{"id":33107,"date":"2023-10-30T11:29:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T15:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=33107"},"modified":"2023-10-30T11:37:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T15:37:19","slug":"recap-2023-skate-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/recap-2023-skate-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: 2023 Skate Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

By Matteo Morelli<\/i><\/p>\n

Vancouver welcomed the second Grand Prix competition of the season, Skate Canada International. This event was first held in 1973 and was added to the Grand Prix series when they started in 1995.<\/p>\n

Bronze world medallists Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier came back to claim a fourth title in a row at their local Grand Prix, presenting their new programmes for this season. In second place, Great Britain\u2019s Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson add another silver medal after the one earned at the same event last year, and in third place Lithuania\u2019s Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevi\u010dius won their first Grand Prix medal.<\/p>\n

Event Recap<\/strong>
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier head into this new skating season with a focus on the World Championships that will be hosted in Montreal, Canada, next March. By winning this event, they ended on the Skate Canada podium for a seventh time and earned a fourth consecutive gold medal at the event.<\/p>\n

The Canadian team debuted their new programmes, both focused on love in its different forms: their rhythm dance is based on music by The Lover Speaks and Robert Palmer, and their free dance is on the soundtrack of 1992 movie \u201cEmily Bront\u00eb’s Wuthering Heights\u201d composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto.<\/p>\n

The reigning bronze world medallist presented both segments of the competition with confidence, showcasing new original moves and showing that they are once again in the fight for gold this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really starting to enjoy each moment\u201d, Gilles said. \u201cWe step out on that ice and we believe in ourselves just a little bit more\u201d.<\/p>\n

Both Gilles and Poirier shared that they were happy with the way they debuted their programmes, and look forward to see them growing throughout the season.<\/p>\n

Great Britain\u2019s Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson started their season early this year and are putting a lot of work in to refine their programmes based on iconic \u201cSweet dreams\u201d by Eurhythmics for their rhythm dance, and soundtrack from the movie \u201cRocky\u201d for their free dance.<\/p>\n

They are known for always wanting to present something that shows their personalities and entertains the audience, and this year\u2019s programmes achieve that fully. They skate on their Rocky\u2019s free dance with a proper impersonation of boxing fighters, with fighting costumes and boxing moves all over the programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that everyone in the crowd loves Rocky hopefully as we do\u201d, Fear shared. With this programme, they want to represent the themes of believing in yourself and overcoming adversity to find triumph.<\/p>\n

In bronze medal position and celebrating their first ever Grand Prix medal are Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevi\u010dius, bringing Lithuania back on a Grand Prix ice dance podium since 2001, when Margarita Drobiazko & Povilas Vanagas won silver at NHK Trophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDreams do come true sometimes, so just believe in that\u201d, Ambrulevi\u010dius said. \u201cIf someone starts to doubt themselves, I think we are the living proof that you can do whatever you want, so I am very proud of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their rhythm dance brings a rock feel with music by Guns n\u2019 Roses, whilst their free dance presents a different vibe, starting with piano music by Son Lux to then change into \u201cChildren\u201d by Tokio Myers.<\/p>\n

Reed shared that she dislocated her shoulder a couple of months before this competition and the duo had to start the season a bit later, but she is fine now. With the European Championships hosted by Lithuania and in Ambrulevi\u010dius\u2019 home town, they aim to put in all the hard work to impress at the continental event and hope to win a medal.<\/p>\n

USA\u2019s Oona & Gage Brown competed in back-to-back Grand Prix events, already improving themselves going from a seventh-place finish at Skate America to a fourth-place finish at Skate Canada and more than ten points added to their total score.<\/p>\n

The Brown siblings were the first of three American teams in a row: in fifth place, Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik, who skated on Michael Jackson in their rhythm dance and on music from \u201cThe beauty and the beast\u201d on their free; in sixth place, Eva Pate & Logan Bye, who this season have won Autumn Classic (part of the Challenger Series).<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Alicia Fabbri & Paul Ayer skated in front of their home audience marking a personal best for their rhythm dance and combined scores. Their rhythm dance presents rock music by AC\/DC, and their free dance goes on a different type of vibe with Lewis Capaldi\u2019s \u201cSomeone you loved\u201d.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Jennifer Janse Van Rensburg & Benjamin Steffan ended in eighth place, followed by Canada\u2019s Molly Lanaghan & Dmitre Razgulajevs in ninth place, and China\u2019s Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu in tenth place.<\/p>\n

Qualification standings<\/i><\/strong>
<\/i><\/b>With Skate America and Skate Canada now completed, the qualification standings for the Grand Prix Final are:<\/span><\/p>\n