{"id":37775,"date":"2024-10-22T22:39:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T02:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=37775"},"modified":"2024-10-23T10:45:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T14:45:54","slug":"recap-2024-skate-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/recap-2024-skate-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: 2024 Skate America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Anne Calder<\/em><\/p>\n

The 2024 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six international senior events hosted this season by the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Finland, and China. The Series ends with the ISU Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France, December 5-8 where the top six skaters\/couples in each discipline will compete.<\/p>\n

Skate America, the first Grand Prix event this season was held in Allen, Texas, October 18-20.<\/p>\n

Rhythm Dance<\/b><\/p>\n

The Ice Dance Technical Committee selected social dances and styles of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s for the Rhythm Dance theme for the current season. Suggested dance styles, but not limited to, include: Rock n\u2019 roll, Jitterbug, Twist, The Hustle, Disco, etc.<\/p>\n

Pairs and women competed Friday evening. The Rhythm Dance was the first of four events on Saturday.<\/p>\n

ABBA, The Beatles, Beyonce, James Brown, The Doors and Elvis Presley were among some of the legendary artists chosen by the dancers.<\/p>\n

Teams finished the Rhythm Dance in the following order: Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (GBR), Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA), Diana Davis & Gleb Smolkin (GEO), Alicia Fabbri & Paul Ayer (CAN) and Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck (ESP). All ten teams would skate their Free Dance the next day.<\/p>\n

Smart & Dieck who teamed up in 2022 danced to \u201cMove Over\u201d by Janis Joplin, \u201cPiece of My Heart\u201d by Big Brother and the Holding Company, feat. Janis Joplin and \u201cTouch Me\u201d by the Doors. Their Choreographic Rhythm Sequence scores ranged from -1 to +4. The program scored 70.99.<\/p>\n

Fabbri & Ayer scored a 71.75 with a medley of Elvis Presley songs that included \u201cJailhouse Rock\u201d, \u201cSuspicious Mind\u201d and \u201cBlue Suede Shoes\u201d. Both of their twizzles and the rotational Lift earned level 4.<\/p>\n

Davis & Smolkin, who this season relocated to Montreal to train, scored 73.16 for their dance to \u201cLady Marmalade\u201d by Sheila and \u201cMusic is My Way of Life\u201d. They each earned level 4 twizzles and level 3 midline step sequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining at I.AM we have amazing teammates who have helped show us Montreal,\u201d Smolkin explained. \u201cThe coaching team is incredible and unique in their own ways. It\u2019s new to us,. We\u2019re still adapting. It\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chock & Bates had a fall in the Choreographic Rhythm Sequence and received a 77.83 score, which was far below their personal best.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went for a little jump in our Choreo Sequence, but instead of landing on the ice, I landed on Evan\u2019s foot,\u201d explained Chock. \u201cIt was bizarre – it\u2019s never happened before. It was a fluke accident in a very costly spot in the program points wise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happened quite early in the program,\u201d Bates added. \u201dI feel we used our experience to recover and really do the rest of the program very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reigning World Champions used eleven songs in their Dancing through the Decades<\/i> routine. Both of their twizzles, midline step sequences and closing rotational lift earned level 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were listening to music from all the decades, there were so many great options that we found it hard to narrow it down,\u201d Chock said. \u201cWe like all the eras, so we decided to show all the different styles and have an evolution of dance from the 50\u2019s through the 70\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have swing, twist, nitty gritty, disco sections etc. We had so much fun taking ourselves through the history of American dance in those eras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear & Gibson skated last and vaulted into first place with a season best 83.56 score danced to \u201cLe Freak\u201d by Chic and \u201cSuperstition\u201d by Stevie Wonder.<\/p>\n

The British duo performed their routine to a very supportive audience from the opening twizzles to the final two elements. Their signature Choreographic Rhythm Sequence is always a much anticipated move. Fear and Gibson did not disappoint and the judges rewarded them with a 6:00 GOE score. The program closed with a spectacular rotational lift that earned all 4 and 5 GOE marks.<\/p>\n

Later at the press conference, Fear spoke about their performance. \u201cWe were not aware of what went on before. Regardless, we knew we had a lot to execute and perform to the standards we set for ourselves, so we tried to stay present. We were really pleased with our score and the improvement we made with our season best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just wanted to go out there and improve on our previous two competitions,\u201d Gibson added.<\/p>\n

Free Dance<\/b><\/p>\n

On Sunday, the Free Dance followed the Men\u2019s competition. The ten ice dancers skated in reverse order of their Rhythm Dance scores.<\/p>\n

The social media was alive with chatter about the Rhythm Dance results. Inside the arena, the audience was anxiously awaiting the introduction of the first group of skaters. The anticipated music and programs would probably be quite different from that of the 50\u2019s, 60\u2019s and 70\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Leah Neset & Artem Markelov used \u201cMy Love Will Never Die\u201d by AG and Claire Wyndham, \u201cHold Your Breath\u201d by Astyria and \u201cGloria Regal\u201d by Tommee Profitt, feat. Fleurie. The Nikolai Morozov choreographed program scored 109.70 and gave them the lead after Group 1. The reigning World Junior Champions scored a total 179.38 in their Senior Grand Prix debut and finished fifth.<\/p>\n

Davis & Smolkin slipped to fourth place dancing to the music of \u201cKashmir\u201d by Bond, \u201cKashmir\u201d by Led Zeppelin, \u201cThe Rain Song\u201d by Beth Hart and \u201cBlack Door\u201d by Led Zeppelin. The program scored 113.80. Both dances totaled 187.05.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Free Dance is a unique and very challenging program,\u201d Smolkin said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never done anything like it, and we\u2019ve been very excited to show it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart & Dieck chose five selections from the Dune <\/i>soundtrack by Hans Zimmer plus Peter Gabriel\u2019s \u201cThe Feeling Begins\u201d. Smart\u2019s costume dramatically added to the theme and choreography of the program. The bronze medalists scored a personal best for both the dance (118.45) and the total (189.44).<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing on the podium today with Tim was a moment we\u2019ve been hoping for and wanting to feel,\u201d Smart said.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s the reason we came back and started skating together. Getting that moment today while holding back tears, was a step forward in our partnership. Thank you everybody for experiencing that with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chock & Bates won the Free Dance with a 127.76 score, dancing to \u201cRound Midnight\u201d by Miles Davis, \u201cTake Five\u201d by Dave Brubeck and \u201cTake Five\u201d by Juju. The newly married team\u2019s 205.63 competition total fell short by .75 points to claim their third straight Skate America title.<\/p>\n

Chock explained the intertwining of the music theme, her costume design and the order of the creation.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, we were drawn to the music, \u201cTake Five\u201d by Dave Brubeck. It\u2019s been in the back of our minds for a long time, and on our little list of things to explore. We started with that nugget.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there we were inspired by the idea of Lady Luck and how you can inspire your own luck and in turn how that\u2019s turned into the American Dream. Dave Brubeck is an American artist and Worlds being in the U.S., it felt very cohesive to have this theme and movement going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I thought about jazz and that moody feeling, it brought me to a place in New York. For me it was the 1920\u2019s, glamorous, art deco\u2026I was very inspired by the Empire State Building\u2026Cyd Charisse. I had classic American images in my head. That\u2019s where it [the costume] all stems from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story between us is about Lady Luck, and how you can create your own luck and be inspired by that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear & Gibson proudly stood atop the Grand Prix podium during the playing of \u201cGod Save the King.\u201d The gold medalists earned 122.82 for their Beyonce medley: \u201cHalo\u201d, \u201cEnd of Time\u201d and \u201cCrazy in Love\u201d. The competition totaled 206.38.<\/p>\n

Fear shared her thoughts on what it meant to stand on the Grand Prix podium. \u201cWe were very proud to be up there. It was a heart warming moment, especially to be surrounded by our amazing teammates. It was a joy to compete along side them this week and to train together. It makes it even more meaningful that we\u2019re all up here together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis spoke about continuing to find new program ideas and reinventing themselves. \u201cFor us, we just follow with what we want to do – what\u2019s going to make us happy – what\u2019s going to excite us every day when we go to training. It\u2019s definitely going to be passionate for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas Tidbits<\/b><\/p>\n