2020-21 U.S. Ice Dance

[dancelion21]

Also possible that the American Gadbois teams weren't assigned to Skate Canada for political reasons. After all, would USFS want them to compete against Gilles/Poirier in front of only Canadian judges?

 

[readernick]

Agree. Ice dance is the discipline with the most politics. You don't want your teams to compete in a competition where all the judges are from your rival country.

Additionally, Skate Canada doesn't want the US teams to compete in Canada. The top finishers of these events get a significant amount of money, and even with national bias it would be difficult for SC to put their teams (exception G/P) above the USA teams because they really aren't as good. That means the US teams would likely get prize money that SC wants their own skaters to receive.

Basically, I don't think either country wants to US teams at SC. Additionally, I have heard there is a chance SC might be cancelled. There is a huge wave of cases in Ottawa right now... I believed events of more than 10 people aren't allowed. So, it might not matter anyway.

 

[TontoK]

In the absence of an official statement from any of the parties involved, I do not feel at all certain about what the true (and/or complete) answer to el henry's question is.

Seems very possible -- and understandable -- that it could have been a priority for Skate Canada to find room for more of its own dancers.

Seven couples representing Canada (instead of the usual maximum of three) are invited to Skate Canada International.
(Which of course is allowed by this season's rules. I want to be clear that I am not criticizing Skate Canada.)

There's room for us both to be right, and truth be told, we both probably are.

• USFSA/NBC really wanted C/B at Skate America.
• Skate Canada really wanted C/B at Skate America, too.

 

[dancelion21]

Madi Chock posted this Instagram video of her and Evan training their Snake FD. It seems to confirm that they are keeping their free dance. I'm glad that they're back training, and look pretty sharp. On one hand, I'm disappointed, since I would've liked new material. On the other hand, it makes sense if they lost a lot of training time due to injury on top of the pandemic. I wonder if this means that they will be getting a new rhythm dance since they said in the IAM live that they have a new program, but didn't specify which one. Of course, it's also possible that they planned for a new free program, but as they trained and realized there wasn't enough time to polish it, they just decided to go back to the old Snake dance. The two of them will be on the Fan Friday takeover tomorrow, so we might get more answers there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYM1EUFdpb/

 

[SnowWhite]

Madi Chock posted this Instagram video of her and Evan training their Snake FD. It seems to confirm that they are keeping their free dance. I'm glad that they're back training, and look pretty sharp. On one hand, I'm disappointed, since I would've liked new material. On the other hand, it makes sense if they lost a lot of training time due to injury on top of the pandemic. I wonder if this means that they will be getting a new rhythm dance since they said in the IAM live that they have a new program, but didn't specify which one. Of course, it's also possible that they planned for a new free program, but as they trained and realized there wasn't enough time to polish it, they just decided to go back to the old Snake dance. The two of them will be on the Fan Friday takeover tomorrow, so we might get more answers there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYM1EUFdpb/

I'm going to guess it's the second one, since I believe Romain said all the IAM teams had new FDs. But they could have a new RD, since some teams changed both.

 

[elliana]

I hope Avonley can find a new partner soon. Anyone have any insider scoops?

 

[skylark]

Madi and Zach article ahead of Skate America:

Hubbell and Donohue Head to Skate America With Eyes on the Future - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Madison Hubbell will be frank about it: the 2019-20 season was not the best for her and partner Zachary Donohue.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

An excerpt:

While off the ice for four months during the shutdown, the pair worked with acrobats in Montreal – socially distanced and outdoors – to help them with their lifts and expand their repertoire of elements so they have a wider selection to choose from in their Olympic season. They eased back into on-ice training once shutdown regulations lifted, knowing that it's too close to the Olympics for them to push too hard and suffer an injury.

Someone had mentioned noticing improvement in their lifts, and this ^^ gives some insight.

And I love this quote from Madi:

"We're trying to stay in the moment and enjoy each day and enjoy skating with each other, because we have something that's very special and we know it's probably not going to be replaced with anything when we retire," Hubbell said. "That feeling of performing and freedom and power and things that we can experience together as a team are irreplaceable, so we're trying to enjoy it day by day."

 

[dancelion21]

This ESPN article goes pretty in-depth about how the US ice dance teams trained during the pandemic.

How did figure skaters prepare for Skate America during a pandemic? It wasn't easy

In the first major event in a truncated international figure skating season, skaters had to be creative -- oh, and their Screen Time increased, exponentially

www.espn.com

A few interesting notes:
Madison Chock was injured for two weeks during the summer, and she and Evan missed another two weeks of training due quarantining from being exposed to COVID-19 (thankfully neither are sick). They originally planned to have a new free dance, but decided to go back to their free dance from last season since they felt there wasn't enough time to polish a new FD. They opted to withdraw from Skate America in order to have more training time and avoid another two-week quarantine.

Caroline Green trained with her brother, Gordon, in the spring when she couldn't train with Michael Parsons.

Hawayek/Baker started working on their new programs earlier, since a rink in Buffalo opened earlier, and they were able to rent the ice.

 

[ice coverage]

Michael Parsons Volunteers as Election Judge: “What Better Time Than Now to Do My Best to Help?” (Oct 28)

Michael Parsons Volunteers as Election Judge: “What Better Time Than Now to Do My Best to Help?” - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

During the spring and summer, ice dancer Michael Parsons was observing what was going on in the country with a growing sense of unease.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

I already knew that Michael is an exceptional person (as well as a great skater), and this news only increases my admiration for him.

(I will digress and add that Rachel also is an exceptional person. We're not supposed to discuss politics on GS, so I will just make a general comment that I applaud her activism on multiple fronts.)

 

[Ross74]

Michael Parsons Volunteers as Election Judge: “What Better Time Than Now to Do My Best to Help?” (Oct 28)

Michael Parsons Volunteers as Election Judge: “What Better Time Than Now to Do My Best to Help?” - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

During the spring and summer, ice dancer Michael Parsons was observing what was going on in the country with a growing sense of unease.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

I already knew that Michael is an exceptional person (as well as a great skater), and this news only increases my admiration for him.

(I will digress and add that Rachel also is an exceptional person. We're not supposed to discuss politics on GS, so I will just make a general comment that I applaud her activism on multiple fronts.)

Good for you, Michael! It's been my experience in the past that polling places were mostly manned by retirees, many of whom may not want to be out in public this year. Younger people stepping up is what we need.

 

[MiraiFan]

Good for you, Michael! It's been my experience in the past that polling places were mostly manned by retirees, many of whom may not want to be out in public this year. Younger people stepping up is what we need.

How fabulous! He is such a nice guy... glad young people are engaged in the US--they may save us from the mess we are in currently.

 

[ice coverage]

Ice Dance Talk with the New Generation

This episode discusses Ice Dance, with several new generation ice dancers with their eye on the Olympics. I chat with Lorraine McNamara, Anthony Ponomarenko, and Logan Bye on partner changes, their ice dance history, and their goals long term in this sport.​

​

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3qRbwSFWP3T5NJWlp86fq0?si=N9wBcTzqSCuRP5VTVyFBCA (31 min, Nov 3)​

"I" is Polina Edmunds, who interviewed the ice dancers for the latest episode of her podcast.
I have not listened to it yet, but I am looking forward to doing so.

ETA (on Nov 13):

Lest anyone wonder, I will add (as an FYI, not as a criticism) that the podcast is not a big group interview.
Polina conducted separate interviews with Lorraine, with Anthony, and with Logan.
I am a fan especially of Logan, and I really appreciated the opportunity to hear from him.​

---

Interview with Cesanek/Yegorov about their GP debut:

https://edgesofglory.com/articles/2020-skate-america-grand-prix-debuts (Nov 2, scroll down)​

(For this article, Aly Leia Wein interviewed Paige Rydberg, Maxim Naumov, and Serafini/Tran as well.)

---

On the big day today , thinking of Michael Parsons with respect and gratitude!

 

[mrrice]

Madi Chock posted this Instagram video of her and Evan training their Snake FD. It seems to confirm that they are keeping their free dance. I'm glad that they're back training, and look pretty sharp. On one hand, I'm disappointed, since I would've liked new material. On the other hand, it makes sense if they lost a lot of training time due to injury on top of the pandemic. I wonder if this means that they will be getting a new rhythm dance since they said in the IAM live that they have a new program, but didn't specify which one. Of course, it's also possible that they planned for a new free program, but as they trained and realized there wasn't enough time to polish it, they just decided to go back to the old Snake dance. The two of them will be on the Fan Friday takeover tomorrow, so we might get more answers there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYM1EUFdpb/

I think this is a very wise decision. Who knows how many times they'll even be able to perform. Even if Worlds happens it will be in front of a cardboard crowd.

 

[ice coverage]

Congratulations to Christina Carreira for receiving her green card in August, per this article about Skate America.

Ice Skating International Online

(Am I the last to know? I do not recall any mention of this good news elsewhere.)

 

[eterislouisvuitton]

I just received news from a skater within the US that Vadym Kolesnik has a new partner. They haven't announced it yet and he has since gone back to Ukraine for many reasons, and she is currently injured, but apparently she came to dance from singles approximately 4 years ago, and her parents are Russian. She competed in the US, so they are likely to compete for the US as well. Once again, these are just rumors. IF they are true, then I am glad that he has a new partner and wish them well, and I am very interested to see what lucky young woman gets to skate with him

 

[dancelion21]

There were some rumors a while ago that Vadym had teamed up with Anya Lavrova. Is that what you heard?

 

[chiyung]

There were some rumors a while ago that Vadym had teamed up with Anya Lavrova. Is that what you heard?

She is of Russian descent, and she had competed in single free skate until a few years ago. I heard that she has had the same injury for at least several months and that this “partnership” may still be in the tryout phase. Hope she recovers fully and soon, and they’ll be able to skate on the ice together.

 

[eterislouisvuitton]

THe person wouldn't tell me who exactly it was, but this would make sense. I assume she still holds partial Russian citizenship, so if his citizenship things don't work out they can go back to Russia or switch to Ukraine. Seems like a good choice. Vadym doesn't have as many options as most skaters of his caliber would, due to his height and citizenship issues. Still, I'm sure there were many girls who wanted to skate with him.

At this point, I'm just glad that he hasn't retired and that the speculation of Diana Davis/Vadym Kolesnik isn't true.

 

[dancelion21]

This morning, On Ice Perspectives had a livestream of a practice session at the Ice Academy of Montreal. Chock/Bates and Hubbell/Donohue were both in the session. Chock/Bates were practicing their rhythm dance while Hubbell/Donohue were practicing their free dance. Chock/Bates kept their Too Darn Hot rhythm dance from last season, but they changed the choreography in the ending, which is what they were rehearsing during the session.

Here's the link to the practice session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBYBzcj-1Ss&ab_channel=OnIcePerspectives

 

[eterislouisvuitton]

Junior worlds are cancelled. Too bad, I was hoping we would see some new American talent shine through.

Worlds aren't looking too good at this point either. I also thought H/D and C/B had a decent shot at medalling.