2022-23 Grand Prix Final: Ice Dance Preview

The Ice Dance event for the 2022-23 Grand Prix Final will kick off on December 9, 2022, with the rhythm dance. With the two top teams of the past season gone, the Ice Dance field has been especially interesting this season. Who will follow in the footsteps of World and Olympic Champions Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron and World silver medalists Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue? Certainly right now no team is as dominant as the French were in the past Olympic cycle. The battle for the medals should be between the top four teams of the ISU Grand Prix standings.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen (CAN)

Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen can look back at a long career that began in 2013. They represented Denmark up until the 2018 European Championships 2018, and then switched to Canada beginning 2019. This season, the Canadians made a step forward and first earned the silver at the Grand Prix de France and then the gold at NHK Trophy. With these achievements, they qualified for the first time for the Final. Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen impress especially with their dynamic free dance with as “Mexican Flamenco” theme.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Event	RD Score	FD Score	Total Score
NHK Trophy 2022	85.66	124.75	210.41
Grand Prix de France 2022	82.38	119.55	201.93
Finlandia Trophy 2022	81.83	121.93	203.76
Average	83.29	122.08	205.37

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (CAN)

One surprise was the strong comeback of Gilles and Poirier who had a disappointing Olympic season. The 2021 World bronze medalist came out looking confident and have programs that suit them perfectly with the “Cha Cha Cha (Do What I Do)” and their free dance to music from Evita. Gilles and Poirier had no trouble at all winning their Grand Prix events in Mississauga and Espoo with a wide margin and personal-best scores. The Canadians look ready to challenge for the very top placements.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Event	RD Score	FD Score	Total Score
Grand Prix Espoo 2022	87.80	131.69	219.49
Skate Canada 2022	87.23	128.47	215.70
Average	87.52	130.08	217.60

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (GBR)

Year by year, Fear and Gibson have progressed and their work has paid off now that they qualified for their first Grand Prix Final. The team took two silver medals—Skate Canada and their home event at MK John Wilson Trophy. The national champions are the first British skaters to make the Final since Sinead and John Kerr in 2009-10. The dancers are popular for their upbeat, energetic programs, and this year they do not disappoint with music to by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony in the rhythm dance and Lady Gaga in the free dance. They will surely get the Italian crowd going, but a medal does not seem likely at this point.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Event	RD Score	FD Score	Total Score
MK John Wilson Trophy 2022	85.37	120.19	205.56
Skate Canada 2022	83.80	125.38	209.18
Nebelhorn Trophy 2022	85.80	120.80	206.60
U.S. International Figure Skating Classic 2022	77.22	113.58	190.80
Average	82.10	119.64	201.74

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (ITA)

Guignard and Fabbri have been competing on the ISU Grand Prix circuit for ten years, and after several silver and bronze medals, now finally claimed victory in France and Great Britain. The Italian Champions competed once in the Final in 2018-19 and were bronze medalists then. They do not shy away from taking risks and chose very different styles for this season: music by Grace Jones for the rhythm dance and the haunting song “My Love Will Never Die” for the free dance.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Event	RD Score	FD Score	Total Score
MK John Wilson Trophy 2022	86.30	127.44	213.74
Grand Prix de France 2022	83.52	124.43	207.95
Lombardia Trophy 2022	87.09	124.76	211.85
Average	85.64	125.54	211.18

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA)

Chock and Bates clearly stated that it is their goal to become World Champions this season. This is logical as the Americans already have one World silver (2015) and two World bronze medals (2016, 2022) on their record. However, the team had a late start into the season, and like Gilles and Piper, did not compete in any Challenger events. The free dance they brough to Skate America appeared a bit raw, and they were narrowly edged out in that segment by Hawayek and Baker, but they still won the by 0.73 points. By the time NHK Trophy came around, the rhythm dance to “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie was excellent and the free dance had developed after some adjustments to the music and storyline. The team and their coaches replaced the first part of the music with “Souffrance” by Orange Blossom and kept “Les Tectoniques” by Jorane for the second part. Chock and Bates had to settle for the silver in Japan, behind Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen, but will have used this time since to continue improving.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Event	RD Score	FD Score	Total Score
NHK Trophy 2022	85.00	124.13	209.13
Skate America 2022	82.63	120.17	202.80
Average	83.82	122.15	205.97

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker (USA)

Hawayek and Baker earned the silver at Skate America and Grand Prix Espoo on their way to their second Grand Prix Final after the 2018-19 season. The Americans show two very different sides in their programs – they portray fun characters in their Rhythm Dance and selected a more serious theme with “Requiem” and “Sofia” by the Norwegian composter Askjell Solstrand for the free dance. Hawayek did not do the exhibition gala in Espoo as she wanted to rest her knee because of bursitis. Although the team continues to evolve, it will be difficult for them to get on to the podium in Torino as the field is deep.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Event	RD Score	FD Score	Total Score
Grand Prix Espoo 2022	80.93	121.53	202.46
Skate America 2022	79.12	122.95	202.07
Finlandia Trophy 2022	78.90	118.55	197.45
Average	79.65	121.01	200.66

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