U.S. Ice Dance 2021-22 season news & updates

[Sylvia]

Layla Karnes is back on Ice Partner Search.

She was 9th in Junior with Kenan Slevira at 2020 U.S. Nationals and is currently training with Scott Moir: http://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=7123

I am eligible to represent Great Britain and USA (dual passports), either of which would be a great honor.
As a novice and junior ice dancer, I was a member of Team USA’s international selection pool. Due to my novice partner’s visa status, we could not attend our international competition.
During the COVID pandemic, my previous partner suffered an injury and decided to step away from skating. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to continue full-time training on- and off-ice with world-class coaches (including acrobatic lifts, ballroom, and hip-hop) until I was able to relocate to train under Scott Moir at the Ice Academy of Montreal in August 2021.

ETA - also currently on IPS who’ve competed at recent Nationals are Lucas Appel (N1 virtual FD in 2021), Madeline Gans (J10 in 2022), Gracie Vainik (J10 in 2021), Alexander Petrov (S8 in 2020 & 2021).

 

[Sylvia]

Fan Zone article on Hubbell/Donohue by Karen Rosen (March 7):

Hubbell and Donohue Relish Every Moment of Final Olympics - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

The dynamic between Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue has the capacity to astonish even other ice dancers.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Excerpt re. their future plans:

But even after Worlds, they won't really be walking away. They plan to move back to the United States and will do shows [incl. SOI] and work toward building their own schools and becoming coaches.
They each have partners off the ice. Hubbell is engaged to Spanish ice dancer Adrian Diaz and planning a June 2023 wedding. Donohue is dating Australian ice dancer Chantelle Kerry and will visit Sydney this June.

 

[barbarafan]

Layla Karnes is back on Ice Partner Search.

Who did she used to skate with?

 

[Sylvia]

She was 9th in Junior with Kenan Slevira at 2020 U.S. Nationals and is currently training with Scott Moir

Layla’s website lists all her former partners: https://www.laylaonice.com/

Karnes and Kirill Aksenov won the 2019 U.S. Novice bronze medal (he now skates for SVK with Anna Simova & they have the minimums for 2022 Junior Worlds): http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00111460.htm

 

[Sylvia]

Molly Cesanek & Yegor Yegorov (Yehor Yehorov) announce they have moved from WISA to the new Michigan Ice Dance Academy (Charlie White, Greg Zuerlein, Tanith White) in Canton, Michigan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbD_XZnrtsj/

 

[Dobre]

Who did she used to skate with?

Jeffrey Chen. And as Sylvia said, she won novice bronze with Aksenov & last--as far as I know--competed with Kenana Slevira. They had a rough performance at their only Junior Nationals, but they skated better and finished 5th at the U.S. Junior Ice Dance Final that year behind the Browns and ahead of Ling & Wein and Tkachenko & Kiliakov.

 

[litenkyckling]

Molly Cesanek & Yegor Yegorov (Yehor Yehorov) announce they have moved from WISA to the new Michigan Ice Dance Academy (Charlie White, Greg Zuerlein, Tanith White) in Canton, Michigan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbD_XZnrtsj/

Very clever move from Greg to train these teams for a year before creating his own school - teams are surely far more likely to move to a brand new school if they’ve experienced the coaching before and enjoyed it

 

[Rukia]

Molly Cesanek & Yegor Yegorov (Yehor Yehorov) announce they have moved from WISA to the new Michigan Ice Dance Academy (Charlie White, Greg Zuerlein, Tanith White) in Canton, Michigan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbD_XZnrtsj/

This is exciting. I feel good about where MIDA is heading.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Molly Cesanek & Yegor Yegorov (Yehor Yehorov) announce they have moved from WISA to the new Michigan Ice Dance Academy (Charlie White, Greg Zuerlein, Tanith White) in Canton, Michigan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbD_XZnrtsj/

I’ve been hoping for this move since the moment the MIDA announcement came out!

 

[HeatherC]

Molly Cesanek & Yegor Yegorov (Yehor Yehorov) announce they have moved from WISA to the new Michigan Ice Dance Academy (Charlie White, Greg Zuerlein, Tanith White) in Canton, Michigan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbD_XZnrtsj/

That's a great move for them and I look forward to seeing how their skating goes after making that change!

 

[Wyliefan]

I'm glad you got your wish, @TanithandBenFan! Now I hope I get my wish for Christina and Anthony to head over there!

 

[barbarafan]

Jeffrey Chen. And as Sylvia said, she won novice bronze with Aksenov & last--as far as I know--competed with Kenana Slevira. They had a rough performance at their only Junior Nationals, but they skated better and finished 5th at the U.S. Junior Ice Dance Final that year behind the Browns and ahead of Ling & Wein and Tkachenko & Kiliakov.

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. I followed Kenan while he was partnered with Marine Pouliot from Quebec but knew nothing at all about her Lala's background.

 

[Jammers]

Glad to see a new school like MIDA open up it gives teams more of a choice then just going to Montreal. Who knows this might become the next dominate ice dance training center in the world in the next decade.

 

[~tapdancer~]

Glad to see a new school like MIDA open up it gives teams more of a choice then just going to Montreal. Who knows this might become the next dominate ice dance training center in the world in the next decade.

Pretty sure that's the plan. Hopefully they will get results so the plan works. I am thrilled for them.

 

[jiejie]

Any word on what's going on with Nguyen/Smirnov partnership? Is he even in USA right now?

 

[Sylvia]

Eva Pate announced her and Logan Bye’s 2022-23 FD music on St. Patrick’s Day yesterday :

https://twitter.com/x/status/1504536465371394049

 

[Sylvia]

Chock/Bates’ Olympics podcast episode is up!

Unlaced with Chock and Bates

Team USA ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates take you into the world of figure skating as they prepare for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. Join Madi and Evan on their Olympic journey as they train, compete and balance their lives as a couple on and off the ice. Introducing, Unlaced...

bleav.com

 

[litenkyckling]

Eva Pate announced her and Logan Bye’s 2022-23 FD music on St. Patrick’s Day yesterday :

https://twitter.com/x/status/1504536465371394049

looking forward to this but sincerely hope that it is their last season with Igor

 

[~tapdancer~]

Would love to see Eva and Logan go to MIDA.

 

[Sylvia]

No one posted 2022 Worlds results?! Hubbell/Donohue SILVER, Chock/Bates BRONZE, Hawayek/Baker 8th - local Detroit article (March 27):

Ann Arbor's Bates, Okemos' Hubbell skate to medals at world championships

Okemos native Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won a silver medal and Ann Arbor's Evan Bates and Madison Chock took bronze at the worlds.

www.detroitnews.com

On Friday, Bates was elected as the ice dance member of the ISU Athletes Commission by a 32-2 vote. The commission aims to ensure that the views of athletes are better represented.
Bates, who earned the silver medal at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games as part of the team event, was elected by a vote of competitors competing at the worlds.

Junior Worlds Rhythm Dance is underway in Tallinn, Estonia (Kiss & Cry section is open to all for those who want to check out the RD play-by-play thread there) - best wishes to Angela Ling/Caleb Wein, Oona Brown/Gage Brown and Katarina Wolfkostin/Jeffrey Chen!

Oona & Gage Brown article by @clairecloutier (April 11):

The Browns: “We’re going to put everything into Junior Worlds” - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Two years after its start, the pandemic's effects continue to ripple through the figure skating world. COVID-19 cost U.S. junior ice dancers Oona Brown and Gage

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[happycamper2554]

Junior Worlds Rhythm Dance is underway in Tallinn, Estonia (Kiss & Cry section is open to all for those who want to check out the RD play-by-play thread there) - best wishes to Angela Ling/Caleb Wein, Oona Brown/Gage Brown and Katarina Wolfkostin/Jeffrey Chen!

Oona & Gage Brown article by @clairecloutier (April
[/QUOTE]

What happened to W/C

 

[Sylvia]

What happened to W/C

She fell on the opening set of twizzles.

After the Junior Worlds RD:
1 Q Oona BROWN / Gage BROWN USA 66.98 35.97 31.01 7.57 7.54 7.79 7.86 8.00 0.00 #23 (NEW ISU PB ) - eta their RD video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy0kO42_-9A
6 Q Angela LING / Caleb WEIN USA 61.43 33.23 28.20 6.96 6.86 7.11 7.14 7.18 0.00 #18
9 Q Katarina WOLFKOSTIN / Jeffrey CHEN USA 57.05 28.63 29.42 7.39 7.32 7.14 7.54 7.39 1.00 #24

ETA (with coach Joel Dear):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1515001838327984133

 

[her grace]

Browns were awesome today, neat fleet feet! And I kinda like that they are doing their own thing and not with one of the big name camps. Makes them more creative IMO.

 

[Ena Grins]

Thrilled for the Browns! They don't always get their levels, which can hold them back, but they came through here. Those skating skills + those performance abilities =

I'm sure Wolfkostin/Chen will move up to seniors next year, and I do expect a big comeback in the FD. I hope the Browns move up too, although that would make the US seniors field STACKED next year.

 

[azcalder]

Thrilled for the Browns! They don't always get their levels, which can hold them back, but they came through here. Those skating skills + those performance abilities =

I'm sure Wolfkostin/Chen will move up to seniors next year, and I do expect a big comeback in the FD. I hope the Browns move up too, although that would make the US seniors field STACKED next year.

Wolfkostin & Chen competed as seniors at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria and the 2022 US National Championships.

 

[Karen-W]

The Browns moving up to senior is a tough call - on the one hand, they're in a very strong position to likely win Jr Worlds this week, but I don't think they would challenge for more than 5th in the US senior field next season, and even THAT would be a stretch with the likes of Bratti/Somerville, Wolfkostin/Chen, and several other teams nipping at the heels of those two teams. But, staying at the junior level internationally probably won't challenge them as much, and could potentially take the shine off, especially if they were unable to defend a (presumed) Jr World title next season. I don't know what is a better path for them... Getting buried in the mid-top 10 ranks domestically and fighting for international assignments (especially GPs) or remaining junior internationally and crushing the competition (though the Canadian teams, the Germans, Cypriots, and Koreans are developing fast, so it might not be a cakewalk)?

 

[barbk]

The Browns moving up to senior is a tough call - on the one hand, they're in a very strong position to likely win Jr Worlds this week, but I don't think they would challenge for more than 5th in the US senior field next season, and even THAT would be a stretch with the likes of Bratti/Somerville, Wolfkostin/Chen, and several other teams nipping at the heels of those two teams. But, staying at the junior level internationally probably won't challenge them as much, and could potentially take the shine off, especially if they were unable to defend a (presumed) Jr World title next season. I don't know what is a better path for them... Getting buried in the mid-top 10 ranks domestically and fighting for international assignments (especially GPs) or remaining junior internationally and crushing the competition (though the Canadian teams, the Germans, Cypriots, and Koreans are developing fast, so it might not be a cakewalk)?

What better year to fight for senior assignments?
(And doesn't Gage age out of juniors sometime soon?)

 

[jlai]

No he has time

 

[Karen-W]

What better year to fight for senior assignments?
(And doesn't Gage age out of juniors sometime soon?)

They have one more season of junior eligibility, same as Wolfkostin/Chen.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the off-season. I said this in the Jr Worlds RD thread and I'll say it here also... I really would like to see W/C move to MIDA this summer, so maybe they'll decide to do that and stay at the junior level internationally one more season instead.

Whichever of the two (or both) moves up, they're going to be fighting for 5th behind C/B, H/B, G/P and C/P, in my opinion.

 

[jlai]

They have one more season of junior eligibility, same as Wolfkostin/Chen.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the off-season. I said this in the Jr Worlds RD thread and I'll say it here also... I really would like to see W/C move to MIDA this summer, so maybe they'll decide to do that and stay at the junior level internationally one more season instead.

Whichever of the two (or both) moves up, they're going to be fighting for 5th behind C/B, H/B, G/P and C/P, in my opinion.

I thought he had two years?