{"id":44185,"date":"2026-08-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=44185"},"modified":"2026-08-25T12:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T16:36:09","slug":"getting-to-know-effie-chen-gordei-chitipakhovian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/getting-to-know-effie-chen-gordei-chitipakhovian\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to know Effie Chen & Gordei Chitipakhovian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Effie (Xinyu) Chen & Gordei Chitipakhovian (Skating Club of Boston) partnered in 2025 and represent the United States on the Junior level. Their individual skating journeys began on separate continents – Asia \/ Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skating in China<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I began skating in China, but never went through basic skills,\u201d Chen said. \u201cI came to the U.S. when I was very young and started in juvenile and singles at the Skating Club of Boston.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ice Dance was one of the skating skills offered to improve general overall power and potential in the discipline. Effie Chen and Jack Liu were sharing lessons from Coach Ron Kravette (U.S. Figure Skating ice dance medalist). He suggested they try dancing together for fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd\u2026that\u2019s how I got started in ice dance,\u201d Chen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Juvenile team won bronze at the 2019 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships followed by a silver medal at the inaugural NQS Ice Dance Final in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team qualified for the first National Development Camp following the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Covid pandemic interrupted NQS competitions. Instead, the U.S. Championship Series was held virtually in early 2021 and live in Alpharetta, GA in November, where the team competed at the Novice level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duo\u2019s competitive medal-winning partnership spanned four seasons (2019-2022) on the juvenile, intermediate, novice and junior levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, Chen teamed with Kenny Eckert and moved to Novi, MI to train with Igor Shpilband\u2019s group. The partnership lasted only one season after Eckert\u2019s injured knee required surgery. Since the anticipated recovery period was long, the team chose to move on separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skating in Russia<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordei Chitipakhovian began his early skating journey in St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em><\/strong>I was skating for most of my life in free style,\u201d Chitipakhovian said. \u201cBasically, one day my mom convinced me to try ice dance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elizaveta Khort & Gordei Chitipakhovian competed at the junior level (KMS) in Russia, while primarily training with coach Kirill Minov. The team wrapped up their partnership in early 2025, prior to his move to the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tryout in Michigan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Chen and Eckert parted ways, she remained in Michigan while searching for a partner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought I would have to take the season off. It was already getting so late and summer competitions were starting soon.\u201d Chen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 11:00 p.m. one evening, Chen\u2019s phone rang. She was getting ready for a short trip back to Boston. The call was from her coach. It immediately changed her travel plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this guy in Colorado who wants a tryout,\u201d the coach said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Chen thought aloud. \u201cNext month we can have a tryout. Afterwards, we\u2019ll see about a second one.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be next month,\u201d the coach added. \u201cYou\u2019re having a tryout tomorrow – tomorrow in Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two-day tryout was intense, but successful.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Training Center<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new partners immediately began training at the Novi Arena with Chen\u2019s Coach Igor Shpilband and team Natalia Deller, Adrienne Lenda and Pasquale Camerlengo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had already spent a year training alongside 2026 Olympians Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik and other elite athletes Eva Pate & Logan Bye, Amy Cui & Jonathan Rogers, Daniela Ivanitskiy & Matthew Sperry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome to train with so many high-level skaters,\u201d Chen said. \u201cIt really moves you to push yourself to try harder; it\u2019s really inspiring. It\u2019s very cool to see what they do and to say that I want to do that someday. We\u2019re absolutely comfortable here. We have everything we need, and t\u2019s a great environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chen spoke about working with Igor Shpilband. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has a lot of really good ideas, and we try our best to bring them to life,\u201d Chen said. \u201cA camp of this caliber, demands a lot from you, and hopefully we are ready to rise to the challenge. He\u2019s an excellent coach and obviously has had so many champions, and you can really see that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMostly you have to put in the work. Like Igor can tell you what to do, but if you do not do what he says or put in the work, you are not going anywhere. Hopefully, we try our best.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe wants the best for all of us and really knows how to do it. Also, we don\u2019t just have juniors \/ seniors in our group. We have novices and intermediate teams as well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we can learn something from all levels. It\u2019s not just looking up to the highest level seniors. I think it\u2019s also training with younger teams as well – you know how they train. I think the variety is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting to Know You<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to choreography, music selections, training routines, etc., the new team needed \u201cgetting to know you\u201d time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chen described her new partner as genuinely uplifting and very supportive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this sport, people can be very intense, and I think we really balance each other out well,\u201d she noted. \u201cHe\u2019s very easy to talk to, and I feel his support every step of the way whether it be a really good practice or a bad one. I find that to be very nice and very easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I can add much more,\u201d Chitipakhovian said. \u201cIt\u2019s been very easy to communicate with Effie from the first time we started talking, especially when we started skating on the ice. It just felt like we knew each other. We add to each other and highlight each other\u2019s great spots that we have in our skating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter the first or second day, it felt like we\u2019d already known each other for such a long time, which is really awesome,\u201d Chen added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the Partnership<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effie Chen brought a resume of several years of SCOB training and the additional year at the Novi Arena in Michigan to the new partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also played the piano growing up,\u201d Chen said. \u201cI think it helps a lot with musicality. I also cut our own free dance this season.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chitipakhovian spoke about his contribution to the partnership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel I’m trying to show her off more as the boy partner. I should be more like a frame for the girl to fill it out and show how beautiful she is. I\u2019m not tying to be brighter than her. I\u2019m trying to show how bright she is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo build on that,\u201d Chen added. \u201cI think he does a good job being supportive – and to use the analogy – instead of being a boring picture frame, he\u2019s like a beautiful golden gilded picture frame. What I mean is, it\u2019s not that he disappears easily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competition Debut <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>After we got together in late summer 2025, we had to get a program within three weeks because we were competing at the Challenge Cup Sept.19-20,\u201d Chen explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten Junior teams competed at the event in Philadelphia, PA. Chen & Chitipakhovian earned the highest Junior Rhythm Dance mark. The newbies received the silver medal for the second highest total score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six weeks later at the NQS Ice Dance Final in Henderson, NV, the team won the silver medal and qualified for  the Junior competition to be held in Maryland Heights, MO prior to the 2026 U.S. Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team, however, missed the opportunity to participate at the event when Chitipakhovian had to fly back to Russia for visa and Federation issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, It was very bad timing\u201d Chen said, \u201cbut it\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Season – 2026-2027<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year we wanted to get started early since we missed out on quite a lot last season,\u201d Chen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI absolutely agree,\u201d Chitipakhovian added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that they did. The team won gold medals at their first two NQS ice dance events –  Dallas Classic and the Lake Placid Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe feel well prepared, which is nice,\u201d Chen said. \u201cObviously we have things to work on. Yesterday we had monitoring here in Lake Placid. It was very helpful on things we need to improve and the direction to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterns<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a fan of the patterns. I think it\u2019s great that they decided to bring them back for everyone, including the seniors,\u201d It\u2019s awesome just seeing everyone flying around the ice at home doing the Golden Waltz and the Westminster. Everyone\u2019s in like patterns. I think it\u2019s great!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super important to skate in closer hold. That\u2019s what ice dancing is. What separates us from pairs and the other disciplines is the fact that we can skate so close together and just be more connected whether emotionally, physically – all of that. I\u2019m always ready for it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhythm Dance<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026-2027 Junior Rhythm Dance requires One (1) Sequence of the Westminster Waltz evaluated as two (2) sections. <\/em><\/strong>Following the updated July 2026 global seminar amendments, the traditional prescribed pattern mapping on the ice is now optional<\/strong>. Teams can design their own routing across the ice as long as the steps are executed consecutively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWestminster is much harder than what we did last year with the rhumba \/ quickstep,\u201d Chen said. \u201cIt\u2019s much more challenging with more hold changes, but I think that\u2019s a great thing. You don\u2019t want the sport to be stagnant. You want it always to grow and challenge yourself to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe went to Dallas for out first competition,” Chen said. “It was definitely interesting. We came back and made quite a big change. Instead if closing the pattern traditionally, we don\u2019t do that anymore. We\u2019re trying to really fill out the space and have a lot more flow and speed that the traditional pattern was restricting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see how it works. If it shakes out? Tis the season for experimenting, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team’s Rhythm Dance is set to \u201cI See Red\u201d and \u201cWicked Ways\u201d by Everybody Loves an Outlaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u201cFor our Free Dance we are doing music from the Rio <\/em>soundtrack, which is super fun,” Chen said. “It\u2019s very Latin, but also quite a character program, which is great for us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been doing Latin ballroom for a couple of years now; I love to dance off-ice. I\u2019ve been wanting to compete Latin for a long time but also wanted some kind of story. I enjoy character programs quite a bit. As a partnership, we have fun on the ice. We really do enjoy singing with each other, so we wanted to bring that to the audience – to show them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe program has a carnival feeling from the music – a great song and a great dance. Hopefully, the audience will get the party vive and feel free to get up and start dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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


ICE CHIPS!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Effie Chen trained and competed with the Skating Club of Boston\u2019s Theatre on Ice program for eight years.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • In 2019, Chen\u2019s novice team, Encore of Boston,<\/em> won gold at the Nations\u2019 Cup Ballet Sur Glace International Theatre on Ice competition in Epinal, France.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Gordei Chitipakhovian\u2019s recent coach in St. Petersburg, Russia was Kirill Minov, who with partner, Rebeka Kim, skated for South Korea for four seasons. Their final year as a team (2015-16) the duo represented and trained at the Detroit Skating Club, in Bloomfield Hills, MI. The team was coached by Pasquale Camerlengo who currently assists with Chen and Chitipakhovian\u2019s training in Novi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Chen & Chitipakhovian attend on-line college classes. Chen is studying psychology at Michigan State University. Chitipakhovian is studying to be a coach through a St. Petersburg, Russia University.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • The team has recently received their first Junior Grand Prix assignment for Ankara, Turkey (September 17-19).\u00a0
            <\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • August 19-20 at Skate Detroit, the duo added a third 2026-2027 season gold medal to its collection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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