Denis Ten unveiled his skating secrets to young Astana figure skaters at the skating rink of Alau Sport Palace, Tengrinews.kz reports.

“I’d like this master-class to inspire beginning skaters and attract more young people to take on skating professionally. In my opinion, support of athletes and contribution into development of sport should result not only in the amount of expenses and number of awards and prizes won, but also be socially efficient. The more children will go in for sports, the healthier and stronger our people will be,” Denis Ten said.

The famous Kazakhstan figure skater conducted the master-class for participants of Kazakhstan Figure Skating Championship and for the children who train in figure skating classes in Astana. Denis shared his professional skating tricks and trained along with the young skaters on the ice rink of Alau Palace. Prominent Kazakhstan figure skater performed his new program that is full of unique stage stunts. The figure skater promised that he would conduct such master-classes every time he came to Kazakhstan. He promised to hold the trainings in different cities of his country every time he comes to Kazakhstan. Samruk-Kazyna Fund supported this event financially.

“It is a great honor for us to train together with the well-known champion, every figure skater dreams about this. Denis is a role model for many of us. He is an example of diligence and tenacity. There is much we can learn from him and not only in terms of technique and artistry. In spite of the rapid development of figure skating in our country, not every skater has a chance to learn from the best international coaches,” one of the participants of the event said.

SK-Astana Corporate Fund that was established as part of Samruk-Kazyna fund funds Denis Ten’s trainings for the forthcoming tournaments, including for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. The Fund specializes in support, development and consolidation of sports activities in the country and its goal is to support training sessions of athletes, coaches and experts, who are members of national teams of Kazakhstan in order to improve their results and achievements at national and international tournaments. Figure skating legend Frank Carroll, who has trained a lot of champions (including five-time world champion Michelle Kwan and Vancouver Olympic champion Evan Lysachek), is Denis Ten’s coach in Los-Angeles at present.

Kazakhstan Figure Skating championship is an annual tournament among Kazakhstan figure skaters that is organized by Kazakhstan Skating Federation. It includes man’s and woman’s singles figure skating, pair skating and ice dancing events. Over 50 young men and women from three oblasts of Kazakhstan and two of its largest cities - Astana and Almaty - took part in the recent Championship that was held on December 19-21, 2012.

Denis Ten (born on June 13, 1993 in Almaty, Kazakhstan) is Kazakhstan’s figure skater, who competes in singles figure skating. He is the XII Asian Winter Games champion and two-time Kazakhstan national champion. Denis won his first medal when he was 12 in the 2006 Kazakhstan Championship, where he competed among adults.

Denis Ten is one of few male figure skaters, who can perform the Biellmann spin. The Biellmann spin is an upright figure skating spin in which the skater executes a one-foot spin while holding the other foot extended over and behind the head, forming a teardrop shape with the body. The spin has also been referred to as a "tulip on a turn-table" due to the shape formed by the torso and leg. The position requires very great flexibility and spinning ability, and is almost always performed by women. The most prominent male figure skater, who can perform the Biellmann spin is Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko.