Pairs FS Worldwide: The Divine Discipline

[sissyfritz]

https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1565771603945865216

Anything Goes has posted a screenshot from the Skate Ontario Sectionals entries list and it has Trennt Michaud & Lia Pereira listed as a Senior Pairs team.

Kinda blown away by this since Lia competed at JGP just last week as a singles skater and as far as I know, she hasn't done any pairs work since Novices back in 2018? Twitter is speculating that it might be a mistake, but who knows.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1565771603945865216

Anything Goes has posted a screenshot from the Skate Ontario Sectionals entries list and it has Trennt Michaud & Lia Pereira listed as a Senior Pairs team.

Kinda blown away by this since Lia competed at JGP just last week as a singles skater and as far as I know, she hasn't done any pairs work since Novices back in 2018? Twitter is speculating that it might be a mistake, but who knows.

She's also entered in the same competition in Senior Women as a single's skater, so if it's not a mistake, she might be trying to look into the possibility of doing both simultaneously (a la Bruce Waddell with Ice Dance and Men's Single's).

 

[sissyfritz]

She's also entered in the same competition in Senior Women as a single's skater, so if it's not a mistake, she might be trying to look into the possibility of doing both simultaneously (a la Bruce Waddell with Ice Dance and Men's Single's).

Indeed. It could also be a filler until she can be sure that the partnership with Trennt will work out, as they've probably had very little time to skate together as of yet.

I had been hoping for a more experienced partner for TM, but the more that I think about it, the more it feels like this could be a good fit. Lia is a good height for Trennt, and although she skates in juniors right now, she is 18 and a fairly expressive skater, so she should be able to handle the more mature material that skating in senior pairs requires. The big question will just be on how long it'll take for her pairs skills to get up to Michaud's level.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I have just recently seen Lia P for the first time at the Courchevel JGP. I did not see her performance at Cranberry, which everyone has been saying was very good. She looks graceful, petite, and competent as a jumper, as well as musically adept. So, that all bodes well for Lia learning and adapting to pairs. As we know, Trennt is a masterful pairs guy with enormous patience and loyalty. His superb talent, character, and trustworthiness will be a huge factor in their development.

Lia should listen to Polina Edmunds' recent podcast interview with Tarah Kayne. Tarah spoke revealingly about her pairs journey (formerly with the gifted Danny O'Shea), providing great insights into what it takes to develop a successful pairs partnership. Tarah honestly admitted to some of her fears and shortcomings, as well as detailing her strengths and hard-won victories. She cited trust as a crucial component to success in pairs.

Another very interesting thing Tarah mentioned is how lucky she was to have transitioned to pairs via Jim Peterson arranging for her to learn from two great retired pairs guys: Mark Ladwig and Jeremy Barrett (prior to being fortunate in forming a partnership with the very talented Danny O'Shea). Woohoo! Tarah was indeed lucky in learning from such great pairs guys, and of course, in having Jim Peterson as a coach (he's a former pairs competitor who passionately believes in his students).

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I had been hoping for a more experienced partner for TM,

Where would he get a more experienced partner in pairs though, who happens to be Canadian? Slim pickings to none with all the recent retirements. Lia P seems like a very promising alternative, in many ways, most especially the fact that she's Canadian, her petite body type works for Trennt, and she's all-around talented, with the potential for growth in pairs. She seems to have an outgoing, positive personality too. Learning from a partner like Trennt is a key asset.

I wonder why official announcements these days go by the wayside for the most part. Some pairings are never announced prior to competition debuts.

 

[theblade]

Hoo boy, may I hazard a guess? Forming a duo (either dance or pairs) is hard enough. The next step is getting past the "get to know how you train and compete" period. Our family has personally seen quite a few partnerships in the past year of skaters that have come together, trained, and broken up before even getting to the competition stage.

The world is on an aggressively accelerated pace with social media. It's really hard, IMHO, for quite a few skaters to work in peace and have things stick. My guess is that official announcements have been a jinx for some partnerships. Then again, it hasn't been for other teams.

In this day and age, fewer and fewer kids are willing to spend the hours on the ice to get to an elite level. Or if they do, money and an adequate training set-up are also hard to come by.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

^^ Thanks for articulating. You make excellent points. I realize that the world is very different these days, particularly in the age of social media. It's a whole unique reality that takes some adjusting to in terms of how fast things are changing, and the inability to keep up with so many disparate sources of information.There are advantages as well as many hazards that come with social media and the information age.

I totally understand the dangers and pressures skaters are faced with, so it's best to be as discreet as possible, and mostly never make official announcements, until things are solidified. But even then, the announcements are usually for top stars, which tend to take place on Instagram, sometimes backed up by a fed acknowledgement or a published article. I guess to a certain degree, as an older fan, I lament some of the nicer norms of the past. Not that things were ever perfect then either.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

This is cool. I came across it on Trennt's Instagram. It's a great advertisement for at least recreationally having single gender partnership competitive events. Can everyone recognize Trennt's partner, who looks amazingly like his little brother?! What great SS these two have. Back-in-the-day, Johnny and Stephane used to practice pairs elements together during downtime on the show circuit.

On Ice Perspectives ❄️🎥 on Instagram: "Name a category you’d like added to the 2026 Winter Olympics: ✅ #icedancing #pairskating #iceskating #figureskating #danceteam #coupledance #couplegoals #teamdanae #iceskate #figureskate #iceskater #figureskate

16K likes, 456 comments - oniceperspectives on May 4, 2022: "Name a category you’d like added to the 2026 Winter Olympics: ✅ #icedancing #pairskating #ic..."

www.instagram.com

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Indeed. It could also be a filler until she can be sure that the partnership with Trennt will work out, as they've probably had very little time to skate together as of yet.

I had been hoping for a more experienced partner for TM, but the more that I think about it, the more it feels like this could be a good fit. Lia is a good height for Trennt, and although she skates in juniors right now, she is 18 and a fairly expressive skater, so she should be able to handle the more mature material that skating in senior pairs requires. The big question will just be on how long it'll take for her pairs skills to get up to Michaud's level.

I checked more into Lia Pereira's background. She's not completely new to pairs, so that seems to make this possible pairing with Trennt Michaud even more appealing.

Lia skated novice pairs with James Robart-Morgan during 2017 - 2018 season. They were 9th in novice pairs at 2018 Cdn Nat'ls.

Lia has a delightful personality. She spoke with P.J. Kwong and co-host on an episode of the Skate Ontario #3Turn3 podcast earlier this year, prior to Junior Worlds. The pre-recorded interview with Lia starts several minutes into the podcast:

Skate Ontario Presents: #3Turn3 with special guest Lia Pereira

We are coming to the end of skating season with our final #WorldsSeason event - the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships - and in this week's #3Tur...

youtu.be

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I'm posting a link to a pairs-related thread I started awhile back about the evolution of lifts, especially the twist lift. For anyone interested in pairs skating, the historical information and rare clips of earlier pairs teams is quite fascinating.

Evolution of Pairs Lifts and Pairs Skating

Hello pairs fans, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmgUkKayyik&t=14s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRhu9EOZxbs I came across the above videos recently. I was thrilled to find the pairs lifts evolution video. Granted, it is not a complete documentation. But it's just great to have something...

www.goldenskate.com

In addition, check out this P.J. Kwong podcast episode, also referenced in the above-linked thread:

Catch up with Ryan Stevens and Skateguard Blogspot #BladeThis

If you love skating like we love skating then look no further than our upcoming conversation with talented and figure skating history's expert blogger Ryan S...

youtu.be

 

[mrrice]

Have Brandon and Alexa retired? I am surprised not to see them at the John Nicks Event.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

^^ @mrrice, Alexa/ Brandon are listed for two assignments on the GP this season: Skate America and MK John Wilson Trophy in Sheffield, England. I don't know if they plan to compete at a tune-up prior to Skate America. Possibly, they will. Drop one of them a DM, and ask.

 

[Dreamer57]

Has anyone heard anything about Barquero/Zandron?
Are they not able to compete internationally for 12/18 months?

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Has anyone heard anything about Barquero/Zandron?
Are they not able to compete internationally for 12/18 months?

Currently, they are unable to compete internationally for an indefinite amount of time as Laura's anti-doping case is still pending and a court date has yet to be set (meaning there's also no verdict yet). This is in line with the usual procedure in positive doping cases, and also the reason bans are usually back-dated, so the total length they will be unable to compete for is both dependent on the verdict and on how long it will take to reach that verdict.

 

[labgoat]

Pairs fans - 2005 Europeans Pairs just became available on YT (finally!) featuring many fine pair teams. My revelation was Savchenko/Szolkowy skating to Casablanca - I did not remember this also Tatiana Volosozhar with dark hair. Posted in my lists in the general fan fest area.

 

[Dreamer57]

Currently, they are unable to compete internationally for an indefinite amount of time as Laura's anti-doping case is still pending and a court date has yet to be set (meaning there's also no verdict yet). This is in line with the usual procedure in positive doping cases, and also the reason bans are usually back-dated, so the total length they will be unable to compete for is both dependent on the verdict and on how long it will take to reach that verdict.

Thank you.
I guess it is a waiting game for them at this point. Hope they can stay motivated

 

[Anna K.]

I love Swedish twins. Just had to say it.

 

[Skater Boy]

I know we are "suppose" to say that this is a wonderful and amazing time in pairs skating where we get to see new teams or teams often overlooked have their short at big medals. But with the lack of chinese teams for whatever reason, no Russians, Canada still in a valley (though some interest and hopewith Deanna and Max ) there are the world Champs - K/F and the Japanese as the two standouts. Then it is a scramble for the bronze. THe bronze is up to some very lucky team. Sadly the tech difficulty is not there and the programs or magic skating skills are lacking. Even with "boring" but very good Russian teams they have better speed, flow, skating skills and bigger and more difficult tricks. We seem to forget it was 2018 when Duhamel and Radford were doing triple lutzes and quad salchow throws. Without the Russians pushing the individual jumps we have seen double axels and double salchows. Is anyone doing or trying a quad throw or triple axel. I do believe we have someone doing or trying a tripleloop individually but that is a far cry from a triple lutz.

 

[Weathergal]

I know we are "suppose" to say that this is a wonderful and amazing time in pairs skating where we get to see new teams or teams often overlooked have their short at big medals. But with the lack of chinese teams for whatever reason, no Russians, Canada still in a valley (though some interest and hopewith Deanna and Max ) there are the world Champs - K/F and the Japanese as the two standouts. Then it is a scramble for the bronze. THe bronze is up to some very lucky team. Sadly the tech difficulty is not there and the programs or magic skating skills are lacking. Even with "boring" but very good Russian teams they have better speed, flow, skating skills and bigger and more difficult tricks. We seem to forget it was 2018 when Duhamel and Radford were doing triple lutzes and quad salchow throws. Without the Russians pushing the individual jumps we have seen double axels and double salchows. Is anyone doing or trying a quad throw or triple axel. I do believe we have someone doing or trying a tripleloop individually but that is a far cry from a triple lutz.

I don't know that we're supposed to say anything. But I will say that I don't think Canada is "in a valley" with pairs. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are a stellar pair and nearly beat Alexa and Brandon at Skate America. Some argue they should have. I honestly enjoyed both pairs and would have been OK with it either way - especially the SP. I also think Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar are very promising and showed themselves well at Skate Canada.

I don't think the double axels and double salchows we've been seeing are because the Russian pairs aren't pushing the teams; I think it's because we're seeing many inexperienced / developing pairs. There are, of course, several reasons for this: no Russian pairs because they're banned, many retirements since the beginning of a new Olympic quad, and low pairs numbers in general. If the Russians were participating, some of those teams would obviously not be on the GP, but the ones that still make the cut would most likely still be doing doubles if that's where their abilities are right now.

 

[readernick]

I don't know that we're supposed to say anything. But I will say that I don't think Canada is "in a valley" with pairs. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are a stellar pair and nearly beat Alexa and Brandon at Skate America. Some argue they should have. I honestly enjoyed both pairs and would have been OK with it either way - especially the SP. I also think Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar are very promising and showed themselves well at Skate Canada.

I don't think the double axels and double salchows we've been seeing are because the Russian pairs aren't pushing the teams; I think it's because we're seeing many inexperienced / developing pairs. There are, of course, several reasons for this: no Russian pairs because they're banned, many retirements since the beginning of a new Olympic quad, and low pairs numbers in general. If the Russians were participating, some of those teams would obviously not be on the GP, but the ones that still make the cut would most likely still be doing doubles if that's where their abilities are right now.

Exactly this. Despite the all is doom narrative spreading around about pairs, I actually think there are many positive things happening. Pairs always takes a hit after the Olympics and this year is no exception. The Russians being excluded just makes it more clear. However, unlike the last couple of years where only Russia had a number of good pairs teams and only the US seemed interested in encouraging the growth of pairs.There are more countries ( other than Russia) sending pair teams to the JGP. Many new pairs have been formed in the USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, Austria, Australia, Canada, China etc.. even Japan is starting to take pairs seriously since they see how it helps with the team event and they have a world medalist team. It often takes pair teams a long time to get used to working together, but I think we will see some great pair teams develop from among the new teams in 2/3 years. And, some of these teams are likely to come from countries like Australia and Japan who have never been particularly strong in the discipline.