FIGURE SKATING
Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) bring the beach to the party in Finlandia Trophy Rhythm Dance
16 Nov 2024
ISU World silver medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) celebrated in beach party style to top the entertaining Rhythm Dance event at the ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN) on Saturday.
Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) swim on top
ISU World silver medalists and Skate Canada Champions Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier of Canada are en route to their second Grand Prix gold this season. They won the Rhythm Dance ahead of Great Britain’s Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson and home crowd favorites Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis of Finland. The Ice Dancers brought the vibes of the 50s, 60s and 70s to the Helsinki Ice Hall with their outstanding performances.
Gilles/Poirier followed their “Ken and Barbie at the beach” theme with songs by the Beach Boys and debuted different costumes in competition. Their playful performance captured the attention of the audience from the first step.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (CAN) in the Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Helsinki, Finland © ISU
The Canadian Champions earned level threes and fours for the elements, except for the pattern dance type step sequence that was rated a level one. The three-time ISU World medalists scored 84.65 points for the lead.
“First of all, I just want to thank the Finnish audience. It was absolutely a blast. The moment we started, we could hear them clapping and it was like, OK, take your time. They've got great energy, awesome,” Gilles said.
"There were a few things we had to think about throughout the performance, but overall, for me, it felt better than Skate Canada. I felt like we leveled up with the performance, and I'm super happy about that, but I know we have more to do for tomorrow,” she continued.
The Skaters picked music that really resonated with them.
“We need to enjoy what we're doing in order to continue to skate. By choosing music that we really love and we really believe in, makes performing and doing our job just that much easier,” Gilles said.
Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson put out another energetic dance to “Le Freak” and “Superstition”, looking stylish and precise. They picked up a level four for the twizzles and rotational lift, but their pattern dance type step sequence garnered a level one. The Skate America Champions netted 82.03 points.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (GBR) in the Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Helsinki, Finland © ISU
“The audience was so warm,” Gibson said. “I could hear a lot of clapping and they were super energetic and very receiving of us too, so that was really cool. We're both super happy with the skate and just happy to be skating today.”
After an accident in practice on Friday, the two-time ISU European silver medalists were not certain whether they would be able to compete at all. Gibson had hit his partner accidentally and Fear fell and hurt her leg.
“We mistimed our revolutions in the twizzle, and then intercepted one another, and then that took me off my feet,” Fear explained. “The pain was from the impact of the kick, but I was super lucky that it wasn't a blade.
It just meant that I couldn't really bear weight until last night, but we took really good care of it. I'm so happy to be in skates and skating today. I'm just so grateful to be here and really excited for tomorrow,” she added.
Turkkila/Versluis rocked the crowd with their upbeat Rock’n’Roll performance to “I Got You” and “Land of 1000 Dances”. The elements merited level two, three and four and the 2023 ISU European bronze medalists achieved a new personal best score of 78.31 points.
Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis (FIN) in the Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Helsinki, Finland © ISU
“We are very happy and pleased about our skate today,” Versluis said. “We feel that the performance is growing from the start of the season.
“To skate in front of the home crowd is always very special for us. We can feel the love and the support and it really helps us in the performance.”
Nathalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler (CZE) came fourth with their dance to songs by Donna Summer and a season’s best score of 75.50 points. Oona Brown/Gage Brown (USA) slightly surpassed their season’s best with 73.35 points and are sitting in fifth followed by teammates Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolsenik in sixth (72.72 points).
For full entries, schedules & results, see the ISU Grand Prix Event Page & ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy Event Page & Official Finlandia Trophy Website.
Check out the ISU Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:
Men Women Pair Skating Ice Dance
What & When
The schedule of the Finlandia Trophy is as follows
Friday, Nov 15: Men’s, Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Saturday, Nov 16: Men’s & Women’s Free Skating, Rhythm Dance
Sunday, Nov 17: Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance
Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:
- 18 - 20 Oct 2024 Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
- 25 - 27 Oct 2024 Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
- 01 - 03 Nov 2024 Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
- 08 - 10 Nov 2024 NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
- 15- 17 Nov 2024 Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)
- 22 - 24 Nov 2024 Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:
- 05 - 08 Dec 2024 Grenoble (FRA)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
