PSA coach and choreographer of the year Marina Zoueva
by LIZ LEAMY Marina Zoueva, the renowned coach who guided Meryl Da-
vis and Charlie White to a historic Olympic gold medal in Sochi, Russia, was named both coach and choreographer of the year at the 2014 Professional Skaters Association Conference and Trade Show. Zoueva, the esteemed artist and technician who helped turn
U.S. ice dancing into a dominant force worldwide, lit up the packed ballroom at the Rancho Las Palmas Omni Hotel Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, Calif., with a megawatt smile when she was presented with the two prized U.S. Figure Skating and PSA honors at the festive PSA EDI Awards dinner.
Developmental coaches of the year Jenni Meno and Todd Sand
“I’m very proud and excited and wish that all coaches in the world would feel this way,” said Zoueva, who was present- ed the awards by Mitch Moyer, U.S. Figure Skating senior director of Athlete High Performance. “Tank you to every- one, especially the skaters and again and again, to Meryl and Charlie.” Davis and White, in turn, were excited to learn their
coach and choreographer had been selected for these two dis- tinguished industry awards. “We’re so excited that Marina has been recognized for
her incredible talents as both coach and choreographer,” Davis said. “For years, Charlie and I have been fortunate enough to learn from Marina’s ability to create and bring out the best in her students; she has a very special talent.” In little more than a decade, Zoueva and her former
coaching partner, Igor Shpilband (with whom she joined forces in 2001 but parted from in 2012), helped establish De- troit as the world’s ice dance capital based upon the consistent manner in which they produced so many top American and international teams during their time together. Te two coached Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto to
Olympic silver in 2006, Davis and White to Olympic silver in 2010 and Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to Olympic gold in 2010, among other feats. In 2011, Zoueva and Shpilband made history when their
three teams — Davis and White, Virtue and Moir, and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. — finished first, second and third, respectively, at the World Championships, a feat never achieved by any other coach up to that point. Zoueva, who is based at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in
34 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014
PHOTO BY AMANDA TAYLOR
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84