Lilia Baranovskaya – the former Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet. When we are first introduced to her, she comes in with an imposing click-clack of her heels on the tiles, and an expression on her face that looks as if she is dissecting your every move.
She treats Yurio like a prize horse being sold to her by Yakov, and after being pleasantly surprised by his gumption, she works him with a stern and uncompromising hand – knowing that he can become something MORE. By the end of the episode we receive a glimpse of her being proud of who Yurio is becoming.
As a choreographer and co-coach to Yurio, her role is to make sure he is ready for his competitions – both physically and mentally.
We see her with Yakov trying to psych up Yurio before the Rostelecom SP, and we see her cry when Yurio pulls off that beautiful FS program. The Yurio she was teaching to deconstruct and reconstruct himself time and time again has just surpassed his limits and given the skate of his life. He didn’t only display strength (TES), he did it with beauty (PCS), and she couldn’t be more proud of him.
But of course, she’s still his co-coach. She follows him to the Kiss&Cry to receive his scores, and afterwards she needs to get him to talk to interviewers and cool down, so she puts on her serious face and ushers Yurio out of the arena and into the backstage halls.
This slip of a boy she met about 7 months ago,
who has been living with her and who has respected her directions by continuously pushing himself to become MORE, has wormed his way into her heart.
So when Yurio comes to her with a list of ingredients to make the piroshki that his grandfather invented, she lets him use the kitchen. ( “How can I refuse him when he’s so excited to share something with us?”)
And when he makes a batch of piroshki and can’t even wait long enough to take off his apron before serving them, she of course will try it even if she’s a little wary of what strange concoction this katsudon-piroshki is. (Notice the nervous sweat-drop on her jaw. The poor woman is befuddled.)
The awesome thing about Lilia isn’t just that she guided Yurio to surpass himself, or that she’s so proud of how far he’s come that she’s moved to tears. It’s that she cares about his wellbeing and happiness. Somewhere along the way, she’s become his caretaker as well, and darn it all if she won’t correct his language when he speaks to his fans!
(He may not listen to Yakov, but he does listen to Lilia – and that, if nothing else, shows the kind of respectful relationship he has with her.)
Nothing but My Aching Soul 