U.S. Ice Dance 2022-23 news & updates

[Rukia]

Seeing how Eva consistently receives her levels on elements compared to other US women, like do you even look at scores?

Lol I didn't want to say it, but yes, Eva is awesome. Her solo dance experience has really paid off. I'll settle with that.

 

[Stephanie]

Really nice article on the Peals by @clairecloutier : https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...s-ready-to-take-on-the-junior-grand-prix.aspx

 

[Carolla5501]

not to be the asshole but i was hoping he would try and find a new partner, but he will not

I believe you succeeded in what you didn’t want to be

 

[~tapdancer~]

not to be the asshole but i was hoping he would try and find a new partner, but he will not

Are you kidding me? They are perfectly matched and I think they have star potential. Have watched Logan for years and Eva is his soulmate on and off the ice. Looking forward to their Riverdance FD this season.

 

[Sylvia]

Really nice article on the Peals by @clairecloutier : https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...s-ready-to-take-on-the-junior-grand-prix.aspx

Best wishes to the 2 U.S. teams debuting on JGP tomorrow in Courchevel! 2 videos filmed in Lake Placid (outside of competition) last month:

âHaloâ, Elliana Peal & Ethan Peal - Junior Free Dance 2022-2023

US Junior Ice Dancers and brother and sister team Elliana Peal & Ethan Peal perform their 2023 Free Dance to music from the "Halo" video game and TV series. ...

www.youtube.com

US Junior Ice Dancers and brother and sister team Elliana Peal & Ethan Peal perform their 2023 Free Dance to music from the "Halo" video game and TV series. They are coached and choreographed by their father Rob Peal. Music by Martin O’Donnell & Michael Salvatori. Filmed at the 1932 Jack Shea Arena in Lake Placid, NY, July 2022, by Jordan Cowan of @On Ice Perspectives.

'Scheherazade', Vanessa Pham & Jonathan Rogers - 2023 Junior Free Dance

US Junior Ice Dancers Vanessa Pham & Jonathan Rogers preview their 2022-2023 Free Dance to ‘Scheherazade’ by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. They are coached by Rom...

www.youtube.com

US Junior Ice Dancers Vanessa Pham & Jonathan Rogers preview their 2022-2023 Free Dance to ‘Scheherazade’ by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. They are coached by Roman Zaretsky in Houston, Texas. Their Free Program choreography is by Igor Shpilband & Pasquale Camerlengo. Filmed on the 1932 Jack Shea Arena in Lake Placid, NY, in July 2022, by Jordan Cowan of @On Ice Perspectives.

ETA:

Re-posting the link to Kaitlin's off ice photo today with Jean-Luc from the 2022 Champs Canp thread: https://www.instagram.com/p/Chs-w8NO_2o/

Starting the season off this week! Super excited to be here as Champs Camp veterans this week and be surrounded by such new young talent! The future at @usfigureskating is so bright! ️

 

[ross_hy]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but the below article from Match TV says that Grigory Smirnov has returned to Russia to begin coaching. I wonder what Avonley Nguyen's next move will be.

Match TV Link

 

[her grace]

Congrats to Pham/Rogers on their first JGP medal.

 

[dancergrl]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but the below article from Match TV says that Grigory Smirnov has returned to Russia to begin coaching. I wonder what Avonley Nguyen's next move will be.

Match TV Link

wonder what a pairing with an uber talented skater like Ian Sommerville would be like? Avonley can match his star power

 

[Stephanie]

Nice ice-dance.com article on Jenna Hauer and Benjamin Starr, who will make their international debut this coming weekend at the Ostrava JGP: https://www.ice-dance.com/site/getting-to-know-jenna-hauer-benjamin-starr/

 

[Karen-W]

Hauer/Starr finished 5th at JGP Ostrava - however, their score was higher than either Pham/Rogers or Peal/Peal from JGP Courchevel, so they might have set themselves up nicely for a 2nd JGP assignment.

Speaking of JGP assignments - the Gdansk #2 entries are up - https://results.isu.org/events/jgppol2022_JuniorIceDance.htm - Helena CARHART / Volodymyr HOROVYI will make their official Team USA debut (unless we count LPIDI the past two seasons), and Elliana PEAL / Ethan PEAL earned their 2nd assignment.

And the Ondrej Nepela Trophy Challenger in Bratislava SVK we'll have the season debut of Oona BROWN / Gage BROWN and the 2nd Challenger assignment for Eva PATE / Logan BYE. Notably, this is the first time all season that the USFS has listed ALL of their senior teams on last season's SB Top 75 (so presumably eligible for GP selections) as substitutes. https://results.isu.org/events/cssvk2022_IceDance.htm

 

[azcalder]

Hauer/Starr finished 5th at JGP Ostrava - however, their score was higher than either Pham/Rogers or Peal/Peal from JGP Courchevel, so they might have set themselves up nicely for a 2nd JGP assignment.

Speaking of JGP assignments - the Gdansk #2 entries are up - https://results.isu.org/events/jgppol2022_JuniorIceDance.htm - Helena CARHART / Volodymyr HOROVYI will make their official Team USA debut (unless we count LPIDI the past two seasons), and Elliana PEAL / Ethan PEAL earned their 2nd assignment.

And the Ondrej Nepela Trophy Challenger in Bratislava SVK we'll have the season debut of Oona BROWN / Gage BROWN and the 2nd Challenger assignment for Eva PATE / Logan BYE. Notably, this is the first time all season that the USFS has listed ALL of their senior teams on last season's SB Top 75 (so presumably eligible for GP selections) as substitutes. https://results.isu.org/events/cssvk2022_IceDance.htm

According to the ISU website, Carhart & Horovyi will debut at the Solidarity Cup in Gdansk. They will be doing the two events in Poland, unless something has changed since the original post.

 

[Karen-W]

According to the ISU website, Carhart & Horovyi will debut at the Solidarity Cup in Gdansk. They will be doing the two events in Poland, unless something has changed since the original post.

Oh, you're right, and I knew that, lol.

 

[Sylvia]

The 2022 Solo Ice Dance Final started earlier today and goes through Saturday, Sept. 10 in Valencia, CA - USFS' press release: https://www.usfigureskating.org/news/article/2022-national-solo-dance-final-begins-week-california

Link to the competition thread in Kiss & Cry with links to results & a free livestream: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...al-sept-8-10-valencia-ca.109895/#post-6293627
I've also tweeted links: https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1568061145470144513

 

[Ka3sha]

Igor Shpiland for Russia's Sports.ru portal about Kolesnik/Zingas, Nguyen and Smirnov

Шпильбанд о Колеснике и Зингас: «Очень рад, что у Вадима наконец все сложилось. Работают они очень хорошо, ребята очень способные»

Тренер по фигурному катанию Игорь Шпильбанд рассказал о работе с танцевальным дуэтом Эмилия Зингас – Вадим Колесник.

www.sports.ru

In short, Kolensnik should get his passport in the foreseeable future, Zagreb will be their first international event. Smirnov retired due to the injury he got before US Nats last year. Avonley decided to switch her focus to the studies for now, but Igor hopes she would return on the ice and even suggested her a partner not so long ago

 

[clairecloutier]

An update on McNamara/Spiridonov by Darci Miller for Fan Zone:

McNamara and Spiridonov Enter Third Season Together with Momentum and Optimism - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

When ice dancers Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov first tried out together in June of 2020, everything was very cloak-and-dagger.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[clairecloutier]

New Neset-Markelov article by Paige Feigenbaum for Fan Zone:

Working to Skate Big: U.S. Junior Ice Dance Champs Neset and Markelov Prepare for 2022-23 Season - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

After the summer competitions leading up to the Junior Grand Prix season, reigning U.S. Junior ice dance champions Leah Neset and Artem Markelov are refining their

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

The article explains how this duo paired up and how Markelov moved here from Russia. There is no mention of the current Ukraine-Russia war or any possible effects of the conflict on Markelov's travel status, citizenship process, etc.

 

[AYS]

You can see a little snippet of Flores/Desyatov FD from Challenge Cup (including a gorgeous lift) in the 3rd entry of this post:

Isabella Flores on Instagram: "Had some fun in Philly this week 😚 What a beautiful rink and a great event :) Thank you @usfigureskating and @skatephilly!"

Isabella Flores shared a post on Instagram: "Had some fun in Philly this week 😚 What a beautiful rink and a great event :) Thank you @usfigureskating and @skatephilly!". Follow their account to see 292 posts.

www.instagram.com

Shazam tells me the music is "I Love You" (acoustic) - Woodkid

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting from the U.S. Club & NQS Competitions thread in Kiss & Cry:

Challenge Cup Senior Ice Dance final standings/link to protocols: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2022/30712/CAT019SEG038.html

Quite a leap up for Flores/Desyatov from 153.97 in their debut at Silicon Valley Open back in early August

Top 7 Senior Ice Dance NQS total scores:
McNamara/Spiridonov 181.27
Isabella Flores/Ivan Desyatov 179.71 (won Challenge Cup this past weekend & scored 107.49 in FD)
Pate/Bye 178.80
Zingas/Kolesnik 177.47
Wolfkostin/Chen 174.76
Bratti/Somerville 172.71
Angela Ling/Caleb Wein 166.36 (2nd in Challenge Cup in their first full comp. of the season)

 

[Karen-W]

Dance - 5 spots available at the Dance Final (maximum 10 byes total)
1) Chock/Bates, Hubbell/Donohue, Hawayek/Baker, Green/Parsons, Bratti/Somerville = 5, but 1 team retired, so 4
2) n/a
3) n/a
4) McNamara/Spiridonov (US Classic, Nebelhorn, SkAm), Pate/Bye (US Classic, Nepela, GPdF), Wolfkostin/Chen (US Classic, Budapest, GPdF, NHK), Brown/Brown (Nepela, Budapest, MKJW, Espoo) = 4

Potential byes (teams with 2 Int'l Assignments) - Cesanek/Yehorov (Nebelhorn, SCI), Carreira/Ponomarenko (MKJW, Espoo)

So, Carreira/Ponamarenko don't have a 3rd assignment, however their first GP event is the same week as the NQS Dance Final, so one has to think they'll be granted a bye to Nationals. Cesanek/Yehorov could receive a 3rd assignment to compete at Ice Challenge Austria, which is the same week as the NQS Dance Final. That would put the USFS at the maximum of 10 byes, leaving 5 spots up for Nationals up for grabs at the Final.

Re-posting from the U.S. Club & NQS Competitions thread in Kiss & Cry:

Top 7 Senior Ice Dance NQS total scores:
McNamara/Spiridonov 181.27
Isabella Flores/Ivan Desyatov 179.71 (won Challenge Cup this past weekend)
Pate/Bye 178.80
Zingas/Kolesnik 177.47
Wolfkostin/Chen 174.76
Bratti/Somerville 172.71
Angela Ling/Caleb Wein 166.36 (2nd in Challenge Cup in their first full comp. of the season)

It's entirely possible that the teams italicized above will compete in the Dance Final, but they won't be competing for one of the five spots since they have byes. So, we're looking at the following teams for those five spots:

Flores/Desyatov 179.71
Zingas/Kolesnik 177.47
Ling/Wein 166.36 (assigned to Finlandia)
Koncius/Shchepetov 145.55
Cottrell/Palkhouski 141.28
Krauskopf/Jin 137.65
Murphy/Levitt 128.96
Kowar/Schwappach 122.67
Depietri/Carey 112.01
Harris/Vollmer 106.53

It would not surprise me one bit if Flores/Desyatov and Zingas/Kolesnik are assigned to Golden Spin in early December, since they both, clearly, are going to be competitive with the middle tier of US teams who are all out on the GP this season.

 

[ice coverage]

(Sorry, never mind ... I had not seen Karen's post immediately above.)

 

[thvu]

Glad to see Isabelle Flores have a great debut with Desyatov!

 

[Sylvia]

Ice-Dance.com has articles by @azcalder about all 3 U.S. teams competing in Gdansk this week :

Helena Carhart & Volodymyr Horovyi (Sept. 13): https://www.ice-dance.com/site/carhart-horovyi-injuries-lead-to-new-careers-in-ice-dance/

Kristina Bland & Matthew Sperry (Sept. 22): https://www.ice-dance.com/site/getting-to-know-kristina-bland-matthew-sperry/

Romy Malcolm & Noah Lafornara (Sept. 27): https://www.ice-dance.com/site/new-team-series-romy-malcolm-noah-lafornara/

 

[layman]

The Browns looked disappointed in their scores at the Nepela Memorial Trophy (their senior debut). They came in 5th. I was disappointed for them. To me they seem to combine the precision of the Shibutanis with the speed and attack of Davis and White. What do they need to do to get higher scores?

I hate to be pessimistic but dance is so political. Do they need a bigger name coach? The top two teams at the Nepela Memorial had big name coaches (Haguenauer, Dubreil & Lauzon for the winners and Igor Schilband for the silver medalists).

 

[Dobre]

They need to have a learning season, same as Wolfkostin & Chen.

 

[Dobre]

I mean, they could have gone to compete at a bunch of summer domestic events. That would certainly have gotten them further along the road in preparation for senior internationals, but I assume there is a reason that they weren't ready to do that this summer.

What do they need to do to get higher scores?

Better footwork levels. They got only level ones on the footwork (and he had a 2 on the one-foot in the free), which is abnormal for them; and I would guess they will get to work on it because there are no shortcuts there.

 

[Dobre]

Oops! Sorry, I was trying to edit the second post & accidentally started another one.

 

[layman]

I mean, they could have gone to compete at a bunch of summer domestic events. That would certainly have gotten them further along the road in preparation for senior internationals, but I assume there is a reason that they weren't ready to do that this summer.

I am sure there was a reason.

With that said, I liked what the Browns presented at the Nepela Memorial. Their speed and unison looked to me to be among the best at the competition. I am not sure why the judges were so stingy with their marks.

Looking really hard, I think I would like to see a bit more attention to posture, line and position from the Browns. That's all I see that really needs work.

 

[Dobre]

They are very small people, and the speed & power required to impress in a senior field is a new level relative to a junior one. That said, I'll give them time. Nepela is an away event. It's a hard place to debut. This wasn't a deep field. It was, however, a good learning one. And that's pretty much what this season is likely to be about.

The Browns certainly have great unison. They have that unison which takes years & years to develop and most non-sibling teams don't have that until well into seniors.

 

[layman]

They are very small people, and the speed & power required to impress in a senior field is a new level relative to a junior one. That said, I'll give them time. Nepela is an away event. It's a hard place to debut. This wasn't a deep field. It was, however, a good learning one. And that's pretty much what this season is likely to be about.

The Browns certainly have great unison. They have that unison which takes years & years to develop and most non-sibling teams don't have that until well into seniors.

The Browns also have a great ability to listen to and dance to the beat of their music that's difficult to teach.

Some teams can fake it but with the Browns, it just looks completely natural.

 

[her grace]

I think you've gotta give the Browns time. Take a look at Lajoie/Lagha, they were among the very best junior teams, but still had to pay their dues at the senior level. I also think senior judges appreciate more mature themes and as they get older, these will be easier to convincingly skate. Fixing the levels and continuing to work on polish and expression are what the Browns can do now as they build up their body of work.