The Dance Hall 13: When You Dance on the Ice and Your Feet Twizzle Twice, That's Amore

[Kateri]

I just wish my French didn't suck so much.

My French is only okay, but if I get the e-book, I can at least use the in-built dictionary to translate vocab, and struggle through!

 

[Habs]

Nobody need to shut up.I just find the timing of the book very strategic (rightly so) — released right before the Olympics. If its content casts any serious shade on Guillaume or the sport, it could have real consequences. Ice dance is such a nuanced and subjective discipline when it comes to scoring, and this could easily influence whether Guillaume receives the placement he deserves. Just a thought — I’m sure she would never intentionally hurt her partner of so many years.

If the content casts serious shade on Guillaume or the sport, then it SHOULD have real consequences.

 

[Peepsquick]

Gaby might have been hurt or let down by people she trusted but I do not believe that she is out for 'revenge'. She has been dealing with mental health issues compounded by the demanding life of a top athlete for years. I do not think that she had time to take care of herself. She is taking the time now and imo the writing is not only therapeutic and meant for her own sake but she is working toward changing the mentality and climate in figure skating.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

One of the rinks Mini and I skate at offers a scholarship for boys to stay in the sport. He gets bullied mercilessly in school for being into skating but he likes it, so he's started up again

How are GS boys treated in other countries? Do they get bullied like here in USA?

 

[Spikefan]

and this could easily influence whether Guillaume receives the placement he deserves.

It didn’t hurt Sorensen’s scores before he was banned and the rape allegations were out. Doubt the judges will care if history tells us anything.

 

[Twilight1]

My French is only okay, but if I get the e-book, I can at least use the in-built dictionary to translate vocab, and struggle through!

Ooooh!! Good idea!!

If the content casts serious shade on Guillaume or the sport, then it SHOULD have real consequences.

100% this.

 

[Twilight1]

How are GS boys treated in other countries? Do they get bullied like here in USA?

I read Kurt Browning was bullied so badly he left school over it.

 

[Tesla]

I just wish my French didn't suck so much.

Me, too. It’s been too long since I used French.

 

[Belsornia]

Olivia Smart has started a podcast on her YouTube channel called The Untold Story of Being an Olympic Ice Dancer. She will be sharing her journey and the real stories behind the spotlight.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Solène Mazingue and Geoffrey Brissaud have started a podcast (youtubecast?) too, where they are discussing "entrepreneurship, sports, real-life experiences, and the stories that shape us" (in French).

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I only listened to the first part, where Solène is interviewing Geoffrey about his career to date, and it's pretty interesting. My French is only so-so, but neither of them speak too fast!

 

[manhn]

Olivia Smart has started a podcast on her YouTube channel called The Untold Story of Being an Olympic Ice Dancer. She will be sharing her journey and the real stories behind the spotlight.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Just watching it right. She says Adrian Diaz announced his retirement right after 22 Worlds, which completely shocked her. Was it that surprising? I guess I was expecting it, because that’s what skaters do and Adrian and Madison are together (right?) so I just assumed they would retire together.

 

[skatfan]

I found this quite interesting and also quite savvy - in a world where personal brand is so important, doing this pre-Olympics is a good move. Plus, I love to be nosy and so I enjoy all the ice dance girlies who make vlogs! For a younger audience, I actually think this will do more to grow the audience as opposed to terrible RD themes. Knowing the athletes and rooting for them brings in viewers. That's why the likes of Drive to Survive worked - humanise your athletes, give fans something to support or something to get behind or a rivalry to choose a side in and an increase in viewers will follow.

On another note - I was also surprised at how surprised Olivia was about Adrian's retirement. Obviously we don't know what goes on behind closed doors but as someone from the outside looking in, his retirement was imminent. Especially because of the way that Madison was so open about retiring and wanting to get married and hinted at starting a family.

 

[Andrea82]

Panels of the week

Cup of China
David Molina (France, ID Technical Committee member) is the Technical Controller.
Technical Specialists are Pia Maria Gustafsson (Finland) and Lauren Senft (Canada) * Gustafsson called at JGP Gdansk. Senft and Molina debut here this season as callers.
Referee is Janis Engel (USA).
Panel of Judges: the 5 countries with an entry + Australia, Azerbaijan (already on site for Litvintsev), Hungary (him) and Poland.


Swiss Ice Skating Open
Tech Panel: Christine Hurth (France), Olga Akimova (Ukaraine) and Sylwya Novak (Poland). * Akimova called at Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. Hurth at JGP Dubai.
Judges from Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Cyprus and Germany.

 

[marbri]

Just watching it right. She says Adrian Diaz announced his retirement right after 22 Worlds, which completely shocked her. Was it that surprising? I guess I was expecting it, because that’s what skaters do and Adrian and Madison are together (right?) so I just assumed they would retire together.

She mentioned back then as well she was shocked. I don't think a lot of us watching were shocked but I feel like when she talked about it before it wasn't a conversation they were having and they had their best season at that time.

But I think his decisions made a lot of sense for him.

 

[Tesla]

She mentioned back then as well she was shocked. I don't think a lot of us watching were shocked but I feel like when she talked about it before it wasn't a conversation they were having and they had their best season at that time.

But I think his decisions made a lot of sense for him.

I wonder if they did talk about it, but she didn't think it would really happen.

 

[Sonata]

What I remember coming out at that time is that Diaz told her about his decision while they were still at the world championships, right after their competition was over, but before the gala. He allegedly had said something to the effect that he (and maybe the coaches knew - I can’t quite remember) had not wanted to tell her because he didn’t want to upset / distract her before the competition. I remember being incredibly bothered by this, as he had decided for her what she could and couldn’t handle, and framed it as an act of kindness, when the truth was he was probably self protecting and avoiding his own discomfort. I found it condescending. Hey, surprise, I’m quitting, let’s enjoy the gala because we won’t be here next year.

 

[marbri]

What I remember coming out at that time is that Diaz told her about his decision while they were still at the world championships, right after their competition was over, but before the gala. He allegedly had said something to the effect that he (and maybe the coaches knew - I can’t quite remember) had not wanted to tell her because he didn’t want to upset / distract her before the competition. I remember being incredibly bothered by this, as he had decided for her what she could and couldn’t handle, and framed it as an act of kindness, when the truth was he was probably self protecting and avoiding his own discomfort. I found it condescending. Hey, surprise, I’m quitting, let’s enjoy the gala because we won’t be here next year.

Wasn't that the story regarding how Nikita told Elena. Not that it didn't happen twice of course but definitely heard that version regarding those two.

 

[MsZem]

I'm at a loss as to why anyone - let alone someone close to him - would be surprised that Diaz wanted to retire when he was in his 30s, had skated at the senior level for over a decade, and was engaged and likely wanted to start a family.

 

[Karen-W]

It seemed pretty obvious to everyone on the outside looking in that Diaz was going to retire at the end of the season, but the way Olivia relayed it post-season in 2022 was that he kind of just put off having a serious conversation about his future plans and told her they'd talk after the season was over. But, yes, IIRC, she did find out in Montpellier when he told her he was moving to London to work with IAM-O - and she was pretty upset because going through the process of getting work authorization & moving to another province isn't exactly something you do overnight.

Here's the thing with Olivia - she's taken other things for granted in the past & just kind of sailed along, thinking all was well. Remember how the Spanish fed sent the email to all the skaters & posted it on their website, mid-season the criteria for Euros & Worlds selection in Oct/Nov 2023 and at Spanish Nats, SmaDie biffed their TES and wound up behind ValKaz in the calculations, so ValKaz were named to the Euros/Worlds team initially? Olivia admitted after that blew up & they had to fight to get named to the Worlds team that she'd received the email, she just hadn't really paid attention to what it meant. It stands to reason that she just ignored the information & signs that were clear & obvious about Diaz being done after the 2022 season, just like she ignored the obvious information that put SmaDie in a position where they were almost shut out of any ISU Championship appearances in 2024.

 

[Wyliefan]

I know the ISU can seem out of touch, but this is a whole new level.

ISU Figure Skating ⛸ on Instagram: "They’re not done yet. ⛸🔥 After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose. Read their story 👉 #LinkInBio #FigureSka

694 likes, 7 comments - isufigureskating on October 23, 2025: "They’re not done yet. ⛸🔥 After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose. Read their story 👉 #LinkInBio #FigureSkating #SkateToMilano".

www.instagram.com

"They’re not done yet. ⛸

After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose.

Read their story #LinkInBio

#FigureSkating #SkateToMilano"

 

[litenkyckling]

I know the ISU can seem out of touch, but this is a whole new level.

ISU Figure Skating ⛸ on Instagram: "They’re not done yet. ⛸🔥 After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose. Read their story 👉 #LinkInBio #FigureSka

694 likes, 7 comments - isufigureskating on October 23, 2025: "They’re not done yet. ⛸🔥 After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose. Read their story 👉 #LinkInBio #FigureSkating #SkateToMilano".

www.instagram.com

"They’re not done yet. ⛸

After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose.

Read their story #LinkInBio

#FigureSkating #SkateToMilano"

they really do take us all for fools

 

[Rukia]

I know the ISU can seem out of touch, but this is a whole new level.

ISU Figure Skating ⛸ on Instagram: "They’re not done yet. ⛸🔥 After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose. Read their story 👉 #LinkInBio #FigureSka

694 likes, 7 comments - isufigureskating on October 23, 2025: "They’re not done yet. ⛸🔥 After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose. Read their story 👉 #LinkInBio #FigureSkating #SkateToMilano".

www.instagram.com

"They’re not done yet. ⛸

After injuries and illness kept them off the ice, Chinese Ice Dancers Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu are back stronger, wiser, and skating with purpose.

Read their story #LinkInBio

#FigureSkating #SkateToMilano"

lol i can't wait to see their posts about the loving and supportive shibutanis

 

[Wyliefan]

lol i can't wait to see their posts about the loving and supportive shibutanis

Oh Lord, you're probably right.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Wasn't that the story regarding how Nikita told Elena. Not that it didn't happen twice of course but definitely heard that version regarding those two.

Nikita told Elena right before Worlds.

In addition to what people have already reflected regarding the opaqueness of Adrian’s decision-making allowing Olivia to bury her head and be miffed at his avoidance of a straight conversation, it’s not unreasonable to anticipate him wanting to carry on given they had made some pretty big gains in scoring and placements that year. She could have convinced herself he’d continue after finally cracking a GP medal, top 5 at Euros, top 10 at Worlds, etc.

 

[MsZem]

Nikita told Elena right before Worlds.

Wasn't it right after but everyone knew about it except her? I remember Nathalie Pechalat saying something like that at the time.

In addition to what people have already reflected regarding the opaqueness of Adrian’s decision-making allowing Olivia to bury her head and be miffed at his avoidance of a straight conversation, it’s not unreasonable to anticipate him wanting to carry on given they had made some pretty big gains in scoring and placements that year. She could have convinced herself he’d continue after finally cracking a GP medal, top 5 at Euros, top 10 at Worlds, etc.

He'd already finished 5th with Hurtado, and that didn't end well...

 

[chantilly]

This is what Gabrielle posted on her Instagram, I believe.

It ain't going to be good for IAM, Guillaume or the French Fed methinks.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1oazk0j/gabi_papadakis_on_instagram/#lightbox

 

[BittyBug]

He'd already finished 5th with Hurtado, and that didn't end well...

Wasn't Hurtado the one who ended the partnership, or was it Diaz?

 

[MsZem]

Wasn't Hurtado the one who ended the partnership, or was it Diaz?

I think it was more or less mutual. They did not get along.

IMO they were better matched with each other than with their subsequent partners, but what can you do...

 

[Lara111]

This is what Gabrielle posted on her Instagram, I believe.

It ain't going to be good for IAM, Guillaume or the French Fed methinks.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1oazk0j/gabi_papadakis_on_instagram/#lightbox

Well, any competitive sport is tough and exhausting. Its hard work and not fun.

 

[Bigbird]

"Women and girls must know how to take a punch"???? WTH. Sorry, but even speaking metaphorically, this is an extremely unfortunate word choice at best.

Not thrilled with the posts here and elsewhere not-so-subtly implying that Gabi should shut the hell up so everyone can feel a little more comfortable with the very uncomfortable status quo of this sport.

The words highlighted came from Elena I. in the day. In the words of Thuron's partner, who was Russian, the ideal word to describe Russian culture was harsh. In the words of Katsalapov, trajectory in ID is determined, primarily by whether or not the specialists "like" you as a team. So, the culture itself is cruel. I don't think there is even a need to pick a side. I am curious to read her memoirs. If it can shed light on the industry, people will make much more informed decisions. As to whether or not, same sex couples will address the power balance issue; the jury is out on that. But, I do think, more opportunities and support are needed for all types of Ice dance, that is, solo, mixed pairs or same sex pairs.

 

[Bigbird]

Olivia Smart, lives up to her name. Very savvy move her vlog. Her vibe is giving, take me or leave me this is it, the choice is yours. You respect me, I'll respect you. I think this vlog cleverly illustrates the power imbalance that permeates the IAM School. Maybe that's just the way it is in ID. But young girls coming in must understand, they will always be the ones in the dark and unprotected. And the sooner they know this the more savvy their choices will be. IYKYK.