by Jacquelyn Thayer
After dreaming of the Olympic Opening Ceremony as newly-minted members of Team Canada, the real thing proved no disappointment for ice dancers Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam.
“It was the most unbelievable feeling, walking into that stadium, having everybody cheering, just looking up into the stands,” says Paul. “It was butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t know where to look, I wanted to look everywhere all at once. It was just absolutely amazing.”
“You grow up watching the Olympics, and the Opening Ceremony is something my family and I always tuned in for and watched our Canadian athletes march in,” adds Islam. “So it was incredible to be a part of that group, and being with the entire team, the excitement and energy walking into the stadium was unbelievable.”
But to make that memory, they would first have to earn a spot in a competitive field at the Canadian National Championships. Coach Anjelika Krylova ensured that the couple made a statement with one key change: their wardrobe.
Paul and Islam in the free dance at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Photo by Danielle Earl.
“After Skate Canada, she decided that we needed more of a bold costume,” says Paul. “The gray was too subtle and too light and she wanted us to stand out more and look more dramatic. As soon as we got these costumes made, we stepped on the ice for just a practice in them, and it was just amazing. Everybody was saying how much different it made the program look, just from a costume change and looking bolder on the ice. So you can thank Anjelika for that one.”
The new costumes, including a striking red lace dress for Paul, fittingly made their debut as the team made an equally bold statement in performance: their second national bronze, coming with a 6-point cushion and new national bests, ensured both an Olympic spot and a first guaranteed trip to the World Championships. Coming down from that peak to gear up for an extended season was difficult.
“It was definitely tough for us,” says Islam. “There’s no denying that. It was such a high for sure, and there’s always a bit of a crash after a high like that, so it was definitely tough to turn it around.”
But the two worked to continue the training regimen that had led them to Nationals, executing daily run-throughs, maintaining consistency and gearing up for the unique challenges the Olympic experience would offer — such as a minimalist practice schedule.
“It was pretty stressful,” says Paul of their first days in Sochi. “We would only have about half an hour of practice every day — there were only a few days where we got two practices. So going from over three hours a day to a week-and-a-half, right before our competition, of just a half-hour practice, with judges there, the technical panel usually always there right at ice level — you always have to be competition-ready on every single practice, and that’s hard. It drains you. It just makes everything you do mean so much more.”
Too, as Islam notes, the environment could be “overwhelming” in its scope. “It was difficult,” he says. “You got there, and the entire thing’s a spectacle, and there’s so much going on, and there’s so much opportunity to experience things. It was definitely hard to kind of keep ourselves in check for the first week-and-a-half that we were there, focus on what we had to do. We knew we were there to do a job.”
That final week post-competition, though, granted the opportunity to fully appreciate the events on offer, particularly Team Canada’s successes on hockey ice.
“We were done skating at that point, so we had a chance to get into it and enjoy it and lose our voices,” he laughs. “That was definitely one of the sporting highlights for me.”
An 18th place finish in the actual competition provided some key motivation heading into their World Championships debut, offering, as Islam notes, “a bit more drive and motivation.” And Paul for her part relished the simple joys of returning to their home base in Bloomfield Hills.
“We’d been in Sochi for so long, and it was just nice to actually come back home and go back to our regular routine, have our regular schedule of skating, and our regular meals and be able to cook for ourselves and everything,” she says. “It was just nice to be able to make your own breakfast and lunch, and sleep in your own bed, and all of the home things that you miss.”
And despite the one month turnaround between major events each half a world away, Worlds saw the couple capturing both a top ten placement — enough to guarantee two Grand Prix assignments for 2014, for the first time since 2011 — and new personal bests in the free dance and overall total.
“Japan was phenomenal. We’re very, very proud of ourselves,” says Islam. “I couldn’t be prouder of how we turned it around from the Olympics, because we definitely had a big jump in the standings and that’s where we knew we could be. So it’s definitely a more satisfying competition that way.”
The two say they’d welcome a return to the nation on the Grand Prix circuit. “It’s such an amazing country,” says Paul. “People are so polite to you, they’re so helpful, and you just feel so well taken care of there. I’d have no problems going back to Japan,” she laughs, with Islam also noting the country’s strong fan presence. “I’d love Skate Canada, obviously, too,” he adds. “But whatever we get, we’ll be happy.”
After some vacation time in April and May, the team is undertaking the first preparations for the 2014-15 season, working out new lifts and other technical elements and beginning choreography.
“I’m finding right now as we go into an off-season, coming off a really great, successful season, we definitely are carrying a lot more confidence forward with us, and I think that allows you to expand yourself a little bit and branch out,” says Islam. “When you’re coming off a year where things are difficult and you didn’t get the results you wanted, you don’t have that same confidence and you might resort to going back to old habits. Just having that confidence moving forward is huge for us and it’s going to allow us to kind of expand ourselves for sure.”
Paul and Islam skate in the 2014 Margaret Garrison Ice Show. Photo by Danielle Earl.
And the couple made one such endeavor upon returning to Barrie in the week following Worlds, as they reunited with former coach and choreographer Kelly Johnson to create a new exhibition: a flirtatious number to “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” unveiled in early May at the Margaret Garrison Ice Show.
“We wanted to do something that was more exciting in a show,” says Paul. “We wanted something fun, something dance-y, and to experiment with a different style that we’ve never really done before. What better way to do it than in a show number, when you’re not necessarily being judged on the ice so you can kind of test the water and see how people feel about trying different styles?”
With the introduction of the new choreographed partial step sequence, the coming season’s paso doble short dance will bring its own share of chances for boundary expansion.
“This year we’re experimenting with the second paso pattern being a little bit freer,” says Islam. “It’s a learning process. I think it’s going to be interesting, though. You know, the paso is a very bold compulsory dance and it allows for some really intense programs. I think it’s going to be a good short dance this year, overall.”
At the same time, he hints, the Spanish rhythms will also allow the team to incorporate some touches hearkening back to the flamenco original dance with which they won 2010 Junior World silver.
Moving forward, however, their central emphases for development are not in the outward trappings of new style, but in expansion on an existing base.
Their vision of ice dance’s fundamentals continues to offer a firm foundation, as Islam notes that the duo’s shared background at the Mariposa School of Skating contributed to matching basics and fostered a natural aptitude for strong lines and soft knees. Programs emphasizing creative uses of hold suit an increasing emphasis in the ISU guidelines on closeness of skating, with Islam in October referring to hold as one of the sport’s most important facets: “You know, when you see a team for example going around hand-in-hand, just stroking, stroking, stroking, that’s something that we want to stay away from as an ice dance team.”
It is, essentially, a matter of partnering.
“Movement and your ability to dance and have a connection with a partner and move with another person is vital, and it’s a lot of what makes up our sport and I think that’s incredible,” says Islam. “I know Alex and I both enjoy that aspect probably more than anything — the ability to have a connection and to be able to move as one is something that we both really enjoy, and it’s something that like I said has come naturally to us.”
The couple, though, knows there’s further room to develop. “We always want to keep continuing to grow our performance,” says Islam, “because Alex and I are very good at dancing with one another — we have to really focus on projecting outwards and bringing people into our story. So that’s something that we are continuously working on and is something that we’ll get specific with as we get our programs choreographed. Other than that, you know, it’s stuff that we strive to make better every year. We want to make our elements as breathtaking as possible. We want to grow in terms of our speed. The elements are a big one every year. You want to really focus on making sure you have elements that are going to bring that wow factor.”
This off-season will also grant the two the chance to refocus energies on school after taking time off this past semester to attend to Olympic and World commitments. With both only about a year, or three part-time semesters, away from graduating with bachelor’s degrees in political science from Oakland University, they’ve also won the time to explore some secondary academic interests.
Islam, beginning work towards a journalism minor this summer, has already tackled some fieldwork. “So far in this course I have had to do a couple of interviews, so luckily I had my dad here this week visiting, so I got to use him for an interview,” he laughs. “This is actually the first one I’m taking, and I’m loving it. So I think I’m going to stick with journalism as my minor, and it’s definitely something I could see myself being interested in as I move on from my career.”
For Paul, a philosophy minor reflects an interest first kindled in high school but shelved for major coursework when still in Barrie. “When we moved to Michigan, I found out that they had so many amazing philosophy courses that they were offering, and after I’d taken about two of them, I decided that it would be a great idea to minor in it, because I would probably end up taking more courses as it was,” she says. “I didn’t want to just go to school to go to school, I wanted to be able to enjoy what I was learning.”
And at the rink, the team considers the education obtained from their Nationals preparation to be the season’s major takeaway.
“We focused extremely hard on everyday practices, just making sure every day we worked as hard as we could,” says Paul. “To get better, go faster and be stronger, and just be more confident in our elements and everything we did in the program, so that once in competition, we didn’t have to worry about anything.”
Islam concurs. “I think the biggest thing we’ve learned this season is that if we put in the work and if we’re smart about our training, we’re going to accomplish the goals that we have for ourselves,” he says. “Coming off the last couple of seasons, obviously with injuries and stuff, it was very tough, and last year we were blessedly healthy, so we got the results we were looking for. I think we’ve learned that if we commit to that and commit to excellence every day, we’re going to succeed.”
The team aims for a modest improvement next season, into a top eight finish at Worlds and a medal or two on the Grand Prix circuit.
“Just continue with the gradual moving up in the standings,” says Paul.
“Obviously the placements are in the back of our minds,” says Islam, “but we feel that for us, the most important thing is to make sure we’re working hard and training smart, and if we do that, we’re going to get the results that we know we can get. So that’s definitely our main goal.
“Just work hard, have fun, and compete every competition we go to and let things take care of themselves.”