Getting to Know: Anya Lavrova & Maxwell Gart

IDC is highlighting some of the new partnerships that are debuting in the 2019-20 competitive season. Anya Lavrova & Maxwell Gart of the U.S. are the next team we are featuring in this season’s series. 

Tell us about your individual skating journeys.
AL: I started skating when I was just four years old. I really enjoyed the performance aspect of skating whether I was competing or simply practicing.

MG: After watching my sister from the rink cafe, I began skating when I was only three years old. I kicked off my skating career with freestyle, loving the footwork more than anything. It was my love of dance and music that led me to ice dance.

Tell us about how your partnership started.
AL: I was competing solo dance at the Southern Connecticut Open, and I looked across the rink and saw Maxwell Gart walking around. The following week our coaches set up a tryout, and the rest is history.

MG: This past April, I went to the Southern Connecticut Open to cheer on a couple of my training mates when I saw Anya competing. I was very impressed with her performance, so of course I tried to subtly walk by her a few times to see how we would look as an ice dance team. Needless to say, I thought she was perfect. Our tryout was seamless, and here we are!

What do you like most about skating with your partner?
AL: Max is easy to get along with on and off the ice and he is supportive, always having a positive attitude. His musicality makes skating with him effortless and I can definitely trust him even if I am five feet in the air.

MG: Anya’s work ethic pushes me to skate my best and her joy for skating keeps me in the moment. Her artistry causes me to have even better expression, and we work together incredibly well. Anya is fearless, which builds our confidence as a team. I honestly can’t wait to step on the ice each day to skate with Anya.

If you could have a lesson from any ice dancer past or present, who would it be?
We both agree that we would have a lesson with Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. We would love to learn from their beautiful artistry and the way they meld together on the ice.

Can you give us some background on your programs this season?
With the rhythm dance, we were sitting together at the dining table listening to Broadway musicals and we both stopped, looked at each other, and knew when The King and I came on, it was the one! We both loved the storyline and the soundtrack. We were glued to our seats listening and then Max started flying on the computer keyboard and cut the music. Our Rhythm Dance music was complete!

Our free dance comes from the film, The Theory of Everything. We really love the compassion that embodies this story. The two characters persevere through extreme difficulties and have to truly find strength within each other, conquering mind-over-body. This music flows like the brilliance of Stephen Hawking’s mind, and our goal is to bring this story to life showing the heart that these two characters have for one another, as well as the pain that they have to endure in their struggle.

Is there anything you would like our readers to know about you as a team?
We both absolutely love to dance whether it is on ice, on a ballroom floor, in a ballet studio, with our hip-hop instructor, or moving through a contemporary piece. Also our sense of humor is very similar, leading to lots of laughter. On a more serious note, one of the best aspects of our team is that we simply make each other better when we skate together.