U.S. Ice Dance 2020-21 season news & updates

[Sylvia]

Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov have launched their own website:

Molly Ceanek and Yehor Yehorov Official Website

Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov Team USA Ice Dancers - Official Website: About Us, News, Interviews, Contact Us, Photos, Videos, Instagram.

www.molly-yehor.com

Their introductory post: https://www.molly-yehor.com/news

 

[aka_gerbil]

I’m pretty sure Scott coached in the past, early on in his career, to help make extra money for expenses.

 

[barbarafan]

To be fair, there is a difference between having a skill and being able to teach that skill. But one doesn't have to be a master in teaching technique to be a great ice dance coach - that's where specialists come in. And the timing is right for C&P to take a risk. Worst case, they move from Ontario on to Montreal after 2022.

Scott has been dabbling in coaching for a long time. I saw on instagram a few yrs ago during off season when skaters were there but main coaches were on vac. I believe & they left Scott to have at it for daily trainings. He has always helped at his home rink when at home.
Mtl is overseeing & it was said there would be back and forth with the coaches and nothing has been said about choreographers so there is prob. a collaberation between Scott & choreo mtl to make the programs. They also mentioned Zoom would be used between the locations. I am not worried at all about the quality of what they will turn out. I think Iam is brilliant at seeing what is special about a team and bringing it to light. I think the only problem comes when a team have completely diff. special qualities so if they use that it doesn't come right.

 

[skatfan]

Nor is Savchenko but that doesn't give her experience at being a top notch coach. The fact that Moir is tapped in with IAM might help, though, with the politics and--possibly more significantly with regard to C&P's development--with choreography & an emphasis on polish/improved GOE.

More importantly he’ll have the IAM top coaches as mentors. It’s a big help.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Livvy Shilling announced her split with Alexander Petrov on her Instagram. She wants to continue to compete.

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

 

[Wyliefan]

I wonder if she has a new partner in mind already. Who's available right now?

 

[jennysk8oboe]

Hmm. Is he too tall for Avonley?

 

[VGThuy]

Hmm. Is he too tall for Avonley?

How old is he? He seems a bit, mature, for her.

 

[Karen-W]

How about Vadim and Livvy?

 

[Wyliefan]

How old is he? He seems a bit, mature, for her.

He's 21; Avonley is 18.

ETA: I may be mistaken; Wikipedia said 21 but other sites say 23.

 

[Debbie S]

According to their USFS bios, he is 22. Livvy turned 24 today.

 

[Dobre]

He's 21; Avonley is 18.

ETA: I may be mistaken; Wikipedia said 21 but other sites say 23.

I believe he aged up the year he moved to seniors.

 

[RoseRed]

He's 21; Avonley is 18.

ETA: I may be mistaken; Wikipedia said 21 but other sites say 23.

Are you looking at the Wikipedia page for the Russian singles skater Alexander Petrov? I believe he's 21.

 

[Wyliefan]

Are you looking at the Wikipedia page for the Russian singles skater Alexander Petrov? I believe he's 21.

That was my mistake, I guess!

 

[Wyliefan]

Pate/Bye are getting a Hunger Games FD: https://twitter.com/evampate/status/1372999691059740682?s=19

 

[skatingguy]

Pate/Bye are getting a Hunger Games FD: https://twitter.com/evampate/status/1372999691059740682?s=19

They're doing a free dance to the theme from Russian Nationals? What is the theme of Russian Nationals?

 

[mjb52]

Alexander Nevsky is the theme of Russian Nationals: Battle on the Ice

 

[Sylvia]

Final ice dance standings in Stockholm:
SILVER - Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 214.71 2 3
4 Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA 212.69 3 4
9 Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA 188.51 11 9

Lynn Rutherford's U.S.-focused FD article: https://www.teamusa.org/News/2021/M...e-Win-Third-Straight-World-Championship-Medal

Nice to see Hawayek & Baker are getting the fun opportunity to participate in World Team Trophy (after H/D & C/B declined) - Kaitlin shared her excitement today along with a throwback photo in Osaka: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNFijZ5pKfI/

 

[Sylvia]

Carreira/Ponomarenko and Green/Parsons are listed as WTT alternates - copying over what I posted on Monday from C/P's fan thread:

From Christina's Instagram stories today - she has just started her 2-week quarantine in London, Ontario and they will begin training with Scott Moir in person after that.

 

[Sylvia]

Wheaton Ice Skating Academy has a new Instagram account and the first 2 posts introduce their senior level teams.

Green/Parsons: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIwPl7rjc4/

McNamara/Spiridonov: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNKn-pqrnNr/

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from Oona & Gage Brown's fan thread...

IDC article by Anne Calder (March 30):

Siblings Oona and Gage Brown Aim High – Ice-dance.com

www.ice-dance.com

Excerpts:

The large block of training time after the National Championships usually allotted to prepare for Junior Worlds was diverted to other projects this year.
“We have used this time to expand our skating skills; the time also allows us to be extra prepared for our upcoming season,” Oona explained. “We have been spending a lot of time improvising both on and off the ice. This helps our choreography process as well as our creativity and flow.”
“We are putting a lot of effort into our choreography process; the extra time definitely helps since we have two programs to create instead of last year’s one,” noted Gage. “We’ve also been touching up our technical skills as well as developing new elements and transitions to hopefully improve on our component mark.”

“Our goals for the upcoming season are to win the title at the 2022 Nationals, as well as to make the podium for all of our JGP assignments. To achieve these goals, I will be working on every detail, both separately and with Gage,” Oona declared.
“We plan on achieving our goals with lots of hard work, training and perfecting the little details. We are also hoping to expand our repertoire of lifts and elements for the coming season,” added Gage.
The Brown siblings have another positive going for them as they aim to accomplish more feats on the ice.
They come from a very musical family. Gage has played the electric bass for about nine years. He sings and plays in a band he started with his two older brothers. He also plays the bagpipes and has participated in several Irish marching bands with Oona, who is a snare drummer.

 

[clairecloutier]

Here's a detailed article by Lois Elfman on how Hawayek & Baker created their free dance this season:

Creativity in Motion – The Choreography Process | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

 

[Sylvia]

Ice dancers who have written for Washington FSC's The Blade newsletter:

Lorraine McNamara (April 2021 issue #2): https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=450fb40e4cddd82bdd7af8cec&id=060af12d71

If I had to pick one word to describe the past year, I would choose “metamorphosis.” The months were filled with so much change and shifting, and at times, a lot of darkness. There were times when uncertainty was overwhelming, and fear crept in. However, through it all, I knew something beautiful was taking place. I am very proud of how I have evolved as an athlete, artist, and a young woman through this all and am eager to share all I have developed with the world around me. Anton and I are beyond thrilled for all that is in store for us in our future. We are confident that we have something so special to offer to the sport and to the world, and we look forward to showing even more of who we are as a team.

Michael Parsons, Ian Somerville, Caleb Wein, Alexei Kiliakov Jr. & Elizabeth Tkachenko (2021 Nationals special edition): https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=450fb40e4cddd82bdd7af8cec&id=6863f69900

From the end of Tkachenko/Kiliakov's Q&A:

When we got on for our free dance warm-up practice on Thursday, we collided with each other and Alexei cut Liza’s knee open with his blade by accident. Liza was rushed off the ice and had to get stitches. Thanks to the professional US Figure Skating staff, Liza was still able to compete four hours later. Regardless of the circumstances, it was our best free dance run through of the year.

 

[Sylvia]

Hawayek/Baker article published before their 3rd place FD at WTT (April 15):

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker latch on to humor, joy and being organic

The three-time U.S. bronze medalists have had to fight their way into the crowded U.S. ice dance spotlight, competing alongside all-time greats.

olympics.nbcsports.com

Fan Zone article on Hubbell/Donohue (April 12):

Hubbell and Donohue Cap Poignant Season with World Silver, Turn Attention to Olympic Year - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Before they took the ice for their free dance at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 in Stockholm, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue had a private

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[Sylvia]

Livvy Shilling announced her split with Alexander Petrov on her Instagram [Feb. 16, 2021]. She wants to continue to compete.

Livvy's IPS profile (last updated Feb. 24; "Short term, I hope to find a partner who is as excited to create and compete a Blues/Hip hop RD as I am! "): http://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=6952
Alexander Petrov is newly listed on IPS as of April 18: http://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=6977

Article by Anne Calder on 2021 U.S. Junior pewter medalists Isabella Flores and Dimitry Tsarevski (who are now listed in the ISP):

Flores & Tsarevski shine in Nationals debut – Ice-dance.com

www.ice-dance.com

Isabelle Flores shared this practice clip earlier today ("The [twizzle] unison is almost on point"): https://www.instagram.com/p/CN3Paa5l5ys/

WISA's latest Instagram post - Elizabeth (Liza) Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov ('We have been skating together for 10 years."): https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2a_InLkRL/

These are the 6 ISU Junior age-eligible teams currently listed in the ISP:
Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen [J1 at 2021 Nationals]
Oona Brown and Gage Brown [J2]
Katarina DelCamp and Ian Somerville [J3]
Isabella Flores and Dimitry Tsarevski [J4]
Angela Ling and Caleb Wein [J5]
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov [J7]

 

[Sylvia]

WISA has introduced 2 more teams on their IG account:

NEW - Madeline Freeman & Christian Bennett ("We began skating together in October of 2020, and we plan to compete at the Junior level in the upcoming 2021-2022 season."): https://www.instagram.com/p/CODWRPyLPHr/

Caroline & Brendan Mullen: https://www.instagram.com/p/COAgNeULFN_/

We are a brother and sister ice dance team. We have been skating for 10 years and this will be our fifth year ice dancing together. This season, we are competing for our first time at the Junior level. Last season we earned the bronze medal at the 2021 US Championship Series at the Novice level. We are also three-time National competitors in the Juvenile, Intermediate, and Novice levels.

ETA:

USFS' Skater Spotlight on Nathan Truesdell by Jillian L. Martinez:

Truesdell brings cultural richness to ice dance | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

Excerpts:

To start, Truesdell is the founding director of the Ice Dance Academy of North Carolina (IDANC). However, unknown to many, he is also the highest-placing African American ice dancer at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships® and the first African American figure skating coach and choreographer to produce U.S. champions and Team USA athletes in ice dance. More so, his identity as an African American man and desire to incorporate different cultures into ice dance has been the impetus in his passion to make figure skating more inclusive.
“I started competing in freestyle [skating], but I was always inspired by my coaches [former internationally recognized ice dancers Yaroslava Nechaeva and Yuri Chesnichenko] because they were so stunning,” Truesdell said. “I saw videos of them and wanted to ice dance, too. I had never seen such beautiful movement on the ice.”

According to Truesdell, the term “street dance rhythms” has had a negative connotation associated with it as comes from not being developed in a ballroom and referred to a style of dance different from the European norm.
As Truesdell’s athletes pick music to fit street dance rhythms, they are still encouraged to research the roots and culture of the music and involve community members in the design and construction of appropriate costumes along the way.
“This doesn’t always mean that if we have to use a street dance rhythm we are going to use a song by a minority artist, but it does mean I am going to challenge my athletes to learn about the ‘who, what, when, where, why’ in different genres and programs we use,” he said. “Then, we try to include people from the cultures every step of the way if we can.”
Outside his role in IDANC, Truesdell serves on numerous diversity and equity committees within U.S. Figure Skating, including the U.S. Center for Coaching Excellence, the Professional Skaters Association and the Diversify Ice Foundation.

 

[Sylvia]

^^^ Logan Bye casually describes his current academic studies around the 20-minute mark of Polina's podcast - he aims to finish his undergraduate degree in Cellular & Molecular Biology AND a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Biomaterials & Regenerative Medicine (future of stem cell therapy/treatment) at the University of Michigan by May 2021.

Polina's reaction: "That is so cool. What the heck, wow, that nuts! Damn, I'm just a Communications major."

Logan Bye posted UM graduation photos yesterday (with his parents and partner Eva Pate): https://www.instagram.com/p/COWSfDDrKMu/
"Countless hours well spent. Can’t thank everyone enough for all the support and guidance through these 5 years. Masters in Biomedical Engineering."
<-- (ETA that the respect emoji isn't displaying properly right now?)

Olivia Dietrich and Eduard Pylypenko introduced themselves on the WISA account: https://www.instagram.com/p/COVuLkirdZK/
Excerpt:

We have been skating together for 2 1/2 years. Olivia has been training with WISA since she was eight years old, and Eduard joined the Academy two and a half years ago. We competed at the Novice level this past season, and are thrilled to be invited to join the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating National Development Team. This season, we will be skating at the Junior level...

D/P placed 7th of the 10 Novice teams in the 2021 U.S. Championship Series virtual national comp. (top 4 Novice FD videos of Anabelle Larson/Lucas Appel, Olivia Ilin/Dylan Cain, Caroline Mullen/Brendan Mullen & Emma L'Esperance/Mika Amdour are available to watch/linked from the Kiss & Cry thread here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-2021-us-nationals.107891/page-3#post-5962945

 

[kwanfan1818]

Logan Bye posted UM graduation photos yesterday (with his parents and partner Eva Pate): https://www.instagram.com/p/COWSfDDrKMu/
"Countless hours well spent. Can’t thank everyone enough for all the support and guidance through these 5 years. Masters in Biomedical Engineering."

Congratulations to him: that is a tough degree to earn and a great accomplishment

 

[Sylvia]

Molly Cesanek/Yehor Yehorov article by Karen Rosen (May 10): https://www.usfigureskating.org/news/article/enjoying-process
Excerpt:

While they say they never get tired of being together, they know when to give each other space. Cesanek is a sophomore at American University studying health promotion while Yehorov is pursuing a degree from the National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine and said he hopes to eventually open a skating academy in the U.S. with Cesanek. [...]
“Ultimately, we would love to go to the World Championships and the Olympics for Team USA,” Cesanek said, “but we really desire to bring something bigger than that which is just to have people feel something when they watch us, to make them feel what is inside of you and your soul. We want to cause a big audience to get lost in the moment, escape their lives for a few minutes and live something through our programs.”

They were featured on the WISA account last week: https://www.instagram.com/p/COdM6KrL1RX/

... Molly studies health promotion at American University and Yehor is in his senior year at National University of Ukraine Physical Education and Sport.

Article about Madison Chock and her mom (and dad) by Jillian L. Martinez, published on May 6, before Mother's Day:

Madison and Barbara Chock, A Mother-Daughter Team - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Ice dancer Madison Chock and her mother, Barbara Chock, are everything to each other. According to Madison, her mother has always been a strong focal point in her

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Despite having early success with singles skating, Madison instantly fell in love with ice dancing and decided to change disciplines. However, in order to help her chase her dreams of becoming an elite ice dancer, Barbara and Wes chose to leave their home in California and move to Michigan.
"I was 12 at that time, and that is a lot of faith to put in a 12-year-old," Madison said. "I'm very fortunate to have such incredible parents who have sacrificed their time and their hopes to succeed at my dream. [...]
In an effort to keep Madison's life stable, family and friends flew in from Hawaii, California, and Boston to help take care of her while Barbara traveled to Texas for chemotherapy. Since being in remission for almost 15 years, Barbara has had the opportunity to see her daughter compete at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia (2014), and PyeongChang, South Korea (2018).

WISA's latest post a few days ago featured one of their younger teams: https://www.instagram.com/p/COkun0srTPW/

We are Annelise Stapert (12) and Maxim Korotcov (13)
We have been skating together for 3 years. This season we will be competing at the Novice level. One of our accomplishments is that in our first season together, we placed fifth in the 2019 Juvenile National Championship. We also made it into the National Development Team in 2020 and 2021. ...

Olivia Dietrich and Eduard Pylypenko introduced themselves on the WISA account: https://www.instagram.com/p/COVuLkirdZK/

The previous partner of Olivia Dietrich's in 2018 was Seiji Urano who has teamed up in Japan with Utana Yoshida - more in the Japanese news thread here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ason-news-updates.107299/page-10#post-6000866

... 2021 U.S. Championship Series virtual national comp. (top 4 Novice FD videos of Anabelle Larson/Lucas Appel, Olivia Ilin/Dylan Cain, Caroline Mullen/Brendan Mullen & Emma L'Esperance/Mika Amdour are available to watch/linked from the Kiss & Cry thread here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-2021-us-nationals.107891/page-3#post-5962945

Palm Beach Post article published on May 6 about Anabelle Larson & Lucas Appel, the Novice FD winners of the U.S. Champions Series virtual competition (follow the link quoted above to watch their FD video):

In Focus: Young figure-skating pair earn sheer victory at national dance competition

Anabelle Larson and Lucas Appel, who each had success as individual skaters, recently earned the title of 2021 U.S champions in Novice Free Dance.

www.palmbeachpost.com

They were paired as a skating team last June, after each tried out at the Hertz Ice Arena in Estero for trainer Marina Zoueva, who said they would be a good match.
Lucas believes their success as solo ice dancers helped hone their individual strengths and form a stronger team.
Mondays through Thursdays, the duo train with Zoueva and her husband, trainer Johnny Johns in Estero, located between Naples and Fort Myers. Fridays through Sundays are spent at home in Palm Beach County.
Anabelle was 2 when she started skating at the Palm Beach Skate Zone, where her parents, Rosie and Erik, taught skating. Now, her parents coach figure skating at Palm Beach Ice Works in West Palm Beach.

(Figure skating historical trivia not included in the article - Anabelle's father is Erik Larson, the 1985 World Junior men's champion in December 1984 and the 1989 & 1990 U.S. National Senior men's pewter medalist.)

 

[Sylvia]

These are the 6 ISU Junior age-eligible teams currently listed in the ISP:
Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen [J1 at 2021 Nationals]
Oona Brown and Gage Brown [J2]
Katarina DelCamp and Ian Somerville [J3]
Isabella Flores and Dimitry Tsarevski [J4]
Angela Ling and Caleb Wein [J5]
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov [J7]

Leah Neset and Artem Markelov [J6] were added to the ISP recently - Jordan Cowan recently filmed their new Junior free dance at their home rink in Colorado Springs.
Part 1 to "My Immortal" by Evanescence: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPgaI6wHfQw/
Part 2 with transition to "In The End" by Tommee Profitt & Linkin Park: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPiYHCvHefh/
Choreographers: Elena Dostatni (their coach) & Joel Dear (one of the Browns' coaches)

N/M debuted both programs at the Ann Arbor Springtime Invitational in Michigan earlier this month and shared their Junior Rhythm Dance video from the club comp. (music as listed in the caption): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0opm34FC-W8
Part 1: Michael Buble - Feeling Good
Part 2: Yellow Claw - DJ Turn It Up

ETA that in addition to the WISA (Wheaton) Instagram account, we also have one for the WASA ice dance program based in Colorado Springs: https://www.instagram.com/wasa_ice_dance/