The Future of Figure Skating – Details, episodes & analysis

Khoudia Touré is a street dancer, choreographer, and performer from Senegal. In 2018, Khoudia was selected for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and worked with renowned Canadian choreographer Crystal Pité. Since 2020, she has been a frequent collaborator with Stéphane Lambiel’s Skating School in Champéry, Switzerland. She teaches hip-hop dance and improvisation techniques to the students during the summer camps and has collaborated with Stéphane, Guillaume Cizeron, and Satoko Miyahara on innovative show programs. I was lucky enough to get to speak with Khoudia during the summer camp in Champery, and I hope that you enjoy this conversation and some clips of her work with her students. 

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rKs22nDngaw

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tnj6ZErCx4anE4Uah5SO6Gz9jcGjp4AVWp69OxWGTBE/edit?tab=t.0

You can follow Khoudia's work through https://www.khoudiacreates.com/ and her instagram @ khoudia.roodia

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast 

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe to The Future of Figure Skating on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!

https://olympics.com/en/news/through-dance-khoudia-toure-advances-social-causes-senegal

Stéphane Lambiel - This Bitter Earth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2fWwVHtEYU&pp=ygUic3RlcGhhbmUgbGFtYmllbCB0aGlzIGJpdHRlciBlYXJ0aA%3D%3D Stéphane Lambiel & Guillaume Cizeron  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Xq1AjHg4Y Satoko Miyahara - Minor Blue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-VcP5sbkhY Khoudia Touré, Choreographer of “Óró”  https://vimeo.com/922090769/f7db132ed5

My guest today is ice dancer and choreographer Jean-Luc Baker. With his partner Kaitlin Hawayak, Jean-Luc is the 2018 Four Continents Champion, a 4-time US Bronze Medalist, and a 2022 Olympian. Since stepping away from competition a few seasons ago, Jean-Luc has embraced his role as a coach and choreographer. He continues to teach seminars through his organization Your True Step, which he runs with friends Nathan Chen and Sam Chouinard, and he has even tried out commentating during the practice streams at US Nationals and Worlds. Jean-Luc works with teams at the Ice Academy of Montreal and the Michigan Ice Dance Academy, and has also branched out into choreographing for pairs and singles skaters. As you’ll hear, Jean-Luc is a believer in the power of authenticity, and he isn’t scared to have an opinion - which I love!

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vwYtH4oPbBzQw-QYwuQHxW-EeXsdzXotEUcHLZak5ZY/edit?tab=t.0

YouTube: https://youtu.be/WjV4Hn7415c

You can learn more about Your True Step on Instagram at @ yourtruestep and follow Jean-Luc at @jeanlucbaker

Kaitlin Hawayak and Jean-Luc Baker, 2024 Rhythm Dance, filmed by On Ice Perspectives: https://youtu.be/Wru_Mz8UbCM?si=WdDHGtGCyBdmA_pV

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud 24/25 Short Program, choreo by Jean-Luc Baker and Olivia Smart: https://youtu.be/tmNH4uVoM90?si=DVeM6kfqYZGrHHq2

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons 24/25 Free Dance, choreo by Jean-Luc Baker: https://youtu.be/h-yquwGqLG0?si=Qcaon2qkGTuTvMGF

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or Instagram @futurefspodcast If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co Remember to subscribe to The Future of Figure Skating on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Evan Bates is an American ice dancer, and with his partner Madison Chock, is the three-time and reigning World Champion in ice dance. He is also a four-time Olympian and a gold medalist in the team event from Beijing. In 2022, Evan was elected by his peers to be the first ice dance representative to the ISU Athletes Commission. I spoke to Evan last winter about his experience as a representative so far and his goals for the Athletes Commission in the future. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YTw_u9n8IciqUsfwfXRHlSCAv05w_loDN09YIhMqejE/edit?tab=t.0

YouTube: https://youtu.be/W_0pfpjkHh0

You can follow Evan at evan_bates on Instagram

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram @ futurefspodcast and Bluesky @futureoffs

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe to The Future of Figure Skating on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Tarah Kayne is a retired competitive pair skater and a coach and choreographer. With her former partner Danny O’Shea, Tarah is the 2018 Four Continents champion, and 2016 US national champion. In our conversation, Tarah reflected on the challenges she had to overcome in her career, including financial barriers and several severe injuries. She also shared the importance of mental health and having a support network outside of skating. Tarah is now bringing these lessons to her role as a coach!

Youtube: https://youtu.be/0hFapwdGAPU

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12MCq8AJiNxgUbMpAC6bX2ZZ3bq-yX1Yv1xMHzV8Bg9g/edit?usp=sharing

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com, Instagram at @futurefspodcast, or at futureoffs.bsky.com

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Peter Grütter competed representing Switzerland throughout the 1950s and 60s, including at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck. He's now been a coach for more than 60 years and is acknowledged as an expert when it comes to steps and turns and control of the blade. His most famous student is Stéphane Lambiel, who he coached to two world championship titles and the Olympic silver medal in 2006. After the end of compulsory figures, Peter took what he had learned from his coach, the legendary Jack Gershwiler, and created a series of warm-up steps and turns that could be used for his students to maintain their mastery of the blade. These steps and turns are now available as an e-learning course through the ISU's eRink program. Peter still teaches, including coming every Wednesday to the Skating School in Champery to work with young skaters. We were very lucky to be able to watch his master class during the 2024 summer camp in Champery and to get to sit down with this great coach to learn about his ideas for the future of the sport.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EGiyQDfaDiY?feature=shared Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1avXr_BnHlap96sVQrMz0_Mh8Cxq5q4kqdR4QMgkSE3U/edit?tab=t.0

Steps & Turns eRink course: https://elearning.isu.org/course/view.php?id=440

More about Jack Gerschwiler https://www.skateguardblog.com/2020/07/getting-to-know-gersch-jacques.html “The Technique of Skating” 1977 book by Otto Hugin and Jack Gerschwiler

2003 Interview w/ Peter : https://web.archive.org/web/20070928143716/http://www.stephanelambiel.ch/int%26art/interviews/e-gr%C3%BCtter201203.html 2009 Interview: http://www.absoluteskating.com/index.php?cat=interviews&id=2009grutter 2013 Interview: http://www.absoluteskating.com/index.php?cat=interviews&id=2013gruetter

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram at futurefspodcast and Bluesky at futureoffs. If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with a tip jar at futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co. Remember to subscribe to the Future of Figure Skating on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Episode 42 features an interview with 3-time European medalist Matteo Rizzo. We recorded in late July in Madesimo, Italy, where Matteo trains at altitude for part of each summer. Matteo is one of the most seasoned and consistent competitors in the men’s discipline, with two Olympics and six world championships under his belt. He has won four bronze medals on the Grand Prix circuit and has finished first or second at the Italian national championships every year from 2014 to 2023. After winning bronze at Europeans in 2024, Matteo had to miss the end of the season to get surgery on his hip. In this interview, Matteo shared his recovery process, approach to training, and the importance of emotional connection with an audience.

Thank you to Matteo and his team for making this interview possible, and to Ivan Danilyuk for editing and video production.

You can see clips from Matteo’s return to performance at Ghiaccio Spettaccolo on On-Ice Perspectives https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vuxvI26hHk

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

In 2010, Dr. Mary Louise Adams wrote one of the best books about figure skating that I’ve encountered, called "Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity and the Limits of Sport". I highly recommend the whole thing, and was grateful for the opportunity to discuss one of my favorite topics - queerness in skating! - with her!

Mary Louise Adams is a Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies and the Department of Sociology at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, where she teaches courses on sport and culture, the sociology of fitness and the body, and contemporary issues in sexuality. Dr. Mary Louise Adams' research investigates everyday movement and recreation cultures as sites where relations of domination are both produced and resisted. Drawing on literatures and theories from feminist studies, cultural studies, and sport studies, and using a range of qualitative, interpretive, and historical methods, she explores embodiment, the meanings of movement, and the relationship between active bodies and their historical and cultural contexts. Her current projects are concerned with: the political, environmental and cultural history of a municipal park; expressions of feminist and utopian ideals in recreational sports; and sexual harassment in sport coaching.

Artistic Impressions on Google Books https://books.google.com/books/about/Artistic_Impressions.html?id=qvWcmTbdgCwC

More about Mary Louise’s research https://skhs.queensu.ca/people/faculty/mary-louise-adams-phd/

Research on Adult Hockey and Figure Skating: https://hockeyinsociety.com/2021/06/14/growing-the-game-report-on-adult-hockey-and-figure-skating-programs-in-canada/

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Philipp Tischendorf is a former competitive figure skater for Germany, a member of the Contemporary Skating Alliance, and an osteopath and physical therapist. He has turned his experience with injury, pain, and rehabilitation during his athletic career into a practice supporting both skaters and the general public. This episode challenges our misconceptions about injury and invites us to ask, how can we approach injury and pain with curiosity and even appreciation?

Transcript

You can follow Phil on Instagram @phil_care.

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast 

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Resources: Philipp Tischendorf - European Championships Short Program 2007

Social Determinants of Health and Pain Management

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (CIS)

The Cortical Homunculus

Phantom Limb Pain

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

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Artificial intelligence is impacting many industries, and sports is no exception. How can AI help figure skating judging be more accurate? What other benefits could it have for skaters, coaches and viewers? My guest today is Craig Buntin, a Canadian Olympic pairs skater and the founder of Sportlogiq. Sportlogiq is a company at the cutting edge of this technology and has been working with the ISU to explore the feasibility of AI in figure skating. While Craig wasn’t able to discuss the details of his work with the ISU, I’m very glad to have him help us understand the intersection of technology and skating.

According to the May 2023 ISU financial report, the objectives under consideration were: “helping Figure Skating Officials to apply the rules correctly and giving them the technical support to evaluate the performed elements in the fairest and most impartial way possible, offering Skaters and Coaches measurement and analysis tools to evaluate and improve their performance, as well as keep track of the work done and goals achieved, and expanding the multi-media audience, allowing the sport to be enjoyed on different platforms and connecting the key players and their teams with the public and fans by presenting instantaneous statistics/graphics.” The initial proof-of-concept phase concluded these objectives were achievable. However, the conclusions also revealed that “ such projects would require a substantial budget, not only for implementation for ISU Figure Skating Events but also use by the ISU Members. The ISU Council is therefore currently exploring whether more cost-effective solutions could be available.” Even if the implementation of AI isn’t imminent, it’s worth understanding what it is, and how it could impact the sport in the future.

Transcript

You can learn more at sportlogiq.com and can follow Craig on Twitter @craigbuntin.

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Today I’m joined by figure skater and author Andrew J Sass. Andrew’s first middle-grade novel, “Ana on the Edge” features a 12-year-old non-binary figure skater coming to terms with her identity and what it means for her ambitions in the sport. It’s a sweet and compelling story that I think figure skating fans of any age will enjoy. Andrew is himself a non-binary adult skater and a judge, as well as the author of three novels for middle-school-age readers. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his husband and “two cats who act like dogs”. 

Episode Transcript and Links

You can follow Andrew @matokah on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also find more information about his books at https://sassinsf.com  

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at fsfuturepodcast@gmail.com or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast 

Remember to subscribe to The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.