Welcome to IDC’s New Staff Sequence! For this collection, we interview athletes who will enter the upcoming 2024-25 season in a brand new partnership, or debuted final season. In our fourth interview, we meet Sophia Feige & Wiles Middlekauff, novice ice dancers from the U.S. They debuted on the 2024 Dallas Basic the place they completed third. Images by Melanie Heaney.
Inform us about your particular person skating journeys, together with any early particular recollections.
Sophia Feige (SF): I began skating once I was round 5 or 6 years outdated in Plymouth, England, with Clive Shorten. After a 12 months or so, my household moved again to the U.S. and I didn’t proceed skating. In December of 2021, I went to a public session with my mother and a few household mates, and located myself wanting to return and skate extra, which led to my mother ultimately signing me up for learn-to-skate courses in January of 2022. My mother was a singles skater, and helped me considerably with discovering coaches and coaching nicely. In November 2022, I made a decision to attempt ice dance, and competed in solo dance within the following season whereas coaching with Steven Bellanger and Svetlana Serkeli in Palm Seaside, Florida.
Wiles Middlekauff (WM): My older brother and sister each skated, so I spent hours at rinks earlier than I might even stroll. One time they put me in a bucket and pushed me across the rink so I may very well be on the ice with them. I began classes at age three as a result of I wished to do what they had been doing. Over time, although, my motivation modified. I wish to carry out, and I loved having the ability to make audiences smile at ice reveals. Once I was six, my household moved from Wisconsin to Canton, Michigan so my brother might practice with Marina Zoueva. I began ice dance classes with Marina and actually loved it. When Marina moved to Florida, I educated for some time at Detroit Skating Membership earlier than transferring to Novi to work with Igor Shpilband. I love to do issues nicely, and I discovered that with ice dance I can try for excellence and be a performer on the similar time. My brother and sister now not skate, however I’m extra severe about it than ever. I’m glad they bought me began on one thing that has turn out to be such an vital a part of my life.
What drew you to ice dance?
SF: I used to be drawn to ice dance as a result of I beloved having the ability to dance to the music on the ice whereas skating with a associate. Since I began skating I’ve all the time loved engaged on my skating abilities. Studying and enhancing varied turns, edges, and parts provides me a way of accomplishment which motivates me to maintain working more durable for extra.
WM: My brother started competing in ice dance once I was little, so I had loads of publicity to the game. For a very long time I used to be doing each freestyle and dance. Though I loved freestyle, I needed to focus most of my time on jumps and never as a lot time on performing. With ice dance, each second on the ice is a efficiency and I like that. I find it irresistible once I’m having enjoyable and the folks watching me are having enjoyable too
SF: After the 2023 solo dance season ended, I had deliberate to not proceed solo dance for the following season as I wished to discover a associate. Right now I used to be additionally on the lookout for a brand new place to coach with increased stage ice dancers to push me to enhance and with a extra organized coaching atmosphere. When my mother and I contacted the coaches in Novi, MI, in the midst of March to go to, I used to be supplied to do a tryout with Wiles. The tryout went nicely and after every week I used to be supplied to remain for an prolonged tryout. We formally started our partnership firstly of April.
WM: Sophia was on the lookout for a brand new coaching middle and determined to take a look at Novi. Since I used to be on the lookout for a associate, we scheduled a tryout for when she was there. It may be intimidating for somebody to come back into a brand new atmosphere and work with new coaches. I used to be impressed with how Sophia took on this problem and adjusted shortly. We saved on skating collectively after the tryout, after which we met with the coaches and I mentioned I wished Sophia to be my associate. Everybody agreed, so we’ve ended up skating collectively from the primary tryout all the best way to immediately.
What’s it that you just already like most about dancing together with your new associate?
SF: Wiles works exhausting whereas sustaining a optimistic outlook. We talk nicely whereas coaching, and if I don’t perceive one thing he’ll take the time to clarify it and assist me.
WM: Sophia has the nice mixture of a optimistic angle and a robust work ethic. That makes it attainable for us to have enjoyable collectively whereas additionally working exhausting and quickly progressing. Sophia is supportive and inspiring, and I really feel like I could be myself along with her. She has an ideal inventive sense, so we’re in a position to develop collectively each as performers and athletes.
What experiences do every of you deliver to the partnership?
SF: I’ve executed a number of years of ballet once I was youthful, and I’m a tough employee who all the time strives for the most effective.
WM: I deliver a lighthearted angle, a robust work ethic, and a number of years of competitors expertise.
What has been the largest adjustment for every of you to this point within the partnership?
SF: I didn’t have many difficulties adjusting to the partnership. I’m new to partnered dance so there have been and nonetheless are many new parts and abilities to study, which was a problem however we work exhausting collectively to study.
WM: I’m discovering it simple to work with Sophia, so not a lot adjustment has been needed for me. It feels very pure. That’s most likely one motive why we had been in a position to go straight from a tryout to an prolonged tryout to a partnership. We’ve simply had a pleasant compatibility that has enabled us to make progress shortly.
Inform us about your coaching website.
We practice in Novi, Michigan, at Novi Ice Area. Igor Shpilband has arrange a full ice dance program right here with a lot of on-ice and off-ice classes. A number of ice dance groups practice there with us and it’s a very supportive atmosphere. It is rather inspiring to us to be on the ice day-after-day with so many nice groups.
Who’re your coaches? Did both or each should relocate? If that’s the case, inform us concerning the transfer(s).
We practice with an ideal workforce of coaches together with Igor Shpilband, Natalia Deller, Pasquale Camerlengo, and Adrienne Lenda on-ice, and Renee Perkovski (dance) and Oleg Ouchakov (lifts) off-ice. Sophia relocated from Boca Raton, Florida, to Novi, Michigan.
Who’s choreographing your applications?
Igor Shpilband did many of the choreography in addition to reducing the music for us. It is a nice association since he can tweak the choreography and the music on the similar time every time there’s something we wish to change. Additionally since Igor choreographed this system, he is ready to coach us day-after-day with the large image of the efficiency all the time in thoughts.
If you happen to might have a lesson with any ice dancer previous/current, who wouldn’t it be? Why?
SF: I’d take a lesson with Tessa Advantage, as a result of she is a really gifted and achieved skater, who may be very inspiring. I’d additionally take a lesson with Irina Khavronina. I really like the best way she strikes with such fluidity and management, mixed along with her artistry and skating abilities, making her a really good skater to look at.
WM: To be trustworthy, I already really feel like I skate with the most effective coaches I do know of. Igor has had such a major impression on this sport and I really feel privileged to be a part of his legacy.
What’s every of you trying ahead to most this skating season? What can be your largest problem(s)?
SF: I’m trying ahead to persevering with working and enhancing varied features of our skating, alongside our upcoming competitions which embody the ice dance remaining and hopefully Nationals.
WM: I stay up for seeing simply how far we will go on this first 12 months. One problem can be taking the items and abilities we’ve individually and bringing them collectively right into a unified complete.
Please share something you want to our readers to find out about you as a workforce?
WM: There are many tales about how troublesome the associate search course of could be. My expertise with Sophia is refreshing as a result of it reveals that two folks with comparable objectives and attitudes can discover one another and develop naturally right into a partnership. I feel our compatibility and customary objectives level to a brilliant future for our workforce.
