by Matteo Morelli

With Skate America now in the books, we are ready to enter into the second Grand Prix of the season, Skate Canada International.

Hosted in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Skate Canada International was first held in 1973 and incorporated into the Grand Prix Series in 1995. At this year’s edition, we can expect some programmes debut and an interesting fight for the medals available at the event.

Teams at the event

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier ended last season with a fantastic skate that allowed them to win the free dance and a collect a silver medal at their home World Championships in Montreal, Canada. This season, we are yet to see what they have on display for us. At their ninth Skate Canada International attendance (they won seven medals at this GP, of which four are golds), they will be debuting and entertain the audiences with their new rhythm dance on music by The Beach Boys and The Surfaris, and show what they created with their free on a mix of songs that includes Annie Lennox’s “A whiter shade of pale”.

Gilles and Poirier will be strong contenders for the gold medal, however another Canadian team is rapidly going up the rankings and aiming at those top medals: Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha ended last season’s Worlds in fifth place, collecting new personal bests and showing that they are in the game to challenge the top teams. At Skate Canada International they will be debuting their new programmes, including the rhythm dance on “Soul Bossa Nova” by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra, and a free that includes the famous “The sound of silence”.

Also from Canada, Alicia Fabbri & Paul Ayer will try for a better placement in Halifax after accepting a last minute call to compete at Skate America the week before but paying the price for a costly fall on the Twizzles for Fabbri in their free.

Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud of France are not new to a Grand Prix podium, with three bronze medals under their belt. Strong of their silver medal won at Shanghai Trophy 2024, they will put up a fight to achieve another podium finish at Skate Canada International, where they will be entertaining the crowds with their free dance inspired by their last popular gala programme.

This season has started on a positive note for Natálie Taschlerová & Filip Taschler of the Czech Republic, collecting a gold medal at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, with their rhythm dance on music by Donna Summer and free dance on music by Moby. A Grand Prix podium finish is still missing for them, however their hard work and desire to show what they are capable of keeps them in contention for that.

Three teams from the USA will be competing at this Grand Prix. Oona Brown & Gage Brown have already been competing a few times this seasons, winning silver at both Lake Placid International Ice Dance Competition and Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, with a new personal best for their free.

Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik also collected a medal, ending in third place at Nebelhorn Trophy with new personal best across the board. In their third year together, this team is showing that they are quickly developing into a strong contender to be in the top ranks of the rich ice dance field in the USA.

Emily Bratti & Ian Somerville also started the season with a podium finish, collecting a silver medal at Budapest Trophy, with new personal bests. They decided to keep their emotional free on “Ne me quitte pas” by Celine Dion, which was already well received last season and will continue to grow during this season.

Hannah Lim & Ye Quan of South Korea debuted their new programmes at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2024. Their rhythm dance is on the famous “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, and their free is based on music from the movie Cruella.

Holly Harris & Jason Chan of Australia will also be competing at Skate Canada International, skating on their rhythm dance on music by ABBA and their free based on the “Claire de lune” theme.

Event info: The rhythm dance kicks off on Saturday, October 26, at 1:15pm (ADT); the free dance occurs on Sunday, October 27, at 2:10pm (ADT).