2020 Skate America: Ice Dancers In-Depth
(Left and center photos courtesy of International Skating Union, right photo courtesy of Jay Adeff / U.S. Figure Skating)
A post-competition press conference isn’t normally the place you would expect ice dancers to open up and share their hearts, but that’s exactly what happened at 2020 Skate America. We asked two simple questions, and in return, received the most beautiful, deep answers from gold medalists Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue, silver medalists Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker, and bronze medalists Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko.
Such wonderful words shouldn’t stay unread, so it was only fair to share their candid responses, with the hope that what they said will inspire young figure skaters everywhere. Read on to learn the legacy Team USA’s top skaters want to leave behind, what they love about being ice dancers, their struggles with body image and self-acceptance, and more.
2020 Skate America ice dance champions Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue perform their “Hallelujah” free dance
(Photo courtesy of International Skating Union)
Madison Hubbell + Zachary Donohue, Ice Dance Champions
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are two-time U.S. ice dance champions, two-time world medalists, and 2018 Olympians. Additionally, they are the 2014 Four Continents champions, 14-time Grand Prix medalists, and the 2018-19 Grand Prix Final champions. Madi and Zach train at the Ice Academy of Montreal under Patrice Lauzon, Marie-France Dubreuil, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis, Josée Piché, and Benjamin Brisebois. This is their 10th season together and third consecutive Skate America title.
What is the legacy you hope to leave behind in the sport of figure skating?
HUBBELL: Oh man, well, figure skating can be a tough sport on [judging a person’s] kind of surface-level appearance, and I’ve gone through many, many coaches through my life and many situations… I remember when I was quite young, already I was very mature-looking for my age, and there weren’t many people I would say in the 90s that were maybe more muscular and had a strong physique - it was a lot about being thin. I went through some years when I was younger not really knowing how I fit into that world and being told that unless I changed how I looked, I wouldn’t fit in. (Madi starts tearing up and is comforted by Zach.) But with the help of my wonderful partner and all of our coaches in Montreal, I’ve learned that I’m enough the way I am, and I have things that maybe other women don’t, and everyone should be celebrated. So I hope that there are some young girls that look up to me and think, you know, you don’t have to fit a very specific mold in order to have success. (Everyone in the room gives her a round of applause.)
DONOHUE: I mean, I can align with [what Madi said] a lot, you know, I’ve watched my partner struggle with a lot of that. I’ve had the same things told to me, [but] it’s a little bit different as a guy. I’m also a lot more stubborn, so my reaction tends to be different. I think for myself, I plan to be in the sport long after retiring - I want to teach, I want to have a school, and for me it’s really been about just the mental health of how we train. Something that I’d never experienced before coming to Montreal is having a team of coaches that are united in the health and what’s best for their skaters over any outcome, any result, but really taking care of them as people and nurturing them, and what it gives them - whether it’s confidence [or] the belief in themselves that allows them to open doors they never thought they could. I’ve seen them work with teams that finish high school and they’re done with skating and move on and because of the work they had with our coaches, they’re able to move into a whole new chapter of life they never would have thought of before. I’ve had access to many, many coaches before, and I never received that, and it’s something that I’d like to really bring to the table.
I mean, my own life has been a journey of turning myself from pretty much a Tasmanian devil of chaos into a man that I can be proud of. (Everyone breaks out laughing.) Patch [Lauzon, his coach] is over there laughing ‘cause he knows it’s true! But yeah, that’s something I want to bring to the table - all those lessons I’ve learned that I know I’ll not be able to get the full benefit out of for my own self, but if I can pass that on, that would mean more to me than what I could accomplish in my own career.
What aspect of ice dance and of being ice dancers brings you the most joy?
HUBBELL: Well I think everybody has a different experience - I was really lucky to skate with my brother [Keiffer Hubbell] for 11 years, and I thought that I would never replace that kind of connection - and certainly you can’t replace a familial connection and the love that my brother and I share for each other - but Zach here took me by surprise, and you know the best part for me of ice dancing is dancing with him, so yeah. I don’t know what else to say. For me it was always the connection with my partner.
DONOHUE: Well, there goes my answer, cool. (laughs) It sounds so cheesy to say ‘cause you said it first, but I mean there’s definitely days as any high-level athlete where you just don’t want to come in [to training] and you feel the body, it’s in pain, and -
HUBBELL: But he comes in because of me, ‘cause he loves me so much.
DONOHUE: I was getting to that! (both laugh) It’s nice to have that amazing connection, and Madi and I have one that’s really indescribable and natural for us, and even on the worst of days, the worst of skates, anything - it feels like home. So that, combined with my love of movement and exploration and creativity, it creates a whole home-away-from-home feeling.
Keep Up With Madi + Zach
MADI’S INSTAGRAM: @splashmadison
MADI’S TWITTER: @MadiHubbell
ZACH’S PERSONAL INSTAGRAM: @zachtdonohue
ZACH’S MOTIVATIONAL INSTAGRAM: @ardent_inspirationz
ZACH’S TWITTER: @ZachTDonohue
TEAM FACEBOOK: Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
TEAM WEBSITE: hubbell-donohue.com
2020 Skate America ice dance silver medalists Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker perform their Philip Glass free dance
(Photo courtesy of International Skating Union)
Kaitlin Hawayek + Jean-Luc Baker, Ice Dance Silver Medalists
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker are the 2020 U.S. ice dance bronze medalists, 2018 Four Continents champions, 2014 U.S. junior champions, and 2014 junior world champions. They train at the Ice Academy of Montreal under Patrice Lauzon, Marie-France Dubreuil, and Romain Haguenauer. This is their ninth season together and first Skate America medal.
What is the legacy you hope to leave behind in the sport of figure skating?
HAWAYEK: [Jean-Luc and I] kind of have a joint legacy we’d like to share, but I just want to say that first of all, Madi, you do inspire other people, and I think that being able to see other skaters like yourself kind of embrace that definitely inspires people like myself and hopefully future generations to do the same, because I do think there’s a lot of challenge in the sport of figure skating in terms of the expectations to meet a certain mold. Being able to accept yourself has been something that our team of coaches has been so gracious to pass on to ourselves - it’s not just a coaching job to them. Improving yourself as a human and that acceptance of yourself on such a deep level is something that I’m continually working on, and I know Jean-Luc is as well, but yeah, you guys do bring that inspiration, so thank you, first of all, but I’ll let Jean-Luc take it from there.
BAKER: Beautifully said. A legacy that Kaitlin and I both really would love to leave is you know, with these times, it even strengthens our intentions behind the why we skate. When we perform, we really want to allow people to take three or four minutes out of whatever it is that they’re dealing with - ‘cause no one really has an easy life, everyone’s battling things internally, externally. So we know how much we love the sport, and the people that are sitting in the stands love it even more than us I’m guessing, so we really want to give people the opportunity to just kind of take a mental break, to go on a journey with us and realize that they can enjoy our performance and experience different emotions, and hopefully [we can] give them an opportunity to breathe. You know, I think when we’re performing, we get extremely nervous, like all the athletes, but it’s the most freeing experience at the same time, ‘cause all you’re thinking about is the next step - you’re not thinking about how you’re going to pay bills or different things like that! So it’s really cool, and we really want to take people on that journey.
What aspect of ice dance and of being ice dancers brings you the most joy?
HAWAYEK: For me, the beauty of ice dance is to be able to tell a story and share emotions with so many different pieces of music, but having one thing constant being the person next to me. I think it’s so amazing, and it’s pushed us over the years to be able to explore different styles of music, because of the fact that there are so many different avenues that you can take when you’re on the ice with a man and a woman. I think that’s so beautiful, because there’s so many ways to portray that relationship - whether it’s disco or a free dance. I think that’s the beauty of ice dance, the ability to tell a story and really connect on a really deep level with that story.
BAKER: Yeah, I think that there’s something really special with being able to move an audience member, judges, anyone - a spectator realistically - within four minutes, to just have a fluctuation of emotions, not just with athleticism but art as well. I think that there’s something really special with being able to have a conversation with someone without speaking, so I think that having that kind of art form and sport is a really great opportunity for us to share. And it’s super cool to do it with Kaitlin because she makes it a lot of fun!
Keep Up With Kaitlin + Jean-Luc
KAITLIN’S INSTAGRAM: @kait_hawayek
KAITLIN’S TWITTER: @KaitlinHawayek
JEAN-LUC’S INSTAGRAM: @jeanlucbaker
JEAN-LUC’S TWITTER: @jeanlucbaker
TEAM INSTAGRAM: @khaw_and_jlb
TEAM FACEBOOK: Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker
TEAM WEBSITE: hawayekandbaker.com
2020 Skate America ice dance bronze medalists Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko perform their Doctor Zhivago free dance
(Photo courtesy of International Skating Union)
Christina Carreira + Anthony Ponomarenko, Ice Dance Bronze Medalists
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko are the 2020 U.S. ice dance pewter medalists, two-time junior world medalists, 2017-18 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists, and 2018 U.S. junior champions. They train at the Novi Ice Arena under Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo. This is their seventh season together and first Skate America medal.
What is the legacy you hope to leave behind in the sport of figure skating?
CARREIRA: For me, I think I want to inspire young girls that maybe don’t necessarily have a God-given talent for [figure skating], but they work hard, and they love it. And that’s something I get criticized [on] a lot is I don’t have [a natural talent] like [Anthony], he has a natural God-given talent for this! (laughs) I’ve had to work really hard to get to where I am today, and I want young girls to know that it’s possible, and if you set your mind to it, you can do anything.
PONOMARENKO: I think having the last name that I have and the history, I want to put my own imprint in this sport. Being a Ponomarenko, always I’m looked at, is he better than his parents [1992 Olympic ice dance champions Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko], is he up to the expectations that people have of him? But I just want to put my own imprint in the skating world and hopefully inspire people - the next generation of ice dancers - as well.
What aspect of ice dance and of being ice dancers brings you the most joy?
CARREIRA: I really love the aspect of performing, getting out in front of a crowd - well we don’t have one this year but - just performing in front of people and showing what we work so hard [for] every day. And I also love training with this guy! I think we were so lucky to grow up together, and we have such a great bond, such a good relationship, [we’re] really lucky to have that.
PONOMARENKO: I think every ice dance team has something unique that they bring to the table, so there’s never really a limit to what you can do. There’s always room for growth, room for improvement, and room for more, and I think that’s what’s great about ice dance.
Keep Up With Christina + Anthony
CHRISTINA’S INSTAGRAM: @christinacarreira
CHRISTINA’S TWITTER: @ccarreira03
ANTHONY’S PERSONAL INSTAGRAM: @pom_pom9
ANTHONY’S SECOND INSTAGRAM: @pomsodyssey
ANTHONY’S TWITTER: @AnthonyPono9
TEAM FACEBOOK: Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko
TEAM WEBSITE: carreira-ponomarenko.com
Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker (left), Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue (center), and Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko (right) perform their rhythm dances at 2020 Skate America
(Photos courtesy of Jay Adeff / U.S. Figure Skating)
All three of these ice dance teams are beautiful inside and out, and we greatly thank them for sharing a little bit of their stories with us. For more skating, subscribe to Peacock Premium in the United States or check out isu.org/wheretowatchgp! The 2020-2021 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating continues this weekend with the SHISEIDO Cup of China from November 6th - 8th. Rostelecom Cup takes place November 20th - 22nd, and the Grand Prix circuit finishes off with the NHK Trophy November 27th - 29th.
Check out our past interviews with Christina Carreira, Anthony Ponomarenko, and Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue.
For the third year in a row, your Skate America ice dance champions… Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue!
(Photo courtesy of International Skating Union)
A post-competition press conference isn’t normally the place you would expect ice dancers to open up and share their hearts, but that’s exactly what happened at 2020 Skate America. We asked two simple questions, and in return, received the most beautiful, deep answers from gold medalists Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue, silver medalists Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker, and bronze medalists Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko.