ice-dance.com<\/a>!\u00a0 As you may recall from our previous blogs, since we write as a team and don’t want to confuse our readers, we refer to ourselves as “we,” “Ellie” or “Alex.”\u00a0 We also work from a theme for the week to tie our blogs together and hopefully provide some local flavor for the readers.\u00a0<\/p>\nWhen we were researching Bergamo several weeks ago, we struggled to find a thread that we could weave throughout our blog.\u00a0 On the surface, Bergamo is a picture-perfect European city — it features both an upper Medieval and a lower modern city, and was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site — but this didn’t resonate with us as a theme.\u00a0 More research revealed that the city lent its name to the bergamask (a folk dance) referred to in Shakespeare’s\u00a0A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.\u00a0 But seeing as the bergamask is a rather comedic dance, we didn’t feel a connection with that either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when we realized that one of Bergamo’s largest corporations (Brembo – a leader in high performance automotive brake systems and in the automotive racing sector) is the same Brembo whose North American headquarters are only a few minutes from the Novi Ice Rink, a figurative checkered flag began waving.\u00a0\u00a0 Isn’t it interesting that our American Motor City can be connected across\u00a0 4350 miles to an Italian “citta dei motori”?\u00a0 And so we conceived of our motor-themed “Launching at Lombardia” title.\u00a0 In an automotive sense, to launch is to bring a car through an extremely fast acceleration to its maximum speed, which is a great goal for us as we open our Challenger season.<\/p>\n
We started our Lombardia experience with a\u00a0Monday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0evening departure from Detroit, where we checked our suitcases and carried on our skate bags.\u00a0 At our one hour layover in Paris,\u00a0 the French airport security would not allow our skates through, and we were forced to exit the airport, wait in line at the counter to check our skate bags in, race through security again, and finally ride a transport out to our gate.\u00a0 Adrienne, (our coach) and Ellie’s mom (Natasha) somehow managed to hold the plane from departing without us, as we sped our way through the process — neither of us speaking a word of French.\u00a0 Thankfully, all the luggage and our skate bags made it through.\u00a0 After a one hour shuttle ride to Bergamo from the Milan airport, we settled in to our hotel before grabbing a quick bite to eat at the pizzeria next door.\u00a0 The entire Team USA group walked to the rink (about 25 minutes away) for accreditation, and then we Ubered with Adrienne and Ellie’s mom to a nice dinner in the historic upper city.\u00a0 The medieval city center is filled with large white balloons, floating over a park-like open area, which is in direct contrast to the centuries-old surrounding buildings.\u00a0 Following dinner, we grabbed a taxi for the ride back and experienced a crazy-fast drive similar to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, speeding through the narrow, winding roads linking the upper and lower cities.\u00a0 While Alex enjoyed the thrill of the ride, Natasha white-knuckled the door handle and kept her eyes slammed shut!<\/p>\nWe are off to sleep.\u00a0\u00a0Tomorrow<\/span><\/span>\u00a0we begin practice and have the official draw.\u00a0 Until then, Ciao from Bergamo!<\/p>\n~ Ellie & Alex<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery Day 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.73″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”on” gallery_ids=”13502,13503,13504,13501″ fullwidth=”off” db_image_max_width_tablet=”51″ db_image_max_height_tablet=”501″ db_image_row_spacing_tablet=”51″ db_image_object_fit=”initial” orientation=”landscape” zoom_icon_color=”#870000″ hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” background_layout=”light” db_image_center_titles=”left” border_style=”solid” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.73″ src=”https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/17LombardiaTrophy-Day2-SLIDER.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid” module_alignment=”left”]<\/p>\n
September 13, 2017<\/em><\/p>\nCiao from Bergamo!<\/p>\n
Wednesday was our first full day here and we were fortunate enough to take it pretty easy.\u00a0 After sleeping in to reset our internal clocks from the jet lag, we enjoyed another pasta meal (yes — Alex ate carbonara for the second time in less than 24 hours), and toured the Citta Bassa (Bergamo’s lower city relative to its historic, walled hilltop center).<\/p>\n
The lower city has commercial, as well as residential areas, with much of it being built in the 20th century.\u00a0 Situated just south of the Bergamasque Alps, the city has stunning views of the mountains in the distance.\u00a0 We also noticed that relative to American cities, Bergamo is swarming with Vespas and adventure bikes.\u00a0 Not only were Vespas invented in Italy, but the first motorcycle ever patented was designed in Bergamo, by Giuseppe Murnigotti in 1879.\u00a0 In addition to the Vespas, we saw some cool, old vehicles that we don’t see at home, and of course Alex captured them on his phone.<\/p>\n
Our afternoon concluded with our first practice at the Bergamo Ice Lab.\u00a0 The rink is bright, open and very modern.\u00a0 However we are used to skating in an NHL-sized rink (85’x200′) and this is an Olympic rink (98’x197′).\u00a0 In layman’s terms, it means that it’ll be an interesting challenge to fit our Rhumba pattern in, since we consistently fill the longer NHL rink end to end.\u00a0 Our practice went well\u00a0 — we focused on free dance for the first session here. We are wearing new FD costumes since Lake Placid, and Ellie is debuting a new hair color here too.\u00a0 It is a sultry reddish hue, to complement our sultry, “Desire” free dance theme.<\/p>\n
Following practice, we attended the official draw with the other Team USA skaters before heading home.\u00a0\u00a0Tomorrow<\/span><\/span>\u00a0is another practice day for us, while the other disciplines start to compete.\u00a0 Our SD is\u00a0on Friday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0morning.<\/p>\nThanks for reading our blog — check back\u00a0tomorrow<\/span><\/span>\u00a0for another installment.\u00a0 Ciao for now!<\/p>\n~ Ellie & Alex<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery Day 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.73″ show_title_and_caption=”on” show_pagination=”on” gallery_ids=”13514,13513,13512,13511″ fullwidth=”off” db_image_max_width_tablet=”51″ db_image_max_height_tablet=”501″ db_image_row_spacing_tablet=”51″ db_image_object_fit=”initial” orientation=”landscape” zoom_icon_color=”#870000″ hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” background_layout=”light” db_image_center_titles=”left” border_style=”solid” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
September 14, 2017<\/em><\/p>\nCiao from Bergamo!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thursday at Lombardia Trophy was highlighted by the short program events for the pairs, ladies and mens events, and our Team USA skaters did not disappoint.\u00a0\u00a0 Strong skates by Tim & Ashley, Jason, Jordan, Bradie and Amber mean that the long program events should be extremely exciting!<\/p>\n
The ice dancers, however, spent the day at the practice arena, which required a 60 to 90 minute bus ride to travel there.\u00a0 We decided to cut the travel time down by hiring a cab, and we were guaranteed a trip of only 30 minutes by the driver.\u00a0 What he failed to tell us, was that the trip would cost \u20ac105!\u00a0 Regardless, the drive was picturesque, if not a little rainy, and we even passed by the Brembo headquarters.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we realized it too late to pull out our phones, so we will have to remember what it looked like as our costly cab sped by it.<\/p>\n
The practice rink was one of the coldest rinks we have skated in, but it had some really interesting wooden trusses.\u00a0 We skated in our SD draw groups, and had a wonderful practice.\u00a0 We cannot wait to compete our short dance\u00a0tomorrow<\/span><\/span>!\u00a0 In the past six weeks, we have replaced our opening Pitbull song with a more traditional samba sound to kick off the program and to highlight our pattern dance.\u00a0 This change along with extensive coaching from Latin ballroom champion Oksana Zolotarevskaya, has served to clarify the authenticity of our movements and the flavor of the dance.\u00a0 We’re excited to share what we’ve been working on, with the audience and officials!<\/p>\nFor the return trip to our hotel, Team Novi training mates Max Nikitin and Sasha Nazarova were kind enough to share their rental car with us.\u00a0 However, just like every other ride so far, this one was not without incident.\u00a0 Apparently, Max’s car was a red light magnet, as we hit 20+ stoplights on the trip back.\u00a0\u00a0 That, combined with a kludgy gps signal from our phones and one accidental wrong turn meant that by the time we got back to the hotel, we were stressed enough to require the calming influence of\u2026\u2026………\u2026 another serving of great carbonara!\u00a0 We can justify it as carb-loading for\u00a0tomorrow’s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0event, but truth be told, Alex is simply craving pasta and pizza from the awesome restaurants by us!<\/p>\nLooking forward to\u00a0tomorrow<\/span><\/span>\u00a0— go Team USA!<\/p>\nCiao!<\/p>\n
~ Ellie & Alex<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery Day 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.74″ show_title_and_caption=”on” show_pagination=”on” gallery_ids=”13529,13530,13531,13532″ fullwidth=”off” db_image_max_width_tablet=”51″ db_image_max_height_tablet=”501″ db_image_row_spacing_tablet=”51″ db_image_object_fit=”initial” orientation=”landscape” zoom_icon_color=”#870000″ hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” background_layout=”light” db_image_center_titles=”left” border_style=”solid” pagination_font_size_tablet=”51″ pagination_line_height_tablet=”2″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
September 15, 2017<\/em><\/p>\nCiao from Bergamo on Short Dance Day! Friday was an exciting day — we started with an early morning practice at the main arena. Since the competition was during the mid-morning, we just stayed at the rink following practice. We were concerned about getting stuck in morning traffic and not making it back in time to feel our best for the event.<\/p>\n
However, we had the opportunity to visit with some journalists and fans during this time, which made the wait very enjoyable. We skated 12th out of 13 teams and had a very strong outing. Both of us wore updated costumes from the summer, and the response has been good. This was also the first competition where we used our new Samba music, and we thought it really helped to pop the Latin feel to the program.<\/p>\n
The audience was not huge, since the event was earlier in the morning, but they were appreciative of the skaters, and we got off the ice very happy with our skate! Our scores were not what we had anticipated, given our skate, and we are pouring over the video to determine where the differences could be.<\/p>\n
In any case, we currently sit in 3rd place with an extremely tight grouping from 2nd through 4th. It is anyone’s guess who will stand on the podium tomorrow, but we are so determined and excited to skate our Desire free dance for the audience both in Italy and online! <\/p>\n
Our free dance story revolves around Alex putting a spell on Ellie. Watch as he encircles her first with desire and then with passion. We’ve worked a lot with Rohene Ward recently, to clarify many of the movements and to add depth and complexity to the transitions. Peppered throughout the choreography are smaller vignettes that develop the story from the initial desire through the decision to act to the passionate conclusion. It is a dynamic story that has continued to evolve from Lake Placid to Champs Camp to our private monitoring sessions in Novi, and we thoroughly enjoy what each of us can add to the story on any given day.<\/p>\n
That’s it for now. Off to bed to prepare for tomorrow. Ciao!<\/p>\n
~ Ellie & Alex<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.75″ background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
September 16, 2017<\/em><\/p>\nCiao from Bergamo and our final blog.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n
Today was our free dance event and the weather decided to play tricks with us.\u00a0 The morning was overcast and rainy, the midday became sunny and by evening, there was heavy rain along with hail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We started the day very early with our official warm up.\u00a0 Since the men’s event was the first event of the day, there was plenty of time to go back to the hotel.\u00a0\u00a0 Both of us took advantage of the time to take excellent naps, knowing that when we get back to Novi, our schedules will be intense again!<\/p>\n
In our first blog of the week, we introduced the theme of automobiles and racing, as Bergamo has an interesting connection to the Detroit area.\u00a0 So we will continue the rest of this blog by steering towards that theme.<\/p>\n
Our event was in the late afternoon, and the crowd was geared up for some great dance after a strong men’s FS event.\u00a0 The ice dancers did not disappoint — there were all makes and models of free dances today, from Barbra Streisand, Pirates, and West Side Story to Exogenesis, tango , and Cabaret.\u00a0 By the time our group took the ice, we were mentally and physically prepared to put the pedal to the metal and show our stuff.\u00a0 Our FD theme was the sole rock blues of the event, set to Annie Lennox’s version of “I Put A Spell On You” along with a custom rock piece that was composed for us.\u00a0 It shows the journey of Ellie as Alex captures her attention, convinces her to take a test drive, and ultimately to make a long term commitment to her shiny new obsession.\u00a0 And yes — this is exactly the feeling that every car salesman wants you to experience when you walk into the showroom!<\/p>\n
We skated our free dance past our expectations in terms of commitment, expression, stability and fluidity of movement.\u00a0 As is our goal in every event, we strove to avoid the potential potholes of errors and negative GOEs, and we successfully navigated that.\u00a0 We got off the ice, completely satisfied with our journey and our coach was thrilled for us.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we hit a major traffic jam in terms of scoring, with some teams finding a viable detour, while we got stuck in the bumper to bumper traffic.\u00a0 We ended up mathematically just off the podium, which was frustrating to say the least.\u00a0 Next time, we will remember to consult Googlemaps before we start the ignition.<\/p>\n
Following the event, we got to spend an enjoyable few minutes with Francesca, who was shooting for\u00a0ice-dance.com<\/a>\u00a0and FSEvolution.\u00a0 She had us laughing as we were brainstorming on new lifts!\u00a0 We leave Bergamo\u00a0tomorrow<\/span><\/span>\u00a0morning and we’ll be back on the ice in Novi\u00a0on Wednesday<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0 In the meantime, Ellie is spending a day in Milan while Alex returns to the stage in his university production of “Bullets Over Broadway.”<\/p>\nThank you for taking this Italian journey with us.\u00a0 We hope you got some insight into what a competition week is like for Team USA skaters.\u00a0 Ciao for now!<\/p>\n
~ Ellie and Alex<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery Day 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.75″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”on” gallery_ids=”13542,13543,13544″ fullwidth=”off” db_image_max_width_tablet=”51″ db_image_max_height_tablet=”501″ db_image_row_spacing_tablet=”51″ db_image_object_fit=”initial” orientation=”landscape” zoom_icon_color=”#870000″ hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” background_layout=”light” db_image_center_titles=”left” border_style=”solid” pagination_font_size_tablet=”51″ pagination_line_height_tablet=”2″ posts_number=”3″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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