{"id":26024,"date":"2021-04-19T00:06:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T04:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=26024"},"modified":"2021-04-19T00:06:13","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T04:06:13","slug":"flores-tsarevski-shine-in-nationals-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/flores-tsarevski-shine-in-nationals-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Flores & Tsarevski shine in Nationals debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photo by Melanie Heaney<\/em><\/p>\n

Isabella Flores and Dimitry Tsarevski were six and five when they began their skating journeys in different Colorado cities. As\u00a0 14 year-old training mates, they skated together to help build each other\u2019s partnering skills while also searching for different partners. In May 2020, they teamed up in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight months later the duo was fourth (pewter) at the 2021 U.S. Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n

Flores was born in Wiesbaden, Germany to military parents, who were later assigned to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. Although she had been on the ice once in Virginia, her skating career began at the World Arena.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI began as a single skater, but eventually transitioned to ice dance after meeting my current coach Elena Dostatni,\u201d Flores explained. \u201cShe had become Director of Ice Dancing and held a seminar at the rink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores competed in juvenile dance for one season before the family moved to Alaska for her father\u2019s work. After two years in Anchorage, she returned to Colorado and prepared for the Solo Dance season. She also teamed up with new ice dancer, Mikhail Gumba. In October, she won novice silver at the 2016 National Solo Dance Final. The following January, Flores & Gumba were 12th at the 2017 U.S. Championships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe broke up after Nationals, and I was back on the market for one year before I found Adam Bouaziz on Ice Partner Search,\u201d Flores said. \u201cWe made it to the 2020 Nationals in January, but in March just as the pandemic struck, he went back home to the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dimitry Tsarevski was born in Denver, Colorado. His father, a former Soviet Union cross country skiing coach, took him to many public skating sessions and taught him how to skate fast like a hockey player.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy skating started with hockey,\u201d Tsarevski said. \u201cAt age seven I began figure skating to improve my hockey skills. Two years later I had landed my axel and was competing. By the time I was twelve, I had most of my doubles.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He then decided to concentrate on hockey until a week after his thirteenth birthday, when he got a call from an ice dancer\u2019s mom for a tryout. He fell in love with ice dance and began training with Elena Dostatni\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

He never competed with his first partner. However, at one point when Flores and Tsarevski were training together they had a faux tryout that lasted a month. However, nothing ever came out of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me almost two years before I found a partner,\u201d Tsarevski said. \u201cLeah Neset and I competed intermediate and surprised ourselves by winning Midwest Sectionals and taking second place at the 2019 US Nationals in Detroit, Michigan. In May, we decided to part ways and search for new partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Tsarevski left Coaches Elena Dostatni and Christopher Dean. He worked with his father, who though not a figure skating coach, has a degree in Sports. By October, he began looking for a partner, but had several unsuccessful tryouts.<\/p>\n

Since Adam Bouaziz had returned home at the onset of the pandemic, Flores was also without a partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reached out to Dima and our second \u201ctryout\u201d period was less of a tryout and more figuring out the logistics of the partnership,\u201d Flores said. \u201cWe both already knew how the other skated, and that we complemented each other well. Since we were both \u2018raised\u2019 by the same coach (Elena Dostatni) we have the same technique, which reduced the \u2018getting comfortable with one another\u2019 period. He\u2019s more technical; I\u2019m more artistic. It just clicked.”<\/p>\n

In addition to the adjustment new teams face, Flores & Tsarevski began their partnership during a pandemic. The rinks were closed, although they were fortunate to be one of the earliest ones to reopen. Their off-ice ballet classes and workouts were done over zoom rather than in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first there was no ice sessions,\u201d Tsarevski explained. \u201cThen it was very difficult to skate with a mask at over 6,000 feet above sea level. Also our gyms were not open, which limited weight training.”<\/p>\n

In spite of the uncertainties of a competitive 2020-2021 season, Flores & Tsarevski began creating a rhythm and free dance. Christopher Dean helped choose one of the pieces for their tango free dance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had the idea of what he wanted for the program in his head,\u201d Tsarevski explained. \u201cHe took us every day for a few weeks until it was finished, and then we worked out the details. Maybe one of the original moves would not work at first, and we would work it through. Other times we would change the moves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores added, \u201cDuring the initial choreography, we created the backbone of the program. As the season progressed we began to imbue meaning into our movements to give the program a little more flavor.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChris is both our choreographer and coach, so it was a continual process throughout the year. He and Ilona Melnichenko worked with us to clean up our skating to create the finished product at the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was that finished product coupled with their Funny Girl<\/i> rhythm dance that earned them a total score that was just .90 out of third place at their first US Championships.<\/p>\n

The experience of winning the pewter medal has helped Flores & Tsarevski build confidence as a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis medal has given me a certain amount of security as a team and individual,\u201d Tsarevski said. \u201cI have only competed at four ice dance competitions before, and this was the biggest so far. Naturally I was very nervous. We were a first year team with little experience at competitions. Now I feel as if a stairway has popped up in front of me, and I am finally on step number two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDima and I are ecstatic that we were able to make the breakthrough,\u201d Flores said. \u201c<\/span>Stepping out on the ice at Nationals with very little idea of where we would wind up was a bit nerve wracking. When we sat in the kiss and cry after our rhythm dance, we had no idea what to expect.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we begin this next season, I think we both feel a lot more confident and reassured in our capabilities as a team. Ultimately this allows us to set loftier goals for this season such as qualifying for Junior Worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018<\/span>My [personal] goal for next season is working on choreography and expression while on the ice and as a team to create more fluidity while skating together,\u201d Tsarevski added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center \u2013 the Broadmoor World Arena. Both athletes begin their days around 6:30 am with workouts or running exercises, followed by schoolwork before heading to the rink. Their skating sessions begin at 11:30 am.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the ice for the next four hours,\u201d Flores said. \u201cWe fill that time working on our programs, refining our technique during Elena\u2019s group skating skills class (we dedicate a session every day going over the basics), and coaching some of the younger kids to offset our training costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have an off-ice class everyday, whether it be at the gym and working with our lifts coach, working out with our trainer, hip hop, modern [dance] or ballet with our dance instructor, or stretching and working out with Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior ice dance competitors, Leah Neset & Artem Markelov also train at the World Arena with the same team of coaches led by Elena Dostatni. The new team finished sixth at their 2021 U.S. Championships debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very grateful to be able to have training mates that are also our competitors because it pushes us to come to practice everyday at our best,\u201d Flores said. \u201cLeah and Artem are great skaters, and I often find myself drawing inspiration from their skating; they\u2019re beautiful to watch. Elena has several younger teams and they keep us on our toes. We want to be good role models for them. As a result, it helps us be the best we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsarevski added, \u201cWe are in the same level and it makes us want to be better than each other.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSometimes Artem may do something that I am not as good at or can\u2019t do, and I will work as hard as possible to get to his level. I think it is the same way for them. We are pretty friendly with each other and get along well.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Blues is this season\u2019s Pattern Dance Element along with two different “Street Dance” rhythms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never competed to a street dance rhythm, or the blues pattern,\u201d explained Flores. \u201cI have tested the blues, and I actually <\/span>loved the pattern– it\u2019s a pleasant dance once you get into it, but it\u2019s really hard to execute properly. With our height difference, it is not the most comfortable dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsarevski continued, \u201c<\/span>I\u2019ve not had to skate the Blues before other than for testing. I think the biggest challenge will be ice coverage during the pattern. There are not a lot of pushes, and we need to cover a large amount of ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christopher Dean did not choreograph their programs this year; he\u2019s in the UK until June working on the Dancing on Ice<\/i> show and tour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Joel Dear came out to Colorado [from New York] and worked with us for a week,” Flores said.\u00a0 “We finished both programs not too long ago. He\u2019s amazing– he choreographed both in a week! We love our programs.”<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We are skating to a blues and hip hop rhythm, so it\u2019s a super \u201cdancey\u201d program. It will be fun when it\u2019s clean, but in the meantime, it\u2019s exhausting because every second of this program requires a lot of energy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super fast and requires a lot of body control — it\u2019s a little scary to do at the moment. Once we work it through, it\u2019ll be a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChris will definitely be a fundamental part in refining both the RD and FD when he comes back.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOPES AND DREAMS<\/b><\/p>\n

Covid-19 has greatly affected the skating community. Closed rinks, off-ice training, canceled and virtual events became the norm for athletes, coaches, parents and all others involved with the sport.<\/p>\n

Isabella Flores and Dimity Tsarevski want to put the past year behind them and prepare to face the up-coming season with renewed enthusiasm and positive goals. They shared some of their hopes and dreams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Flores hopes<\/b> there will be a somewhat normal season with international competition * they remain healthy and are able to compete throughout the year * their school in Colorado Springs can continue to evolve and be a positive environment so athletes can thrive.<\/p>\n

Tsarevski hopes <\/b>the Junior Grand Prix will be held * they qualify for Junior Worlds * that Covid-19 goes away forever.<\/p>\n

FINAL REFLECTIONS<\/b><\/p>\n

The 2021 pewter medalists completed the following statements about their first US Championships as a team.<\/p>\n

Bella Flores:<\/b><\/p>\n