by Jacquelyn Thayer After an undefeated comeback season in 2016-17, silver at December’s Grand Prix Final has only further stoked the Olympic goals for Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir ahead of next week’s Canadian Tire National Skating…
Category: Ice Dance
Canada’s NextGen Dancers, the National Summer Series, and the JGP
In addition to our Snapshot Stats on Tumblr, this Olympic season we’ll also be taking a numbers-oriented look right here at the topic of international assignments: who gets them, who doesn’t, and how often does reality reflect promise? Kicking things…
Behind the Program, Ep. 7: Hawayek and Baker, 2016-17 and 2017-18 Free Dance
by Jacquelyn Thayer 24 hours. That’s approximately how much time passed, after a troubled free dance performance at the 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, before Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker seriously mulled the possibility of bringing back — or, rather,…
Breaking Down the 2017-18 Grand Prix Draft: Ice Dance
With today’s surprise reveal of 2017-18’s Grand Prix assignments, Two for the Ice has compiled the hows, whys — and possible huhs — of who and how many assignments the dance and pair teams in question received. We’ll look first…
Step Sequences No. 20: Vintage Tango
ON STEP SEQUENCES: If ice dance tangos can be ballroom and Argentine, compulsory, short-form or freestyle, they can also take their cues from a wholly other source: history. More than seems to be the case with other styles, like waltz…
In the end, a beginning for Paul and Islam
Part 2 of a two-part feature; read part 1 here by Jacquelyn Thayer Athletes have spoken of the difficulty in moving from the concretely goal-focused regimen of the sporting life to the more mundane concerns of life after. But in…
With Paul and Islam, the end is where we start from
Part 1 of a two-part feature by Jacquelyn Thayer Perseverance: few virtues are more celebrated in sport. For athletes grappling with injury and long odds, it becomes a mantra. But just as fundamental is the confidence to know when it’s…
2017 World Championships: Charted Territory
by Jacquelyn Thayer In the wake of the 2017 World Championships, an expanded look at the numbers beneath the outcomes. THE SCORESIf the 2017 World Championships — like any major skating event — told us anything, it’s how little confidence…
Biechler and Dodge Find Calm in Senior Ranks
by Jacquelyn Thayer Any move up from the junior ranks in skating to senior can mean upheaval. For U.S. ice dancers Julia Biechler and Damian Dodge, bigger transitions were in the works. Though the team has long been based at…
Top Teams Ready for Battle at Canadian Tire National Skating Championships
by Jacquelyn Thayer Ottawa is no stranger to a Canadian championships; chosen this year in part to recognize 2017’s Canada 150 celebration, it’s also hosted the national skating championships 14 previous times—including, most recently, 2014’s Olympic qualifying event, where several…