Jackson Haines (1840–1875) - American figure skater and ballet dancer, one of the founders of modern figure skating . Born in 1840 in New York [1] .
Being engaged in figure skating, he achieved some success by claiming the title of national champion in figure skating. However, due to the absence of a unified American association (sports federation in the modern sense), this statement did not receive universal recognition, since several championships were held in the United States at that time. The national association uniting the skaters of the USA, under the auspices of which the national championships are held, was created only in 1921 [2] .
At this time, “English style” dominated in figure skating, which was rigid and formal. Haynes's style was the exact opposite of this style. He used his ballet training to create an elegant, artistic program that he presented accompanied by music, which was also unusual for that time. He perfected skates, screwing them directly onto his boots, which gave additional stability and allowed him to make great sport jumps.
Haynes’s style was not recognized in the United States, so he went to Europe to demonstrate his style, which became known as the “international style”. For some time he lived in Vienna, where his riding style became very popular.
Here is what famous Russian figure skater N. A. Panin-Kolomenkin [3] wrote about the Heins style of skating:
“Back in 1864, American figure skater Jackson Heinz (Haynes) arrived in Europe, who was destined to become the founder of the modern form of the art of ice skating. His riding style, absolutely exceptional in beauty and natural lightness, rhythm and musicality of movements, developed, apparently, quite distinctively ... Besides, in the field of technology, it was he who showed for the first time in Europe that the course depends not only on inertia after a jolt , but that with each turn of the body, associated with stretching and bending the knee of the supporting leg, you can get a new translational motion. This important principle in connection with the nature of all the techniques of J. Heinz turned out to be a factor of invaluable value. But the greatest merit of Heinz was that, as a true artist, he completely possessed a sense of proportion that categorically blocked his way to extremes; he understood that the aesthetic side should not be suppressed by a purely sport-technical one, that accuracy, confidence and speed should be combined with beauty, freedom and naturalness, and he managed to raise his performance to the level of real art that irresistibly infected the viewer with its emotionality. Due to this, he showed the amazed Europeans completely unexpected possibilities of performing coherent sequences, the swiftest figures and elegant rhythmic dances in the most beautiful performances and graceful body movements ... The influence of his art was enormous. It served as the impetus that caused a huge qualitative leap forward and subsequently led to the formation of a new form of art manifestation - to an international style ... "
For 11 years, Haynes became an international celebrity, demonstrating skating to live music in the open air on ice in the presence of the public.
Jackson Hines died young of tuberculosis in 1875 during a tour, moving from St. Petersburg to Stockholm, in the small Finnish village of Gamla-Karleby, where he was buried. The inscription on his grave reads: “The American Skating King”.
Confession at home Jackson Haynes received after death. His name was entered into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs , USA, in 1976 [4] .