2026-27 U.S. Ice Dance

[dancelion21]

Last Season's Thread

ASSIGNMENTS

Championship Events​

Four Continents	World Junior Championships	World Championships

Grand Prix Events​

Grand Prix de France	Skate Canada	Cup of China	Skate America	Finlandia Trophy	NHK Trophy	Grand Prix Final​
Carreira/Ponomarenko Neset/Markelov Pate/Bye	Brown/Brown Green/Parsons Wolfkostin/Tsarevski	Bratti/Somerville Pate/Bye	Zingas/Kolesnik TBD TBD	Bratti/Somerville Brown/Brown Green/Parsons	Carreira/Ponomarenko Zingas/Kolesnik

Challenger Events​

Kinoshita Group Cup	Lombardia Trophy	Nebelhorn Trophy	Nepela Memorial	Trialeti Trophy	Denis Ten Memorial	Budapest Trophy	Tallinn Trophy	Warsaw Cup	Golden Spin

Junior Grand Prix Events​

JGP China	JGP Latvia	JGP Thailand	JGP Turkey	JGP Georgia	JGP Slovenia	JGP Poland	JGP Final

International Selection Pool
Senior

• Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville
• Oona Brown and Gage Brown
• Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko
• Madison Chock and Evan Bates
• Amy Cui and Jonathan Rogers
• Isabella Flores and Linus Jepsen
• Caroline Green and Michael Parsons
• Raffaella Koncius and Alexey Shchepetov
• Caroline Mullen and Brendan Mullen
• Leah Neset and Artem Markelov
• Eva Pate and Logan Bye
• Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal
• Vanessa Pham and Anton Spiridonov
• Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski
• Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

Junior

• Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin
• Marian Carhart and Denis Bledsoe
• Jane Calhoun and Mark Zheltyshev
• Effie Chen and Gordei Chitipakhovian
• Sophia Feige and Wiles Middlekauff
• Grace Fischer and Luke Fischer
• Clara Fugate and Warren Fugate
• Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo
• Rylen Lukanin and Patrick O’Brien
• Jasmine Robertson and Chase Rohner
• Annelise Stapert and Maxim Korotcov
• Aneta Vaclavikova and William Lissauer

Thoughts for the Season

1. Will Zingas/Kolesnik continue their momentum from last season and cement their spot as US no. 1? How will they fare against other international teams as a non-IAM team? Can CPom, Green/Parsons, or some other team challenge them?
2. Will any teams try a coaching change to IAM, now that Chock/Bates are unofficially retired?
3. Will any teams leave MIDA after the coaching upheaval from last season?
4. The Browns had a breakthrough program last season, will they continue that momentum?
5. Who will receive the two TBD Skate America spots? Wolfkostin/Tsarevski and Neset/Markelov both only have one assignment, but teams like Cui/Rogers and the Peals had good showings at Nationals and could earn a GP debut.
6. Will Aboian/Veselukhin continue their dominance in juniors?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Will Zingas/Kolesnik continue their momentum from last season and cement their spot as US no. 1? How will they fare against other international teams as a non-IAM team? Can CPom, Green/Parsons, or some other team challenge them?

Lots of hard to determine questions, but I'll give it a try:

I think Z/K will cement what they built last season. They are very talented and driven to succeed, clearly. It is not a drawback for them to not be an IAM team. Shpilband knows his way around in ice dance, eh! He's very savvy and connected. He waited patiently and observed carefully far and wide prior to finding Emilia as a new partner for Vadym, post the Avonley Nguyen split.

Yes, of course, C-Pom and Green/ Parsons, as well as the Browns, and Bratti/ Somerville will challenge Z/K, and even Wolf/ Tsar, will be challenging for the U.S. podium, and to establish international cred. The key is, as always, developing the right material. Music choices and choreo are everything. It all needs to fit right. Plus, improving weaknesses and enhancing strengths is important, but not easy to accomplish. None of this is easy, obviously.

I personally hope to see Neset/ Markelov find their mojo as adults and continue to blossom as a talented young team, worthy of respect, rewards, and continued opportunities. I also like Cui/ Rogers, and I'm eager to see their progress. It will be interesting to find out if Flores' partnership with Jepsen can get stronger under the tutelage of Moir/ Hubbell. Will the Peals continue to improve from their notable senior debut last season under Moir/ Hubbell?

BTW, Cui/ Rogers were recently interviewed by icedance.com.

All-in-all, I think Zingas/ Kolesnik will continue to hold a strong advantage in the U.S., and continue to be competitive at the top internationally due to their solid, stellar showing last season. I'm not sure about their Bolero FD choice. But, if well-finessed, it may be worth the risk. C/Pom would have to really come up with strong material to viably challenge them. As partners, I think C/Pom have kinda reached their peak. I think Christina could evolve more with a taller partner with strong skills. After his surgery, Anthony has come back well to the best of his ability, and he and Christina are very close. However, she's now the stronger partner after Scott Moir tutored and elevated her to diva stature. Of course, C/Pom could prove me wrong. A lot depends upon how well-chosen material elevates and enhances a partnership. I loved C/Pom's Perfume FD.

I'll have more reflections later re other teams and the remaining questions.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Here's a link to the recent icedance.com Cui/ Rogers article/ interview:

Cui & Rogers: The Journey Continues – Ice-dance.com

www.ice-dance.com

Jonathan is open about his difficult financial struggles. He recently launched a Gofundme. I will post a link in their fanfest.

I created a fanfest for Amy & Jonathan. Kinda surprised they didn't already have one. They are a very talented and interesting team to watch.

Amy & Jonathan will be skating to Sinners film soundtrack for their new season FD, with choreo by the brilliant Kaitlyn Weaver. I'm excited to see this program.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Will any teams try a coaching change to IAM, now that Chock/Bates are unofficially retired?

Flores/Jepsen already switched to the Moir/ Hubbell IAM branch training camp in London, Ontario. And, of course C/Pom and the Peals are also training there. In Montreal, the Browns, and Pham/ Spiridonov are being coached. I am not sure there are other U.S. teams who might want to switch to IAM Montreal. If there are, the question is whether or not IAM is willing to accept them.

Will any teams leave MIDA after the coaching upheaval from last season?

I am not certain that Charlie White's departure from MIDA would be a reason why any of the teams there would seek to switch coaching environments. Seemingly, Gr/Par are comfortable and committed to the remaining MIDA coaches. Ian Somerville has a long-term coaching relationship with Greg Zuerlein, thus Ian and Emily Bratti are unlikely candidates to leave either. Probably, Wolf/Tsar are also settled and happy in Michigan. But if one of these teams were to leave, I could see Wolf/ Tsar departing for IAM moreso than Gr/Par.

The Browns had a breakthrough program last season, will they continue that momentum?

Hopefully, they will. The Browns were brilliant last season, and too often robbed in the scoring.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Who will receive the two TBD Skate America spots? Wolfkostin/Tsarevski and Neset/Markelov both only have one assignment, but teams like Cui/Rogers and the Peals had good showings at Nationals and could earn a GP debut.

Probably, if they have a good start to the season, Wolf/Tsar would get a second GP at Skate America. Ditto for Neset/ Markelov. So, possibly these two teams will vy for one spot, and hopefully Cui/ Rogers will get the other spot (their new Sinners FD could be a crowd-pleaser).

Will Aboian/Veselukhin continue their dominance in juniors?

I think Abo/Ves will remain a strong team in their third junior season. It isn't easy to maintain dominance over three seasons as a junior. But they didn't beat top teams at GPF and Worlds in their first junior season. They were strong and talented newcomers who won medals throughout their first junior season, but did not dominate until their second season. So, in their third season, they could very well continue to dominate.

Yet, I think France's Gianesini/ Klaperman will likely prove to be challenging contenders vs Abo/Ves. Judges seemed willing to reward Gia/Klap this past season, especially at 2026 junior Worlds. Gia/Klap ultimately were not strong enough to overtake Abo/Ves in that competition. Still, it's obvious that the judges love Gia/Klap's creativity and could favor them in tight matchups. Overall, I would still give Abo/Ves the edge.