Lagha’s extensive knowledge of music also means he has a broad spectrum of pieces to choose from each season. For Danijil Szemko, that music choice often comes down to what songs he is playing with his band in Hungary.
The Hungarian ice dancer plays the guitar and harmonica in an underground band that performs in bars, clubs and cafes. Their repertoire is full of classic rock covers, so when the rhythm dance theme for the 2024-25 season was announced as “social dances and styles of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s”, the choice was easy.
“We perform Elvis (Presley) every other song,” Szemko said. “From Elvis to the 70s, 60s, rock’n’roll – all of this is so me. I really love this music. I dive into it headfirst.
“I really love music in general. For me, figure skating is not so much about the dance, but about the music. I’m not that interested in the dance and technical aspects, but music really motivates me.”
His love for music aside, the skater is humble about his own musical abilities on stage.
“To be honest, I don’t do much,” Szemko confessed with a laugh. “I’m a lousy musician. Everyone is playing, and I’m just jumping up and down. I’m happy, I’m firing up the crowd. I blow into the harmonica once in a while, I strum some guitar strings. You could simply turn me off, like the bass guitarist of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious. They would turn off his bass guitar during concerts, and he was just joyfully jumping up and down, not playing anything. That’s me, more or less.”