After an injury and some time out from competing, ice dancers Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter are eager to show what they can do at their next Grand Prix event, perhaps now more than ever.
"We want to show that we've used this time to re-evaluate our programs and our skating, and we've made a lot of progress and accomplished a lot," said McNamara. "We're looking forward to showing that in Japan, that we're here to be noticed and be among the top."
The 2019 U.S. pewter medalists in ice dance were proud of their accomplishments last season, their second at the senior level. They won their first event of the 2018-19 season, the Lake Placid Ice Dance International, and followed that by placing silver in both of their Challenger Series events. Perhaps one of their greatest accomplishments, besides their U.S. Championships performance, was winning their first Grand Prix medal, a bronze, at the 2018 Helsinki Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
"We were really happy with it, it was really gratifying that the work we put in paid off; it was our second year in senior and we made a lot of big pushes," said McNamara.
"We really wanted to be taken seriously as a competitive senior team," added Carpenter. "We were able to show how competitive we were throughout last season and that was something we we're really proud of."
They were especially happy with their performance at the U.S. Championships.
"I think the highlight of last season was our U.S. Championships free dance," said McNamara. "I thought it was a great culmination to the season and it was a good way of showing off everything we had worked on the entire season, every step we took paid off in the end."
So far this season, they have earned bronze at both the Lake Placid Ice Dance International and the 2019 Nepela Memorial. Unfortunately, Carpenter injured his wrist, and the team had to withdraw from their first Grand Prix of the season, the 2019 Internationaux de France, as well as the 2019 Finlandia Trophy. Ever the optimists, the team saw an opportunity in the disappointment.
"It gave us an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and make some tweaks and changes to our program that we wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to do," said Carpenter. "Now that I am back to 100 percent, we are excited to get back out there, we are really re-energized."
They hope to highlight their improvements through their programs this season. They feel their rhythm dance to Liza Minelli's "It Was a Good Time" and "Maybe this Time", choreographed by
Hamilton cast member Karla Garcia, will create a unique performance.
"(The combination of songs) really energized Liza's music and gives off a lot of energy, passion, and emotion, which is really fun to portray on the ice," said McNamara. "And we think it'll be nice for the audience to see a sort of different take on the Broadway (rhythm dance) theme."
"No one really has the combination of music we have, even though they are from different shows, the pieces match together really well; it makes a really nice story," added Carpenter.
Their free dance, set to "Rescue" by Lauren Daigle and "No Boundaries" by Adam Lambert, brings out their powerful yet lyrical qualities, with some choreography being done by
So You Think You Can Dance modern dancer Caitlin Kinney.
"(The program) has the theme of powering through, getting each other through difficult times and uniting, the ability to keep going no matter what," said McNamara. "They really complement each other as they're both really emotional but in different ways."
They are mindful that their goals have shifted a bit since their injury, so they are focused on putting out their best performance at the upcoming NHK event.
"Our goal now is to do the best we can; at the beginning of the season we were planning to medal at both of our Grand Prix Events and make it to the Grand Prix Final, but since that's off the table given our situation, we really don't know how things are going to go, so it's difficult to objectively plan a specific goal," Carpenter explained. "We really want to do our best and blow everyone away with our performance, I think if we're able to do that, whatever outcome happens, that will be something we can be proud of,"
No matter what their situation, the team has always let their passion for the sport drive them, and they are hoping that this shines through.
"We're really proud of starting the work we've done and it feels really great. And we have a lot of fire and excitement behind us, so we just want to show that off," said McNamara.
