November 2006

That's entertainment!

"Oh, the possibilities!"

That exclamation by famed children's book author Dr. Seuss fits the United States' most talented ice dancers ever to a "T."

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto emerged from last season battered and bruised. They had an Olympic silver, the first U.S. ice dancing medal since Colleen O'Connor and Jim Millns won bronze when the discipline was first admitted into the lineup for the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

But their bronze from the subsequent World Championships in Calgary, Canada, in March was a disappointment to their fans who had hoped they would improve on their silver from the previous season.

Now, standing on the starting line of the marathon to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the three-time U.S. champions are seeking to reinvent themselves, a daunting task.

Read all about Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto in the November issue of SKATING.

Also featured in this issue ...

Victory row
by Michelle Wojdyla

Twenty eight of the world's best skaters came to Cincinnati for the U.S. Figure Skating Campbell's Cup presented at U.S. Bank Arena on Oct. 15. On the line were national pride and a share of the $240,000 in prize money, as the athletes competed for their country using the combined scores of their teammates to determine the victors.


Body English
by Mickey Brown

Paula Wagener has been involved in figure skating as a choreographer for more than 25 years, but she is best known for her "Artistry in Motion" program, which incorporates dance movement into the sport.