by Jacquelyn Thayer The free dance at 2016 Skate Canada International showcased little movement from the short — but did feature a range of high-scoring performances and more than a few technical twists. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir successfully completed their Grand Prix comeback debut, winning their sixth Skate Canada International title with a total…
Tag: ice dance
Competition, Ice Dance, On-Site Coverage
Short Dance Brings Variety at 2016 Skate Canada International
by Jacquelyn Thayer While the short dance event at 2016 Skate Canada International might have drawn most attention for its return of Olympic and world champs and its match-up of several recent high-scoring couples — the real joy lay in its infinite variety. With a program permitting one of two very broadly-defined secondary rhythms —…
Feature, Ice Dance, Interview
Transitions in Progress for Gingrich and Brown
by Jacquelyn Thayer It’s common enough for skaters with neighboring levels of success — she a 2014 national novice champion with her previous partner, he 2015’s novice bronze medalist with his — to forge new partnerships as prior ones conclude. For Canadian juniors Keelee Gingrich and Parker Brown, such a match has also meant another…
Analysis, Ask the Expert, Ice Dance
TFTI’s Ask the Expert: Fundamentals of Skating Skill
In the second question in Two for the Ice’s Ask the Expert series, ice dance coach and Mariposa School of Skating dance director David Islam — whose students have included current Junior Grand Prix competitors Hannah Whitley and Elliott Graham and 2010 Junior World medalists Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam — tackles the question of…
Analysis, Competition, Ice Dance
Ice Dance and the Off-Season: A Summer Fling?
The earliest ice dance events of summer — Lake Placid and its championship and international competitions, Minto Summer Skate and the Championnats québécois d’été, or Quebec Summer Championships — are, by near definition, starting points for the long September-March international stretch to come. And by this nature, scores are traditionally mixed at best: star competitors…
Analysis, Ask the Expert, Ice Dance
TFTI’s Ask the Expert: Building a Short Dance
The first question in Two for the Ice’s Ask the Expert series turns to the process of short dance creation, with ice dance coach and choreographer Carol Lane — an element of whose 2015-16 short dance with Juris Razgulajevs for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier has been proposed for adaptation as a future march compulsory…
Feature, Ice Dance, Interview
Time and Life Shape Return Perspective for Arnold and Williams
by Jacquelyn Thayer One could say that the reports of Canadian ice dancer Thomas Williams’s retirement were an exaggeration. “I planned on continuing—that was my original plan all along,” said Williams, who split from partner Nicole Orford in early 2015. Certain reports, however, suggested that he had publicly concluded his career. “I never announced anything…
Feature, Ice Dance, Interview
With Past as Prologue, Paul and Islam Carry On
by Jacquelyn Thayer It was a classic quote of much-debated origin — “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts” — that concluded the ice dance team’s reflective Facebook post, a season wrap-up tradition begun in the wake of a devastating Canadian Nationals, where an element error…
Feature, Ice Dance, Interview
Together, Hawayek and Baker Shaping Their Vision
by Jacquelyn Thayer If American ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker know their stylistic strengths, they know even better how they aim to expand them — beginning with a season’s debut at this week’s Finlandia Trophy. Their new short dance, featuring “Waltz of the Flowers” and “Dance of the Parents” from The Nutcracker, came…
Feature, Ice Dance
Behind the Program, Ep. 4: Paul and Islam, 2015-16 Short Dance
by Jacquelyn Thayer Taking on a Ravensburger Waltz with a classical ballet twist was a task Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam were loath to take lightly. “Any time you tackle a new program, there are countless hours that go into researching, choreographing and perfecting the style of movement,” said Islam. “With a world-renowned style like…