{"id":2000,"date":"2012-06-27T00:43:22","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T00:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/2012\/06\/27\/a-summer-of-change-for-paul-islam\/"},"modified":"2012-06-27T00:43:22","modified_gmt":"2012-06-27T00:43:22","slug":"a-summer-of-change-for-paul-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/a-summer-of-change-for-paul-islam\/","title":{"rendered":"A Summer of Change for Paul & Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jacquelyn Thayer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"paul-islam\"After an unusually challenging season troubled by injury, Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam knew a \u201cshake-up,\u201d in Islam\u2019s words, was in order. The change came in the form of a summer-long relocation to the bustling Detroit Skating Club, home to several top teams including reigning world bronze medalists Nathalie P\u00e9chalat & Fabian Bourzat of France and Canadian silver medalists Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt our club in Barrie, at Mariposa, we have tons of really young, talented teams,\u201d Islam said, \u201cbut we needed some older people, some teams better than us\u2014we think that\u2019s important when you\u2019re training. So that was the basis for our move. We have total faith in our coaches at home, but we just needed to train with some older, world-class teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Paul and Islam have spent their skating careers at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont., where Islam\u2019s father, David, serves as Director of Ice Dance and the team\u2019s primary coach. <\/p>\n

Paul, 20, acknowledges that the temporary move is an adjustment. \u201cWe\u2019ve both lived at home our whole lives, so it\u2019s the first time being away from home for us,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s good. We\u2019re older now, so it\u2019s a nice change for us, and just being around different people is exciting and new.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The fresh scenery has had a positive impact on the duo\u2019s training. Both programs are complete, with work now going towards refinement. \u201cThe last couple of weeks, the intensity has really ramped up,\u201d Islam said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting ready for summer competitions, so we\u2019re working a lot on the little details right now, and trying to push out the programs and get them competition-ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those competitions will include one of the most anticipated events in the ice dance world, July\u2019s Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships. \u201cWe\u2019ve never done Lake Placid together and we thought it would be a good way to get to a competition outside the country to start, just to be around other skaters and get used to more people being around us when we compete,\u201d Paul said. The team also plans to compete at Thornhill Summer Skate in August for the second time in their partnership.<\/p>\n

Their new free dance, set to selections from the jazzy score of the film The Legend of 1900 and choreographed by the in-demand team of Anjelika Krylova and Pasquale Camerlengo, also represents a shift from last season\u2019s program set to Elton John\u2019s \u201cTonight.\u201d
\u201cWe wanted to go with something a little lighter this year for our free dance, something a little happier,\u201d Islam said. \u201cWe\u2019re liking how it\u2019s evolving. It\u2019s really getting a character of its own and I think both of us are really, I guess you could say, flourishing with this genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the short dance, choreographed by Mariposa\u2019s Kelly Johnson, required the couple to learn a difficult new pattern in the Yankee Polka. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be good. It\u2019s going to push teams, and I guess it\u2019s a dance that can really separate the men from the boys, so to speak,\u201d Islam said with a laugh. \u201cWe\u2019re enjoying it so far, though. I think the Yankee [Polka] is a dance that really works for us.\u201d   <\/p>\n

The team\u2019s ultimate season goal is to reach the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario, but first they\u2019ll have to post a strong showing at what is likely to be a deeply competitive Canadian Championships. The couple is prepared to do battle. <\/p>\n

\"paul-islam2\"\u201cThis is a really important year for us, and we know that, so we\u2019re working as hard as we can every day,\u201d Islam said. \u201cWe\u2019re really gearing up for Nationals, and I think we both believe that if we\u2019re healthy all year, and we\u2019re training day in and day out as hard as we can, that that goal is definitely reachable.\u201d<\/p>\n

While certain elements of Paul & Islam\u2019s skating life have changed, key qualities will remain. \u201cWe like to think we have nice lines, and we\u2019re a pretty powerful team, if not necessarily the biggest team,\u201d Islam explained. \u201cAnd definitely, definitely our chemistry is something that would describe us. We enjoy working together on the ice and we love performing together, and I think that comes through when we\u2019re competing.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about favorite dance styles and future ideas, Paul offered a few thoughts. \u201cI\u2019m more of a lyrical dancer,\u201d she said. \u201cI took ballet my whole life, so I\u2019m more drawn to \u2018love story\u2019 pieces and more balletic pieces. But I also love doing styles like tango, because there\u2019s a lot of passion in it, and I\u2019ve always loved doing that kind of style. So maybe something like that in the future \u2013 though we haven\u2019t really discussed it much. We\u2019re taking it year-by-year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want people to know that we\u2019re back enjoying skating again and really loving training every day,\u201d Islam said. \u201cI think that\u2019s something that we were missing last year, and it was understandable, I guess, because of what we went through in the summer and fall with injuries. So we just want our fans to know, and skating fans to know, that we\u2019re back really enjoying the process, and we\u2019re excited to compete again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jacquelyn Thayer After an unusually challenging season troubled by injury, Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam knew a \u201cshake-up,\u201d in Islam\u2019s words, was in order. The change came in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_gspb_post_css":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-interviews"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=300%2C177&ssl=1",300,177,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=768%2C454&ssl=1",768,454,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-post-main-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1",400,250,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?resize=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?resize=400%2C284&ssl=1",400,284,true],"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?resize=510%2C382&ssl=1",510,382,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?resize=400%2C516&ssl=1",400,516,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Articles.jpg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1",45,45,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Team IDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/author\/idcadmin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"by Jacquelyn Thayer After an unusually challenging season troubled by injury, Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam knew a \u201cshake-up,\u201d in Islam\u2019s words, was in order. The change came in the […]","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7GOSM-wg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}