As is now a tradition, US Figure Skating followed its high performance camp, aka “Champs Camp,” with a public show at the Tenley Albright Performance Center in Norwood, Massachusetts. At the “Summer Sizzler” on August 27th, approximately half of the skaters showed a new competitive program, while others chose to use exhibition pieces.
Before the show, skaters Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomorenko, Emilia Zingas & Vadim Kolesnik, Alisa Efimova & Misha Mitrofanov, Jacob Sanchez, and Alysa Liu answered questions from the press.
Ice dancers learn to trust their instincts
Christina Carriera and Anthony Ponomorenko chose to show their new rhythm dance, which combines waltz music from My Fair Lady with a high-energy jazz section.
“We’ve been having a lot of fun choreographing this offseason,” shared Carriera, “and we have two programs that feel like us, which is something we felt like we didn’t have last year.”
They are glad to have feedback from judges at Champs Camp, but they don’t always follow that advice.
“Actually, with My Fair Lady, at the previous camp a few weeks ago, we were told to scrap it, or not scrap it, strongly recommended to maybe go a different direction. But we felt like it just needed more time to develop. And I’m happy we trusted our gut. We did change the second half of the program because, within what they were telling us, there’s always good…We have to filter through some of the feedback, but the intention’s always good, and you kind of have to find your way. What feels right is right.”
Last season, Carriera and Ponomarenko decided to change their free dance after Champs Camp, but Christina emphasized that this wasn’t because judges or US Figure Skating told them so. “It wasn’t even suggested to us. It just didn’t feel right. We weren’t connecting with the program. This year it felt totally different.”
“We feel very confident in our material this year,” Ponomarenko added. “So if we’re asked to scrap, we’ll obviously take that into consideration [at this point, Carreira shook her head]. The best thing is for us to be confident, because ultimately, we are the ones going out there. So if we’re confident in our programs, I think our coaches and judges are probably happy for us about that.”
The team has absorbed the lessons of a difficult Olympic season. “I think we learned that we’re able to handle pressure of that magnitude,” shared Ponomarenko. “A lot of the time we had to rush training or get choreography done in a very short period of time. So we [learned] we’re able to work under pressure. It’s nice to know how stressful the Olympics is. We hope to do another Olympic season. So I think going into this next quad, we’ll handle that a little differently.”
“I think now we know we’re sort of capable of handling it,” agreed Carriera. “Last year, we were really questioning it. And we kind of felt like we were chasing our tails all year. This year, even though we didn’t really get an off-season, because we had the Stars On Ice and everything, we feel really calm and like everything’s under our control.”
The pressure also strengthened their bond. “Regardless of all the noise and all the things that felt like they were out of control, our relationship became stronger…We never turned on each other last year. We were always there for the other.”
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik had a spectacular Olympic season, including a bronze medal at the World Championships. They now face a different set of expectations.
“I think a lot of times, comparison is the thief of joy, and so we don’t really want to compare this season to last season,” said Zingas. “We are in a different position, completely. Like we were just talking together today about how scared we were to show our programs at Champs Camp last year, how terrified we were, if we were gonna have the opportunity to make the Olympic team, and things like this. We weren’t even invited to skate in the Summer Sizzler last year. So things have changed a lot, and you kind of have to acknowledge that, and understand that it’s a different position to be in, and different responsibility we have, but it’s also a good thing.”
Kolesnik also added that they have ambitions beyond placements. “This year is the year where we want to push figure skating in the direction that we see it, because I feel like now we have this ability. Before, we just wanted to get the results, and we went more in a safe way. But moving on for the next quad, we’re gonna try to push [our] comfort.”
He elaborated, “I feel like we have our own style, and we see figure skating a certain way, and we just want people to share a little bit of that opinion. We want to be the fastest, the strongest, we just want to out-skate everybody…We both have a pretty natural athletic ability, and also just the intensity that we bring. I think, over the last few quads, there’s been kind of a specific style that people have emulated, and we hope to do our own thing, and succeed in what we’re good at.”
Nonetheless, they appreciate the advice that judges at Champs Camp provide.
“We get a lot of feedback from a lot of different people,” said Zingas. “It’s a lot of different voices, especially because we have access to some of the best judges in the country here at Champs Camp, and that is amazing. One thing that we really want to focus on this season is staying true to our own artistic voices and really doing what we believe is gonna produce the best product. We kind of get to choose, whose advice we take, and whose advice we consider, and then maybe don’t implement.”
Pushing limits also means increasing the complexity of their programs. “We’re trying to improve on that part, making our transitions a lot more difficult,” Kolesnik explained. “Our elements are definitely a step up from last year. This free dance is much more challenging, much more complex in general, and a lot more physically and mentally challenging than last year. So, I think people are gonna be very shocked and very excited when they get to see it.”
Zingas and Kolesnik previously announced that the music for their Free Dance, choreographed by Benoit Richaud, will be “Bolero”.
They welcome the return to the pattern in the rhythm dance, even though it is new for them as a team. “It’s very exciting,” said Kolesnik, “because now you can clearly see the difference between different teams. Before you were comparing bananas or apples. Everybody has different tastes [and] everybody is trying to choose the best thing that they can possibly do…But now you kind of have to do the same thing for everybody, so we’ve been really working hard on it. Igor’s been drilling us on it and we tried to do our best and I’m very excited to show it.”
Zingas was initially nervous about the pattern. “It’s my first pattern competing, and my first pattern inside a rhythm dance ever. And it’s also my first time ever doing the Golden Waltz. But, you know, I was really courageous when I decided to choose ice dance, and I don’t think I’ve lost that spirit. We’ve been working really hard on the Golden Waltz, and I think people will be surprised. I think it’s gonna be a strength for us, even.”
Kolesnik did not skate in the Sizzler, as he is recovering from a mild ankle sprain sustained while trying a new choreo jump. Zingas skated a solo program, and, in a throwback to her not-so-distant past as a singles skater, included a Double Axel. She shared that she can still land all the triple jumps.
The third dance team at the Sizzler, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, chose not to skate a competitive program, instead having fun with their zany exhibition to “Love Shack”.
The new pairs, and the new veterans
US Champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov – who have only skated together for three years – now find themselves as one of the most experienced teams in the US field.
“I believe we’re still learning each other continuously,” said Mitrofanov. “Whatever we’ve done in the past, it’s like, that’s really good, but we’re also constantly trying to be hungry…We need to do that, to continuously grow.”
Their programs this season are a departure from the style they have had in the past. “For the short program, we wanted something happy” said Efimova. “We’re skating to “Last Dance” by Donna Summer. So we’re really excited to show a different character on the ice. I think Olga [Ganicheva] proposed the music first. We were looking at different options, but this one sounded the best on the ice, had the most variety within the piece, and we enjoy skating to it. So that’s how we chose it. And then for free skate, Renee [Rocca] proposed this idea to take pieces from Rosalía’s album, Lux, and so there’s a couple of pieces put together in our program. The music sounds amazing on the ice. We absolutely love the program. We really feel the power that we can get within it.”
At Champs Camp, they received some advice for improving the presentation of their short program. “What we got from the feedback today,” said Efimova, “is, because we chose pieces with a strong character that we have to show, we just need to amplify more details into it. We need to make it look real – because it’s disco, it’s the 70s, and we actually want to do disco 70s, not just trying to dance to music.”
They take a team approach to processing feedback. “There are judges, technical specialists, and of course, our coaches, at the situations where we go through that feedback. And normally it’s a conversation within this big group of people, and sometimes not everyone agrees on the same thing. So it’s not that one person decides something for us, but we try different options. Someone proposes a thing, and we try it. If it looks good, we keep it, if it doesn’t, then we try something else.”
The Sizzler also marked the debut for three new pair teams. Audrey Shin and Spencer Howe skated their short program, to “Photograph/Clair de Lune” by Cody Fry. They showed exciting speed and elegance, although the attempted throw triple was not successful.
Starr Andrews made her debut as a pair skater, with experienced partner Daniil Parkman. Andrews is making good progress learning pairs, showing a double twist and double throw. The short program, a tango, is a safe choice for such a new team, but unfortunately doesn’t show off Starr’s charisma and performance ability. Hopefully as the team develops and gains confidence, that aspect will improve.
The Sizzler was also the first time for audiences to see Deanna Stellato, back representing the United States, with her new partner Danil Siianytsia. Stellato told host Adam Rippon that they had only been skating together a matter of weeks. While they didn’t attempt a throw or pair lift in their program, the team is well-matched in power and skating style. Because Stellato changed federations, the team will not be eligible for international competition this season.
Opportunities for singles skaters to make their mark
Ilia Malinin and Jason Brown were not at the Sizzler, and without the two skaters who dominated the US men’s field during the last quad, there was space for other skaters to shine.
Jacob Sanchez, who made his senior Worlds debut last Spring, skated his new short program to Moon (a take on Moonlight Sonata by Sofiane Pamart).
“It is very calm, very delicate, very intricate,” Sanchez noted. “I really want that to showcase my skating and how I’ve developed over the years. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on both programs, and specifically the short program. I think it’s an amazing piece of art that me and Misha Ge have created.”
For the Free Skate, Sanchez worked with longtime choreographer Adam Blake. “Working with Adam, it’s always a great time. He knows me so well, so for me and him to collaborate, it feels not like work, it kind of feels just like fun….In this free skate, we collaborated so, so well, and he was very kind to let me have a lot of the credit. He encouraged me to add myself as a choreographer for that program, which is really, really cool.”
“I want to kind of show a contrast and show more power and confidence in my skating as I feel like the music calls for that and it kind of draws that kind of mood.”
So far, Sanchez likes the changes to the free skate layout, with one fewer jump, and a choreographic spin replacing one of the leveled spins. “It feels a little bit different training..but I’ve been liking the pacing of the programs a lot….I really enjoy adding every little bit of storytelling or any little bit of choreography I can. And I feel like now having one less jumping pass allows me to have a little bit more time to kind of convey that story through each transition and each kind of movement during that free skate.”
Sanchez shared that last season, he felt that he grew as a person, not just a skater. “Last year, I found myself at very low points. I feel like I struggled a lot with confidence and overall morale towards sport and just overall, like, day-to-day life. So I think being able to work my mental game as well as I did last year and really discover what helps me just get through those hard days – and those good days as well – finding those strategies was huge…It was a year of growth, and even to this day, I feel like I’m still learning more and more about myself.”
2026 Olympian Andrew Torgashev also participated in the Sizzler, showing a new program to “Bad to the Bone”. Other men at the show included Liam Kapeikis, Jimmy Ma, and Estonian skater Aleksandr Selevko, who trains at the Skating Club of Boston, and debuted his new short program to Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”.
Isabeau Levito, Sarah Everhardt, and Alysa Liu represented the US women. Levito shared her new short program to music by Rosalía. It’s a beautiful piece that showcases her maturity as an artist. She only included single and double jumps in the program.
Everhardt skated to Dance Macabre, and afterwards told the hosts that she has a character in mind. “I’m the angel of death…and my victims are the judges!” She certainly looked intense and powerful throughout the program.
Liu closed out the night with huge cheers as she performed her exhibition to Stateside. Liu recently announced that she will not be competing this season.
“I don’t get a lot of time, and I want to really work on my dancing and choreography and stuff like that. I want to work on my strength, and I need time for that. So I thought it’d be best to skip the competitions this season so I can really hone in on the blueprints of what I want to do… I’m gonna play around a lot with choreography. I have the time to do whatever style I want, really. So I’m kind of excited to have unlimited freedom to experiment.”
Reflecting on how her life has changed since becoming Olympic champion, Liu said, “I think I’m going to appreciate more everything that I have, and the people around me…It just made me realize, I have a really good team and that I love my coaches, and I love my teammates, and it’s nice to have people around you.”
She enjoyed the reunion feeling of Champs Camp, and reconnecting with other skaters. That fueled another goal for her year away from competition.
“I’m excited to watch everybody compete. I’m really excited for that.”
