Russia is to construct a new $30m (€28.3m/£23.8m) complex for acrobatic rock’n’roll, a niche sport favoured by the daughter of President Vladimir Putin.
According to a public document seen by the Reuters news agency, the Zhavoronki Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll Centre will be built on the outskirts of Moscow and be funded by the municipal government.
The 1.3-hectare complex will feature a gymnasium, trampoline hall, swimming pool and competition space for up to 2,000 people. Supporting amenities include accommodation for 300 people, a conference hall and lecture theatre.
The new complex is being built for the Moscow City Khamovniki state sports and dance school, where Katerina Tikhonova, Putin’s youngest daughter, was trained and for which she competed until 2014. Tikhonova remains a leading dancer in the sport and also holds a senior role for development.
Reuters said it has no evidence the Kremlin or Tikhonova had any influence over the decision to build the facility. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the project “does not have any relation to us”.
The World Rock'n'Roll Confederation (WRRC) said the site will become the only specialised facility in the world for the dancesport, but general secretary Kresimir Bosnar criticised the amount of money being spent on the project.
“I don't see any reason why to do it; especially not in Russia,” Bosnar said. “Rock’n’roll acrobatic is a quite specific sport. It is an individual sport based on couples, it is not a mass sport, so you cannot expect that you will have millions of people dancing acrobatic rock’n’roll in the future.”
Share this