{"id":27006,"date":"2021-11-02T18:41:17","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T22:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=27006"},"modified":"2021-11-02T18:41:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T22:41:58","slug":"annes-take-2021-skate-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/annes-take-2021-skate-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Anne’s Take: 2021 Skate Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photos by Danielle Earl (Skate Canada)<\/em><\/p>\n

2021 Skate Canada International, the second event in the ISU Grand Prix Series, was held in Vancouver, British Columbia from October 29-31. Ten ice dance teams from six countries competed.<\/p>\n

Virtual Mixed Zones and Press Conferences were the journalists source of the music, quotes, scores and placements that follow:<\/p>\n

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (CAN) earned a personal best 85.65 Rhythm Dance score for \u201cI Guess That\u2019s Why They Call it the Blues\u201d and “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John. The two-time Skate Canada gold medalists revealed that their Free Dance to Paul McCartney\u2019s \u201cLong and Winding Road\u201d is about every little piece of their skating journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery step, every competition, every program has led us to where we are right now. We really want to finish this season at the Olympic Games celebrating what we\u2019ve done and accomplished
\nthroughout our entire career.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Italy’s Guignard and Fabbri skate their rhythm dance at 2021 Skate Canada International.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri (ITA) scored a total 200.05 points for their Rhythm Dance to several Michael Jackson songs and the Free Dance to Atonement and \u201cLittle Sparrow\u201d. Fabbri
\nexplained why they kept last year\u2019s free dance music, but changed the dress worn by Guignard.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we danced it at only one major event and really enjoyed performing to the music, we didn\u2019t want to abandon it for the Olympic season. We didn\u2019t want to do something we liked less. We changed the dress because we wanted to give a more elegant look to the program from last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olivia Smart & Adrian Diaz (ESP) won their first Grand Prix medal with two Personal Best Scores – 76.97 points for the Rhythm Dance to Tina Turner\u2019s \u201cProud Mary\u201d and the 192.93 total
\nscore. Their Free Dance music included several selections from The Mask of Zorro soundtrack. Smart spoke about the challenges of the current season.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be here with a bronze medal shows the work we\u2019ve put into our two programs. We knew we were going into an Olympic season with only one spot for Spain. We needed the right vehicle to get to the Games and World Championships. We think we\u2019re on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caroline Green & Michael Parsons (USA) used music by Janet Jackson (Rhythm Dance) and Ezio Bosso (Free Dance) to score 186.51 points. Parsons spoke about their freedom to push ice dance boundaries as they\u2019ve gotten more comfortable with each other and progressed as a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning of this Olympic year, we decided to do something that really showed off a different direction of the sport. It\u2019s been a journey with our coaches from the very beginning.
\nElena [Novak] picked the music and gave us guidance with the choreography, but also let us put ourselves into the program. I\u2019d say it\u2019s a collaborated effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diana Davis & Gleb Smolkin (RUS) earned a trifecta of Personal Best scores: 70.66 (Rhythm Dance), 109.91 (Free Dance) and 180.57 (Total). The team tangoed from seventh into fifth place with songs from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. They train in Novi, Michigan with Igor Shpilband.<\/p>\n

Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha (CAN) scored 179.07 total points. They didn\u2019t get the scores they wanted for the free dance, but were thrilled with the cheering crowd and standing ovation at
\nthe end. Lagha explained the reasoning behind keeping their Rio program from last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t compete with it a lot last year, so going into the Olympic year it was good strategy that of the two programs, we keep this one because it\u2019s a very good vehicle for us. We chose the movie music to express its fun and dynamic and our energy.<\/p>\n

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (GBR) chose Disco music by Kiss for the Rhythm Dance and songs from the Lion King film for the Free Dance. The team had some costly errors that dropped them
\nfrom fifth to seventh place with 178.08 points. Lion King was chosen for the Olympic season because of the world-wide connection to the music. Fear spoke about the message it generates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theme is of finding your inner strength and empowerment and the universal power of love. So many people connect to the story; it transcends so much that it\u2019s a message we want to share.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun to play these characters and explore the animal side of movement. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve never done, and that\u2019s extremely fun, but also extremely challenging as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko (USA) scored 168.76 total points for performances to \u201cBatdance\u201d by recording artist Prince (Rhythm Dance) and Chris Isaak\u2019s \u201cWicked Game\u201d sung by Daisy Gray and Yola Recoba (Free Dance). The team currently trains with Scott Moir in London, Ontario Canada. Ponomarenko spoke about their progress this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our third competition. We\u2019ve made lots of improvement from the first two. Now we\u2019re looking to improve more and fix the little technical mistakes we made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizaveta Shanaeva & Devid Naryzhnyy (RUS) danced hip-hop and disco to \u201cHey Momma\u201d and \u201cHit the Road Jack\u201d in their Rhythm Dance and Amaluna from Cirque du Soleil for the Free Dance. The team scored a total 160.66 in their Senior Grand Prix debut. Shanaeva & Naryzhnyy are the reigning World Junior and JGP Final bronze medalists.<\/p>\n

Haley Sales & Nikolas Wamsteeker (CAN) scored 156.56 total points for their Billie Eilish Rhythm Dance and \u201cScared to be Lonely\u201d Free Dance. The team recently relocated from Vancouver, British Columbia to train with Scott Moir at the Ice Academy of Montreal\u2019s (I.AM) London, Ontario campus.<\/p>\n

The third Grand Prix Series event, Gran Premio d\u2019Italia will be held November 5-7 in Torino, Italy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photos by Danielle Earl (Skate Canada) 2021 Skate Canada International, the second event in the ISU Grand Prix Series, was held in Vancouver, British Columbia from 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