Ljubljana,Slovenia hosts JGP #2

by Laura Flagg | Photo by Katie Weigel

The second event in the Junior Grand Prix Series will take place this week in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where 14 ice dance teams will compete for medals and standing points.

Americans Holly Moore & Daniel Klaber (pictured, right) are Junior Grand Prix veterans, as this will be their third season competing in the series. They won a bronze at one of their events last season and followed that up with a 4th-place finish at the U.S. Championships on the junior level. This year, they hope to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final and the junior world team, and that quest begins here. Moore & Klaber’s free dance to music from “The Addams Family” is sure to entertain. After a coaching switch during the off-season, they now work with Igor Shpilband’s team and are one of the favorites to medal—if not win — in Slovenia.

Their main competition likely comes from the Russian team of Daria Morozova & Mikhail Zhirnov, who won bronze at both of their Junior Grand Prix events last season and finished 4th in juniors at Russian Nationals. This will be their fourth year competing in the series, but they are still looking for their first victory. They train with Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk. Their short dance will be a samba and a rhumba, and their free dance will be to music from “Mirrors.”

Both Team USA and Team Russia are sending new JGP competitors to Slovenia, alongside their veterans. Making their international debut for Team USA are Julia Biechler & Damian Dodge. They have placed 9th and 7th in juniors in the two previous U.S. Championships. They train with Natalia Linichuk in Pennsylvania. Their free dance music is a beautiful piece by Nathan Lanier called “Humanity in Motion;” skating fans will recognize the piece from Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje’s “statue” program.

Eva Khachaturian & Andrei Bagin, who just partnered together this year, are the other Russian team. They train with Alexander Zhulin and Oleg Volkov. Khachaturian was a success international competitor on the novice level with Igor Eremenko, while Bagin picked up a fourth-place finish on the JGP circuit last year with Kristina Baklanova.

Canadians Brianna Delmaestro & Timothy Lum will attempt to win their first JGP medal in their second season as a team. Last year, they placed fifth at both of their JGP events and 3rd in juniors at the Canadian Championships. Coached by Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe, they will be performing two new programs, including a Cuban-themed short dance.

Valérie Taillefer & Jason Chan, who train with Elise Hamel, will be making their international debut for Canada in Slovenia. Last season, they won the novice Canadian title. They are doing a rhumba and a samba in the short dance and skating to music from “Anything Goes” in the free dance.

The team outside the “big three” countries with the best shot at the top six could be Angelique Abachkina & Louis Thauron of France. During a season of change in Lyon, Abachkina & Thauron left France’s top ice dance centre to train with Igor Shpilband and Fabian Bourzat in the United States. They were eighth and 10th in their JGP events last year and will be looking to improve this year. Their Bollywood free dance could really stand out if they skate well.

The original dance takes place on Friday, August 29, and the free dance takes place on Saturday, August 30.