by Jacquelyn Thayer On the last Saturday of January’s US Figure Skating Championships, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko skated their final free dance of the 2018-19 season. The following Monday, coach Igor Shpilband was ready with the concept for next year’s program: flamenco. It’s a natural direction for a young team whose ease with mature…
Tag: Christopher Dean
Feature, Ice Dance
Behind the Program, Ep. 6: Manta and Johnson, 2016-17 Free Dance
by Jacquelyn Thayer In ice dance’s current sea of soft lyricals, a free dance with some grit is bound to stand out. And from a team whose last free showed a buoyant, vintage bent, the contrast is even more striking. Karina Manta and Joe Johnson, seventh at last season’s U.S. Nationals and bronze medalists at…