Students Perform at the 2013 ACTR Illinois/Indiana Regional Olympiada of Spoken Russian

The Regional Olympiada of Spoken Russian took place at Purdue University in Indiana on April 20, 2013. By The Onion Sea was represented by three students: Calvin Price (Level II), Nina Wilson (Level III), and Riley Price (Level IV). All three students impressed the judges and received gold medals in the Regular Category.

Calvin and Riley (pictured here) came all the way from California. For Calvin, it was his first experience, and he felt a little nervous (though he was very well prepared). Calvin chose to recite Boris Pasternak’s lyrical poem “Снег идёт.”

Performing at Level IV is a challenge, and Riley did his best. His topics required a high level of research and preparation. Riley recited Ivan Krylov’s famous fable “Квартет.” He analyzed the fable in great detail, in addition to explaining how it originated. He will never forget the phrase “пустопорожные болтуны.” This year Riley was named as the top-ranked finalist in the Regular Category.

Nina Wilson received the gold medal last year when she scored as the top-ranked finalist in the Regular Category, Level II. Click here to read the article about the 2012 Olympiada with Nina’s picture and remarks. Still, there is a huge leap between Level II and Level III, and Nina had to work very hard to get ready this year. Nina recited a very touching poem “Некрасивая девочка” by Nikolai Zabolotsky.

Congratulations to Calvin, Nina, and Riley!

Several of my Russian Lit students from the Charodei studio performed in the Olympiada in the Heritage Category at levels III, IV, and V. Nastya Loginova (Level V) was the top-ranked student in the Heritage Category. Nastya researched and wrote all her topics herself. She learned a lot about St. Petersburg, which she has visited several times. Nastya recited and analyzed Marina Tsvetaeva’s poem “В Париже.” Congratulations to Nastya and all of the participants from Charodei – Katya, Dima, and Alisa.

Nina Wilson and the Charodei group sang Russian folk songs together at the concert that finished the Olympiada. Calvin Price helped to facilitate the concert and helped the audience to decipher the names of the songs.

Riley Price is going to spend 10 months in Kazan through the NSLI-Y program. He will be leaving in August, and I know that he will speak perfect Russian by the time he comes back.

All of the worked hard and improved their speaking and comprehension skills, in addition to learning about Russian culture, traditions, and idiosyncrasies during the preparation for the Olympiada.