We’re less than a week away from Junior Worlds, and if you didn’t spend September enjoying the soothing tones of Ted Barton’s Junior Grand Prix commentary, you’re probably wondering who most of these skaters are. Even if you did catch some of the JGP, there’s a good chance that you’ve forgotten by now, or that you never figured out how to tell all those new Russian teams apart. With 31 entries in ice dance this year, many from countries that don’t exactly scream Argentine Tango, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Here are my 12 picks for teams to watch: those likely to medal, those on the rise, and those who are just plain fun.
Loicia Demougeot & Theo Le Mercier
Basic Info: Demougeot and Le Mercier represent France. She’s 17 years old, and he’s 19. They’ve been skating together since 2016, and this is the first internationally competitive partnership for both. They train in Villard-de-Lans, near Grenoble, coached by Karine Arribert-Narce. At their Junior Worlds debut last season, they placed 15th.
Season So Far: Demougeot and Le Mercier began their season with strong performances at the Junior Grand Prix: they were 5th at JGP Bratislava and 4th at JGP Richmond. They went on to reach the podium at several small international events, earning a silver medal at the Mentor Torun Cup and winning gold at both the Pavel Roman Memorial and the Egna Dance Trophy. Last week, they won decisively at the French Junior National Championships, their first career national title.
Why to Watch: Isn’t it enough that their free dance is to Rage Against the Machine? It’s one thing to attempt a step sequence as Zack de la Rocha growls about burning crosses, and another to have the edge depth and flow to turn angry, hard-edged music into something ethereal. Their technical elements sometimes turn scary – at the Egna Trophy, the “explode into space” lyric during their twizzles was a little too on the nose – but they’re attempting a promising level of difficulty. In the future, they’re likely to become a force in French ice dance, but for now, enjoy the hair-ography.
Alicia Fabbri & Paul Ayer
Basic Info: Fabbri and Ayer represent Canada. She’s 16, and he’s 20 years old. They teamed up in 2018. Fabbri used to compete internationally with Claudio Pietrantonio, with whom she earned a bronze medal at JGP Egna in 2017. They train in the Montreal area, coached by Julien Lalonde.
Season So Far: Fabbri and Ayer stood out among the up-and-coming Canadian junior teams throughout this season. Shortly after beginning their partnership, they competed at two domestic summer events: the 2018 Championnats québécois d’été, where they won bronze, and the Minto Summer Skate, where they took silver. That earned them two Junior Grand Prix assignments. At their first, in Bratislava, they finished an impressive fourth. A month later, in Ljubljana, they dropped to 7th in a much more challenging field. But they proved themselves at the Canadian National Championships, fending off a number of talented teams to take home a silver medal. They went on to earn their first international medal, a silver, at the Bavarian Open in February.
Why to Watch: Fabbri and Ayer excel in the short dance, navigating a tricky Argentine Tango pattern that trips up many of their competitors. Although they don’t always achieve maximum levels, they skate fast and close together, which keeps their grades of execution high. They also capture the mood of the tango rhythm as few other junior teams can. While they still had the unsteady chemistry of a new team in their autumn events, they looked far more confident and connected at Nationals, and have improved massively throughout the season. Those lower element levels are costly, though, and Fabbri and Ayer probably don’t have the technical difficulty to put themselves in the conversation for a Junior World medal this year, especially since their free dance is a dull lyrical number that doesn’t play to their strengths. If they could just tango all the time, they’d have it made.
Caroline Green & Gordon Green
Basic Info: Green and Green represent the United States of America. They are siblings; she’s 15, and he’s 17. They’ve been skating together since 2009 – shortly after they first stepped on the ice – and have had no other partners. Green and Green train in Rockville, Maryland, with Alexei Kiliakov, Elena Novak, and Dmitri Ilin. They finished 6th at Junior Worlds in 2018.
Season So Far: The Greens had to sit out the Junior Grand Prix due to illness. They showed up to Eastern Sectionals like they hadn’t missed a day and won easily, then captured their first junior title at Nationals, narrowly beating Nguyen and Kolesnik for gold. To achieve their international qualifying scores and get ready for Junior Worlds, Green and Green achieved decisive victories at both Golden Spin of Zagreb and the Mentor Torun Cup.
Why to Watch: Green and Green might have started late, but they’re riding the momentum of an undefeated season. Like many great sibling teams before them, they possess an uncanny mental connection and natural ability to match their lines and timing, which makes their execution uniquely crisp and rhythmic. Unfortunately, they also suffer the drawbacks of a sibling partnership; they have to work extra hard to show their emotional bond without making everyone uncomfortable. It will be tough for them to keep pace with the formidable trifecta of Russian teams at Junior Worlds, but their combination of challenging technical content and artistic range could open the door for them.
Eliana Gropman & Ian Somerville
Basic Info: Gropman and Somerville represent the United States of America. Both are 18 years old. They’ve been skating together since 2009 and have never partnered with anyone else. They train in Rockville, Maryland, with Alexei Kiliakov, Elena Novak, and Greg Zuerlein. This will be their first trip to Junior Worlds.
Season So Far: Gropman and Somerville won their first career Junior Grand Prix medal at JGP Bratislava, a bronze. They made some errors and dropped to 5th at JGP Richmond. Despite some unsteadiness, they had no trouble winning Midwestern Sectionals. At US Nationals, they bounced back from a rough rhythm dance to capture a bronze medal.
Why to Watch: Gropman and Somerville’s long partnership has paid off for them artistically: they’re confident in their chemistry and timing, and they have a distinctive performance style that they adapt to every program. Somerville also has some of the finest partnering skills in the sport, and a big growth spurt in the past year has increased his strength and extended his lines. Technically, they’re prone to weird errors, and they often prioritize expression over fundamentals, which causes them to drop levels. It’s unlikely their scores will keep pace with the top tier here, but their maturity and presence, especially in their creative and captivating free dance, will make you wish the judges had given them more love.
Maria Kazakova & Georgy Reviya
Basic Info: Kazakova and Reviya represent Georgia. She’s 17, and he’s 19. Her most notable past partner was Aleksandr Vaskovich, with whom she competed for Russia. Reviya also used to compete for Russia, with Ksenia Konkina, as well as competing for Georgia with Eva Khatchaturian. They train in Latvia and in Moscow with Denis Samokhin and Maria Borovikova. Kazakova and Reviya have been skating together since 2017 and placed 9th at Junior Worlds in 2018.
Season So Far: Kazakova and Reviya made history this fall by becoming the first Georgian ice dancers to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final. They got there on the strength of their performances at JGP Ostrava and JGP Yerevan, earning silver medals at both of those events. At the JGP Final, they skated well but couldn’t keep up with the competition, finishing 6th. They also notched an easy victory at the Volvo Open Cup.
Why to Watch: Kazakova and Reviya have all the advantages of Russian ice dance training, with smooth, pure edges and lines and impeccable fundamental technique. But skating for a smaller country takes them out of the rat race and lets them innovate. They have a ton of emotional range and a lightness of movement on the ice that add up to a unique, captivating style. Their technical elements are solid, but not especially memorable, which is why they’ve been a few steps behind the teams at the very top. Nonetheless, Kazakova and Reviya are more than good enough to dark horse for a medal if the stars align in their favor, but if that’s more than they can manage, they’ll still be a pleasure to watch.
Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva & Nikita nazarov
Basic Info: Khudaiberdieva and Nazarov represent Russia. She’s 16 years old, and he’s 20. They teamed up in 2016, prior to which she was a singles skater, and he competed internationally with Anastasia Skoptcova and with Daria Shirokova. Coached by Denis Samokhin and Maria Borovikova, they train in Balashikha, just outside Moscow. This will be their first time competing at Junior Worlds.
Season So Far: Although they’ve been climbing the Russian ranks for a couple of seasons and won two JGP medals in 2017, this was a big year for Khudaiberdieva and Nazarov. They established their momentum early, winning gold at both JGP Bratislava and JGP Ostrava. They notched two more easy wins at the Halloween Cup and Tallinn Trophy before heading to the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they gave their best performances of the season but settled for bronze in a Russian podium sweep. At Russian Junior Nationals, they maintained their place in the pecking order, finishing 3rd behind the same two teams who had beaten them at the JGPF.
Why to Watch: If you hear your windows rattling, that’s me shrieking about how much I love this team. Keep Ice Dance Weird aesthetics aside, they’re connecting with the judges as well as with your humble blogger. They present an astonishingly high level of difficulty for a junior team, and they make tough twizzle sequences look effortless. Elsewhere, they’re not always so polished, and from time to time, they look like they’re about to spin out of their lifts. Khudaiberdieva and Nazarov are a long shot for gold this year, but they’re certainly capable of a win, and they’re strong contenders to wave their freak flags from the lower steps of the podium.
Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha
Basic Info: Lajoie and Lagha represent Canada. She’s 18 years old, and he’s 19. They’ve been skating together since 2011, and neither has any significant previous partners. They train in Montreal, coached by Marie-France Dubrueil and Patrice Lauzon. This will be their fourth Junior Worlds together; in 2018, they just missed the podium, for a 4th-place finish.
Season So Far: Lajoie and Lagha began their season with an easy summer win at the Championnats québécois d’été. They went on to give strong performances at both of their Junior Grand Prix events, taking silver in Linz and gold as the home-country favorites at JGP Richmond. This qualified them for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they looked surprisingly unsteady and finished only 4th. But they were back on track at Canadian Nationals, breezing to their third consecutive junior national title. A few weeks later, at the Bavarian Open, they were even better, taking gold by a 25-point margin with a pair of career-best performances.
Why to Watch: Nobody in ice dance makes a meal out of big classical music like Lajoie and Lagha. When she’s not on the ice, Lajoie moonlights as a professional actress, and it shows in some of the most nuanced on-ice expression at any level of the sport. Lagha is no slouch in the interpretation department, either, and their programs this season are tailored to their chemistry, which is so intense it borders on combative. It’s hard to say whether they have enough in the tank technically to stand up to this season’s formidable trio of Russian teams, and they often fall prey to picky deductions. But they’re the most mature and polished team in this year’s Junior Worlds field, and they’re coming in on a wave of momentum that ought to carry them to the podium.
Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud
Basic Info: Lopareva and Brissaud skate for France. She’s 18, and he’s 20 years old. They’re a brand new team, together since late 2018; he placed 15th at 2015 Junior Worlds with Sarah Marine Rouffanche, and she competed for Russia at a couple of Junior Grand Prix events with Alexey Karpushov. Because the team is so new, I’m having trouble verifying coaching information, but they seem to be training in Lyon with Olivier Schoenfelder and Muriel Zazoui.
Season So Far: Lopareva and Brissaud began their competitive career at Junior Nationals, where they won a silver medal, surprisingly hot on the heels of Demougeot and Le Mercier. They came in second to their teammates at the Egna Dance Trophy, again by a surprisingly small margin.
Why to Watch: It’s not often that a team comes out of literally nowhere and emerges as their country’s Next Big Thing, but Lopareva and Brissaud vaulted ahead at Junior Nationals to do just that. In a short span of time, they’ve developed an impressive sense of timing, with beautifully matched deep edges, and their lifts are spectacular. They’re still rough in places, especially from an artistic standpoint; they don’t seem to have a sense of their own chemistry yet, and can become mechanical when focusing on their difficult elements. Lopareva and Brissaud are not quite on the medal track this year, but keep an eye out for these two – they’re not done pulling upsets.
Avonley Nguyen & Vadym Kolesnik
Basic Info: Nguyen and Kolesnik represent the United States of America. She’s 16 years old, and he’s 17. They’ve been a team since 2017. Before that, she skated with Maxwell Gart, and he competed for Ukraine with Zlata Iefymenko. They train outside Detroit with Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo. This will be their first Junior Worlds appearance.
Season So Far: Nguyen and Kolesnik had a terrific Junior Grand Prix season, earning a silver medal at JGP Kaunas and beating top Russians Shevchenko and Eremenko for gold at JGP Ljubljana. They skated well at the Junior Grand Prix Final but found themselves outclassed and placed 5th. At US Nationals, they took silver, close on the heels of Green and Green.
Why to Watch: Nguyen and Kolesnik look like an odd couple at first, but her flexibility and smolder mesh surprisingly well with his understated Eastern European fundamentals. At their best, their programs flow seamlessly, with difficult elements seeming to arise out of nowhere. They do sometimes sacrifice intricate transitions or clear edges for that pleasing fluidity, and their occasional errors are all the more jarring because they break the spell. Nguyen and Kolesnik are the only North American team who have proven they can outskate the Russians this season, which puts them in the medal hunt, especially if other teams can’t stand up to the pressure.
Mira Polishook & Deividas Kizala
Basic Info: Polishook and Kizala represent Lithuania. She’s 17 years old, and he’s 21. Kizala skated competitively with Guoste Damuleviciute for several years and placed 17th at 2017 Junior Worlds with her; Polishook, who’s American, has never competed internationally with another partner. Polishook and Kizala teamed up in 2018. They train in the United States, outside Detroit, with Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo.
Season So Far: Polishook and Kizala began their season with a pair of 12th-place finishes at JGP Kaunas and JGP Ostrava. They improved markedly after those early events to place 6th at the Tallinn Trophy and 4th at Golden Spin of Zagreb. At Golden Spin, they posted their highest scores of the season by a significant margin.
Why to Watch: Polishook and Kizala’s Pink Panther rhythm dance is one of the most creative approaches to the tango this season, and a breath of fresh air in the midst of dozens of thematically and stylistically similar programs. Their free dance is more conventional, but it showcases their terrific technical potential, built on strong fundamental skating skills and an adept sense of timing. Polishook and Kizala won’t trouble the podium this year and are a stretch for the top 10, but they’re likely to move up in the world as they grow into their elements and their chemistry.
Francesca Righi & Aleksei Dubrovin
Basic Info: Righi and Dubrovin represent Italy. She’s 18 years old, and he’s 20. They teamed up in 2017, before which she partnered with Pietro Papetti, and he competed for Russia with Anastasia Savitskaia. They train in Milan with Barbara Fusar Poli and Stefano Caruso. This will be their first Junior Worlds appearance.
Season So Far: Righi and Dubrovin placed 8th at both of their Junior Grand Prix events, in Kaunas and Ljubljana. They spent the autumn and winter competing at smaller international events throughout Europe: they were 7th at the Volvo Open Cup, 4th at the Egna Dance Trophy, and 3rd at both the Halloween Cup and Golden Spin of Zagreb. They won gold at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul, and became junior national champions for the first time at the 2019 Italian Figure Skating Championships.
Why to Watch: Never underestimate the diva factor. Technically, Righi and Dubrovin have a hard road to the top 10, let alone the podium, and their lack of speed hampers the flow of their movements. But Righi is a theatrical skater who lights up the ice with her absolute commitment to every nuance of the music. That makes them a delight to watch, even though their choreography is pretty standard and Dubrovin is mostly a background player in the Francesca Righi Show. Righi and Dubrovin show what a difference expression makes in ice dance, especially at the junior level, and are sure to give one of the most memorable performances of the Junior Worlds middle ranks.
Sofia Shevchenko & Igor Eremenko
Basic Info: Shevchenko and Eremenko represent Russia. She’s 17 years old, and he’s 21. They started skating together in 2014; before that, Shevchenko was a singles skater, and Eremenko partnered with Eva Khatchaturian. They train in Moscow with Irina Zhuk and Alexander Svinin. In 2018, they placed 5th at Junior Worlds.
Season So Far: Shevchenko and Eremenko won their first Junior Grand Prix event, in Linz. Uncharacteristic mistakes, including an extended lift, held them to silver at JGP Ljubljana. They were back on track at the Inge Solar Memorial/Alpen Trophy, which they won by more than 40 points. Confident at the Grand Prix Final, they took gold, beating teammates Ushakova and Nekrasov by only 0.01 overall. They confirmed their dominance at Russian Junior Nationals, again edging out their domestic rivals to earn their first national title.
Why to Watch: Shevchenko and Eremenko are the odds-on favorites for gold at this year’s Junior Worlds, although they’ll face stiff competition. Their greatest advantage is dead-on consistency, executing some of the most difficult lifts and twizzles in the junior field without seeming to break a sweat. They’re also rewarded for their classical ice dance style, which features pristine edges and extension as well as exceptional speed. Shevchenko and Eremenko lack the drama and artistic range of many of their competitors, and they don’t have an intense or distinctive emotional connection to one another. That will be a bigger hurdle for them as they move up to the senior level, but their technical perfection could put them on top here.
Arina Ushakova & Maxim Nekrasov
Basic Info: Ushakova and Nekrasov represent Russia. She’s 16 years old, and he’s 18. They both started out as singles skaters and had notable prior partners (Anton Spiridonov for her, Polina Kalinina for him) before teaming up in 2015. They train in the Moscow suburbs with Alexei Gorshkov and Maxim Bolotin. Ushakova and Nekrasov won a bronze medal at Junior Worlds last year.
Season So Far: Ushakova and Nekrasov won both of their Junior Grand Prix events, in Kaunas and Yerevan, with huge scores. They went on to narrowly settle for silver at the Junior Grand Prix Final, winning the free skate but finishing behind Shevchenko and Eremenko by the slimmest possible margin. They fell farther behind their rivals at Russian Junior Nationals, again taking silver. In February, they warmed up for Junior Worlds with an easy victory at the Open Ice Mall Cup.
Why to Watch: Just look at their feet, because their edge depth puts the rest of ice dance to shame. Their free dance is bizarre, but they sell it – especially Nekrasov, who is the kind of male ice dancer whose style and technical prowess make you forget that you’re supposed to be watching the lady. Their technical difficulty is top notch, and they’re the rare junior team that consistently creates a flow from one element to the next. I do frequently yell at them through the TV screen to stop hunching and straighten their knees, and these form problems sometimes impact their levels and grades of execution. Ushakova and Nekrasov are definite contenders for gold here, and of the three Russian teams, they show the most potential for a successful transition to the senior level.
Next on The Finer Sports: probably not any more previews before Junior Worlds starts, but I’ll try to share my hyperventilating through the men’s event with Twitter.