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

US Ice dance in the next few years is going to be crazy. Right now no one stands out if C/B finally call it quits but i think H/B are vulnerable since i don't see much progression from them and internationally other teams have passed them up in the last couple of years. It would take a lot of retirements for them to ever make a podium at Worlds plus it only took G/P only two full seasons to put pressure on H/B. As for the Browns going Senior or not with the congestion of younger teams in Seniors now it might make sense to move up and make a statement now and not wait for those other teams to get traction while they stay in Juniors.
 
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Jammers said:
US Ice dance in the next few years is going to be crazy. Right now no one stands out if C/B finally call it quits but i think H/B are vulnerable since i don't see much progression from them and internationally other teams have passed them up in the last couple of years. It would take a lot of retirements for them to ever make a podium at Worlds plus it only took G/P only two full seasons to put pressure on H/B. As for the Browns going Senior or not with the congestion of younger teams in Seniors now it might make sense to move up and make a statement now and not wait for those other teams to get traction while they stay in Juniors.
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Hawayek and Baker finished 8th at worlds after coping with a comeback to an injury and a late start. Their free skate was stunning. Two of the teams ahead of them are retiring, two are questionable for next season, so they might be starting the next season as high as 4th in the world. Sounds pretty pretty close to the podium. G/P will be worthy competitors for sure but if H/B have a healthy year i think they can hold their own.
 
skatfan said:
Hawayek and Baker finished 8th at worlds after coping with a comeback to an injury and a late start. Their free skate was stunning. Two of the teams ahead of them are retiring, two are questionable for next season, so they might be starting the next season as high as 4th in the world. Sounds pretty pretty close to the podium. G/P will be worthy competitors for sure but if H/B have a healthy year i think they can hold their own.
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Agreed. They're poised to make a nice leap in the standings next season. Additionally, the new RD rules seem to favor a team like HawBak who have struggled with the pattern in past seasons. The key for them, really, is staying healthy.
 
skatfan said:
Hawayek and Baker finished 8th at worlds after coping with a comeback to an injury and a late start. Their free skate was stunning. Two of the teams ahead of them are retiring, two are questionable for next season, so they might be starting the next season as high as 4th in the world. Sounds pretty pretty close to the podium. G/P will be worthy competitors for sure but if H/B have a healthy year i think they can hold their own.
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Remember though that was with no Russian teams competing otherwise they would have been 10th.
 
skatfan said:
Hawayek and Baker finished 8th at worlds after coping with a comeback to an injury and a late start. Their free skate was stunning. Two of the teams ahead of them are retiring, two are questionable for next season, so they might be starting the next season as high as 4th in the world. Sounds pretty pretty close to the podium. G/P will be worthy competitors for sure but if H/B have a healthy year i think they can hold their own.
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H/B needs to make a major move regardless of who is staying or going though. I do not know what technically is keeping them from moving up (lifts because of size, edges? power?) I hope they find a successful formula soon.

Same goes for G/P. They need more consistency
 
skatfan said:
Hawayek and Baker finished 8th at worlds after coping with a comeback to an injury and a late start. Their free skate was stunning.
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I agree, I thought they built a really nice momentum by the end of last season, and I’m (cautiously) optimistic that they might finally have a shot at an upward trajectory. If they keep delivering in competition like that, I think it’ll be a good season for them.

Jammers said:
Remember though that was with no Russian teams competing otherwise they would have been 10th.
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Who cares? Russia just bombed the rink where Nazarova & Nikitin trained in Kharkiv, so I hope nobody thinks they’re going to be casually strolling back into ISU events and getting overscored again anytime soon.
 
Hawayek and Baker seem to share a good sense of humor, and they like to be quirky, but if they want to move up, I think they're going to have to go the Gilles/Poirier route of leaving quirky behind them. Marie Antoinette doing the minuet with Beethoven or whatever it was is not going to get them where they want to go. And no more disco programs -- they've milked that dry.
 
jlai said:
H/B needs to make a major move regardless of who is staying or going though. I do not know what technically is keeping them from moving up (lifts because of size, edges? power?) I hope they find a successful formula soon.

Same goes for G/P. They need more consistency
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I think compared to some other teams they seem to lack power and speed but the Browns are small too but they don't seem to lack speed. D/W weren't a very tall team either but speed and power were their calling cards.
 
One significant change that is about to occur is that from here on out, Hawayek & Baker and their younger domestic competition should be meeting head-to-head internationally. At the very least during the post season at 4CCs.

jlai said:
H/B needs to make a major move regardless of who is staying or going though. I do not know what technically is keeping them from moving up (lifts because of size, edges? power?) I hope they find a successful formula soon.
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Part of H&B's problem was the pattern; and that has been removed from the RD for this coming season.
 
Dobre said:
One significant change that is about to occur is that from here on out, Hawayek & Baker and their younger domestic competition should be meeting head-to-head internationally. At the very least during the post season at 4CCs.


Part of H&B's problem was the pattern; and that has been removed from the RD for this coming season.
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No pattern anywhere? I don't enjoy them but they are kinda important (or so I thought(???))
 
jlai said:
No pattern anywhere? I don't enjoy them but they are kinda important (or so I thought(???))
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No pattern at all in seniors. (It's being discussed in the Ice Dance Technical Requirements thread and The Dance Hall).

The juniors will have a tango pattern.
 
I have spent the weekend re-watching the Browns from last weekend's World Junior Championships and they continue to stun and impress me. The more I watch them, the more I see details and facets of their incredibly complex and intricate dancing that I had not noticed previously. I just can't get over how low in the knee they skate and how close together they dance (it's hip to hip and nose to nose). They don't hold back at all! The speed and attack and difficulty in their dancing is simply breathtaking! I have watched them over and over and over and over again now and I just can't get enough of their dancing!

There is an intensity and passion in their dancing that I have only ever seen before in Ice Dance from the Duchesnays. Furthermore, I think Oona and Gage Brown have unique qualities all their own, qualities that have never been seen in Ice Dance before. I think they are the future of Ice Dance.
 
layman said:
I have spent the weekend re-watching the Browns from last weekend's World Junior Championships and they continue to stun and impress me. The more I watch them, the more I see details and facets of their incredibly complex and intricate dancing that I had not noticed previously. I just can't get over how low in the knee they skate and how close together they dance (it's hip to hip and nose to nose). They don't hold back at all! The speed and attack and difficulty in their dancing is simply breathtaking! I have watched them over and over and over and over again now and I just can't get enough of their dancing!

There is an intensity and passion in their dancing that I have only ever seen before in Ice Dance from the Duchesnays. Furthermore, I think Oona and Gage Brown have unique qualities all their own, qualities that have never been seen in Ice Dance before. I think they are the future of Ice Dance.
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The following is a section of an interview I did in March, 2021 for ice-dance. com.

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.

“Music has definitely helped us with our rhythm-perception and timing” Oona said. “We have found these abilities are crucial, especially in our discipline. These skills are hard to teach so the fact we were always surrounded by music has definitely given us a boost that we are grateful for.”
 
azcalder said:
The following is a section of an interview I did in March, 2021 for ice-dance. com.

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.

“Music has definitely helped us with our rhythm-perception and timing” Oona said. “We have found these abilities are crucial, especially in our discipline. These skills are hard to teach so the fact we were always surrounded by music has definitely given us a boost that we are grateful for.”
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I could not agree more! This was especially obvious when I watched the Brown's Rhythm Dance. We saw so many teams struggle with the Hip-Hop Rhythm all season but not the Browns. They made the Hip Hop Rhythm look easy and completely natural. They were one of only a few teams (last season) who managed to do that!
 
Russian Sport-Express had a recent lengthy article on the rise and fall of the ice dance coaching tandem of Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva, dating back before their separate arrivals in America to how Dubreill and Lauzon have taken their mantle in Montreal. Some interesting material on the split between the legendary Zhuk and Gordeeva/Grinkov due to Zoueva, an event which led to her arrival in America. Famously, Igor was one of the Russian skaters along with Gorsha Sur who defected during a New York City date of Tatiana Tarasova's All-Star Tour. The article concludes with rumors of their potential reteaming to coach Russians including Eteri's daughter Diana Davis and her partner Gleb Smoklin.

www.sport-express.ru

Их тандем был великим, но развалился за часы. Как российские тренеры сделали американцев крутыми в танцах на льду

История отечественных специалистов Марины Зуевой и Игоря Шпильбанда, ставших знаменитыми после отъезда на Запад.
www.sport-express.ru www.sport-express.ru

In such circumstances, Zueva and Shpilband were forced to switch to working with the Russians, although so far without obvious success. It is rumored that Igor consulted on the pair diana Davis / Gleb Smolkin with Zueva through the mediation of Eteri Tutberidze. If this is really so and the daughter Eteri will be able to unite together after the difficult separation of two great coaches, then at least for this her contribution to world sports will be difficult to overestimate.
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her grace said:
B/S had a phenomenal debut. What will they do now that there are expectations? Somerville is one of the best American male dancers. Can Bratti keep up?
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I love Ian and Emily, and I'm interested in why you think Somerville is one of the best American male dancers. I agree, and I'd like to hear your reasons for thinking this. thanks!
 
I was wondering why Ian didn’t pair up with former junior world champion Avonley Nguyen? Wonder if they ever had a tryout. He may have a hard time finding someone as good as he is. Bratti certainly has potential…and I hope she can equal him at some point.
 
Yuri said:
Russian Sport-Express had a recent lengthy article on the rise and fall of the ice dance coaching tandem of Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva, dating back before their separate arrivals in America to how Dubreill and Lauzon have taken their mantle in Montreal. Some interesting material on the split between the legendary Zhuk and Gordeeva/Grinkov due to Zoueva, an event which led to her arrival in America. Famously, Igor was one of the Russian skaters along with Gorsha Sur who defected during a New York City date of Tatiana Tarasova's All-Star Tour. The article concludes with rumors of their potential reteaming to coach Russians including Eteri's daughter Diana Davis and her partner Gleb Smoklin.

www.sport-express.ru

Их тандем был великим, но развалился за часы. Как российские тренеры сделали американцев крутыми в танцах на льду

История отечественных специалистов Марины Зуевой и Игоря Шпильбанда, ставших знаменитыми после отъезда на Запад.
www.sport-express.ru www.sport-express.ru
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This is some news!!!
 
Igor and Marina were always better together even if Marina did some unforgivable things towards him, as is her M.O. To be fair, I think he wanted to start training junior/younger teams without her first, and it may have triggered Marina's impulses. Canton ice rink certainly lost everything with regard to ice dance, though.
 
I can't find the interview, but didn't Igor straight up deny this rumor? Saying that it was just a photo, nothing more, nothing less?
 
thvu said:
I can't find the interview, but didn't Igor straight up deny this rumor? Saying that it was just a photo, nothing more, nothing less?
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I can see that. If he gets back with Marina, what's his wife going to do? I think that's his wife.
 
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