2025-26 U.S. Ice Dance News, Updates & Discussion - Backstreet Boys & Spice Girls

[TanithandBenFan]

Interesting. I don't see them as Broadway types.

Caroline is a huge fan of Broadway.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Caroline is a huge fan of Broadway.

I knew I liked her!

 

[nylynnr]

Caroline is a huge fan of Broadway.

She is, but I still think Green & Parsons are at their best with programs based on emotion, color, technique, and not narrative.

 

[PRlady]

So between Cui/Rogers and Robertson/Rohner, I now have two MORE US teams to watch. Really, the talent is bottomless in dance.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

She is, but I still think Green & Parsons are at their best with programs based on emotion, color, technique, and not narrative.

I think they can do it all

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I was searching for information on Jasmine Robertson and Chase Rohner’s backgrounds, and I found this article on Jasmine and her former partner with whom she won the Novice title in 2024. The article is from March 2024, and it talks about them moving up to Junior. It also gives their program music for the 2024-25 season, and I’m so confused because the RD music is Spice Girls. Why would they have been planning a 90s RD for last season?

These Novi ice dancers just won a national championship after only a year together.

Jasmine Robertson, 15, and Cooper Cornwell, 16, have been partners only a year, but make magic on the ice.

www.hometownlife.com

 

[Rackon]

Emilea and Vadym take to the ice at Kinoshita Cup Challenger in Japan for their rhythm dance shortly! Their first competition of the season.They’ll be performing to Poison by Bell Biv DaVoe. Their FD is to Romeo and Juliet, by Prokofiev. Can’t wait to see both these programs!

Good luck Emi and Vadym!

 

[Karen-W]

Denis Ten Memorial entries are up - the Browns and NesMark have been assigned, which begs the question... Where are the Shibs? There's only one Challenger left prior to the GP series' start - Trialeti Trophy - and I suppose they could be assigned to that, but between their absence from Champs Camp, the total blackout of information or even small training clips on their social media, and the time they've been away from competition... It begs the question whether this is a legitimate comeback or just a grift on their part that has taken away sponsorship opportunities from other skaters (like their newly unveiled, as of yesterday, Delta sponsorship).

 

[jlai]

Denis Ten Memorial entries are up - the Browns and NesMark have been assigned, which begs the question... Where are the Shibs? There's only one Challenger left prior to the GP series' start - Trialeti Trophy - and I suppose they could be assigned to that, but between their absence from Champs Camp, the total blackout of information or even small training clips on their social media, and the time they've been away from competition... It begs the question whether this is a legitimate comeback or just a grift on their part that has taken away sponsorship opportunities from other skaters (like their newly unveiled, as of yesterday, Delta sponsorship).

Third possibility, comebacks are hard and they are not as ready as they think they can be.

 

[Rukia]

I'm not going to jump to conclusions but it is a strange strategy to just go right into grand prix comps. I suppose they just really trust whatever monitoring they are getting. Or they are just vibing their way through the season.

 

[Allskate]

Where are the Shibs? There's only one Challenger left prior to the GP series' start - Trialeti Trophy - and I suppose they could be assigned to that,

I didn't see their name mentioned for Trialeti in the recent announcement. Jason Brown is going to be there. They didn't announce all the competitiors, but I think they would have mentioned the Shibs if they were going to mention Jason:

https://ice-stars.tv/trialetitrophy

I'm not convinced that this is the wisest route. Even if they are not in peak condition, they need the experience before going into the Grand Prix. And i don't see how you can show any consistency in your placements with international judges if you do just two international competitions before the team is chosen.

I have to admit that I thought Delta's choice of the Shibs as ambassadors for the Olympics was an odd one. Chock and Bates have to be as well known or better than Amber, who also was chosen, and Chock and Bates are a lock for the team, barring injury.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I didn't see their name mentioned for Trialeti in the recent announcement. Jason Brown is going to be there. They didn't announce all the competitiors, but I think they would have mentioned the Shibs if they were going to be there:

https://ice-stars.tv/trialetitrophy

I'm not convinced that this is the wisest route. Even if they are not in peak condition, they need the experience before going into the Grand Prix. And i don't see how you can show any consistency in your placements with international judges if you do just two international competitions before the team is chosen.

I have to admit that I thought Delta's choice of the Shibs as ambassadors for the Olympics was an odd one. Chock and Bates have to be as well known or better than Amber, who also was chosen, and Chock and Bates are a lock for the team, barring injury.

C/B just got a Ralph Lauren sponsorship so that’s pretty big. I think Madi did a Delta commercial in 2022.

 

[Rukia]

C/B just got a Ralph Lauren sponsorship so that’s pretty big. I think Madi did a Delta commercial in 2022.

That's funny because the Shibs used to do RL stuff all the time. Chock/Bates will makes those clothes look hot though so it makes perfect sense to me.

 

[ice coverage]

C/B just got a Ralph Lauren sponsorship so that’s pretty big. ...

Nice!

... I have to admit that I thought Delta's choice of the Shibs as ambassadors for the Olympics was an odd one. Chock and Bates have to be as well known or better than Amber, who also was chosen, and Chock and Bates are a lock for the team, barring injury.

No comment re the Shibs.
But gotta say that Amber's popularity is (IMO) undeniable.
For example, she has 1.5 million followers on TikTok and 810K followers on Instagram. In 2023 (the season before Amber's first senior win at Nats), she received the most votes for USFS Readers' Choice Award (with Ilia second and C/B third).
In any case: Leading up to 2022 Olympics, Delta also had chosen Amber as one of its Team USA ambassadors. Delta obviously would be aware that Amber did not make it to Beijing, but chose her again for 2026.

 

[dancefan17]

Going from memory (which may not be great anymore lol) but didn’t the Shibs skip Challengers/Senior B comps the last few years they were competing? Seems odd not to get their programs out there after so many years away though.

 

[Willin]

@dancefan17 The Senior Bs have gotten a lot more important lately, especially in dance. When they were competing last very few top dance teams did Senior Bs.

Now the Senior B's still aren't quite as big of a deal in dance as in singles/pairs, but they're pretty much attended by everyone who isn't a lock for the podium - and even those teams are doing 1-2.

 

[Rukia]

Going from memory (which may not be great anymore lol) but didn’t the Shibs skip Challengers/Senior B comps the last few years they were competing? Seems odd not to get their programs out there after so many years away though.

I don't recall them doing them back then either. Idk if it were me I'd want to go to these early comps and get some of the rust off but they are not me so presumably they have what they think is a working strategy.

 

[Jammers]

I just hope their isn't some underhanded deal that the Shibs barring a disaster are guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team and don't need to compete more they have too.

 

[TheOGSkateGuard]

I don't recall them doing them back then either. Idk if it were me I'd want to go to these early comps and get some of the rust off but they are not me so presumably they have what they think is a working strategy.

Yes. I think in both the shows covering the T&D and vm comebacks, there was a bit of time spent about having to deal with competition nerves again. Not easy.

One would think someone would be advising them that jumping right into GPdF against both FBC and Zingnik in a must win to max WS points is a terrible idea.

…especially when they would be skating first. In dance.

 

[Cayuse]

I believe the last challenger (or senior B) the Shibs performed was with their Fix You program. The program wasn't great at that competition, but Zoueva worked her magic and they added the second piece of music with the twizzles before Skate Canada. The rest is history. As anxious as we all to see their programs, I'll trust their judgement as to when they will debut them.

 

[her grace]

I believe the last challenger (or senior B) the Shibs performed was with their Fix You program. The program wasn't great at that competition, but Zoueva worked her magic and they added the second piece of music with the twizzles before Skate Canada. The rest is history. As anxious as we all to see their programs, I'll trust their judgement as to when they will debut them.

I remember that Challenger! The Fix You program was almost universally panned on FSU and they lost to teams they should have beaten if they were going to be a world medal contender, but I thought, "this is the first program they've had in awhile that I really like." Thank goodness Zoueva made the necessary changes to it that let them rise as far as they did with it.

 

[VGThuy]

It begs the question whether this is a legitimate comeback or just a grift on their part that has taken away sponsorship opportunities from other skaters (like their newly unveiled, as of yesterday, Delta sponsorship).

If those sponsors chose to sponsor the Shibs with their seven year absence over other athletes who have been competing in the past few seasons, then they most likely weren’t getting those sponsorships anyway. But don’t let that get in the way of adding to the list of sins.

 

[Karen-W]

If those sponsors chose to sponsor the Shibs with their seven year absence over other athletes who have been competing in the past few seasons, then they most likely weren’t getting those sponsorships anyway. But don’t let that get in the way of adding to the list of sins.

You know, everyone here knows I can be pretty spiteful and posts like this are only going to further dampen my interest in or support for their comeback. It's taken me a full four years to reach a point of acceptance that Jason Brown is our 2nd best US man this quad, mostly because of one particular poster who always jumped to a fanatical defense of their favorite skater. Do you really want to engage with me in this way regarding the Shibs?

 

[VGThuy]

You know, everyone here knows I can be pretty spiteful and posts like this are only going to further dampen my interest in or support for their comeback. It's taken me a full four years to reach a point of acceptance that Jason Brown is our 2nd best US man this quad, mostly because of one particular poster who always jumped to a fanatical defense of their favorite skater. Do you really want to engage with me in this way regarding the Shibs?

You post how you want. Call them grifters, scam artists, charlatans, fake, any other synonym of your choice. I’m just responding to what I’m reading. I engage with others however I see fit, and if I cause undue harm, then I will apologize for it. However, I can’t control how you behave, nor do I want to. If you end up going on an online offensive campaign against the Shibs because of something I wrote, that’s on you, not me.

 

[Karen-W]

You post how you want. Call them grifters, scam artists, charlatans, fake, any other synonym of your choice. I’m just responding to what I’m reading. I engage with others however I see fit, and if I cause undue harm, then I will apologize for it. However, I can’t control how you behave, nor do I want to. If you end up going on an online offensive campaign against the Shibs because of something I wrote, that’s on you, not me.

Listen, you're defending a team that hasn't shown up yet. A team that hasn't competed in 7.5 years. Maybe they'll be on the Trialeti Trophy entries next week and if they are, great. But if they aren't... Well, I call as much bullshit on this "comeback" as I'll call bullshit on Sui/Han's "comeback" - that's another team (in a different discipline) that hasn't shown up at anything yet.

 

[Cayuse]

Listen, you're defending a team that hasn't shown up yet. A team that hasn't competed in 7.5 years. Maybe they'll be on the Trialeti Trophy entries next week and if they are, great. But if they aren't... Well, I call as much bullshit on this "comeback" as I'll call bullshit on Sui/Han's "comeback" - that's another team (in a different discipline) that hasn't shown up at anything yet.

Just you wait 'enry Higgins, just you wait...