2022-23 US Ice Dance

[skylark]

^^ Yeah, it's really too bad. Caroline & Michael are so interesting and creative. I wonder why they were talked into going so conventional in the FD. I thought their RD was okay, but under-scored. They seemed more subdued and cautious in the FD after those low-ball scores in the RD.

I totally agree with you about Ian & Emily too. I liked their program choices last season in their debut as partners. I think those programs were by Charlie. If Tanith made the choices for them this season, she's done them no favors. Same goes if Tanith is behind G/P's new FD.

Re Ian & Em, they have a good dynamic. I suppose Emily is a bit more skilled than Ian's former partner, Kat DelCamp, technically. OTOH, Kat has more presence and dramatic flair. Sad that Kat is no longer partnered with U.K.'s Billy Wilson-French. Apparently, after training for awhile in Britain and in the U.S., something wasn't working and they split.

Honestly, Ian's best partnership was with Eliana Gropman. They were well-suited physically and skill-wise, having grown up learning and competing in ice dance together. Something went wrong when she applied for college in Michigan. Ian hooked up with Kat D whom he was dating off-ice. They had a great connection on and off-the-ice, but Kat needed more seasoning in juniors and Ian needed to move on to seniors.

Emily Bratti is a good partner, but her skill level needs to improve to fully match Ian's. Plus, Emily is slightly taller than Kat and Eliana. If only Ian and Eliana had weathered their upset. It seemingly would have been possible for Eliana to attend school in Michigan while switching with Ian to Canton to train. Especially since that's where Ian has subsequently ended up. But I suppose timing is everything, and getting along personality-wise is important too.

Emily and Ian have something special that was highlighted in last year's programs. Greg Zuerlein choreographed? or at least he and Charlie had charge of them. This year's programs seem a step back. but I hope to be proven wrong, and that they'll grow into these programs and make them theirs. I can't get rid of the feeling that they've been shuttled back in the priority game of the new school. Tanith clearly stated during the commentary at nationals that she favors Katerina and Jeffrey. All of it annoys me. grrr

 

[skylark]

G/P chose to skate to Gershwin--they mentioned in an interview that Michael's grandmother who recently passed away had wanted them to skate to it. I thought the free dance was lovely--maybe more conventional music but they move beautifully to the music. They are my fave US dance team and I hope they have a great season. They just need more mileage with their new programs.

oh, I wish she could have seen them do it. But how lovely that they are honoring her this way. Maybe she's watching and smiling from the great beyond. Caroline and Michael can do any style, I think. It's just a shock after last year's original showings. I love Gershwin, so .... I'll have an open mind and heart.

 

[dancelion21]

We finally have videos of Flores/Desyatov's programs from when they competed at Challenge Cup.



Also, Wolfkostin/Chen and the Browns just finished competing at Budapest Trophy. They both scored a new season's best, W/C with a 180.46 and the Browns with 166.33. W/C's score is the third highest score by an American dance team so far this season, and was also enough for a bronze medal at the event.

 

[Weathergal]

We finally have videos of Flores/Desyatov's programs from when they competed at Challenge Cup.



Also, Wolfkostin/Chen and the Browns just finished competing at Budapest Trophy. They both scored a new season's best, W/C with a 180.46 and the Browns with 166.33. W/C's score is the third highest score by an American dance team so far this season, and was also enough for a bronze medal at the event.

Thanks so much for the videos. I like a lot of what I see here for them. So thrilled she found another partner!

 

[skylark]

Does anyone know what Ted Barton was talking about in his coverage of ice dance jgp over the week-end, when he said that US skaters Leah Neset and Artem Markelov had a very interesting story about how their partnership came together? He hinted at other details about them that were intriguing.

They don't have a fan fest here, so I thought I'd ask if anyone has a link to the information? I love the stories ....

 

[theblade]

IIRC, it's that her family reached out to a Russian IcePartnerSearch-type website to find him.

 

[Weathergal]

Does anyone know what Ted Barton was talking about in his coverage of ice dance jgp over the week-end, when he said that US skaters Leah Neset and Artem Markelov had a very interesting story about how their partnership came together? He hinted at other details about them that were intriguing.

They don't have a fan fest here, so I thought I'd ask if anyone has a link to the information? I love the stories ....

I was curious about them as well so after I read your post, I looked around and found this:

Working to Skate Big: U.S. Junior Ice Dance Champs Neset and Markelov Prepare for 2022-23 Season - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

After the summer competitions leading up to the Junior Grand Prix season, reigning U.S. Junior ice dance champions Leah Neset and Artem Markelov are refining their

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[dancelion21]

Cesanek/Yehorov were the only team assigned to Ice Challenge in Austria. This will be their second challenger event and third competition of the season.

 

[ZeldaJo21]

Cesanek/Yehorov were the only team assigned to Ice Challenge in Austria. This will be their second challenger event and third competition of the season.

Best wishes for my team C/Y to rise above that unsuccessful FD from Nebelhorn I know they are much better skaters than what that final score portrayed!!!

 

[dancelion21]

Program Music for Chock/Bates:

RD Music: "Let's Dance" by David Bowie (remix by Ben Liebrand)
FD Music: "Fem III" and "Tectoniques" by Jorane

Madison Chock and Evan Bates - National Team: Figure Skating - U.S. Figure Skating

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (20) She/Her | He/Him - CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS Olympic silver medalists (2026) Olympic team event gold medalists (2026, '22) Olympians

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

What we know so far about their programs is that the rhythm dance is very "ballroom", and the free dance is a 1920s theme inspired by Madi's engagement ring.

 

[Weathergal]

Program Music for Chock/Bates:

RD Music: "Let's Dance" by David Bowie (remix by Ben Liebrand)
FD Music: "Fem III" and "Tectoniques" by Jorane

Madison Chock and Evan Bates - National Team: Figure Skating - U.S. Figure Skating

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (20) She/Her | He/Him - CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS Olympic silver medalists (2026) Olympic team event gold medalists (2026, '22) Olympians

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

What we know so far about their programs is that the rhythm dance is very "ballroom", and the free dance is a 1920s theme inspired by Madi's engagement ring.

Already excited to see it.

 

[ladyjane]

Me too!

 

[dancelion21]

Bratti/Somerville were added to Ice Challenge in Austria according to the USFS International Assignments page. This would give them their second Challenger event.

2022-23 International Assignments and Results

2022-23 International Assignments and Results

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[dancelion21]

It was quite the competition at Skate America, and even though Chock/Bates won in the end, it was a huge victory for Hawayek/Baker to be within a point of Chock/Bates' score.

It was a very strange performance from Chock/Bates, and I think it was obvious that they didn't get as much time as they would have liked to prepare for this event. There was the mistake on the lift in the rhythm dance, when their lifts are usually their strongest elements. In the free dance, their choreo step was totally invalidated. They also had a level 3 lift in the free dance. Without the two big mistakes, Madi and Evan probably would have gotten about seven extra TES points, not to mention how it also affected PCS.

I imagine they'll perform better at NHK, since they have an extra month of preparation, and their rustiness really showed at Skate America.

Hawayek/Baker were very clean throughout both performances and they won't be competing again until Finland.

McNamara/Spiridonov also had an interesting competition. Their scores have been trending down since Lake Placid, and they were definitely hoping for something better. They'll have to wait as the Grand Prix series continues to see how their GP scores compares to other US teams. Their Challenger scores were among the highest of the American scores in the early season, but we know that Challengers can be quite weird with scoring, while Grand Prix events are generally more consistent.

 

[momrk]

I love that H/B were so close to C/B- let them push each other as the season continues, and may H/B continue to be scored as I have often felt they were not. With H/D retired, this kind of friendly rivalry can benefit both teams

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

It was quite the competition at Skate America, and even though Chock/Bates won in the end, it was a huge victory for Hawayek/Baker to be within a point of Chock/Bates' score.

It was a very strange performance from Chock/Bates, and I think it was obvious that they didn't get as much time as they would have liked to prepare for this event. There was the mistake on the lift in the rhythm dance, when their lifts are usually their strongest elements. In the free dance, their choreo step was totally invalidated. They also had a level 3 lift in the free dance. Without the two big mistakes, Madi and Evan probably would have gotten about seven extra TES points, not to mention how it also affected PCS.

I imagine they'll perform better at NHK, since they have an extra month of preparation, and their rustiness really showed at Skate America.

Hawayek/Baker were very clean throughout both performances and they won't be competing again until Finland.

McNamara/Spiridonov also had an interesting competition. Their scores have been trending down since Lake Placid, and they were definitely hoping for something better. They'll have to wait as the Grand Prix series continues to see how their GP scores compares to other US teams. Their Challenger scores were among the highest of the American scores in the early season, but we know that Challengers can be quite weird with scoring, while Grand Prix events are generally more consistent.

Part that is bolded. They stated themselves that they got a very late start due to taking alot of time off the ice to just figure out what they were doing and get relaxation in away from ice. Their programs weren't even done completely when Champs Camp happened.

 

[dancelion21]

Part that is bolded. They stated themselves that they got a very late start due to taking alot of time off the ice to just figure out what they were doing and get relaxation in away from ice. Their programs weren't even done completely when Champs Camp happened.

The Stars on Ice tour ended in late May. Then they went to Thailand for the ISU Congress (and to get engaged) for most of June. I think they maybe had 2-3 weeks in Montreal before they went to Japan for another two weeks in mid to late July for The Ice tour. They definitely had the least preparation time of all the teams at Skate America, and it showed.

 

[dancelion21]

Skate Canada just ended, and it was generally a more generously scored competition than Skate America, but all the American teams should be pretty happy with their performances.

Green/Parsons placed 4th and scored significantly higher than they did at Finlandia, 194.19. However, they may be disappointed that they missed out on the podium by just one point by losing to Canadians Lajoie/Lagha, who they beat at Skate Canada last year.

Bratti/Somerville had a strong performance, finishing 6th and upping their season's best to 179.14, increasing their score from Lombardia by almost ten points.

Cesanek/Yehorov also improved upon their score from their previous competition by over ten points, scoring 150.79.

 

[MiraiFan]

Skate Canada just ended, and it was generally a more generously scored competition than Skate America, but all the American teams should be pretty happy with their performances.

Green/Parsons placed 4th and scored significantly higher than they did at Finlandia, 194.19. However, they may be disappointed that they missed out on the podium by just one point by losing to Canadians Lajoie/Lagha, who they beat at Skate Canada last year.

Bratti/Somerville had a strong performance, finishing 6th and upping their season's best to 179.14, increasing their score from Lombardia by almost ten points.

Cesanek/Yehorov also improved upon their score from their previous competition by over ten points, scoring 150.79.

I thought Green and Parsons deserved Bronze... they were lovely.

 

[slider11]

Green and Parsons should be pleased with their scoring and performance. It was very close with Lajoie and Lagha and it was Skate Canada so there is a bit of a home advantage. I'd like to see Caroline's dress stand out a bit more - maybe a brighter blue.