by Anne Calder

Samantha Ritter & Daniel Brykalov represent Azerbaijan in senior ice dance.

IDC recently spoke with the duo in Boston, USA where they made their debut at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. Ritter & Brykalov opened the Rhythm Dance session with “Daddy Cool”, “Fever” and “Sunny” by the 1970s German Disco group, Boney M.

“We were nervous, but took it as an opportunity to start out the event with a bang,” Ritter said. “We just wanted to make a splash and be remembered.”

“The energy from the crowd was very positive,” Brykalov added. “They really helped, so any nerves out there were slowly transitioned to excitement.”

Early skating years

Daniel Brykalov was born in Minneapolis, MN on October 19, 2000.

“When I was ten, I started skating because of my sister, Paulina. My parents didn’t want to take us to separate activities, so they put me in figure skating. We were both in free style,” Brykalov explained. “Three years later our family traveled to Colorado to speak with some skating coaches. After looking at the height of our parents, it was suggested we change course.”

“You guys are going to be tall. Partner up and go into ice dance. Free style would be very tough.”

The youngsters heeded the advice and at age thirteen, Daniel began ice dancing with his sister.

The siblings trained in Novi, MI with Igor Shpilband and competed at four U.S. National Championships.

They were tenth at their 2015 debut in Greensboro, NC as Juveniles.  The next year on the same level and in front of a home town audience in St. Paul, MN, they vaulted up five spots to a fifth place finish.

After winning the Intermediate bronze medal in Kansas City, MO at the 2017 event, the duo moved to Novice. They danced at their final Nationals at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA in January 2018.

During the following summer, the siblings competed twice on the Junior level. They skated only a Free Dance at both the Chesapeake Open (June) and again at the Dance-Pairs Chicago (August) prior to retiring.

Daniel Brykalov teamed with Russian-born Ekaterina Kuznetsova in 2019 to represent Azerbaijan. The duo trained in Philadelphia, USA with Coaches Slava Uchitel, Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland. They competed at four international events including JGP Russia and JGP Croatia before ending the partnership.

Samantha Ritter was born in Buffalo, NY on May 25, 2003.

When Ritter was three-years-old she started skating with her brother, who no longer skates. Initially she did dance and singles, but switched to dance-only when she was thirteen. She liked it’s artistic side better than jumps. She also had a similar height situation. She was told she was going to be way too tall to jump.

“I always liked dance way more anyway,” Ritter admitted. “When I was 14, I moved to Novi, Michigan to train in ice dance. That’s where I met Daniel.”

In May 2019, Ritter partnered with Jim Wang. Just four months later, the junior team won gold at the 2019 Novice & Junior Dance Challenge. In November at the inaugural Ice Dance Final in Hyannis, MA, Ritter & Wang qualified for the 2020 U.S. Championships in Greensboro, NC where they they placed 10th. In the next year, Covid-19 affected the entire skating world.

A new beginning

Ritter & Brykalov partnered in January 2021.

“We were friends for a long time. Eventually we began dating. Separately we had stopped skating with our former partners, so decided to skate together. We already got along well and were compatible,” Ritter said.

The duo moved to London, Ontario Canada to train at the Ice Academy of Montreal campus with coaches Scott Moir, Madison Hubbell, and Adrian Diaz.

Beginning a partnership and moving to a new location in another country, especially during a pandemic, proved very challenging.

“We struggled communicating properly in supporting each other when we first got to London,” Brykalov admitted. ”With all the coaches help, we’ve made great strides in overcoming the nervousness. We also only did two competitions that season.”

“The coaches always bring such high energy to the rink,” Ritter said.

“Each one is slightly different, but it makes a perfect mix of what you need, so we love it,” her partner added.

“The London campus is like a sub school of the Ice Academy of Montreal,” Brykalov continued.  “It’s a very friendly group. We all support each other. Great coaching!”

“The location also worked out well for us since Samantha’s parents live in Buffalo, which is just a two and a half hour drive from London. It’s perfect.”

The training and intensity level is about the same in London as in Montreal. They skate three, sometimes four hours a day with additional off-ice conditioning for strength plus ballet classes.

“We also have Yoga Fridays, which is a great send off for the weekends. It’s great to let out all the stress of the week,” Ritter laughed.

Brykalov explained their very strong but different connection to music.

“Samantha knows everything about music. She knows music history more than I do. She’s a specialist on decade style. Play a song, she knows it, who made it, and when it was released.”

“I have more of an ear for the rhythm and music. I feel certain things in the music more than other people do. I think that comes partially from playing the piano.”

“She knows it. I feel it. It’s a great combination,” concluded Brykalov.

For the 2022-2023 season, the team’s Free Dance music included: “She Intro” by Daniel Brykalov, “She” (Acoustic Version) by Piano Nest, Harry Styles and “She” by Harry Styles,

Brykalov acknowledged his contribution to the opening music.

“I arranged and played roughly the first 30 seconds of our program that year. We needed something that started “She” by Harry Styles softer, so I decided to give it a try since I play piano. It’s relatively simple, but it worked, so we kept it.

“In regards to doing more compositions, I have thought of it, but we have been lucky with finding music that fits exactly what we need. I am open to adding more of my work to our programs if the need arises. It’s fun skating to something that you know you created.”

Ritter & Brykalov discussed areas of improvement included in their goals for the coming season.

“We need to develop more confidence with our basic skills in competitions,” Ritter said. “In practice we’re more confident, more relaxed, and maybe perform a little bit better. Sometimes [at competitions] when you’re nervous, you forget some of the techniques that you know you can do. I think I just want more competition experience.”

“Another thing we kind of want to work on is improving our arty a little bit. Generally we score a bit better in our Free Dance for whatever reasons,” Brykalov added. “We want to try to hone in this season on the arty for the Rhythm Dance and try to match it up to our Free Dance level.”

Ritter continued, “We are naturally balletic skaters, so we struggle with the sharpness and quickness of the Rhythm Dance, where we like to choose very balletic and soft for the Free Dance. Plus we’re tall and that lends itself also. We have to figure out how to merge the two and find the feeling we have in the Free Dance.”

The team spoke about being a couple on and off the ice.

“We get to experience together all the hardships, all the memories, victories and losses. Not a lot of people get to experience that together. It’s very special.”

In closing, Ritter shared her thoughts about preparing for their fifth season together as dance partners.

“We’re really excited about next year. I love the creativity of the off season and making new things”.