JGP Reflections 2015: Gropman & Somerville

by Anne Calder | Photo by Daphne Backman

Eliana Gropman & Ian Somerville shared their thoughts during the team’s recent Junior Grand Prix debut in Colorado Springs.
 
The diminutive duo from the Washington FSC enjoyed every single minute of the international experience.

“It was really cool staying at the Olympic Training Center,” grinned Somerville. Seeing skaters that are way up there like Jason Brown and Ashley Wagner was really awesome.”

“It was such a great experience, especially because it was in our home country,” added Gropman.

Their short dance waltz was skated to the film score, The Story of an Unknown Actor by Alfred Schnittke. The duo received a level 4 for their second pattern dance, but had an unfortunate fall in the footwork. 

After the short dance, Gropman & Somerville sat in the audience cheering-on their teammates.

The next morning, the team waited anxiously to show off their free program. When asked what they hoped to accomplish in the dance, they responded in unison “A nice clean skate.”

The team showed off their deep edges and animated moves to the belly dance music of “Ice Queen” by Dinletir and “Rebirth 2” by Solace.

In July, Gropman & Somerville placed second in Lake Placid at the competition to represent the US at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games. The selected skaters will be named at a later date.