by Jacquelyn Thayer 24 hours. That’s approximately how much time passed, after a troubled free dance performance at the 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, before Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker seriously mulled the possibility of bringing back — or, rather, keeping with — their well-received Liebestraum free dance for the Olympic season. “We had a…
Feature, Interview, Pairs
Reality Surpassing Story for Stellato and Bartholomay
by Jacquelyn Thayer What might be overachievement for many new pairs — third in the short and fourth overall at their debut Nationals — is, for Deanna Stellato and Nate Bartholomay, a bit more like a storybook accomplishment. “For me last year, it was mainly about learning how to skate pairs,” said Stellato, who before…
Feature, Interview, Pairs
Deardorff and Settlage Begin With the Basics
by Jacquelyn Thayer Though Skate Detroit will mark a competitive debut for U.S. pair Winter Deardorff and Max Settlage, it’s also the culmination of nearly a year’s preparation. Settlage, whose six-season pairing with Madeline Aaron concluded last summer, faced the prospect of re-entering the partner search scene while dealing with an additional complication. “One of…
Analysis, Feature
What Price Skating Glory, Part 2: Institutional Funding
by Jacquelyn Thayer Editor’s Note: This article has been sourced through both public documents and interviews obtained as possible. For the sake of both accuracy and education, we welcome more detailed information on U.S. funding and will gladly update if and when that information is made available. Two for the Ice took its first look…
Analysis, Pairs
Breaking Down the 2017-18 Grand Prix Draft: Pairs
With today’s surprise reveal of 2017-18’s Grand Prix assignments, Two for the Ice has compiled the hows, whys — and possible huhs — of who and how many assignments the dance and pair teams in question received. Given the smaller fields in Grand Prix pairs — a total of 48 spots versus the 60 up…