel fabulous and I think with the language barrier, the distance, the timing, the stress of everything she was going though, she needed to fall back into her comfort zone and she also needed to feel that she was controlling her destiny, which was the objetive of the whole season. [Jonathan speaks about being brave and changing everything but then when you're going into the spotlight with those changes it becomes hard when you're still learning the process] Exactly. And in the summer, when life was light and exciting, she was far more open and then of course, reality strikes... and also she knows herself, and if she's not feeling exactly right, she's gonna fix it and that's brave."

Dave: When you worked with her, was she already receiving backlash?
"No, not yet.... it's hard for these kids because they grow up reading stuff and they are out there. It got evil. She's russian and she's proud of it, she wasn't leaving who she was, she was just going to a place to explore life. [Jonathan: the changing country rumors were confusing because she's just growing and exploring]  Yeah, that's just how she looks at life and her eyes are just wide open."

About how the energy was different in Italy, after RusNats and Worlds:
"Maybe because how the things are going, the pressure has lifted. It's a very private journey and the pressure's been lifted, so hopefully she can continue on that."
"I had thought during the summertime, wouldn't be great if she could take the year... I didn't say it to anybody, i just thought about it, wouldn't it be great for this girl, because there is so much she wants to learn. Technique that she really had to dive deeply into readjusting.. and you can't do that and get ready for competition around the corner, it's two different things. Now I don't know what's best, I'm not there and I'm not part of that group but I adore Brian, Tracy, David, the team and her, so I'm just whatever you need I'm here."

Changes on her flow after taking classes with Tracy:
"Oh yeah, one of the things that she said is that she looked at the other skaters and was like why is covering the ice so hard for me, it just takes so much effort, and they don't look like that, so she really wanted to acomplish that"

О короткой программе:
«Когда мы выбрали этот кусок для нее летом, она была очень на борту, и это действительно соответствовало настроению, в котором она находилась, она была яркой и взволнованной, взволнованной жизнью и взволнованной изменениями и фактически хотела сделать что-то еще больше отклонения от ее личности. Так что мы на самом деле думали, что это выполнимо. Нам было очень весело с ней, она была просто игривой и взволнована все время, и она включается в каждой практике и каждой хореографии, она просто там, и это было невероятно И мы были так рады тому, как ее первое выступление было в России, и мы были счастливы. Но вы можете видеть, как реальность вступила в силу, и сезон прогрессировал, я думаю, что это было слишком далеко от ее зоны комфорта и когда Брайан позвонил мне и сказал, что она изменит это, и сделает что-то еще, я полностью понимаю, потому что то, что я видел снова и снова с великими чемпионами, это то, что они знают себя: они знают, как они должны чувствовать, они знают, куда идти конкурировать, и это было явно слишком большая часть отъезда для нее и не давала ей уверенности, которую она должна была чувствовать, так что я полностью был уверен в том, что она собирается это изменить, а также потому, что она руководила всеми своими выборами в этом году: музыка произвольной программы была ее выбором, мы привезли короткую программу, но она все еще во многом зависела от того, что она хотела сделать, так почему бы не продолжить это, это ее соревнование, это ее сезон, это ее карьера, так что вам действительно нужно поддержите это, что, конечно, то, что делал Брайан, и я сделал бы в одно мгновение. Я на самом деле видел ее в аэропорту, когда они возвращались в Россию для граждан, потому что я собирался в Испанию, и мы столкнулись друг с другом, и мы догнали. Я обожаю эту девушку, и мне бы хотелось, чтобы у нее было больше времени, что она делает в этом году так смело, и вам просто нужно поддержать это, где бы она ни шла, это ее путешествие. Я действительно желаю ей всего наилучшего "

Если у нее есть огонь, чтобы продолжать идти.
«Я не видел ее некоторое время, но огонь этой девушки уходит глубоко, и поэтому она так любима, даже несмотря на то, что она воспитывалась в системе, которая очень контролировала, ее личность всегда проявлялась и проявлялась. Это было действительно трудное время для нее, потому что когда ты молод и выигрываешь все соревнования, а потом все внезапно меняется и хиты реальности, это больно и сбивает с толку. Но да, я имею в виду, она милая и ее сердце огромно "