This week's theme: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Ice Dance!
Elizabeth Punsalan and Jared Swallow are a husband and wife ice dance team who competed from 1990 until 1998. They are five-time-U.S. ice dance champions, and two-time Olympians.
Under the tutelage of Russian coach Igor Shilband and his then-coaching partner Elizabeth Coates of Great Britian, Punsalan and Swalllow improved exponentially in terms of musicality, line, flow, and connection with each other and audiences, in the later years of their competitive career.
Note: Their coach Igor Shilband, along with new coaching partner, Marina Zoueva, has gone on to coach some of the most successful U.S. ice dance teams in history: 2006 Olympic silver medalists, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, 2010 Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White. They also coach 2010 Olympic and World Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
Liz and Jared debuted this fantastic tango medley at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan. The routine they had skated for the first part of the season, an Elvis Presley medley, was not as well-received as they would have liked, so they scrapped it after their fifth national title in January in time for the Olympics in February. If I remember correctly, the TV commentators said that Liz and Jared worked on this routine from late at night into the early-morning hours, when the rink was empty, for the month leading up to the games. I think the finished product is their best program ever. It was severely underrated at the Olympics, where they finished 7th, and at the World Championships, where they finished 6th. In general, I feel that Liz and Jared were undermarked in competitions for most of their careers.
Nevertheless, this team was one of the ice dance teams in the last two decades that helped put U.S. ice dancing on the map. They are excellent role models for other up-and-coming ice dancers, and are good all-around people and performers. They went on to tour with the new defunct Champions On Ice for several years.
I hope you love this performance. It's so full of intricate, inventive choreography, authentic tango character, speed, flow, and passion. Enjoy!
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