Above: Photo courtesy of KrPhotogs Photography
More than 200 athletes traveled to Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 14-16 to compete at the 2023 National Solo Dance Final, with skaters being crowned in pattern dance, shadow dance and combined events at the senior through preliminary levels.
Senior Combined
Brooke Tufts (North Jersey FSC) won the top prize this year after finishing second at this same event last season. Tufts’ Latin-inspired rhythm dance to a medley of songs by Chayanne opened with a midline step sequence to secure a score of 73.10.
Her free dance to “Reel Around the Sun” from Riverdance featured five Level 4 elements, which all contributed to her free dance score of 110.68. Both scores combined for a total score of 183.78.
Lucas Appel (Florida Everblades FSC) finished three points behind Tufts to clinch the silver medal with a total score of 180.33. Skating to “Mas Que Nada” by Bellini and “Tiburon” by Proyecto Uno in the short program, Appel’s program was highlighted by a midline step sequence that earned over 10 points.
Shin Lei Case (Dallas FSC) secured the bronze medal with a total score of 159.54, and Abby Mumby (Greater Kalamazoo Skating Assn.) took home the pewter medal with 156.42 points.
Junior Combined
Amal Israilova (Palm Beach FSC) successfully defended her title with a total score of 163.16, which was more than 25 points higher than the second-place finisher. Her rhythm dance set to a medley of songs by Ostros Aires secured its highest points for a midline step sequence, collecting 10.79 points and a segment score of 66.01.
In the free dance, Israilova achieved Level 4 distinctions on four elements to tally a score of 97.15.
Jordan Brenne (Greater Kalamazoo Skating Assn.) skated to an Elvis Presley-themed medley in the free dance to total a free dance score of 82.23 and 137.39 points overall.
Tommy Liu (Seattle SC) took home the bronze medal with a score of 130.03 and rounding out the podium in fourth with 128.06 points was Khloe Felton (Greater Kalamazoo Skating Assn.).
Gold Solo Pattern Dance
Skaters competing in this division were tasked with performing Viennese waltz and quickstep programs.
Anugraha Pillai (Kent Valley FSC) skated to “Chudat Medoni” by Oleg Fesov in the Viennese waltz to collect a score of 27.45. Her quickstep totaled 30.23 points, totaling 57.68 points overall.
Lindsey Piel (Greater Kalamazoo Skating Assn.) finished with the silver medal thanks to an overall score of 57.60. Piel finished first in the Viennese Waltz segment with 29.29 points, and the quickstep with a score of 28.31.
Evan Bertz (University of Delaware FSC) scored 55.66 points to clinch the bronze, and Mina Esfandiari (Washington FSC) finished with an overall score of 53.61 to secure the pewter medal.
International Solo Pattern Dance
Skaters competing in this event must skate both a rhumba and U.S. Yankee polka-inspired program.
Israilova added a second gold medal to her collection as she also won in junior combined. Her rhumba to “Lum’s Love Song” by Clementine tallied 31.87 points, and her polka to “The Lonely Goatherd” from the movie The Sound of Music received 63.63 points.
Sophie Lewis (Washington FSC) skated into second place with an overall score of 62.47. Her rhumba collected 30.54 points, and her polka totaled 31.93 points.
Shin Lei Case (Dallas FSC) earned her second bronze of the competition with an overall score of 58.55. Following behind in fourth place was Drake Tong (Hickory Hill FSC) with a cumulative score of 57.57.
Gold-International Shadow Dance
Khloe Felton and Jordan Brenne (Greater Kalamazoo Skating Assn.) were awarded gold for their shadow dance which received a total score of 20.44. Their program tallied its highest marks for presentation and skating skills.
In second place less than a point behind first place were Alina Ponomarova and Kseniya Ponomaryova (Skokie Valley SC), with 19.54 points. The duo earned 6.33 points in the presentation category, the highest score of the event in the presentation category.
Maria Gonzalez and Abigail Dalsin (Washington FSC) received a score of 16.58 to take home bronze, and Tina Li and Karin Kaneda scored 15.90 points to take the fourth and final spot on the podium.
For full results, click here.
For more information on solo dance and how to get involved, visit usfigureskating.org.
