January 20th - Margarita and Povilas finished 5th in the original dance and 2nd in the free dance to capture the bronze medal at the European Championships. This was their final competition before the Olympics.

January 18th - Margarita and Povilas are in 2nd place after the compulsory dance at the European Championships.

November 25th - AbsoluteSkating.com has photos and reports from the SOI Antwerp show available for your viewing pleasure.

November 20th - Titia and Mirielle at AbsoluteSkating.com have written a live report on practices at Stars on Ice, Antwerp. Visit AbsoluteSkating.com for other reports and reviews on the event as they become available.

November 14th - J. Barry Mittan has written an article about Margarita and Povilas for SkateToday.com.

October 24th - Why did Rita & Povilas come back?
An article (in Russian) was translated by Velena and posted on her website. The article gives a detailed backstory on Rita & Povilas' career and why they decided to come back to eligible skating for their 5th Olympics.

Margarita Drobiazko, Povilas Vanagas: WHY DID THEY COME BACK?

October 14th - Olympic Spot Secured
In a decisive victory, Margarita and Povilas won the gold medal at Karl Shafer Memorial, securing their spot at the 2006 Olympics. Their score of 184.22 was 28 points higher than the second place finishers.
- Full results from Karl Shafer Memorial

October - Return at Nebelhorn
Margarita Drobiazko & Povilas Vanagas had a successful return to eligible competition by finishing second at Nebelhorn Trophy. Margarita and Povilas were second in the compulsory dance and original dance and finished first in the free dance portion of the event, ahead of reigning world silver medallists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto. They will now set their sights on Vienna, Austria, where they hope to earn a spot at the 2006 Olympic games.

June - Lake Placid IDC & Coaching Information
Margarita and Povilas will debut their new free dance at the Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships on August 4th. Due to scheduling commitments at Sun Valley, they will only be able to compete in the free dance portion of the Lake Placid event. Both Margarita and Povilas are excited to skate their new program for the public and receive their marks under the new code of points judging system for the first time. This will be their first competition since the 2002 World Championships in Nagano, Japan.

Margarita and Povilas are also pleased to announce their coaches who have agreed to help them during the upcoming season. In addition to Elena Maslennikova who is their coach and choreographer, they are also working with Rostislav Sinitsyn, who has been reviewing their compulsories (in Dortmund, Germany). Margarita and Povilas have also worked with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva who have monitored their original and free programs and made changes accordingly for the new judging system.

April - Returning to Eligible Skating for the Olympics
Rita and Povilas are pleased to announce that they will return for the 2005- 2006 season with the hope of representing Lithuania at the 2006 Olympics in Turino, Italy. This would be Rita and Povilas' 5th consecutive Olympics.

Rita and Povilas will train under Elena Maslennikova, who has a background in both ice dancing and ballroom dancing and who has coached them for nine years (prior to Tchaikovskaya). They will also receive training and coaching from other coaches who will be named shortly.

In order for Lithuania to send a dance team to the Olympics, Rita and Povilas will try to obtain one of the few remaining spots open, but competing at the 2005 Karl Shaefer Memorial in Vienna, Austria, in October. They may also compete in the Grand Prix Series this fall, but must wait for ISU permission.

February - Our web site has joined Europeonice.com, which also opened a forum for Rita & Povilas fans to have discussions. Thanks to Emily Bruines for her interest and hard work.

December - Several photographers have uploaded their photos from Stars On Ice in Belgium to the internet. Those photos are located here:

Photos at Absolute Skating
Photos by Takami

November - The Mysterio tour in Lithuania was a huge success. Rita and Povilas also skated at Stars On Ice in Belgium. You can read reports at two web sites links:

Report at Absolute Skating
Report at Europe On Ice

October - Rita and Povilas have had several shows added to their schedule page including Fantasy On Ice Mysterio and Golden Eis.

September - Rita and Povilas will skate in the 2004 edition of the Proximus Stars On Ice shows in Belgium. The shows will take place on Saturday, November 20th at 19.30 pm and on Sunday November 21st at 15.00 pm at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp. Rita and Povilas were cast members in these shows last year as well.

June - Rita and Povilas are in Sun Valley, Idaho, until September. They will be coaching, as well as skating in the Sun Valley Ice Shows. Rita and Povilas have created two new programs to skate in exhibition, one a latin combination and another to music from the movie "Pirates of the Carribean." Information about the Pirates program, as well as photos has been set up on a special page in the program history section.

May - Earlier this month, Rita and Povilas were in Barrie, Ontario, working on choreography for canadian dance team, Lauren Senft and Leif Gislason. They are now preparing to head to Sun Valley, Idaho, for the summer where they will work as coach and also to skate the Sun Valley Ice Shows. Photos and a report from the Dreams On Ice Shows have been added to the Ice Shows web site.

April - Rita and Povilas' China tour "Dreams on Ice" was a great success. Nearly 20,000 Chinese were in attendance at the shows in Shanghai. Reports and pictures from the show are coming soon.

March - Marina's report from Rita and Povilas' performances at Maria Butyrskaya's show has been added to fan features under show reviews.

Rita and Povilas are working on new programs for next year as well as preparing for their China tour, Dreams on Ice.

January - Rita and Povilas will be skating on the Fantasy on Ice tour which includes some stops in the US. Some dates and locations have been changed, so visit the tour web site for the most upd to date news.

December - After wrapping up the Ice Flames tour in Lithuania, Rita and Povilas are hard at work on their next project - Dreams on Ice. This brief tour will take place March 26, 27 and 28, 2004 in Shanghai, China. Details are still being ironed out so cast information and other show details are subject to change.

Photos from the Ice Flames tour have been added to the Ice Shows web site gallery.

Rita and Povilas have also answered several fan questions. Those are now available in the Q & A section. More questions and answers will be added soon so be sure to submit yours.

Photos Online - Noboru Ogasawara has added beautiful photos of Margarita & Povilas from the Fantasy on Ice tour to his gallery.

November - In May, Rita and Povilas were forced to postpone their Ice Flames tour in Lithuania because of Povilas' injury. The tour has now been rescheduled and will take place November 12, 13, 14 & 16. For more information on the tour and the cast, visit the Ice Flames Tour Web Page.

In December and February, Rita and Povilas will skate as part of the "Fantasy on Ice" tour.