Ice Dance

For those who are unaware, I'm a big fan of Ice Dance. The sport, a sub-discipline of figure skating, first caught my eye during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, when Canadians Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir performed their short dance in the team event. I've been hooked ever since. Ice dance is often not as popular as the singles and pairs skating when the Olympics rolls around. Ice dance doesn't contain the jumps, the solo spins or the over-the-head lifts that pairs does and instead focuses more on the technical aspects of skating as pairs translate ballroom onto the ice. It's a sport with a rich history, both good and bad, and many rules that the casual viewer isn't often familiar with. However, I absolutely love it. I want to give it proper attention, give an overarching history and perhaps introduce some to a new sport to tune into during the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

Ice dance, in its current form, consists of two dances: a short dance and a free dance. The short dance must be performed to a certain ballroom dance. For example, in the 2018 Olympics, all couples had to perform a Latin-inspired short dance and in the 2014 Olympics all couples needed to perform a foxtrot/quickstep inspired short dance. The short dance also includes a part of a compulsory pattern, much like the figures skated by the single skaters. These compulsory dances help the judges judge each couple's skating skills as they complete the same steps. The free dance however can be of anything the couple chooses. In this way, you might see a Latin free dance followed by a contemporary free dance followed by a free dance skated to "Carmen." Couples are judged on how difficult each element is, how well they performed that difficult element and, in a separate artistic score, how well they utilized and danced to the music. For example, a couple who times their elements to the rise and fall of "Swan Lake" will get more artistic points than a couple that dances out of time to a tango. Of course, elite ice dancers rarely make such noticeable mistakes but that makes each competition much more fun to watch. Instead of single skaters falling on jumps, ice dance mistakes are more subtle, usually involving how deep the edges are while they skate. This makes ice dance a little more enjoyable to watch as a casual viewer, even as you may be confused why the most entertaining couple of the night sits at fifth place instead of first.

Ice dance has an interesting history that I love talking about. I would love to share how ice dance has evolved, as I understand it, in the following paragraphs. This is obviously a subjective view, as ice dance often is, and I don't pretend to know everything that went on back then. However, I feel comfortable in what I do know about each era of ice dance that I am able to provide a full picture. I will be separating the history of ice dance into Olympic cycles, as ice dance is often in flux and only stays within a certain style for four years or less. In this way, each instrumental couple in ice dance can and will be touched upon. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy talking about ice dance!

Note: I've tried to embed as many ice dances over the years as I could in terms of their importance. However, you'll also notice that some words are links to ice dance routines that would make the post look too cluttered. The embeded videos are more iconic performances from the pairs but if you find yourself liking the video provided, the links should give one or two more from that pair on Youtube. I'd recommend watching the videos provided for even a few seconds in order to gauge how the sport evolves!

1972-1976

Ice dance was first introduced as an Olympic sport in 1976. However, ice dance competitions had been held since at least 1952 so the sport was well established. The good news though, is that there were very few changes between 1952 and 1976 in terms of the look of ice dance. Above, Ludmilla Pakhomova & Alexander Gorshov perform their free dance side by side, not in any particular dance hold. It was common then to perform your free dance to a mixture of styles. The beginning of P/G's free dance is bluesy before it makes its way into a paso doble and changes again into a tango. The one thing that had changed from 1952 to 1976 was the inclusion of more lifts. Pakhomova is often lightly lifted from the ice while Gorshov holds her in place. The lifts were required but not complicated. For those who enjoy a story to be told over a program, this isn't the era for you as the jukebox style prevailed. However, that doesn't mean there wasn't great skating happening in this era.

All couples had to perform one compulsory dance and a free dance, totaling two dances overall. This would get expanded over the years, going from two dances in this era to three dances from 1984-1992, and four dances from 1992-2004 before shrinking back down to three dances from 2004-2010 and to two dances from 2010 to the present day. Most of this was to shorten the amount of time competing.

Pakhomova & Gorshov were the dominant pair of this era, winning five World Championships before nabbing the first Ice Dance Olympic Gold. They weren't the only ones competing though. The American pair of Judy Schwomeyer & James Sladky had success as three time bronze medalists at Worlds. They were known for using dance hold a little more than P/G and for establishing Americans in ice dance in the early years. Irina Moiseeva & Andrei Minenkov took the World gold in 1975 and nabbed the silver medal at the Olympics. Moiseeva & Minenkov were very theatrical skaters and inspired the likes of Torvill and Dean to push ice dance two quads later.

Worth noting, the American pair of Collen O'Connor & Jim Millins won the bronze at the 1976 Olympics. A North American would not win another Olympic medal in ice dance for twelve years afterward. Russians were the popular ice dancers of the time and clinched multiple medals at Worlds and the Olympics.

1977-1980

Ice dance continued to flourish after its first Olympics. However, a new darling emerged. Moiseeva & Minenkov nabbed the 1977 World championship before being upstaged by the Soviets underneath them, Natalia Linichuk & Gennadi Karponosov. This pair was known for their speed around the rink, even as they continued the jukebox trend. They won two World championships over the more experienced Moiseeva & Minenkov, culminating in an Olympic gold in 1980.

The Hungarian pair of Krisztina Regoczy & Andras Sallay also won a few World medals before winning the silver at the Olympics in 1980 as well as the World Championship in 1980. This team took the "dance" aspect of the sport to heart, putting together dances that capitalized on the dramatic moments of the music. In an era where Soviets dominated, it's a great credit to them that they were able to get a World gold before retiring.

Americans Judy Blumberg & Michael Seibert kept the American tradition alive. Though they finished seventh at the Olympics, their speed was also to die for and their potential was obvious going forward into the next quad. However, they were about to be outshone by a team that would change ice dance as we all know it.

1981-1984

Ice dance would not be the same without Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. There, I said it. While some of the ice dance couples of the previous quad hinted at it, Torvill & Dean were the first to make programs with complete thoughts, using music from one movie, musical or just one piece of music altogether. And the judges appreciated it. Torvill & Dean dominated these four years, not losing once in their lead up to the Olympic gold. What's even more amazing, the couple both had side jobs when they landed fifth in the 1980 Olympics. After quitting their day jobs, they became highly successful in their sport. Above is their most famous routine, Bolero, where they used the one piece of music for the entirety of the program, a thought unheard of just four years prior. Another one of my favorites of this time period is their Paso Doble original dance (a precursor of the short dance mentioned above) where Torvill wore a costume reminiscent of a cape as Dean danced with her as though she were one. Conceptually brilliant and skated to perfection. Torvill & Dean made ice dance into a sport with their inventive lifts, close holds, and technical superiority to all of their competitors. They are one of the greatest ice dance teams of all time.

As much as I'd like to praise Torvill & Dean for this entire quad (and I could if I wanted, don't doubt it) there were other teams underneath Torvill & Dean doing some interesting stuff. Natalia Bestemianova & Andrei Bukin were able to secure the silver medal from 1982-1984 and earned the silver Olympic medal as well. They were known for their speed and their intricate steps in their folk free dance of 1984. However, they mostly suffered from being in the shadow of Torvill & Dean and didn't get proper praise until the next quad.

Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko emerged in this quad as the Soviet number two, getting the bronze at the 1984 Olympics. This couple was known for their balletic quality on the ice and Klimova's expressive features. Klimova was only 17 when this pair nabbed their Olympic bronze, a great sign of things to come for this team.

Blumberg & Seibert still existed in this quad and got two bronze medals at Worlds before being surpassed by the Soviet couples mentioned above. A foreshadowing of the difficulty that Americans and Canadians would have in getting on the podium for years to come.

1985-1988



With Torvill & Dean gone, it would be easy to think that ice dance would come to a stand-still. Instead, the sport was pushed even further. The Soviet couples of Bestemianova & Bukin and Klimova & Ponomarenko steered ice dance into a more balletic and Soviet style. Even today, the styles of European ice dancers differ based on these two Soviet couples. For that, props need to be given to both for pushing the sport once a program about one idea was possible. Above, Bestemianova & Bukin interpret the story of "Carmen" onto the ice. Klimova & Ponomarenko performed a program entirely to Beatles music at the 1988 Olympics. The ideas were limitless, and they tried them all. Controversy of course erupted. Many thought Bestemianova & Bukin were unjustly given first place year after year when Klimova & Ponomarenko were the better skaters. This gave way to the idea of the "wait your turn" placements, where more experienced teams got first after waiting many years for the people above them to retire. With the 6.0 system still in place, it was hard to truly accuse anyone of judging inaccurately. So throughout this quad B/B placed first and K/P placed second all the way into the Olympics. (Fun fact: Andrei Bukin's son and Klimova & Ponomarenko's son are both currently competing in ice dance for Russia and America respectively.)

Underneath these two dominant Soviet couples, a Canadian couple emerged. Tracy Wilson & Brian McCall earned bronze from 1986-1988 and at the 1988 Olympics. It was the first time a Canadian had won an Olympic medal and the first time in 12 years that a North American had won an Olympic medal in ice dance. Their programs were fun and a home crowd in Calgary certainly didn't hurt. Their style was a little less complex than the Soviets and it's hard to say if that's a bad thing. Obviously it set them apart from the Soviet couples so it worked in their favor. Afterward, Tracy Wilson did commentary for figure skating for many years on NBC. You may recognize her voice quicker than her programs.



Overall, this era steered ice dance back into a European style that we would see for many more years to come.

1989-1992

Klimova & Ponomarenko get their turn to dominate. Their dances continued to impress, still maintaining that balletic quality that they became known for. The pair is credited with creating the compulsory dance called the "Golden Waltz", easily one of the most difficult dances and still in use today. They claimed three World golds before earning the Olympic gold in 1992 on their performance to J.S. Bach's "Air", a beautiful routine that looks as though they're floating on air. (No pun intended)

Still, even as one dominates, others bubble just below the surface. The sibling pair of Isabelle & Paul Duchesnay of France were an experimental pair who were choreographed by Isabelle's husband, Christopher Dean. (Ice dance drama, am I right?) Dean thought up interesting programs for this pair, including a dance where they wore the exact same costume and danced mirroring each other. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, as most couples portrayed romantic plots. The choreography was also so showman-like (as most of the programs were Torvill & Dean rejects of their professional career) with lifts unlike any that most had seen, so much so that you often felt you were being entertained rather than watching a competition. The Duchesnays grabbed the 1991 World gold before getting the silver in 1992 with a program set to West Side Story. Many didn't appreciate their contributions until years later.

Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin became the Soviet's number two during this time and grabbed the bronze in 1992. If Klimova & Ponomarenko were balletic on the ice, Usova & Zhulin were ballerinas. Their soft movement over the ice was spellbinding to watch. They never surpassed Klimova & Ponomarenko, which led to more outcry from the "wait your turn" believers. However, their exhibition skates (fun skates done after competition) were always beautiful to watch and their flow was effortless. Unfortunately for this married couple, an Olympic gold would never be in their cards.

This era was punctuated by a Soviet sweep of the World medals. If Soviet domination was ever in question, it shouldn't be anymore.

1992-1994
When the summer Olympics and winter Olympics started on opposite timelines, this Olympic quad was cut to two years. However, enough happened in these two years that I think it's still worth mentioning. For one, the International Skating Union (ISU) changed the rules of professional skaters. Up to this point, if a skating couple took money from a show, they were no longer able to compete in amateur competitions like Worlds and the Olympics but instead competed in "professional" competitions. The ISU abolished this, seemingly in response to skaters needing to make money in the summer during the breaks between seasons. This led to a drove of skaters reentering Olympic contention in 1994, including the pairs skaters of Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov as well as our favorite ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Worth noting, in 1992 the Soviet Union turned into Russia at the competitive level. The Soviet domination stayed the same though.

There was still lead up into the 1994 Olympics. Usova & Zhulin grabbed their first and last World championship gold. The married couple was in turmoil over Zhulin's affair with Oksana Grishuk, part of the new Russian couple on the scene. Oksana Grishuk & Evgeni Platov took the bronze in the 1992 Worlds and soon surpassed Usova & Zhulin in the Russian pecking order. Grishuk & Platov were young at the time, skating to a rock and roll medley to win their Olympic gold in 1994. At the time, their skating was slightly sloppy but they made up for it in performance. Grishuk was able to capture audience's attention and made up for Platov's often stoic demeanor. As they grabbed their first Olympic gold, Usova & Zhulin grabbed their second Olympic silver, making Grishuk & Platov the first young Russians in a while to surpass an older couple before their retirement. An interesting tidbit, the ISU claimed they wanted ice dancing to be more about dancing in this Olympics after many years of dramatic free dances taking center stage. This could be a reason why the jivey rock and roll medley of Grishuk & Platov nabbed the gold while the failing partnership of Usova/Zhulin dug themselves into a free dance hole.

The return of Torvill & Dean excited audiences more than judges. Ten years after their gold medal winning performance, T/D were determined to get another Olympic gold. Judges don't give second golds away willingly however, especially not to a British couple. Instead, they walked away with a bronze, with many T/D fans disgruntled at the judging. Though just ten years prior T/D were getting 6.0s for their compulsories, here they managed only third. Their original dance to the rhumba is one of my all-time favorite routines and got them first in the original dance. However, even I can admit that their free dance looked too much like a show program with too many lifts and tricks to justify technical difficulty. Even still, the lifts inspired many more intricate lifts in the future, showing again how influential Torvill & Dean were ten years later.

Any North Americans? No? Eh, proceed.

1995-1998

Domination is the name of the game in ice dance and Grishuk & Platov were the lucky recipients. They were deserving, no doubt, as their athleticism, speed and technical skills were magnificent. Each year they improved a great deal, leading them to five straight World titles and a second Olympic gold, the first time any couple had ever done it. (Though this free dance from 1996 deserves a special place in hell for the costumes alone.) Even still, the dramatics of the past came back with Grishuk & Platov, culminating in their "Memorial Requim" dance, which is as odd as it sounds. The dance consisted mostly of positions being held across the ice with very little dancing, backed by gaudy music and costumes. A shame given their technical prowess in the compulsory dances. (Fun fact: Oksana Grishuk changed her name briefly to "Pasha" before the '98 Olympics after being mistaken for the Ukranian singles skater Oksana Baiul on multiple occasions. Her reasoning for "Pasha"? Indicative of her passionate personality....I'm not making this up.)

Underneath them, shifts were happening across the board. The Finnish couple of Susanna Rahkamo & Petri Kokko gave life to a country not particularly known for their strong figure skating. This couple is credited with inventing a quickstep compulsory dance (now called the Finnstep in their honor), a testament to their ballroom style. This couple never attained better than a silver World medal though and quickly disappeared after 1996.

Another Russian couple, Anjelika Krylova & Oleg Ovsyannikov, were the number two team in 1997-1998, also emphasizing the ballroom aspects of ice dance. Their sharp movements and Krylova's lines made this team beautiful to watch on the ice and nabbed them the silver in 1998. Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat gave the French new life in ice dance after they got the bronze at the 1998 Olympics. French couples are often set apart by quirky routines, and that was no different here as Peizerat was lifted by Anissina throughout their routine, an incredible athletic achievement and really out of the box at this time. The couple skated to the warhorse "Romeo and Juliet", contrasting the traditional with the not-so-traditional routine.

Finally, a Canadian couple was able to get into the conversation for a medal in the 1998 Olympics after getting bronze at Worlds two years in a row, Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz. Their "Riverdance" routine is one of the most iconic dances in the sport but poor showings in the compulsory dances and a less than difficult original dance kept them off the podium. Canadians were disgruntled by this, feeling as though the results were fixed before the competition started. With Russians constantly winning, it wasn't hard to see why Canadians and Americans were getting frustrated. It seemed as though North America would never get back on the podium. As a reminder, it had been ten years since Wilson & McCall took home the bronze, and it would have to be at least four more before North Americans could try again.

1999-2002
Remember how I said domination was the name of the game? Throw that out the window. The next three quads mark a shift from the total domination of the past, starting an era where most couples weren't winning more than two World golds in a row. The departure of Grishuk & Platov left a hole in ice dance that needed to be mended. And no one was sure how.

Krylova & Ovsyannikov were able to get their first World gold in 1998 and got a second in 1999 before they also retired. Turnover was incoming and it came in the medalists at the 1998 Olympics. Anissina & Peizerat began to win multiple competitions, including the 2000 World championship en route to their 2002 Olympic gold. France was back on top for the first time since the Duchesnays and the French couldn't be happier. The dramatics of this couple were on full display and their serious routines captured audiences.

Italy came with their first competitive couple ever in Barbara Fusar-Poli & Maurizio Margaglio. This couple nabbed the World gold in 2001 before claiming the bronze at the 2002 Olympics. If you were looking for lightheartedness after the French, you weren't getting it here. Of course, controversy erupted when the Italian couple placed third after a fall from Margaglio, leaving Bourne & Kraatz and Margarita Drobiazko & Povilas Vanagas (of Lithuania) fans miffed. Most programs started taking the look of Grishuk and Platov's "Memorial Requim" at this time and costumes looked as if they were going through a shredder. Ice dance was losing its way but no one was going to give up Russian and French control.

Irina Lobacheva & Ilia Averbukh were the Russians of this quad. They nabbed a silver at the Olympics and were the worst when it came to the shredded costumes. However, her lines made them interesting to watch and their lifts were very technical. Though, in retrospect, doing a free dance to an upbeat "Time for Peace" (claiming to be in memory of September 11) in front of Salt Lake City wearing costumes that looked as if torn...probably not the most sensitive of choices.

Where were Bourne & Kraatz you ask? Hovering around fourth place, getting third in 1999 before an injury derailed them the next season. Still, in 2001 they were only fourth in the world. The "wait your turn" of the previous years didn't seem to help them. They weren't particularly gifted technical skaters but their routines were entertaining and lighthearted in a sea of dramatic. They were particularly known for popularizing "hydroblading" where the couple skated close to the ground while in a lift.

The dramatics of this era got to the point that, before the 2002 Olympics, the ISU specifically asked all couples to dance to more light-hearted fare in order to keep viewership up. Most accepted this challenge willingly and the French and Italians did oblige, while the Canadians performed a Michael Jackson medley. It was at this Olympics that Jamie Sale & David Pelletier were snubbed for the gold in pairs. Couple that with Bourne & Kraatz's inability to finish above fourth (though the fall at the end of their free dance didn't help) and the Canadians were not happy. In response, the ISU sped up the development of their new scoring system, leaving the 2002 Olympics as the last to ever use the 6.0 system as well as the last Olympics that ice dance would require two compulsory dances.

2003-2006
If you're looking for stability in standings, you're not getting much of it here either. While the same couples were, for the most part, in the top five there was a lot of changing in the standings through these four years. However, this did give rise to a more competitive sport, so take from that what you will.

Bourne & Kraatz returned to the Worlds one last time in 2003, determined to finally get their World gold. And they did. It was the first time that a Canadian couple had ever won the World gold in ice dance. This blasted the door open for all North Americans after them. And boy did those North American teams pounce.

Americans Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto burst onto the scene in 2005 with their gypsy dance, getting the first medal from an American team in twenty years. Their style was unlike anything anyone had seen before, with coaches Marina Zueva and Igor Shbilband uniting to create a mix of North American and Russian styles. It was a style that would soon dominate ice dance. Belbin & Agosto's silver at the 2005 Worlds set them up to get a medal in the 2006 Olympics, but that event deserves its own mention.

Even as the North Americans started attaining medals, Russians weren't going down without a fight. Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov are probably the most forgettable Olympic gold medalists, which is surprising given their two prior World golds. It's unclear if they would've won the gold had it not been for the events of that competition. A Latin-based dance to "Carmen" was less than inspired, given the many Olympic performances that had a Latin "Carmen". It's little wonder why these two haven't held up compared to the rest of the field.

With the changing rules of ice dance, you could tell a lot of couples were struggling to keep up with the new codes, the new rules, the new lifts, the more athletic elements and the required twizzles. The Canadian couple of Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon come to mind in this category. Dubreuil & Lauzon kept Canada competitive in ice dance, finishing in the top ten at all times before nabbing their World silver in 2006. They easily could have gotten a medal at the Olympics in 2006 if not for their fall during the original dance. It wasn't to be and Canada was left without an Olympic medal in ice dance for the 18th year.

The 2006 Olympics was an event like no other when it came to ice dance. Fusar-Poli & Margaglio had returned to claim an Olympic medal in Torino and Italians were very excited for them. After the first night of competition, the top seven competitors were within two points of each other, remarkably close for ice dance. Then the original dance came and an iconic night transpired. Three of the top four from the previous night fell in their original dance, leaving them unable to medal (including Fusar-Poli & Margaglio, who had an iconic stare-down after their original dance). The Canadians Dubreuil & Lauzon withdrew and Belbin & Agosto were primed to take a medal. Belbin & Agosto were able to perform their original dance to Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud" and brought the entire crowd into the performance, using that momentum to get them a silver medal. It was the first Olympic medal from an American couple since the inception of the event in 1976.

At that year's Worlds, two North Americans medaled, foreshadowing the quads to come after.

2007-2010
This quad had a different World gold medalist for every year. No joke. The stability was that you know all of the competitors were in the top eight but beyond that, each year was different and it made the quad great. This is probably one of my favorite quads and I have a particular soft spot for how everything went down.

The Bulgarian couple of Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski won the World title in 2006 and 2007, the first time for any couple from Bulgaria. Their style was very Russian so I wouldn't be surprised if the politics were in on them, as it was better than letting Canadians or Americans win. Not to take anything away from them as their edges were superb and you could tell their superiority as soon as they begun to skate. Dubeuil & Lauzon returned to take the silver medal, skating to "At Last" as they prepared to marry. (Today, they coach almost half of the top teams in ice dance) Denkova & Staviski, as well as Dubreuil & Lauzon, retired after the 2007 Worlds, leaving room for Belbin & Agosto and the Russian team of Oksana Domnina & Maxim Shabalin to take advantage.

Bubbling under the surface, two new North American teams were surprising. With the new judging system in place, there was less "wait your turn" attitude, allowing young teams to mount huge debuts. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, the first ever Canadian Junior World Champions in 2006, along with Americans Meryl Davis & Charlie White, the 2006 World Junior bronze medalists, had huge debuts at the 2007 Worlds, finishing sixth and seventh respectively at the young ages of 17 for Virtue and 19 for Moir, Davis, and White. With so many European-style ice dancers and North American couples not having quite as much talent, the elegance and athleticism of these young couples were a breath of fresh air that ice dance had desperately needed. Older ice dancers began to get worried. (Fun fact: Both of these couples had been skating together for ten years by their senior debuts, extremely rare in a sport where height difference matters. Though this was their senior debut, V/M and D/W had been competing against each other for at least seven years prior to their senior debuts, including the 2004 Junior Worlds where V/M placed 11th to D/W's 13th.)



Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder were able to nab the 2008 World gold medal, their first time ever on the podium. Their ice dancing is particularly underrated. The level of detail that they put into their dances and performances, including their free dance to the music from the movie "The Piano," was stunning. Using sign language to open up the free dance and moving into soft choreography gripped the audience in Gothenberg. However, it was clear that this team was of the 6.0 era as their lifts were just not as hard as others and their step sequences were lacking. At the 2008 Worlds, Virtue & Moir crept up to get the silver medal (in one of my all time favorite performances) after Belbin & Agosto fell in their compulsory dance and Domnina & Shabalin withdrew. Davis & White hung back for sixth, getting marked down for mistakes in technical difficulty. Still, it was obvious the youngsters were pulling through and Delobel & Shoenfelder briefly retired after this Worlds.

In 2009, Domnina & Shabalin were able to get their first World title, after being the Junior World champions in 2003. Domnina & Shabalin represented a dying form of ice dance, much more akin to the 2002 medalists than to the couples they were competing against. Their technical prowess, however, kept them in medal contention, much to the dismay of the American audience. Speaking of American audience, Belbin & Agosto got another silver medal at this Worlds after changing coaches. Virtue & Moir, Davis & White and Belbin & Agosto had all shared the same coach. Now, just the two younger couples remained at the coaching facility of Marina Zueva and Igor Shbilband, but it was working for them. Virtue & Moir and Davis & White got third and fourth at the 2009 Worlds after being separated by .04, an anomaly in ice dance and incredibly close. Their momentum was up, Domnina & Shabalin and Belbin & Agosto were on their last legs.
Worth noting: Virtue & Moir had been absent for the majority of the 2008-2009 season while Virtue underwent leg surgery. This injury would plague them for the rest of their careers.

The 2010 Olympics were held in Vancouver and the Canadians Virtue & Moir were ready to capitalize. And they had the programs to do it. Their flamenco original dance got the home crowd involved, helping them take the lead for the first time. A stunning routine to Mahler's "Symphony No. 5" clinched the gold and changed ice dance as we know it all over again. Virtue & Moir (with the help of their coaches) were able to marry the athleticism of the new judging system with the artistry of the old one, a marriage that the previous gold medal winners of the Olympics and Worlds were incapable of doing effectively. Virtue & Moir were able to establish what the template for the new judging system should be, a template that it is still being worked off of today. After it was performed, many hailed it as the Canadian "Bolero" and in retrospect it started the careers of two brilliant ice dancers.

Davis & White clinched silver in the 2010 Olympics. Their original dance was their truly memorable piece. A Bollywood inspired routine gave them a creative edge over most of the field, even as they lost ground to Virtue & Moir. Their "Phantom of the Opera" free dance was a grand introduction to the more athletic side of ice dance. Probably my favorite Meryl Davis moment ever came during these Olympics when she gave a massive eye-roll on the NBC feed after learning the Russians were ahead of Virtue & Moir after the compulsory dance. Davis reportedly told friends later that she thought Virtue & Moir should've been first. We appreciate one supportive rival, however brief that support may have been.

Domnina & Shabalin became infamous for all the wrong reasons after doing a controversial "aboriginal" original dance, which drew silence from the Canadian crowd. Their choreographer, who had infamously choreographed for Grishuk & Platov, gave these Russians no favors. Belbin & Agosto settled for fourth after being beaten by Davis & White for the first time at Nationals that year.

With the one-two finish of Virtue & Moir and Davis & White, North Americans finished with the gold for the first time ever in ice dance and medalled for only the fourth time. Just a couple of records Virtue & Moir broke that day: youngest couple to win ice dance gold, first couple to get ice dance gold at their Olympic debut, first ice dance team to win Olympic gold without a World title, last couple to win ice dance gold with the compulsory dance, and first World Junior champions to get ice dance Olympic gold (within the same pair). It was monumental for North American ice dance and is the reason why all American and Canadian teams are still in the top ten in ice dance today.

2011-2014
You want dominance? We've got dominance. After rumors of Virtue & Moir retiring after the Olympic games both they and Davis & White decided to push on as most of the top ranked couples around them retired. What came after were four years where no one but the two couples won major competitions, trading World titles back and forth from 2010-2013 with the loser always getting silver. The smallest margin between second and third came at five points and the largest at a whopping fourteen points. No one got close and it was deserved. More changes came in this quad as the compulsory dance was eliminated in favor of the short dance, a dance that would incorporate the compulsory pattern. Davis & White and Virtue & Moir defined what the new judging system should look like, demonstrating throughout the four years how doing the same elements did not mean that the dances would look the same and showing their competitors how to properly incorporate compulsory patterns into their short dances. All of this culminated in the 2014 Sochi Olympics where everyone knew the gold medal race was between the two of them. This time though, Davis & White prevailed and Virtue & Moir claimed silver. In their final night of competition, Virtue & Moir broke the free dance scoring record before Davis & White broke it again, proving once again how much these two teams contributed to the sport.  It was a great way to cap off the 2010-2014 years and a great way to say goodbye to both teams. Or so we thought.
(Fun fact: Tanith Belbin, Olympic silver medalist from 2006 and commentator for NBC, was engaged to Charlie White when the 2014 Olympics rolled around. It's thought she was left off of Olympic commentary due to the obvious conflict of interest. She got to commentate in Pyeongchang at least.)

Virtue & Moir were regarded as the more artistic team during this quad. Their Mahler program was followed by a Latin program, a "Funny Face" program, a re-imagining of "Carmen", and a less than inspired Olympic program to "Seasons." (I'm arguably a little hard on this program, as it's the only program I have no recollection of watching when I watched Virtue/Moir and Davis/White battle for gold in Sochi. The performance itself was magical in Sochi, but I have trouble remembering much of it even after seeing it several times.) Still, their technical skills were to die for and it was little wonder why they consistently beat Davis & White in compulsory patterns. Their issue throughout this quad, however, was making silly mistakes in big competitions. Some could argue Virtue's chronic leg injury caused some of these mistakes but points were still left on the table when they shouldn't have been. They possessed natural talent, prodigy level talent, but often couldn't convert, allowing Davis & White to beat them in all but two competitions over four years. Their short dance to "Dream a Little Dream" from 2014 is one of my absolute favorites and is the reason I love ice dance.

Davis & White were the more athletic pair, often speeding around the rink while performing big warhorses like "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Scheherazade" as well as more ballroom styles in their tango and waltz free dances. They became the first Americans ever to receive a World gold medal, a huge achievement for American ice dance. Of note, of the nine times that D/W and V/M met in competition during this quad, Davis & White only lost twice after only winning twice over Virtue & Moir in the previous quad. They rarely made mistakes which gave them a great reputation, even when their technical skills weren't up to snuff at times. They were undoubtedly deserving of the gold medal in 2014 with their immaculately skated programs and more enjoyable programs overall. Both of these teams used incredible lifts to challenge the sport athletically, and very few could keep up.

Under the surface, various teams flitted in and out of third. Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat were an enjoyable French couple with a legitimate shot at the bronze in 2014, after attaining bronze in 2012. However, Russian influence kept them off the podium, as Russians couldn't allow there not to be a Russian pair on the podium. Who was that Russian pair? A coupling of Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalopov. Their free dance to "Swan Lake" hinted at a form of ice dance that we will never see and the lifts were gorgeous. To clarify, this pair was not dominant throughout the quad, placing 5-10th until 2013-2014. It's suspected that the Russian federation pushed this team to bronze in order to set them up as the replacements for the North American teams. Still, they had a ton of potential that went untapped when they split up in the summer of 2014.

The Italian pair of Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte were a crowd-pleaser who found their niche in heart-warmers. Their edges weren't particularly great which is one reason why they're so fast. Though they won the World gold in 2014, very few mention it as a crowning achievement. Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev were a Russian couple who had won bronze at the 2013 Worlds, but none were left satisfied by that development. Many thought Russians were pushing their couples into bronze competition undeservedly and Bobrova's lack of an edge didn't help their cause. Numerous Canadian and American couples flitted under the surface but were overshadowed by the generational talents of Virtue & Moir and Davis & White. But what would happen once those two retired?

2015-2018
Ice dance was in flux without its two leaders. For the four years North Americans dominated, everyone followed suit. Without anyone to be the leaders, who would they follow?

A French couple of Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron came out of the woodwork to answer. The couple, who had finished 13th at the previous Worlds, were prone to mistakes technically and couldn't nail a compulsory pattern to save their lives. Yet they were the ones on top of the podium in 2015 and 2016. They often lost ground in the short dance before rebounding with a free dance that judges seemed to enjoy. To be fair to them, their "To Build a Home" free dance in 2016 was beautiful and showed a different side to ice dance. They were to be overshadowed though, leading them to finish second at the 2018 Olympics. We'll get to that.
(Fun fact: Virtue & Moir competed against this couple in the fall of 2013, Papadakis & Cizeron's first competition on the senior stage. Virtue & Moir came in first, naturally, and Papadakis & Cizeron came fifth. Point separation? 37 points. Imagine a basketball score of 110-50.)

Maia & Alex Shibutani rebounded from their 8th place finishes the previous years to nab a silver medal in 2016 at home in Boston. This marked the longest stretch anyone had taken from one medal to the next, as they had taken bronze in a North American sweep in 2011. It gave them the momentum they needed to get bronze at the 2017 Worlds and 2018 Olympics, becoming the first couple of Asian descent to claim an ice dance Olympic medal. The newer coupling of Madison Chock & Evan Bates of America also were able to clinch a silver in 2015 and bronze in 2016 before they were pushed down the pecking order. Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue also improved greatly over time after coming together in 2011, so much so that they were fighting for third in the 2018 Olympics. I'm personally a fan of their free dance from the Olympics with it's jazzy feel. It showed the strength of American ice dancing that America continued to be extremely competitive.

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, Canadians the same age as Virtue & Moir, were able to compete well for Canada as their number one. Canadians Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier became known for doing out of the box free dances that distinguished them from the rest. Unfortunately both were also due for a push down the pecking order.

In 2016, Virtue & Moir announced they would be coming back to compete after a two season absence. Many thought it was a mistake as ice dance had already changed drastically in the two years since they left and at 27 and 29, many were afraid the Canadians wouldn't be able to compete with the young French team. Virtue & Moir proved them wrong, going on a tear in the two years leading up to the Olympics, only losing once. Most of their wins were on the backs of five to nine point leads over the French, proving just how much better Virtue & Moir had actually been over their competition. At the 2018 Olympics, they were able to win the gold medal, becoming only the second team to win two gold medals in ice dance, the first to win three medals where none were below silver and the only pair to win World and Olympic titles before and after the compulsory dance was abolished. They changed the landscape again, proving that they were still versatile as older ice dancers. Due to their versatility and longevity in the sport, many commentators dubbed them one of the greatest ice dance teams of all time, including former competitor Tanith Belbin-White. Yet even as they won their second gold medal, the ice dance world was left with another question of how to recover from the loss of Virtue & Moir, this time permanently.

2019-Present
The ice dancing world is again in flux with the retirement of Virtue & Moir, only this time most of the cast from the previous retirement are still around and are building on their experience.

Papadakis & Cizeron have dominated thus far with improved compulsory patterns. A criticism that most have though is that they have repeated the same style in the free dance for the past four years. It keeps getting them huge scores and gold medals though so it's not likely they'll change it up. Hubbell & Donohue are hanging in, nabbing the bronze at the 2019 Worlds after the Russians mounted a charge. Going outside of their comfort zone was good practice for them but shouldn't become the new normal if they want any chance at getting an Olympic medal in 2022.

Russians are attempting to take over ice dance again and most question the legitimacy of it. Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov (of Ilinykh & Katsalapov, who won the bronze in Sochi) went from barely qualifying for Worlds to second place in two years. A jump like that doesn't often happen without noticeable improvement, and unfortunately there hasn't been any. Alexandra Stepanova & Ivan Bukin (son of Andrei Bukin, 1988 Olympic gold medalist) won over the French couple in Junior Worlds in 2013. However, that was the last time they had gotten better than seventh prior to their fourth place finish at the 2019 Worlds. Overall, their progress up the ladder has been steady but their lack of dance hold throughout most of their free dance led to some questions about the technical difficulty. (Though I admit it's one of my guilty pleasure programs.) Still, it was the first time in over a decade that two Russian teams and a French team were in the top four.

The future of ice dance is looking European again, almost as if the skating federations are seeking revenge for letting North Americans dominate so long. I wouldn't be surprised if, by 2022, there aren't any North Americans on the podium for the first time in 16 years.

Compulsory Dances:
I thought it would be fun to try and find one compulsory from multiple important figures of ice dance in order for you to see how the good can get sorted out from the bad. For this one, I'll be looking for couples performing the Tango Romantica, as it's one of the older compulsory dances and a favorite of mine, created by Pakhomova & Gorshkov! Each couple's name will be a link to their compulsory.
Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean
Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko
Oksana Grishuk & Evgeni Platov
Anjelika Krylova & Oleg Ovsyannikov
Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz
Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat
Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov
Oksana Domnina & Maxim Shabalin
Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir
Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron (Pattern begins at 1:20)
With these in mind, you can see how we can compare each team to each other, even across different eras. Granted, beyond the compulsory it's basically apples to oranges but within the compulsory, skating skills can be parsed through.

When all is said and done, ice dance is a really interesting sport that has evolved much more than most sports in the past. Its entertainment value is greater than a lot of other sports. The amount of times I've watched ice dance performances greatly surpasses the amount of times I've watched a whole basketball game on replay. I find myself watching the likes of Torvill & Dean and Virtue & Moir over and over again, thoroughly enjoying every minute. I hope those that have made it this far into my post enjoyed learning about a niche sport and I hope that this will influence you to tune into the 2022 Olympics ice dance competition!