'We like to push the boundaries'
If there's one thing we've come to expect from Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, it's their uniqueness. And the Canadian ice dancers have plenty more of that to show us this season.
If there is anything we can say is for sure about Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, it’s that they’ve never feared straying into new territory. Truth by told, it’s been their modus operandi since they first joined forces as an ice dance team more than a decade ago. And they wouldn’t want it any other way.
While that can make the ride a little wild and uncertain at times, it is most definitely never boring or tedious. And while there may be more tangible things that those of us on the outside can grasp about the reasons for the Canadian duo’s continued longevity in the sport — like, for example, that World championship that is just a step away after their silver-medal finish back in Montreal in March — what truly keeps them in the game is all about the very unique path they have always taken.
“We’re driven by the creative process, exploring things, trying to push ourselves,” explains the 32-year-old Poirier. “That’s what keeps us motivated and interested in skating. Yeah, that’s why we’re here.”
They’ve done a whole bunch of exploring since getting back on the ice in early July, and what Gilles, Poirier and their team at Ice Dance Elite in Toronto have cooked up for this coming season excites them greatly, to say the least. The new material isn’t entirely out there yet for public consumption — they won’t compete for the first time this season until later this month at Skate Canada International in Halifax — but hearing all about it will get you in the ‘I can’t wait to see this’ mode in a real hurry.
Which, as you’ll soon see, is the point of the latest entry in this space.
So let’s get started, shall we, with the rhythm dance, which this season must be skated to the genre of “Social Dances and Styles of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.” It offers up a rather wide palate of choices, to be sure, and Gilles and Poirier eventually landed on the idea to taking audiences to the beaches of southern California. They’ll do so with a pair of classic Beach Boys tunes, “I Get Around” and “California Girls,” before closing with “Wipe Out,” the 1963 track by The Surfaris.
“It’s just a really high energy, fun way to end the program,” Poirier says. “We wanted to capture that really idyllic American dream that doesn’t really exist, but was just so prevalent in the media of that era, of that picture perfect California world. And we just want to capture that energy with the program.”
Settling on that particular music, given the broad spectrum of possible choices, was a challenge of sorts. But as we’ve already mentioned, these are two skaters who thrive on that sort of thing, and they seem to have an uncanny knack of knowing exactly what works for them.
“I think we can really package it well. We could sell the California dream, the two of us, you know the surfer edge and all that style,” says the 32-year-old Gilles (and if you know her penchant for fashion, you know the costumes for this one will be spot on. If you don’t believe me, visit her Instagram). “It’s a unique one, but I think it’s something that is very us. We like to push the boundaries a little bit, and a surfer program is not really ice dance friendly. So we’re here, we’re trying it and it’ll be stylized in the way that we want.
“Looking on YouTube, finding the surfer stomp … it’s an interesting style, and being able to try to do that on the ice … it’s very linear, it’s like forward and backward, and you can’t always do that in skating while trying to do (other) stuff. But I think we figured out the right moments to have and we’ve played from that.”
Now, it might be easy to suggest this whole thing is a nod to Boston, the site of the 2025 World Championships. And while they’ll admit it crossed their minds at some point, it’s not what got their groove going for this choice.
“We thought about it a lot and looking at the social dances, you had the two ends of the decade spectrums, where you had rock ’n roll in the ’50s and you had disco in the ’70s,” explained Poirier. “They’re kind of the two most established dance styles that are kind of full-fledged styles with associated music. The ’60s were actually the trickiest decade when we started doing research. There were a lot of dance crazes and dance moves, but no full-blown dance styles in kind of the same way.
“If you choose music from the ’60s, you kind of have to pick from a lot of different dances and that was challenging and interesting. We thought that since we’ve done disco before and it was a successful program, we felt like we had explored everything we had wanted to explore there. We wanted to do something a little more challenging for ourselves. (Worlds in the United States) really wasn’t our primary (reason) for why we chose it. We just wanted to do something that would be fun and something that would allow us to enter a different world. Really get people into the world that we are presenting, versus just a nice dance to nice music.”
There’s also another interesting side to the challenge this season and this particular genre choice by the International Skating Union is bringing.
“A lot of these dances aren’t really partner dances. And they’re not done on the ice, where there’s no friction and things like that. A lot of them are done in nightclubs where things are tight, and you’re not moving very big,” said Poirier. “So to find the moments to really dig into those dance styles in an authentic way, and finding other moments to skate … finding that balance is going to be a big challenge for everyone for the theme this year. But it also makes it fun.”
If you saw Gilles and Poirier at any point during the Stars On Ice tour back in the spring, you’ll be very familiar with their free dance music. It will be skated to “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” a song originally recorded in 1967 by the English rock band Procul Harum. It’s such an enduring piece of music that, over the years, it has spawned more than 1,000 cover versions (Gilles and Poirier are using the 1995 cover by former Eurythmics lead singer Annie Lennox from her “Medusa” solo album. Funnily enough, that disc also contains her take on “No More I Love You’s,” the music they used for their rhythm dance last season, although that was skated to the original version by The Lover Speaks. And thus endeth today’s musical history lesson …).
Simply put, Gilles and Poirier couldn’t get enough of that program after performing it on tour, and they wanted to bring it back with a competitive twist. In their minds, there’s still a whole lot of life left in it to be explored. She also thinks it’s something that will hit home particularly well with skating purists.
“We felt like the program really resonated with us and we had so much great feedback from the audience, and people (were saying) ‘wow, that was our favourite number. We did a really upbeat Whitney Houston and we thought that would be their favourite, but no, it was this program,” said Gilles. “And we weren’t ready to say goodbye to it and we thought there was more we could do with it. Coming back after last year, we wanted to still do something different and unique, and we felt like this program has a tango-esque type of energy. It isn’t showing full-blown tango, there is a tempo change that is very tight and tango-esque, but we’re really trying to kind of have just little moments of tango, but really a very modern take.
“This is really a skater’s skater kind of program. A lot of flow, a lot of beautiful transitions and the elements really don’t start until later in the program. I think that really shows the depth and the confidence we have in our skating skills and ability, and I think old school skating fans will enjoy this program a lot.”
That being said, Gilles and Poirier are more or less prepared for mixed reviews of their program choice. It’s kind of been the theme of their careers, you could say, but that goes with the territory when you’re willing to be risk takers. And, as we said earlier, it’s something that is buried in their DNA as ice dancers. It’s pretty much the only way they know how to be.
“I don’t think we ever think about (how audiences will react) necessarily. But I think for us, the main draw was … one, we really loved the number and we wanted to skate it more,” Poirier said of the new free dance. “But certainly, the last few years we’ve had free dances that, just stylistically, have called for a lot of open and big skating, and we wanted to do something that just felt a little tighter and contained and had more of that classic ice dance construction. That was what was interesting to us more than anything.
“But I don’t think we really worry too much about whether what something we do is going to appeal to someone, because we’ll always appeal to some people, and not appeal to other people. That’s the risk we like to take. We like to do interesting things for ourselves and things we haven’t done … kind of jumping into that void and not knowing how it is going to be received. That’s what makes it worthwhile for us. It’s not something that feels daunting.”
A little scary at times, perhaps? You bet. But that’s an essential part of the thrill ride Gilles and Poirier have been on since their first season together way back in 2012-13. It’s made their journey especially rewarding along the way, and they’ve had more than their share of tangible successes. Things like three World Championship medals, a trio of Canadian titles and a raft of gold medals on the Grand Prix circuit (including the final in 2022).
“At the beginning of our career, we felt like because we were so new, we didn’t know what to do and when we would go to compete, you’re still figuring it out,” she said. “Each competition felt like we were jumping off a cliff. Let’s see how this goes. Will they like it, will they hate it? We don’t know. But we’ve kind of enjoyed that thrill of them not liking it. But over time, it’s fun when people come (to our ways) … ah, now you’re on board with us. It’s kind of fun.”
We got into this in a wide-ranging interview over the summer, but it’s taking on those challenges and the constant search for unique ways of expressing themselves on the ice that keeps Gilles and Poirier doing what they do, and loving what they do. It’s why it wasn’t difficult for them to sign up for more.
“With the vehicles we’ve chosen, they really excite us to come in and train every single day. That’s what made this year so much easier to say ‘yes’ and to compete and to invest our energy into this,” said Gilles. “They’re exciting programs and exciting things, and I think that’s why we keep skating. If we’re not having fun, if we’re not challenging ourselves, if we’re not pushing ourselves, it’s not fun for us. That’s why this year was easier to say ‘yes’ to.”
Rising up to the Challenge
The Challenger Series is in Astana, Kazakhstan, this weekend for the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, and it’s been a good weekend so far for Canadian ice dancers Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer. The Quebec duo, who train at the Ice Academy of Montreal, seized the lead after the rhythm with a personal best score of 73.66 (the top three are separated by less than a point). It’s a Skate Canada International warmup for Fabbri and Ayer, who will be among Canada’s three ice dance entries at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
(UPDATE: Fabbri and Ayer finished with the bronze medal. Their free dance score of 109.32 and overall total of 182.98 were also personal bests).
“We’re extremely happy,” said Fabbri told Skate Canada following the event. “In such a strong field, being able to finish in a good position with good scores is more than we could ask for. Our goal coming into the competition is always to focus on the competition, ourselves, and being better than what we were yesterday. When we’re gifted with a medal at the end it’s even better, but it wasn’t the main focus.”
Among the women, Canada’s Uliana Shiryaeva slipped to fourth in the final standings after placing second in the short program. The 17-year-old Shiryaeva, who is based at the Champs International Skating Centre of British Columbia in Burnaby, placed fourth at the 2024 Canadian Championships in Calgary.
“I felt very excited because this is a huge competition, but I felt like I was ready,” Shiryaeva said per a Skate Canada release after her first international competition. “I was very shocked and very happy with my score (64.43 in the short program). I was more nervous with the pressure (for my free skate), but I fought to get each element done and I felt like it was OK.”
Meanwhile, reigning national champion Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary had a stronger free skate and moved up from 10th after the short program to finish seventh overall. Among the men, Aleksa Rakic of Vancouver stood 13th after the short program, but rose up to eighth overall after a solid free skate.
Juniors glide into Slovenia
Canadian ice dancers Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys stand sixth after the rhythm dance at this week’s Junior Grand Prix stop in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The reigning national junior champions, who are trained by Scott Moir, Madison Hubbell and Adrian Diaz at the Ice Academy of Montreal’s satellite school near London, Ontario, were bronze medallists earlier this season at Czech Skate in Ostrava. Their score Friday was a personal best 58.13.
The free dance is set for Saturday.
In the men’s event, two-time Canadian junior silver medallist Grayson Long turned in a big personal best score of 133.51 to finish fourth in Friday’s free skate. That performance, to a medley of Queen music, elevated him to seventh in the final standings. Long, who is coached by Brian Orser and Karen Preston at the Toronto Cricket Club, had stood ninth after the short program.
The women’s competition also concludes Saturday. Canada’s lone entrant in the event, Hetty Shi of Mississauga, Ontario, sits 18th after the short program.
Verdict rendered
The biggest news to land in Canadian figure skating circles this week, of course, was the long-awaited decision by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner regarding Canadian ice dancer Nikolaj Soerensen, following in an investigation into an allegation that he sexually assaulted an American figure skating coach and former skater in Hartford, Conn., in 2012.
Soerensen has denied the allegation, which has not been tested in court.
OSIC ruled Wednesday that Soerensen has been banned for six years for “sexual maltreatment,” a suspension that goes into effect immediately (he and partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry were in China to compete at the Shanghai Trophy when the verdict came down. They had also been scheduled to compete at two Grand Prix Series events, Skate America and NHK Trophy in Japan, later this fall). The International Skating Union issued this statement about the OSIC verdict on Friday:
A milestone thought
Happened to notice this randomly the other day, but this missive marks my 100th post on this Substack — and quite frankly, it’s a number that blows me away to a certain extent. As I’ve mentioned previously, I had rather modest expectations when all of this started, in terms of how many people might actually be interested enough to read what lands in this space. But safe to say, what’s happened to this date his exceeded my expectations in a major way, and words can’t express my gratitude for the support of everyone who happens to find what is written here worthy of their valuable time.
So yeah, 100 seems like a milestone worthy of a little bit of celebration in this corner. It’s been a fun ride getting to this point, and it’s reminded me of exactly what drew me to the sportswriting world all those years ago. This really has been a labour of love in every way and, much as it might seem like there’s a bit a time crunch to get all of this in place, it’s worth every minute of it. So here’s to the next 100 posts in this space.
Love how you cover skating in such a thoughtful and insightful way. Thanks, and here’s to 100 more!