{"id":29053,"date":"2022-08-29T12:12:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T16:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=29053"},"modified":"2022-08-29T13:58:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T17:58:05","slug":"getting-to-know-jenna-hauer-benjamin-starr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/getting-to-know-jenna-hauer-benjamin-starr\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to Know: Jenna Hauer & Benjamin Starr"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Anne Calder | Photos by Daphne Backman<\/em><\/p>\n

Jenna Hauer and Benjamin Starr began their life journeys 13 months and almost 400 miles apart. Hauer was born in Leesburg, Virginia, December 1, 2005; Starr was born in Hartford, Connecticut, November 10, 2004.<\/p>\n

Hauer first skated at the Ashburn Ice House in Virginia when she was four and a half.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did singles, some synchro, solo and basic skating skills,\u201d Hauer explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of her coaches included Daphne Frysiek, Ruslan Goncharov, Greg Maddalone, Kitty Kelly McGorry and Tina Buckingham.<\/p>\n

Starr made a very special discovery in his home that eventually led to his first skating experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne day I went to my parents\u2019 basement and found some VCR tapes. There was one of Nutcracker on Ice.<\/i> I watched it on my own and fell in love with it. My favorite character was the Nutcracker, who was played by Vladimir Petrenko. I told my mom that I wanted to glide and fly on the ice. She took me to the nearest ice rink in Simsbury, Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first person we saw and met when we walked into the rink was Vladimir Petrenko. I just pointed at him and screamed, \u201cNutcracker!\u201d He walked over, got me a pair of skates, tied them up and told me, \u201cIf you go through Basic Learn to Skate, come to me, and I\u2019ll train you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI went through Basic,\u201d Starr added. \u201cI was the kid who was falling all the time, but I stuck to it, and here I am 14 years later.<\/p>\n

The duo had a tryout in April 2017 in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Hauer & Starr won the U.S. juvenile title in 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was almost decided in the first ten minutes,\u201d Hauer said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t even have to see us on the ice,\u201d Starr added.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThey just saw us standing next to each other, then watched our knee bends. We were pretty much in sync.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hauer finished the school year in Virginia before she and her mother moved to Connecticut in June to train. A month later, the duo won gold in the juvenile division at Lake Placid and again at the 2018 U.S. Nationals in San Jose, California. They moved up to intermediate and finished fourth at the 2019 U.S. Championships in Detroit before ending the partnership.<\/p>\n

During the separation, Hauer & Starr skated with different partners. He did some novice, while she vaulted up to the junior level.<\/p>\n

In January 2020, the partnership resumed. It was decided that the team would benefit from developing its novice skills together before moving up to the junior level. The team also had novice eligibility, since Hauer hadn\u2019t danced at a qualifying junior competition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both reflected on the partnership separation, and how it affected the reunion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew as people during the time,\u201d Starr said.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhen we did take the break it was a developmental year, so when we came back, it was like the old days, but much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt natural,\u201d Hauer added. \u201cIt was different, but it felt like nothing had changed. It was just right, and it needed to happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both had to go through another partner to appreciate what we had,\u201d Starr concluded.<\/p>\n

Everything was beginning to look on track. Hauer commuted between Virginia and Connecticut for long three to five day weekends. The free program for the upcoming season was choreographed.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the invasion of Covid-19 destroyed all the best laid plans. Competitions were canceled and strict rink rules tried to avoid the spread of the virus. Connecticut immediately mandated only four skaters plus one coach on the ice at a time. Hauer & Starr struggled to get five hours of ice a week, split between four rinks. It was January 2021 before it was lifted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series offered a format for Juvenile, Intermediate and Novice athletes to compete virtually during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Hauer & Starr submitted a Free Dance video to the panel of judges for review in February in Colorado Springs. The program was sixth and qualified them for the 2021 National Development Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For season 2021-2022, the team kept their novice program, while reworking some elements and adding the time increase required for the new junior level. The Choreo Step Sequence was kept exactly as it was originally laid out back in February 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hauer & Starr made its Junior debut in June 2021 at Chesapeake finishing eighth, followed by sixth place at the Dallas Cannon Open. In October, they qualified for the 2022 U.S. Nationals with a fourth place score in Blaine, Minnesota. The team finished sixth at the U.S. Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The North-Central Connecticut team trains primarily at the Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, CT. However, depending on ice availability, the duo often travels to Newington. They also both teach Learn to Skate classes at Starr\u2019s Charter Oak Figure Skating Club at the International Skating Club of Connecticut in Simsbury.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo began the 2022-2023 season with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. Their first challenge was learning the rhythm dance pattern for juniors (Argentine Tango) since the team had never skated Latin together.<\/p>\n

Hauer & Starr discussed the music selections.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first Tango part is a mixture of pieces,\u201c<\/i>Adios Noninos\u201d and \u201cFelicia\u201d <\/i>from Forever Tango,” Hauer said. “<\/i>The final song is \u201cMalaguena Salerosa\u201d from Kill Bill.”<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s limited selections for Tango, especially Tango with the right timing,\u201d Hauer added. \u201cObviously you\u2019ll hear everything at least twice, so we really tried to do something different. We had our music professionally done by Hugo Chouinard in Montreal.”<\/p>\n

The Free Dance music includes \u201cMy One and Only Love\u201d and \u201cTied Down\u201d from the Pina<\/i> soundtrack, a 2011 German 3D documentary film about the contemporary dance choreographer, Pina Bausch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very modern dance, very contemporary, which is very interesting because the documentary itself is very impressionable,\u201d Starr explained. \u201cThe music is elegant and very nice to skate to. I like skating to that style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mathieu Caron designed the costumes.<\/p>\n

Hauer & Starr debuted their programs at Chesapeake in June followed by a second competition at the Dallas (Texas) Open in early July. The team finished third at both events.<\/p>\n

They continued to evaluate some of the Free Dance elements and explored different Choreographic Movements at each of the first two events.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Chesapeake, we did the Choreo Spinning Movement, then for Dallas, it was suggested that we try the Choreo Twizzle,\u201d Starr said.<\/p>\n

Hauer & Starr have also been working diligently toward improving several areas of their over all performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like sometimes I\u2019ve been lacking expression, but I\u2019m putting a lot of effort into trying to perform,\u201d Hauer said. \u201cWe have our programs down. We know we can skate them, but the important part is showing them off and making it more of an experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course there are also the basics,\u201d Starr added. \u201cYou want more speed, more power, longer extensions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duo faces a big challenge when Starr begins classes on August 25 at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The team will continue to train with Svetlana Kulikova who is very supportive and will give them what they need to work on when they practice remotely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been skating with Svetlana probably my entire ice dance career,\u201d Starr said. \u201cThere were times when I switched coaches because I had a different partner.\u201c<\/p>\n

IDC caught up with Coach Kulikova in Lake Placid. She spoke about the progress her team has made.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re wonderful kids. They\u2019ve skated since they were Juvenile – five or 6 years now. I think they have grown this year and matured a lot. They\u2019re working better together. They definitely see the taste of the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey skated with different partners. Sometimes you realize what you lost, and it makes you appreciate it even more. They were with different partners, but I put them back together because it was a perfect match. They bend their knees together; they just look right together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they were little, I was making for them fun kids programs. This year the music is a bit more mature. I\u2019m very happy with the music choices. I feel the whole package is working for them this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>They went to Dallas without me, but I was constantly on the phone with them even at the critiquing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Kulikova missed the Dallas Open because she was being sworn in as a U.S. Citizen. Congratulations!<\/p>\n

While sitting on the tarmac on their way home from the Dallas Open, Hauer and Starr got the news that U.S. Figure Skating had awarded them a Junior Grand Prix event. They\u2019ve since learned it will be Ostrava CZE,\u00a0 <\/span>August 31 – September 3.\u00a0All Junior Grand Prix events are streamed on the ISU Youtube Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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