{"id":2020,"date":"2012-07-30T20:21:05","date_gmt":"2012-07-30T20:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/2012\/07\/30\/growth-is-the-goal-for-ralph-hill\/"},"modified":"2012-07-30T20:21:05","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T20:21:05","slug":"growth-is-the-goal-for-ralph-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/growth-is-the-goal-for-ralph-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth is the Goal for Ralph & Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jacquelyn Thayer | Photos by Liz Chastney<\/p>\n

\"12W-FD-1489-RH-LCFor Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill, their first trip to the World Figure Skating Championships was, in a word, \u201cfantastic.\u201d While the team finished 13th overall, their free dance earned a standing ovation from the audience in Nice. As Hill remarks, \u201cThe team was awesome, the city of Nice was beautiful; going to a competition where there are palm trees and beautiful squares and outdoor cafes \u2013 who could ask for a better place? For this competition we felt completely stress-free and confident. It honestly felt no different than a normal international event.\u201d <\/p>\n

Though the team competed at Junior Worlds in 2008 and 2009, Ralph notes some distinctions between the two events. \u201cFor me, there really wasn\u2019t that much of a difference feeling-wise. However, as more people come out to watch \u2018Big Worlds,\u2019 it was easier to feed off the energy of the audience when we were performing. Though we were competing against people who we only ever get to see on TV, we weren\u2019t fazed by them. After all, at our Nationals, we already experienced competing against the best of the best \u2013 Tessa [Virtue] & Scott [Moir], and Kaitlyn [Weaver] & Andrew [Poje].\u201d Ralph also highlights as her biggest thrill contending alongside longtime idols Virtue & Moir, whom she admits still leave her \u201cawestruck.\u201d
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Last season saw the team making strides, with their tango free dance earning notice for its complexity. This year, they\u2019re working to further build on the progress that\u2019s already been made. \u201cAll the work we did to improve ourselves last year \u2013 i.e. more off-ice conditioning and training, lifts coaching, dance classes, etc. \u2013 has been carried on to this new season as well,\u201d says Ralph. \u201cIn a sense, because of all the changes we made last year, we now have a stronger base, both physically and technically, with which to work.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a little bit of a daunting task to top the free dance from last season,\u201d adds Hill, \u201cbut we are up for the challenge, still aiming to improve on lifts, speed, and our presence on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to their technical improvements, the team will also rely on what they see as their style and strengths as performers. \u201cI think that we project a strong connection to each other,\u201d says Ralph. \u201cI also think that we\u2019re able to keep true to the character and story that we\u2019re trying to portray. People have also told us that we come across as authentic.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to pinpoint what our style is,\u201d Hill continues, \u201c[since] we have done so many different genres. So I guess you can call us versatile. But I really like that about us, we never really feel stagnant as we are always exploring new movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"12W-FD-1524-RH-LCSome of that new movement has lately included the Yankee Polka, the team\u2019s first experience with the \u201cfast paced, energetic\u201d compulsory pattern that\u2019s forming the core of next season\u2019s senior short dance. The team has selected music from the film Gigi for the program, which Hill notes \u201cfit perfectly\u201d with the polka. Ralph observes that, unlike last season\u2019s required Rhumba, the Yankee Polka adapts with relative ease into a larger dance. \u201cThe Rhumba was in Killian hold the entire time and looked every bit like a compulsory dance,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause of that, it was inevitable that once the choreographed section of the short dance ended and the Rhumba began, everything felt or looked disjointed. On the other hand, the Yankee is more intricate and has a variety of holds. Plus, it\u2019s more interesting and fun for the audience to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An interest in new movement and technical precision also informs the pair\u2019s interests in dance style. \u201cI\u2019m particularly drawn to contemporary dance,\u201d says Ralph, \u201cbecause it has a seamless and effortless quality to it. In ice dancing, it\u2019s always a sign if someone is really good if they make something difficult look like a piece of cake.\u201d Hill, meanwhile, enjoys a variety of styles: \u201cI love all types of dance. Finding new ways to move my body just makes skating more interesting and cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ralph & Hill\u2019s immediate goals remain focused on development. For the off-season, both Ralph and Hill stress a desire to refine their programs and on-ice characterizations as quickly as possible. \u201cI already have an idea in my head what I want our programs to look like,\u201d says Ralph. \u201cNow, it\u2019s just about figuring out how to project it.\u201d The team also aims for a strong showing in their Grand Prix assignment at Skate Canada International. \u201cWe really want to get a good start to the season,\u201d says Hill, \u201cand hopefully do one summer comp.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the partners are focused on one central goal: \u201cI guess,\u201d concludes Hill, \u201cwe just want to go out again this season and do exactly what we did last year, but even better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jacquelyn Thayer | Photos by Liz Chastney For Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill, their first trip to the World Figure Skating Championships was, in a word, \u201cfantastic.\u201d While 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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2020","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 | Photos by Liz Chastney For Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill, their first trip to the World Figure Skating Championships was, in a word, \u201cfantastic.\u201d While the […]","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7GOSM-wA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020","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=2020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020\/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=2020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}