A new pairing:
Katarina Wolfkostin has announced that her new partner is Dmitry Tsarevski.
He was formerly paired with Isabella Flores until December 2021, he basically disappeared. Neither she nor her coaches could get ahold of him, and she ended up calling the police to do a wellfare check. So, he's okay apparently? Just... not the news I thought we'd see.
katarinawolfkostin on May 16, 2023: "Dimitry and I are happy to announce the start of our new partnership! We will be training at the Michigan Ice Dance Academy with @charlieawhite, @tanith_white, @gzuerlein, and the team in Canton, MI. We are very excited to compete in Championship Dance and...
www.instagram.com
Whoa, wait a minute! Can Katarina trust Dima not to disappear on her at a crucial time?!!! I mean this brings up all kinds of wondering.
On one hand though, I'm not overly surprised to see Dima back. Just the other day, I was looking at Bella/ Dima's performances on the junior circuit at Gdansk and at Courchevel, in 2021. I was thinking how very talented Dima is and what a shame that he had stopped skating, because it was obvious how much he enjoyed it. So I've recently been wondering if he might come back. Bella & Dima were an outstanding team. They had won silver at both JGP events in 2021, and they were on pace to win junior ice dance at U.S. Nationals in Jan 2022, especially with the Browns out due to COVID. That was a truly tough experience for Bella. It was probably more difficult for Bella in the abrupt way it happened, without hearing anything from Dima.
At the same time, I don't want to place blame on Dima. It was clearly something upsetting and extremely emotional that happened. I don't think a public explanation is required. But I really hope that Dima has at least spoken to Bella at some point, or at the very least that he gave her a heads-up prior to this announcement. In some respects, maybe it's easier for Dima to come back now, because he sees that Bella is happy with a new partner in Ivan Desyatov, and they're doing so well. Clearly, Dima missed performing and competing, or else why would he return?
Possibly someone in the skating community helped Dima and his family. Or else, a professional counselor assisted. Maybe his parents came around to realizing how important skating is to him. Or, perhaps being older made a difference for Dima.
In Bella's case, I doubt that many people would have been able to come back from such emotional devastation last year. She had a lot of support from family, coaches, and friends, but still, she obviously had to go through stages of grief, doubt, and uncertainty before she could even move forward to search for a new partner. Bella and Vanya are truly lucky to have found each other. They are a special pair with a unique chemistry. Bella would have a successful career with either Dima or Vanya, but I think her chemistry and her physical match-up with Vanya is off the charts!
When I have watched Bella & Dima compete, my eye would mainly be drawn to Dima because of his large frame and his elegant way of moving over the ice. Bella has huge talent and dramatic expressiveness, and Dima partnered her beautifully, but his presence grabbed my attention more. Watching Bella & Vanya, I look at them both. They move together in a very powerful, energetic, and magical way.
So, good luck to Dima with Katarina. She is excellent technically, but she never captured my attention emotionally. Perhaps being partnered with Dima Katarina will look different and put more of herself into her performances. Now, I just want to see Jeffrey Chen partner with Avonley Nguyen.
)
She's been one of my favorite ladies to watch this last couple of years. So classy. I'll miss her, and her impeccable music & costume taste.
