Category: Ice Dance

Homick and Buelow Turn a New Page

by Jacquelyn Thayer In spring 2024, two Canadian skaters were at a crossroads. Junior ice dancer Nicholas Buelow’s partnership with Dana Sabatini-Speciale, with whom he’d competed at three Junior Grand Prix events, had come to an end, while pair skater…

Remembering Alexandra Paul – Interview Archive

I’m not yet ready to write exactly what I want to in more depth about Alexandra Paul and her skating legacy. But this collection of past interviews with, and observations about from others, may be a helpful resource for some.…

Hensen and Lickers Working to Make Their Move

by Jacquelyn Thayer. Cover photo by Danielle Earl. For many ice dance fans, the Lake Placid Ice Dance competitions in July mark the new season’s start. But with livestreaming unavailable for 2022’s event, those at home resorted to the decade-old…

A Hallelujah Chorus

by Jacquelyn Thayer Leonard Cohen, needless to say, was a master. He may have been the kind of singer-songwriter you discovered, like me, as a teen or college-aged indie rock fan, along with acts like Nick Drake and the Velvet…

Hubbell and Donohue Compose a Hallelujah

by Jacquelyn Thayer Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue have hit a sort of “Hallelujah” trifecta. Certainly they’re the first team to marry skating’s favorite versions of the Leonard Cohen composition—those of Jeff Buckley and k.d. lang—in a single program, and…

From the Vault: Finnstep and Theatrical Dance

by Jacquelyn Thayer Adapted and updated from previous posts on Step Sequences. For an erratic and irregular season, marked by intermittent competition and frequent COVID-related event cancellations, the ISU sagely allowed ice dancers to repeat the 2019-20 season’s rhythm dance…

Hawayek and Baker Aim to Showcase the Character of Their Dances

TFTI correspondent Reut Golinsky sat down with Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker after the rhythm dance at 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy. Reut: I wanted to start our talk from two photos you, Kaitlin, posted on your Instagram: the two of you…

Carreira and Ponomarenko Strive to Highlight Strengths

by Jacquelyn Thayer On the last Saturday of January’s US Figure Skating Championships, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko skated their final free dance of the 2018-19 season. The following Monday, coach Igor Shpilband was ready with the concept for next…

TFTI Presents: The Character of the Dance Twizzle

What do we mean when we talk about the character of the dance twizzle? An element so clearly choreographed for a particular style of dance that there’s no question where it belongs.

Notes & Quotes from the 2018 Skate Canada International Rhythm Dance

by Claire Cloutier, special for Two for the Ice The rhythm dance at Skate Canada featured some great performances from a strong group of ice dancers in Laval, Quebec. There were a few surprises as well, both in the standings…