Gurgen Vardanjan

Vardanjan was born on 18 October 1963 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union.^[3] His sister, Asmik, is a former figure skater, and his wife, Jeranjak Ipakjan, is a skating coach and choreographer.^[1] Their son, Tigran Vardanjan, was born on 26 March 1989 in Moscow and skated for Hungary.^[4][5]

Vardanjan lived in Hungary from 1989^[1] until April 2010, when he moved to Nottingham, England.^[6]

Vardanjan began skating in 1976 at an outdoor rink in Yerevan.^[1] His first coach was Elena Slepova.^[7] After moving to Moscow, he was coached by Edouard Pliner and then by Elena Tchaikovskaya, from 1980 to 1986.^[1][7]

Vardanjan returned to Armenia in 1987 and became a coach at the same school where he had started skating.^[1] He began working in Hungary in December 1989, teaching at an outdoor rink before relocating to the capital, Budapest.^[7] He was based in Budapest until April 2010, when he was appointed Director of Skating at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham, England.^[6][8]

Vardanjan is best known for his work with Júlia Sebestyén,^[9] whom he began teaching in late 1989.^[1] He has also coached Diána Póth,^[10] Tamara Dorofejev,^[11] Tigran Vardanjan, and David Richardson.^[12]