Long one of the most anticipated events of the Gymnaestrada, the National Evening performances featured the very best of a nation - or in several cases, a continent. Performances were richly varied, from a Pan-American fiesta and the wonders of Japanese gymnasts, who perform with a style all their own, to an exquisite Nordic evening that will be talked about in Gymnastics circles for years to come.

SWITZERLAND

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Swinging Rings, bathing beauties and even the theory of relativity played a part in the Swiss National Evening.

The show opened and closed with performances on Swinging Rings, the former Artistic Gymnastics discipline still practiced by Swiss schoolchildren today. The putting up and taking down of the heavy Swinging Rings platform in less than five minutes (twice!) during the show was a testament to Swiss efficiency and a feat almost as impressive as the Gymnastics shown.

The golden thread running through the 90 minute show was Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which the noted professor - who lived part of his life in Switzerland - published in a series of papers culminating  in 1915.  It’s been a century, but with their show, Swiss gymnasts showed that everything is relative...even in Gymnastics!

 

PORTUGAL AND BRAZIL

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The first thing you noticed were all the colors: the warm reds and sunny yellows and crisp greens and bright blues of the Latin countries were on full display as several hundred World Gymnaestrada participants took the floor to begin the combined Portuguese/Brazilian National Evening. In a spirit of international cooperation, few of the groups involved chose to distinguish themselves as being from Portugal or being from Brazil. Performances were varied, from a Brazilian singer dressed in Carmen Miranda-Copa Cabana fashion (complete with fruit hat) to a spectacular display of mini trampoline acrobatics shown by some of the springiest members of either delegation.

The party atmosphere lasted to the end of the final performance, which brought all participants out onto the floor. Once again, it was impossible to distinguish who represented which country. Gymnastics had brought them all together in the flash and whirl of color, flips and international cooperation.

 

NORDIC COUNTRIES

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Linked together by the themes “Twisted and Recycled,” 21 acts from Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish groups brought together deeply moving performances of different types of Gymnastics, showcasing the very best of the Nordic countries.

Before the grand finale, a “Northern Star” rose in the arena, when gorgeous and elegant Rhythmic gymnasts in white dresses performed to live violin music played by Mervi Myllyoja and the vocals of Markus Nieminen. The audience turned on the flashlights of their mobile phones, giving the presentation a special touch.

This spectacle exceeded the expectations of even the hosts. With tears in her eyes after the show’s successful conclusion, Anne Martikainen, President of the Finnish Gymnastics Federation, hailed the work of her countrymen and their neighbours.

“It was wonderful,” she said.

 

PAN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

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Using the elements “Earth, Water, Wind and Fire,” gymnasts from nine countries - Canada, the USA, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Peru and Chile - presented a colourful show that brought the continent’s history and diverse Latin and Anglo-Saxon culture on stage.  The majority of the show was presented on a floor mat with the different acts including dance, Tumbling, Acro, Rhythmic, Aerial, and Show Gymnastics. Presentations were marked by the combination of the different types of Gymnastics, the colourful costumes of the performers, the focus on dance and music as well as by the light use of apparatus.

This moving evening ended with all gymnasts performing a final act together to bid farewell until they meet again - at the next World Gymnaestrada in 2019!

 

JAPAN

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For a country whose Gymnastics is largely associated with World and Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura, the Japanese National Evening was an occasion for the Japanese to showcase the smorgasbord of Gymnastics it has on offer, for all ages and abilities.

And what choice there is on offer! Performances showed the beauty in simple things: the elegance that can be found in a sleeve, the possibilities held in a balloon, the fun that can be derived from a jump rope, especially if it happens to glow in the dark. The show was not without its distinctive features, notably Japanese Men’s Rhythmic Gymnastics. But what was mostly on display at the Gymnastics Cafe was Gymnastics for All, as multilayered and interesting as Japanese culture itself.

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IMPRESSUM

World of Gymnastics is an official publication of the International Gymnastics Federation – FIG. Three issues per year.

Publisher: FIG. © 2015.

Publication Director: André F. Gueisbuhler.

FIG Editing: Meike Behrensen; Blythe Lawrence; William Dalè; Stéphanie Pertuiset

Design and Production: Andy Medley for SportBusiness Communications

Nr 77 will be released in February, 2016.

Editorial deadline: December 1st, 2015.

The reproduction of any articles, information, pictures must be approved in writing prior to publication.

Photos: FIG Official Photographer Volker Minkus, fig-photos.com; Hedda Rumohr Berge; Andreas Merrald; Jan Christensen.

Translations: Translink; Corinne Gaudefroy; Valérie Gianadda; Mara Valazza