I just found this press article. Its from 29.10.2007:

[url] http://www.presseportal.ch/de/pm/100000967/100547782/art_on_ice_production_ag [/url]

Because it´s only in German, I´ll try to translate the important passage:

29.10.2007, 8:00 o´clock
Art on Ice 2008 (...)
Zürich / Lausanne (ots) (...) The figure skating stars from Art on Ice 2008 are the native favourites Stéphane Lambiel and Sarah Meier, four times world champion Kurt Browning from Kanada, the world champions in ice dancing Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski from Bulgaria and the European pair champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy from Germany. Tickets can be bought from now on for the shows in Zürich (31. January till 03. February) and Lausanne (05./06. February). (...)

Yeah!!!!!!!

What great news, Petra! Will you get to see them twice?

I hope you do. That would be a double blessing.

well, just seeing Albena and Maxim once is a great blessing. I'm so happy for you that you were able to get the ticket.

So, here´s the report I promised you about yesterday´s show in Düsseldorf. I only hope I will find the right words here to express my feelings before, during and after the show . Sorry that I can´t give you better news !

First the report about our two favourite dancers.
To make it short: There´s one good, but many bad news. Sorry ! The good news is that Albena was there and that she was performing, the saddest news of all: Max wasn´t there !!! I mean it might be that he was there somewhere in the arena, but he was not dancing !!!
Because Ilya Averbukh made the moderation himself, I could understand nothing of what he said; he was speaking Russian (and I don´t, as you know). So I can´t tell you here what he said according to Albena .
Albena made two little dances - together with Alexei Makarov from IceAge, puh! I mean, in this show it was o.k. that she did it, because a lot of the non-skating stars from IceAge have been there and were performing. And because there was a lot of, hm, don´t know exactly how to call it, perhaps "slapstick" or "theatre" would be the right word for it ... (sorry, I really can´t describe better ...). But I don´t think that doing it this way could be the final solution for her . If really the worst will happen and she will have to skate without Max (please, God, help that this will never, never be!) then, in my opinion, she should try to find another way to perform...
So, she and Makarov made two dances, both really IceAge-like, and very short. During the first dance I think she was wearing one of her dresses from IceAge, but I´m not really sure about this ... Perhaps on the pics we will see better ... They had a stumble (I think not everybody of the spectators noticed that), but did not fall completely. They got applause (but not as much as many others there, sorry!).
Their second dance, puh, I hardly know how to describe this ... Albena was wearing a deep-red dress, covering her hair. I have never seen it on her before. And the dance ... To make it short: They had a big fall in the very last seconds . Alexei Makarov tried to make a ... yes, what was it? I think a spin-movement-combination would describe it best. He stumbled, fell, and Albena was laying on him and they could only get to their feet after the music had stopped. It was so sad to watch her! At first, there was hardly applause, puh! After the music stopped they tried doing it again, and this time it functionned. And now they got their applause .
Believe me, I´m glad that I was not in Albenas place yesterday. I don´t think that she could really enjoy this. I mean, she was smiling after the dances, but, sorry that I say this directly , I think it was only a show-smile. Deep inside her, I´m sure, she felt another way ...
Albena took part at the closing, together with most of the other skaters, but she left the ice as one of the first, head and shoulders down ... And she looked very, very alone at this moment! Poor Albie! She has so much of my sympathy, and I was helpless yesterday, sitting there and could do nothing! Believe me, that was hard!
Besides, I could not manage to meet her outside . I think most of it was my own fault . I was there very late, after 15:00 o´clock, because I had car problems yesterday, had to take the train therefore and, because of some private problems in the morning, could not use the train I wanted but had to use a later one. So I think all of the skaters were already inside the arena when I arrived. And they didn´t come out, and there was no lobby to go and to meet the skaters ...
I could not throw my little present for her on the ice, because I was sitting too far away. After the show finished I tried again to meet her, but was stopped three times by security ! I´ve never seen so much security, not even at worlds 2004! I did not want to take my present home, so I gave it to one of the security workers. He said he would give it to her, but, to be honest, I don´t believe in it .
So far to Albie and ... Makarov. Sorry that I can not give a better report here, I really wish I could ...

O.K., at the end of my report I will try to give you a short inside in the rest of the show.
Something really very, very sad happened to Alexei Yagudin. His first two performances were really excellent. I really thought there was the "old" Yags skating. He performed parts of his programm "Winter" of 2002, and his steps were as they had been in 2002! Really great! Then, during his third performance, skating to "Legenda", he made a tripple jump, stood it, made two steps further and felt to the knees. He could not stand up alone, his face full of pain. Averbukh and two other skaters had to help him of the ice. He got many minutes full of standing ovations, but this did not help him. After the show I heard he was hospitalised in Düsseldorf first, was released later and was brought back to the hotel. I heard he was already limping, but he said it was not one of his hips! I really hope he will be better, soon!
Rita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas really made my evening! They were great, excellent, first class! During the first dance Rita was completely in red and Povilas was like a torero. I did not know the programm (I´m sure Vania would have known!). The second programme was "Pirates", I think everybody knows this, the one with the pirate flag and Rita and Povilas making a duell with the swords ... It was fantastic, and beside Yags, they got most of the applause!
Other skaters were Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (perfect as always), Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov (they often changed partners), Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov (they got a lot of applause, too), Elena Sokolova, Alexander Abt, Ilia Klimkin, and one performance directly from Ilya Averbukh. And besides many performances from the non-professional IceAge stars. I hope I have not forgotten anyone!

I think I have to finish here. All in all, concerning Albie and Max, it was a sad evening . Sorry, Albie, if you read this . I missed Max so much ! I mean, Albies dances were "nice", but it was so strange watching her on the ice with another partner live, even if it was only Makarov!
So again I wish the best to Max and Albie and now I write here again what I could not tell them yesterday:
Hold on! Don´t give up! Keep on fighting! I wish you the best!

P.S.: Here´s a video of Yags from yesterday someone made while he was helped to leave the ice.[url] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO8dWT-I86c [/url] Very sad indeed!

P.S.S.: The pics, if they are usable, will be coming later this week!

Oh, Petra, it's so sad.... Albena without Max...
And Lesha....

Oh...Petra.... I am speechless...

Thank you for your report,Petra,although all this is very sad

Thank you Petra.

It is hard to find words. I miss Albena and Max's dancing.

Petra, after the shock, I try to replay.
First many thanks for your report. Despite your sad mood, you made a detailed report for us. You are very kind!.
Second, about Maxim: is it possible he was ill? He did skate in Moscow and Nice... or , perhaps, he thinks not be ready on trained enough...
Don't tell me that you think he is depressed too.....
Perhaps now he has to stay in Bulgaria for the trial beginning...
At last, from everythings you wrote, I notice the affection you have
for Albena and Maxim. I am close to your feeling and worried like you...!!

Thank you, Petra! How painful for all of us are the words:

"...But I don´t think that doing it this way could be the final solution for her .....
Believe me, I´m glad that I was not in Albenas place yesterday. I don´t think that she could really enjoy this. "

I wish you had a better day

Oh Piemontsina, if I knew what has happened and why he wasn´t there, I really would feel better, believe me! But I don´t know why he wasn´t there! I don´t know if he was only ill or if he has to stay in Bulgaria or whatever ... I hope that Lerka can tell us more what has happened!? But inside I thought the same as you: If he is able to skate in Nice and Moscow, why then not in Düsseldorf??? Sorry, I don´t have an answer to this question! Lerka???
And: Thanks to the one who translated my report into Bulgarian and posted it in the Bulgarian forum! With my 50 words I know in Bulgarian I can´t control word for word if you translated right, but I hope so !

Stef, I think we have to see it this way: It was a show, no competition, and I´m sure she has had some fun doing it ... but not the fun she could have had if Max had been there. That´s what I meant. And then together with the fall, I mean she smiled after this, but I had the impression she wanted to show that the "real" Albena can do more than making a fall with Makarov, and therefore they tried a second time. She wanted to show a clean dance, but couldn´t ... That´s what I meant with "I´m glad that I was not in Albena´s place yesterday": I think she knew that she could do much better with Max on her side, but she couldn´t because he was not there. But I think she was not completely without fun, that would have been rather impossible at yesterdays show ... And I think there have surely been parts she enjoyed, for example the fact to be on the ice and to skate, but I think other parts she did not enjoy, for example the fall in a sold out show or the fact that she has to skate without Max. And especially in the very end she looked so sad, when leaving the ice. Seeing the other pairs being together and she was alone, this surely was not a good feeling for her ...

And, please, don´t think that I haven´t had fun at the show. I was sad about Albie and Max (and about what has happened to Yags), but I enjoyed very much other parts of the show, especially Rita and Povilas. And they had very good light effects, with fire coming out of the side of the rink and with fire coming out of the skates ... That were wonderful impressions, and exept that I was sad especially about Max not participating, I really enjoyed the show, believe me!

Besides, some posts ago I wrote something about "Art On Ice" in Zürich and Lausanne next year. Here´s the official site, and they are listed again!!!
[url] www.artonice.com/index.php?id=178,603,0,0,1,0 [/url]
And if you go to that site, scroll to the end and then click on "Albena Denkova/Maxim Staviski" in the text, the site will change and you are ... on Lerka´s Homepage ! Congratulations, Lerka !!!!! Albie´s and Max´s official site is now directly connected to the official "Art on Ice" site !

Petra, THANK you So much for report! It's sad, but let's hope, that all will be good!