U.S. Ice Dance 2022-23 news & updates

[Debbie S]

Yes, Opera set to Europe has worked for me all GP season, including yesterday while Peacock was down.

 

[ice coverage]

Interestingly, that 2.2 difference was GOE, called ~2 points lower at GS. PCS, which is what you'd think would be elevated domestically, was actually a little higher at GS, and their base score was called exactly the same.

fwiw: Z/K's PCS at Golden Spin was 47.00, a bit lower than 47.50 at U.S. Final.

 

[AYS]

fwiw: Z/K's PCS at Golden Spin was 47.00, a bit lower than 47.50 at U.S. Final.

Got them switched, but pretty similar regardless.

 

[Dobre]

Battle for those placements after the top 4 should be interesting.

And I'm not about to hypothesize who will be in it as most of the teams have not gone head-to-head cleanly + I don't think there is enough of a track record that the judges should be stuck in a rut over who should be above who.

Deliver.

 

[Karen-W]

Battle for those placements after the top 4 should be interesting.

And I'm not about to hypothesize who will be in it as most of the teams have not gone head-to-head cleanly + I don't think there is enough of a track record that the judges should be stuck in a rut over who should be above who.

Deliver.

I have to agree. Scores have been all over the place, ranging from the low 160s to the high 170s for so many teams - listed in alphabetical order...

Bratti/Somerville
Brown/Brown
McNamara/Spiridonov
Pate/Bye
Wolfkostin/Chen
Zingas/Kolesnik

Plus, Cesanek/Yehorov are coming back from her appendicitis surgery still with scores improving. Ling/Wein had one international fairly early in the season and scored much better at the US Dance Finals. And Flores/Desyatov haven't had the chance to compete internationally yet, but scored quite well domestically.

9 teams vying for 6 spots in the top 10. That's just nuts.

 

[~tapdancer~]

I have to agree. Scores have been all over the place, ranging from the low 160s to the high 170s for so many teams - listed in alphabetical order...

Bratti/Somerville
Brown/Brown
McNamara/Spiridonov
Pate/Bye
Wolfkostin/Chen
Zingas/Kolesnik

Plus, Cesanek/Yehorov are coming back from her appendicitis surgery still with scores improving. Ling/Wein had one international fairly early in the season and scored much better at the US Dance Finals. And Flores/Desyatov haven't had the chance to compete internationally yet, but scored quite well domestically.

9 teams vying for 6 spots in the top 10. That's just nuts.

And isn't it wonderful? I am thrilled we have so many good teams. Have loved ice dance for many, many years and it was always only 1 or 2 US teams that got any recognition during the season. Lower teams just weren't in the mix at all. How things have changed. I think the year that D/W challenged B/A was a real turning point. I know I was a D/W uber but I really feel they changed the course of US Ice Dance for the better. And of course, the Olympic Gold will forever be their legacy.

 

[Cayuse]

I have to agree. Scores have been all over the place, ranging from the low 160s to the high 170s for so many teams - listed in alphabetical order...

Bratti/Somerville
Brown/Brown
McNamara/Spiridonov
Pate/Bye
Wolfkostin/Chen
Zingas/Kolesnik

Plus, Cesanek/Yehorov are coming back from her appendicitis surgery still with scores improving. Ling/Wein had one international fairly early in the season and scored much better at the US Dance Finals. And Flores/Desyatov haven't had the chance to compete internationally yet, but scored quite well domestically.

9 teams vying for 6 spots in the top 10. That's just nuts.

This is one of the BEST reasons to attend Nationals this year!!

 

[CesYeg]

Full video of Zingas/Kolesnik's FD at Golden Spin:

Croskate on Instagram: "BRONZE MEDAL - @emileazingas @vadym____kolesnik @isufigureskating #isu #figureskating #isufigureskating #proudskater #GoldenSpin2022"

53 likes, 1 comments - croskate_hr on December 10, 2022: "BRONZE MEDAL - @emileazingas @vadym____kolesnik @isufigureskating #isu #figureskating #isufigureskating #proudskater #GoldenSpin2022".

www.instagram.com

croskate's Instagram account also has posted full FD video for the Lithuanians.

(ETA:​

A comment on Reddit leads me to believe that maybe Carreira/Ponomarenko's full video originally had been posted too ... but maybe croskate took it down? I do not see it now as a reel.​

croskate Instastory has short video clips of several couples, including C/P, Z/K, Pate/Bye, etc.)​

---

FWIW: Cesanek/Yehorov are not listed in the practice groups document that USFS published a few days ago.

I hope they are OK.
They skated in an outdoor show in Cleveland this week -- a fundraiser for Scott Hamilton's foundation.

If their omission from practice groups is just a mistake, it would be a hard-to-overlook mistake, IMO.
There are only three practice groups. Group A has four couples, and Groups B and C have five couples.

I don’t understand either why Cesanek/Yehorov would have been left off of the list??? She just recently posted stories from her Insta for the skate they did for SC. They seemed just fine and in good shape

 

[litenkyckling]

I don’t understand either why Cesanek/Yehorov would have been left off of the list??? She just recently posted stories from her Insta for the skate they did for SC. They seemed just fine and in good shape

Probably just an admin error - it isn’t the first time they’ve accidentally left people off lists.

 

[Spikefan]

This is one of the BEST reasons to attend Nationals this year!!

If I lived even remotely close I would come for dance only.

 

[ice coverage]

Delayed-reaction thought: Zingas/Kolesnik will receive Team C - Tier 2 envelope funding for the remaining season by virtue of their medal at Golden Spin.

https://www.usfigureskating.org/sites/default/files/media-files/2022-23%20Athlete%20Support%20Funding%20Criteria%20Final.pdf

I don’t understand either why Cesanek/Yehorov would have been left off of the list??? She just recently posted stories from her Insta for the skate they did for SC. They seemed just fine and in good shape

Probably just an admin error - it isn’t the first time they’ve accidentally left people off lists.

If it is just human error, I really hope that USFS will update the public list of practice groups soon.
I am scratching my head that the public list has not been revised since it first appeared on Dec 7.
Senior Dance is the first category at the top of the first page of the document, and as I said before, I think it would be hard for even casual proofreading not to catch that Group A has only four couples.
Plus C/Y themselves surely would have noticed that their own names are missing -- their MIDA coaches would have noticed too.

(In any case, I will repeat that I hope C/Y are OK. )

ETA:​

IIRC/AFAIK/FWIW, when USFS has needed to make public corrections on previous occasions, it has done so within a couple days. (Recent examples off the top of my head: This season's accidental omission of Taira from the list of 2023 Nats qualifiers; and a couple of accidental omissions from an earlier season's names on the envelope funding page.) I look forward to light being shed regarding the list of practice groups.​

ETA:​

FWIW, today USFS replaced the original color-coded 2023 Nats schedule (Draft 1.0) with a new one (Draft 2.0, dated Dec 14). So far, no revision of the practice groups document (Version 1.0, dated Dec 7, remains).​

 

[jkl]

I have no inside knowledge but I would bet my next pension check that Molly and Yehor are switching countries probably to Ukraine. Didn’t Ukrainians top dance team just retire? And Yehor is Ukrainian. Seeing the logjam at the top of US Ice Dance it’s a strategic move on their part.

 

[CesYeg]

I have no inside knowledge but I would bet my next pension check that Molly and Yehor are switching countries probably to Ukraine. Didn’t Ukrainians top dance team just retire? And Yehor is Ukrainian. Seeing the logjam at the top of US Ice Dance it’s a strategic move on their part.

Never thought of this possibility! I do know they have stated in the past that Yegor has been working on getting his US citizenship, as their goal was to try and represent the USA at the next Olympics. But you are so right about the current ‘logjam’ in US Ice Dance right now

 

[Trillian]

I have no inside knowledge but I would bet my next pension check that Molly and Yehor are switching countries probably to Ukraine. Didn’t Ukrainians top dance team just retire? And Yehor is Ukrainian. Seeing the logjam at the top of US Ice Dance it’s a strategic move on their part.

Ukraine has a promising up-and-coming senior dance team in Montreal, currently within a few points of C/Y on the SB list. While either team could be on an upward trajectory, Ukraine won’t have more than one spot at Worlds anytime soon. They also had a couple of solid teams on the JGP this year.

Not saying you’re wrong - even if they didn’t get to Worlds, they’d still have less competition for other international opportunities. But the pros and cons list to that kind of decision would definitely have some complexity.

 

[Dobre]

Yes, there would be no guarantees.

That said, it would be a much more level playing field competing for Ukraine right now, should C&Y choose to do so. (None of the three teams I'm thinking of--Holubtsova & Bielobrov, Cesanek & Yehorov, or Pinchuk & Pogorielov--have cracked 95 in the FD this season).

Also no guarantee that Zingas & Kolesnik won't switch to skate for Ukraine once he has served his time post Junior Worlds gold medal. (Or Bashynska & Beaumont, for that matter).

 

[Dobre]

I will say that this would be a strange time of year to make a country switch. Teams don't have to skip Nationals in order to change federations.

 

[ice coverage]

...Also no guarantee that Zingas & Kolesnik won't switch to skate for Ukraine once he has served his time post Junior Worlds gold medal. ...

Never say never, but I would be very surprised if Z/K had any thought at this point of skating for Ukraine.
If they did, it would not make sense to me that they accepted the Team USA assignment to Golden Spin.
Theoretically, now they would have to wait for USFS to release both of them, I think? And that clock would have just started running ... after they already had waited for Emilea's release from Cyprus.
(Theoretical side note: Has Vadym's JW gold from almost three years ago not lost relevance to any timetable for release?)

Their medal at Golden Spin earned them some USFS envelope funding for the rest of this season, although I don't know the dollars and cents.
Plus their international medal guaranteed them at least the same level of funding for the 2023-24 season, with 2023 Nats placement and/or other factors possibly enabling them to move up to a higher level.
And I think their results at Golden Spin would provide encouragement to Z/K that over time, opportunities on Team USA will help them pursue whatever goals they have.

 

[Dobre]

I knew the suggestion wouldn't be appreciated.

They'll compete for the U.S. if the partnership is a good fit & they can make it here. But they have options. (They don't have any other options just now, as he's not getting released with his credentials).

Also I'm sure the Ukrainian Federation has little to no funding available and the skating conditions in Ukraine are currently impossible & were a struggle before, which helps explain why talent like Kolesnik & Yehorov came here so early in their careers in the first place.

 

[BlueRidge]

Also I'm sure the Ukrainian Federation has little to no funding available and the skating conditions in Ukraine are currently impossible & were a struggle before, which helps explain why talent like Kolesnik & Yehorov came here so early in their careers in the first place.

^This. Its kind of obtuse to suggest people blithely switching to Ukraine for some international advantage at this time.

People can speculate about all kinds of things but switching countries, whatever the country, has serious issues regarding funding and federation support. People treat it like it was a game of trading cards. Maybe we should have fantasy skating to indulge such need to speculate.

 

[On My Own]

Man, US Ice Dance has to be considered the strongest skating program ever, at this point. I wish I were still in the US so I could go watch Nationals lol.

 

[ice coverage]

... (They don't have any other options just now, as he's not getting released with his credentials). ...

I wish you would explain what you mean by: "he's not getting released with his credentials."

Before Golden Spin this month, Vadym last competed for Team USA in March 2020, when he won JW gold.
If he had not competed at Golden Spin, would USFS have any claim on him b/c of JW gold from three seasons ago???
afaik, USFS would not?

I find it hard to imagine that Z/K would be thinking at this point of skating for Ukraine, but I do not think that the reason they are representing the U.S. is that they have no other option.

 

[PRlady]

Wouldn’t the easiest option in terms of room at the top have been Cyprus? Their K/K team didn’t do that well this year, Emilea had citizenship and it’s very easy for Russians and Ukrainians to get it, Cyprus is like their Cayman Islands for stashing bank accounts and real estate.

 

[Trillian]

Wouldn’t the easiest option in terms of room at the top have been Cyprus? Their K/K team didn’t do that well this year, Emilea had citizenship and it’s very easy for Russians and Ukrainians to get it, Cyprus is like their Cayman Islands for stashing bank accounts and real estate.

Exactly. When Z/K teamed up, I was a little surprised they weren’t going to skate for Cyprus just because it seemed like (potentially) a pretty quick path to international opportunities. I can’t imagine they’d switch to another country at this point - they already clearly made the decision to skate for the U.S. even though they most likely had several options available.

Also I'm sure the Ukrainian Federation has little to no funding available and the skating conditions in Ukraine are currently impossible & were a struggle before, which helps explain why talent like Kolesnik & Yehorov came here so early in their careers in the first place.

Yes, I would imagine this is an important point. I don’t know C/Y’s financial situation, but even if switching to Ukraine might give them a few more competitive opportunities - it would also likely be very expensive. There may be less visible “cons” that outweigh the “pros” of a change like that.

The U.S. may have a bottleneck, but they also provide some funding and they’ve managed to come up with international opportunities for, what, at least a dozen different senior dance teams this year? And many of them even got GP events. A lot of the teams might not get that much more experience skating for a smaller fed than they do now, honestly.

I’d actually like to see the U.S. capitalize on the depth in dance by developing a few more domestic competitive opportunities outside of nationals. It’s cheaper than international travel, a lot of the best dance teams in the world are here anyway, and if they can find someone who actually has the skill set to promote the sport and the skaters on social media to a contemporary audience, they might even manage to attract new fans.

 

[PRlady]

Exactly. When Z/K teamed up, I was a little surprised they weren’t going to skate for Cyprus just because it seemed like (potentially) a pretty quick path to international opportunities. I can’t imagine they’d switch to another country at this point - they already clearly made the decision to skate for the U.S. even though they most likely had several options available.



Yes, I would imagine this is an important point. I don’t know C/Y’s financial situation, but even if switching to Ukraine might give them a few more competitive opportunities - it would also likely be very expensive. There may be less visible “cons” that outweigh the “pros” of a change like that.

The U.S. may have a bottleneck, but they also provide some funding and they’ve managed to come up with international opportunities for, what, at least a dozen different senior dance teams this year? And many of them even got GP events. A lot of the teams might not get that much more experience skating for a smaller fed than they do now, honestly.

I’d actually like to see the U.S. capitalize on the depth in dance by developing a few more domestic competitive opportunities outside of nationals. It’s cheaper than international travel, a lot of the best dance teams in the world are here anyway, and if they can find someone who actually has the skill set to promote the sport and the skaters on social media to a contemporary audience, they might even manage to attract new fans.

I’d like some market research on cities with enthusiasm for dance performances, from modern to ballet, and coming up with a new marketing campaign by buying those lists and targeting those audiences. There’s ways to promote dance specifically, outside the usual skating audience, but I’ve never seen USFS think out of the box about what has become our strongest discipline.

 

[On My Own]

I’d actually like to see the U.S. capitalize on the depth in dance by developing a few more domestic competitive opportunities outside of nationals. It’s cheaper than international travel, a lot of the best dance teams in the world are here anyway, and if they can find someone who actually has the skill set to promote the sport and the skaters on social media to a contemporary audience, they might even manage to attract new fans.

Great idea!

I’d like some market research on cities with enthusiasm for dance performances, from modern to ballet, and coming up with a new marketing campaign by buying those lists and targeting those audiences. There’s ways to promote dance specifically, outside the usual skating audience, but I’ve never seen USFS think out of the box about what has become our strongest discipline.

Doesn't something like this already exist? https://americanicetheatre.org/

There's actually an entire board on Goldenskate dedicated to "Theatre on Ice" that documents various competitions and shows. Maybe US Ice Dance can collaborate.

 

[VGThuy]

A lot of these teams are probably thinking about the long game and investing deep into the future by deciding to stay with the US…if choosing one’s country was even up for consideration or an option for some of these teams. It’s no secret that some teams may have to wait a long time.

 

[gkelly]

Great idea!

Doesn't something like this already exist? https://americanicetheatre.org/

There's actually an entire board on Goldenskate dedicated to "Theatre on Ice" that documents various competitions and shows. Maybe US Ice Dance can collaborate.

There is a Theatre on Ice discipline within USFS competition. There is more commonality between that discipline and these professional/noncompetitive companies than there is with the discipline of ice dance.

The only value getting ice dancers involved would be the fact that some of them have name recognition from Olympic-track competition. In which case it would be a way to use their names to promote another form of skating, rather than using an existing low-profile artform/competitive track to promote an Olympic-track discipline.

 

[dancing_on_ice]

Do we know if Yehor has his green card yet? I'm pretty sure that Vadym mentioned somewhere he already has a green card and will get citizenship in time for 2026. Vadym has been training in the US since 2017 while Yehor has been training in the US since 2018.

 

[ice coverage]

Do we know if Yehor has his green card yet? ...

Yehor has had his green card since Jul 2021.

Cesanek and Yehorov: Enjoying Every Minute of Their Journey - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

U.S. ice dancers Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov will compete this week at their second consecutive Skate America®. However, this season's event is their first ISU

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

... The U.S. may have a bottleneck, but they also provide some funding and they’ve managed to come up with international opportunities for, what, at least a dozen different senior dance teams this year? And many of them even got GP events. A lot of the teams might not get that much more experience skating for a smaller fed than they do now, honestly.

I’d actually like to see the U.S. capitalize on the depth in dance by developing a few more domestic competitive opportunities outside of nationals. It’s cheaper than international travel, a lot of the best dance teams in the world are here anyway, and if they can find someone who actually has the skill set to promote the sport and the skaters on social media to a contemporary audience, they might even manage to attract new fans.

It's not that the U.S. lacks domestic competitions outside of Nats.
It's that U.S. dance couples with multiple GP/Challenger assignments choose not to include domestic competitions other than Nats on their individual calendars. Which is understandable, I think.

In 2022-23, at least eight domestic dance competitions outside of Nats were available to U.S. dancers -- including top Team USA dancers, if they had been interested.

Chesapeake
Broadmoor (no senior dance entries in 2022)
Five NQS events: Dallas; Lake Placid domestic; Onyx; Silicon; Challenge Cup
U.S. Ice Dance Final​

Koncius/Shchepetov and Murphy/Levitt each competed in five of the above.
Zingas/Kolesnik and Krauskopf/Jin each competed in four of the above.
(IIRC, Koncius/Shchepetov also competed in at least one 6.0 event.)

 

[On My Own]

The only value getting ice dancers involved would be the fact that some of them have name recognition from Olympic-track competition. In which case it would be a way to use their names to promote another form of skating, rather than using an existing low-profile artform/competitive track to promote an Olympic-track discipline.

Would you say it'd improve their artistic merit? Or maybe touring with the American Ice Theatre would?