Merxxxxx
yl Davis and Charlie White cel-
ebrate winning their record-tying fifth U.S. title, with coaches Oleg Epstein and Marina Zoueva.
Sometimes, Marina Zoueva’s inspiration comes in seconds. Other times, ideas gestate for years. Once, while strolling along a fashionable shopping district in Madrid, she spied a display of new Hermès scarves, including an exot- ic effusion of reds, golds and blues. Meryl Davis and Charlie White’s famous “Bollywood” original dance was born.
“I thought, my God, that’s
Meryl,” Zoueva said. “I immediate- ly saw her in an Indian costume.” Ten there is Italian
singer
Filippa Giordano’s rendition of Saint-Saens’ Samson and Delilah. Zoueva waited seven years for the right time to use the music and the result put the young team on the elite international map the season before the 2010 Olympics. “Tat was the first year we felt mature as skaters, able to connect
28 MAY 2013
Guiding light WHERE ZOUEVA’S INSTINCTS GO,
SKATERS FOLLOW by LYNN RUTHERFORD
with the audience as adults,” Da- vis said. “It was a special feeling we never realized before. We’ve been chasing it ever since.”
Chasing it, and most often
finding it. Over the past four sea- sons, Zoueva has helped to create unforgettable programs for the five- time U.S. champions: Phantom of the Opera, the free dance that won them the 2010 Olympic silver med- al; the sensual tango to Il Postino, their winning program at the 2011 World Figure Skating Champion- ships; and the light and charming Die Fledermaus in 2012. Tis season
Zoueva created their captivating Notre Dame de Paris free dance that gained them a second World title in March.
“Marina always talks about
how lucky we are to embody these characters on ice, that not everyone gets to experience that,” Davis said. “We really take it upon our-
selves every year to come out and try to be fresh,” White said. “To combine the athletic side with the performance is what makes ice dance so cool and special to be part of, both for us and the audiences enjoying our programs.”
GOOD TIMING When creating a memorable
program, timing, explained Zoueva, is everything. “All of my choreography, I do especially for one skater or team,” she said. “I don’t say, ‘Oh, I like this music, let’s do a program.’ Some- times I keep the idea for years and years, until I see the right skaters for it. I am always listening to music, at home or even at concerts, to renew my knowledge, but that’s not when I select music. I select music while thinking and then I choose the best versions — those with the best feel- ing, the best tempo.” Zoueva’s ability is grounded not only in natural intuition, but experience and education. She grew up skating at Moscow’s Red Army club, home of most of the great Soviet ice dancers of the 1970s and 1980s. In 1977, she and partner Andrei Vitman placed fifth in the
MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES
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