#cain/leduc

[kaleidodreams]

Updated 100 Memorable Skating Programs

Back in 2018, I created the original version of this list. (You can find the master post here.) Since 2024 marks my 30th year as an official fan of figure skating and there have been some more great programs created since the last time, I thought it was about time to update the list in honor of World Ice Skating Day. Same rules apply as last time:

Only senior competitive programs starting from the 1993-1994 season are eligible, since that's the first season I really started watching figure skating.

Each skater may only be listed once, unless a partner/discipline switch is involved.

Choice of music may also not be repeated. (Yes, there are two James Bond programs on the list, but Yuna and Wakaba use different music for the most part, so I'm letting it slide.)

I debated long and hard about whether or not I should still include programs from skaters who have proven themselves to be not so great people. I'm someone who has little difficulty separating the art from the artist, so in the end, I decided to keep them listed (although most of them got knocked down a few pegs). This list is more about the choreography than the skater anyway, although there are certainly some problematic choreographers out there, too. (Looking at you especially, Morozov!) So, just because a skater is listed doesn't mean that I'm a fan of them or that I condone their actions! I just think certain programs are still great regardless of the skaters' terrible behavior off the ice.

Choreographers are noted if known. If you know who choreographed the programs without a choreographer named, please let me know!

I've also created a handy playlist on YouTube if you don't want to click on all these links.

Ashley Wagner - Moulin Rouge (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2016 Worlds

Jason Brown - Melancholy (Rohene Ward) 2023 Nationals

Patrick Chan - Phantom of the Opera (Lori Nichol) 2011 Canadian Nationals

Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje -Je suis malade (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Meryl Davis/Charlie White - Kajra Re/Silsila Ye Chahat Ka/Dola Re Dola (Marina Zueva, Igor Shpilband, and Anuja Rajendra) 2010 Olympics

Mao Asada - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Tatiana Tarasova) 2014 Olympics

Sui/Han - Rain, In Your Black Eyes (Lori Nichol) 2019 Worlds

Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat - Romeo & Juliet 1998 Olympics

Cain/LeDuc - W.E. (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2022 US Nationals

Daisuke Takahashi - Blues for Klook (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Kurt Browning - Casablanca (Sandra Bezic) 1994 Olympics

Michelle Kwan - Salome (Lori Nichol) 1996 Worlds

Alexei Yagudin - Winter (Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morosov) 2002 Olympics

Jamie Sale/David Pelletier - Love Story (Lori Nichol) 2002 Olympics

Jeremy Abbott - Exogenesis (Jeremy Abbott and Yuka Sato) Nationals 2012

Oksana Grishuk/Evgeni Platov - The Feeling Begins 1997 Worlds

Yuzuru Hanyu - Seimei (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Chock/Bates - Egyptian Snake Dance (Marie-France Dubreuil, Ginette Cournoyer, and Sam Chouinard) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Javier Fernandez - Guys and Dolls (David Wilson) 2016 Worlds

Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres - Sound of Silence (John Kerr and Silvia Fontana) 2017 Euros

Evgenia Medvedeva - Anna Karenina (Daniil Gleichengauz) 2018 Olympics

Nathan Chen - Philip Glass medley (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2021 Worlds

Gabriella Papadakis/Guilliame Cizeron - Elegie (Saxon Fraser and Marie-France Dubreuil) 2022 Olympics

Aljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - La terre vue du ciel (Christopher Dean) 2018 Olympics

Kevin Aymoz - Bolero (Brice Mousset and Kevin Aymoz) 2023 Skate America

Julia Lipnitskaya - Schindler’s List (Ilia Averbukh) 2014 Olympics

Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikharulidze - Lady Caliph 2002 Olympics

Yu-na Kim - James Bond medley (David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Shoma Uno - Buenos Aires Hora Cero (Mihoko Higuchi) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Michal Brezina - The Way You Look Tonight (Jeffrey Buttle) 2016 Skate Canada

Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz - Riverdance 1998 Olympics

Adam Rippon - O/Fly On (Benji Schwimmer) 2016 Trophee de France

Jeffrey Buttle - Bells of Moscow (David Wilson) 2005 Worlds

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier - Vincent (Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs) 2019 Canadian Nationals

Rudy Galindo - Swan Lake (Sharlene Franke) 1996 US Nationals

Sasha Cohen - Malaguena (Tatiana Tarasova) 2004 Worlds

Aljona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy - Pina (Ingo Steur) 2011 Grand Prix Final

Samantha Cesario - Carmen (Inese Budevica) 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard

Tatsuki Machida - East of Eden (Phillip Mills) 2014 Worlds

Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao - Turandot (Lea Ann Miller, Renee Roca, and Gorsha Sur) 2003 Worlds

Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker - Liebestraume (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2018 Nationals

Olga Mikutina - My Nocturnal Serenade (Rostislav Sinicyn) 2023 Europeans

Lu Chen - The Last Emperor (Toller Cranston) 1995 Worlds

Giada Russo - Red Violin (Edoardo de Bernardis) 2016 Europeans

Junhwan Cha - Fate of the Clockmaker/Cloak and Dagger (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2022 Olympics

Han Yan - La La Land (Yuka Sato and Kurt Browning) 2019 Chinese Interclub League

Wakaba Higuchi - Skyfall (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2018 Worlds

Kazuki Tomono - Die Fledermaus (Misha Ge) 2022 Japanese Nationals

Yuma Kagiyama - Believer (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2024 Worlds

Karen Chen - On Golden Pond (Karen Chen) 2017 Nationals

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani - Coppelia (Marina Zueva and Cheryl Yeager) 2016 Nationals

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirov - Manfred Symphony (Peter Tchernyshev) 2014 Skate America

Philippe Candeloro - The Three Musketeers (Natacha Dabadie) 1998 Olympics

Alexander Abt - Songs from the Victorious City 1998 Nations Cup

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir - Prince medley 2017 Worlds

Ekaterina Gordeeva/Sergei Grinkov - Moonlight Sonata (Marina Zueva) 1994 Olympics

Satoko Miyahara - Madama Butterfly (Tom Dickson) 2017 Japanese Nationals

Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha - The White Crow (Romain Haguenauer and Ginette Cournoyer) 2023 Four Continents

Anjelika Krylova/Oleg Ovsiannikov - Masquerade Waltz 1997 Worlds

Alena Kostornaia - The Departure, November (Daniil Gleikhengauz) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Nelli Zhiganshina/Alexander Gazsi - Two from the Grave (Ilia Averbukh) 2013 Worlds

Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov - The Man and The Shadow (Nikolai Morozov) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Stephanie Rosenthal - Rockit (Stewart and Christi Sturgeon) 2006 Nationals

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - Across the Sky, Caught Out In The Rain (Marie-France Dubreuil) 2018 Nationals

Mikhail Kolyada - The Nutcracker (Ilia Averbukh) 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia

Sinead Kerr/John Kerr - The Landing/Turn Around/Gravity of Love (Evgeni Platov) 2008 Worlds

Kaetlyn Osmond - Sous le ciel de Paris, Milord (Lance Vipond) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Carolina Kostner - Ave Maria (Lori Nichol) 2014 Olympics

Karina Manta/Joe Johnson - Sweet Dreams (Christopher Dean) 2019 Nationals

Gracie Gold - Firebird (Lori Nichol) 2016 Nationals

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri - Atonement/Song For A Little Sparrow (Barbara Fusar-Poli and Corrado Giordani) 2022 Europeans

Keegan Messing - Singing in the Rain (Lance Vipond) 2018 Worlds

Elizabeth Punsalan/Jerod Swallow - Astor Piazolla medley (Igor Shpilband) 1998 Olympics

Rika Kihira - A Beautiful Storm (Tom Dickson) 2018 NHK Trophy

Mariah Bell - Chicago (Rohene Ward) 2016 Skate America

Brian Joubert - Rise (Evgeni Platov) 2009 Europeans

Stephane Lambiel - Poeta (Antonio Najarro) 2007 Worlds

Kaori Sakamoto - The Matrix (Benoit Richaud) 2020 NHK Trophy

Akiko Suzuki - O (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 NHK Trophy

Qing Pang/Jian Tong - The Impossible Dream (Shae-Lynn Bourne and David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Takahito Kozuka - Io ci saro (Lori Nichol) 2014 Japanese National

Smart/Diaz - Mask of Zorro 2022 Europeans

Matt Savoie - Ennio Morricone medley (Tom Dickson) 2006 Nationals

Deniss Vasiljevs - Puttin’ On The Ritz (Benoit Richaud) 2016 Worlds

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons - Violin Concerto No.1 Eso Concerto, Clouds, The Mind on the Wind (Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov) 2022 Four Continents

Tara Lipinski - The Rainbow (Sandra Bezic) 1998 Olympics

Denis Ten - SOS d'un terrien en détresse (David Wilson) 2017 Shanghai Trophy

Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek - Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano (Massimo Scali) 2018 Europeans

Krisztina Czako - The Addams Family (Igor Bobrin) 1997 Europeans

Cheng Peng/Yang Jin - My Drag (Lori Nichol) 2016 GPF

Bradie Tennell - Mechanisms, Chronos (Benoit Richaud) 2020 4CC

Evgeny Plushenko - Tribute to Nijinsky 2004 Russian Nationals

Vanessa Gusmeroli - Rats D'Hotel 1999 Worlds

Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau - Monde Inverse (Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky) 2015 Skate America

Isabeau Levito - Dulcea Și Tandra Mea Fiară (Yulia Kuznetsova) 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Batwannis Beek/Sandstorm (Tatiana Prokofieva) 2015 Europeans

Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi - Soran Bushi (Marina Zoueva, Ilia Tkachenko, and Koyo Yanai) 2021 NHK Trophy

Amber Glenn - This Time (Kaitlyn Weaver and Randi Strong) 2024 Lombardia Trophy

Ivan Righini - You Raise Me Up (Ivan Righini) 2016 Europeans

Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte - Life is Beautiful (Liudmila Vlasova) 2017 NHK Trophy

[figureskatingcostumes]

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc's White Crow costumes at the 2021 Finlandia Trophy. LeDuc got a new costume later in the season, which you can see here.

(Sources: Phantom Kabocha and Antti Lehto)

[wintrydapples]

Any favorite grey costumes out there?

(I know some of these you can nitpick about. “Is that grey, or lavender?” “Actually that has a blue tinge to it.” But whatev because when you look at something long enough color loses all meaning anyway so roll with me.)

[veritphoto]

Ashley Cain & Timothy LeDuc — Get Up EX at Rostelecom Cup 2018

[thegayfigureskatingagenda]

In Part III of The Future of Pairs contains a detailed discussion how gender expectations, power imbalance, age gaps, and cis-heteronormativity negatively impact pairs partnerships and how that could be changed - it's a long but very recommendable reading.

Some excerpts below:

Making skating safe and healthy therefore requires tackling the misogyny and homophobia that lies at the root of the gender imbalance in the sport. Figure skating needs to prioritize education and open discussion about healthy partnerships and the inherent value of all athletes as human beings. The discipline should also question the assumed link between the ideal height and body shape for a pair skater and the skater’s gender. Opening the discipline to teams of any gender would increase opportunities for new partnerships and contribute to a healthier experience for all skaters, including those in traditional female/male partnerships.

On the shortage of men:

The shortage of pair men is, of course, related to the shortage of men in figure skating overall – a phenomenon that is deeply rooted in misogyny and homophobia.  Mary Louise Adams examines the issue in her book Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport.  “Why do so few men and boys figure skate? Any boy raised in North America could give quick answers to such questions: figure skating is not like other sports. Its costumes and music make it arty and dance-like and therefore more appropriate for girls than boys, just like dance. By virtue of choosing a so-called feminine sport, male figure skaters are often assumed to be effeminate themselves. In a culture in which effeminacy is the primary and most stereotypical signifier of male homosexuality, this means they are also assumed to be gay.”

On the pressure and expectations on women:

Manta was the first female Team USA skater to come out while still an active competitor. She believes the pressure towards conformity has kept queer women closeted, or pushed them out of the sport entirely. “If you want to be a woman in the sport and have a partner who’s a man you need to constantly be proving your worth…So it does make sense that you haven’t had women come out, because you don’t want to create any sort of situation where you are to blame, or you could be the reason to be losing points, or you can be the reason a team’s looked down on.” These pressures create an environment ripe for physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse that the ISU and other governing bodies are only starting to deal with. Abusive training environments extend beyond the skaters themselves; coaches also have enormous power over their (often young and isolated) skaters and can make or break careers. The recent cases of Morgan Ciprés and John Coughlin consisted of sexual assaults by male pair skaters that were allegedly covered up by coaches. These men were too valuable to be held accountable for their actions, whereas the women believed they would be punished for rocking the boat.

Former US Champion Ashley Cain is notably tall for a pair skater at 1.67m, and had the same 20 cm height gap with her partner Timothy LeDuc. It’s notable, however, that Cain received criticism for her height, while Han did not. “There were so many negative comments that would then affect the way that I was thinking about myself,” shared Cain. “This is the body that I was born with. I couldn’t change it, I couldn’t get myself shorter…and it’s something that could have fully pushed me out of the sport if like I had listened to what people were saying about me or the way that we looked.”

On education and empowerment:

We can start to address the dark side of pairs by educating all skaters and coaches about the risks of a power imbalance in partnerships. Large age and/or experience gaps are not inherently problematic, so long as the younger and less experienced partner receives the necessary support and respect from the older partner and coaches, and is empowered to demand fair treatment without the fear of retribution.

On opening teams to any gender:

Perhaps the most helpful reform is also one of the most straightforward. The scarcity of male partners could be addressed by allowing – and fully encouraging – teams of any gender. With more options of possible partners, skaters would be more likely to form strong, equal relationships that would allow them to thrive on and off the ice. [...] Gabriella Papadakis also notes the potential for improving the public perception and popularity of the sport. “Although same-sex pairs are not inherently queer (two straight people can skate together in a very straight way, I assure you), they resonate strongly with younger audiences, nearly 30% of whom identify as queer. This inclusivity is a significant step forward for reaching this demographic. And even for the 70% of straight people, seeing mixed-gender couples that reflect more equal and modern partnerships offers a representation that feels authentic and relatable to how male-female relationships are evolving today.”

[monriatitans]

Artist Shout-Outs Shared

“Current AI ‘art’ is created on the backs of hundreds of thousands of artists and photographers who made billions of images and spend time, love and dedication to have their work soullessly stolen and used by selfish people for profit without the slightest concept of ethics.” – Alexander Nanitchkov

July's Artist Shout-Outs

Matheus M C Santos

Konstantin Pik

Octambre

Hecate100

Christine Alcouffe

Letícia Freitas

Martina Campoli

Aleksandr Adulo

Irina Koko

Alicia Portillo

Derval Chambers

Evgeny Romanov

Alex Sayers

—

July's Announcements, Streams, and Videos 

Blog Posts

Jul. 1st: Let’s Discuss Some $#!7: June Wrap-Up & Behind-the-Scenes

Jul. 7th: Beware Project 2025! The Conservative Promise

Jul. 7th: Let’s Play Some $#!7!: Resolute Paladin SLARPG Stream - Part 4

Jul. 14th: Let’s Play Some $#!7!: Resolute Paladin SLARPG Stream - Part 5

Jul. 18th: Disability Pride Month Edition: Let’s Read Some $#!7 by Devon Price, Ph.D., Jenara Nerenberg, and Rick Green & Umesh Jain, Ph.D.

Jul. 21st: STREAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Jul. 23rd: Let’s Play Some $#!7 Off The Clock!: Amorous Paladin SLARPG Video - Part 1

Jul. 28th: Let’s Play Some $#!7!: Resolute Paladin SLARPG Stream - Part 6

—

Cause of the Month: Diversability

Disability Pride Month Quotes of 2024

QUOTE 1: Jennifer Starzec

QUOTE 2: Jodi Picoult

QUOTE 3: Sarah Manguso

QUOTE 4: Randolph Bourne

QUOTE 5: Pénélope Bagieu

QUOTE 6: Rebekah Taussig

QUOTE 7: Haben Girma

QUOTE 8: Allison Alexander

QUOTE 9: Amanda Leduc

QUOTE 10: Sara Hendren

QUOTE 11: Ashley Asti

QUOTE 12: Erin Clark

QUOTE 13: Steven Magee

QUOTE 14: Jessica Marie Baumgartner

QUOTE 15: Jenara Nerenberg

Check out Diversability, founded by Tiffany Yu, which is “a community of people with disabilities (and the allies who support us), on a mission to elevate disability pride, together.”

—

July's Neverending Reading List Shares

Jul. 10th: Book LXV - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Jul. 12th: Book LXVI - Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverted Kids by Susan Cain

Jul. 15th: Book LXVII - Divergent Mind by Jenara Nerenberg

Jul. 17th: Book LXVIII - Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr. Devon Price, Ph.D.

Jul. 19th: Book LXIX - Unmasking Autism by Dr. Devon Price, Ph.D.

—

Stupidity Quotes Shared

QUOTE 19: Jonny Garza Villa

QUOTE 20: Craig D. Lounsbrough

QUOTE 21: Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To expand the Opinions & Truth (O&T) blog, MonriaTitans started The Weekend Game Show (WGS) to educate on and discuss different aspects of game development, and to show why video games can take years to make, to prevent another Cyberpunk 2077 launch scenario. Watch MonriaTitans on Twitch, YouTube, and Rumble! In addition, she shares educational quotes to promote literacy, the legitimacy of video games as an artistic medium, and regarding a Cause of the Month to raise awareness, while giving Artist Shout-Outs to human artists to combat AI art theft. Want to learn more about the Artist Shout-Outs? Click here! #createdontscrape The Artists Shout-Out posts can be seen on Tumblr, Discord, and more! She is also an artist under the handle TitansMonriArt. — Like what you see and want to know when there's more? Click here to subscribe for updates and/or hit the Follow button! Enjoy what I do? Please consider supporting via the WGS Ko-fi! Lastly, posts may contain affiliate links.

[ironicbirb]

CAIN/LEDUC US CHAMPIONS!!!

They're my favorite US pairs team I'm so happy

[kinetic-empathy]

Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc are out here reminding me why pairs is my least favorite discipline to watch.

Why didn't the ref stop the program after that fall? Head injuries are not a joke, people.

[tisaqueen]

Why would they put a collar on her after she completed the routine? That collar should be in place the second she got knocked out! How in heavens name were they allowed to continue??!?!?!?

[gofigureelectra]

HUGE step forward for gender diversity and progress moving forward in our sport!

Skate Canada has officially announced a change in the rule book for Ice Dance and Pairs teams that will allow for teams of any gender composition to compete at local and National competitions, instead of limiting teams to (1) man and (1) woman.

This is such a marked achievement, and I really hope we see more National organizations and the ISU follow suit <3

[allekha]

Ashley Cain-Gribble & Timothy LeDuc, US Nationals 2022 SP & FS

Congratulations to them both for winning their second national pairs title and making the Olympic team, and to LeDuc for being slated to become the first out nonbinary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics!

Bonus kiss-and-cry hug:

[katnotjas]

US figure skaters doing whatever tf they want

[figureskatingcostumes]

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc skating to The White Crow for their short program at the 2022 World Championships.

(Source: Ester Ayerdi Photography)

[figureskatingfanblog]

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc have retired from competitive figure skating. Ashley will be moving into doing shows as well as coaching, and Tim has moved to Chicago and will start coaching.

[eight-edges]

Isn’t this the second time Ashley Cain-Gribble has had a fall she either blacked out from or couldn’t get up from? Pairs is a fucking scary sport holy shit

[ohtheseskaters]