Isabella Cannuscio & Kyle Herring

Isabella Cannuscio and Kyle Herring are intermediate ice dancers who won the bronze medal at the 2004 US Junior National Championships. They are coached by Christie Moxley.

In your own words, tell us how you started skating together.
We originally had a tryout that our coaches set up that was fairly early in the 2003 season. About two weeks later we saw each other skating Freestyle at a local competition and we decided we wanted another tryout. After that second tryout things began falling into place. We discovered we shared similar goals and work ethics in skating and our skating styles really clicked together. At that point our coaches arranged for a few judges to look at us. All went very well and we have been a team since then which was late June of 2003.

When did you start skating, and how long have you been ice dancing?
Isabella began skating at the age of 3 and began Ice Dancing and competing at 6. Kyle began skating at 6, skating competitively at 8 and began Ice Dancing at 10.

Who are your coaches? How did they prepare you for your first nationals?
Our head coach is Christie Moxley and we are also coached by Alexandr (Sasha) Kirsanov and Oleg Fediukov. With only a few months to prepare for Regionals our coaches worked on some basics, but we also had to put together a Free Dance and learn the compulsories together. We had to be very productive on and off the ice making every session together count. We worked on our program and dances on and off the ice and continually worked on polishing everything. Our coaches tried to capitalize on our strengths and help us look as well packaged and prepared as possible in such a short amount of time.

What were your goals heading in to Junior Nationals?
Including Regionals, Jr. Nationals was only our fourth competition skating together so our goal was to skate our best and try to put on the ice all the things we had been working so hard on in the months before. We were hoping for a top six placing.

Third place in intermediate in your first season is a great accomplishment. Did you think this placement was possible while you were preparing?
Our coaches kept reinforcing the fact that although we were squeezing a lot in during a short period if we stayed focused and skated to the best of our ability we could do well at Jr. Nationals. However we also knew that the Intermediate level had a very strong field with many very good teams. We tried to concentrate on our own skating and not think too much about where we had a chance to place.

How did you feel about your performances?
We thought we skated as best we could at the time and were very satisfied with our performances. We were really happy that all of our efforts in practice really came together and felt honored to place so well in such a competitive field.

Will you skate in intermediate next season, or move up to Novice?
Right now we are focusing on strengthening our skating. This season with more time to prepare we can concentrate on some things that we couldn’t last season and we will see how things are progressing. The decision will be made by our coaches.

Which compulsory dance is your favorite?
We both enjoy skating the Rocker Foxtrot and the Killian.

Is there a song you enjoy that you would like to skate to someday?
We both enjoy skating to a wide variety of music so although there is no particular song, we do look forward to skating to a wide range of music styles as we progress.

Which skaters or dancers do you look up to?
We really admire the Ice Dance teams of Christie Moxley and Alexandr Kirsanov and Oleg Fediukov and Debbie Koegel. Not just because they are our coaches but because we know first hand the work ethics they have and have had in their own training. We also appreciate their skating styles and expression on the ice. All have a strong passion for the sport just as we do.