No ice dance team leaned into the strangeness of last season quite like Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov.
After all, they met last July during the height of the pandemic.
McNamara, 22, expected their first tryout to be nerve-racking. She had only trained with one other partner since she was 6 years old, and because local rinks were locked down, she hadn't skated for months.
"It was a waiting game not only in terms of finding the right partner, but also to step back on the ice," McNamara said. "But maybe it was that adrenaline that made our first day so joyful."
Spiridonov, less of stranger to blind tryouts, agreed.
"I've skated with a few partners before, but you always know on that first day if it's going to work out," the 23-year-old said. "Even if your techniques don't perfectly match, the connection is instant and unexplainable. The athletes and the coaches just feel it."
Throughout their first season, that connection translated to their scores. The new team placed sixth at both 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America and the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
McNamara and Spiridonov, who train in Leesburg, Virginia, are proud of their progress. They attribute their early success to their complimentary skating styles and a shared unrelenting passion for the sport.
"We quickly learned we're both morning people," McNamara said. "We're always the first ones at the rink, and if we have an especially hard training day ahead, we're hyped up by the challenge."
Perhaps the skaters' biggest hurdle this season is time — but McNamara and Spiridonov aren't intimated by other teams' experience. Instead, they have committed to setting incremental goals while abiding by their intensive training regimen, which includes four to five hours a day of on-ice practice in addition to strength training and a variety of dance classes.
"Being a new team isn't holding us back," Spiridonov said. This year will be his second season at the senior level, while McNamara is entering her fifth. "Instead of taking one or two steps, we're taking five or 10 strides daily to get to where we want to be."
The team is relying on concrete strategies for growth. For instance: selecting music and choreographers that would accentuate the skaters' strengths. Their rhythm dance, set to a Nelly, Blackstreet and Outkast medley, is choreographed by Jimmie Manners, who previously performed with Jennifer Lopez.
"Our rhythm dance has been an introduction to ice dancing, but Jimmie's perspective has added such a unique layer to the program," McNamara said. "He's such a well-versed artist, it's helped us expand our dance vocabulary and repertoire."
In a stark contrast, their Phantom of the Opera free dance showcases both skaters' ability to portray dynamic characters on ice.
"We love performing, so entertainment factor really excites us," McNamara said. "When we shift into our characters and expression, the program becomes a dialogue between the two of us."
McNamara and Spiridonov also said mastering the programs' vastly varying genres will portray their broad spectrum of strengths as a team.
"On the surface both programs are wildly different," Spiridonov said. "But it hasn't been challenging because we have our coaches and choreographers, and we all work so well together. It's been this wonderful collaboration that everyone loves because it feels good and looks interesting."
The team has another opportunity to gain experience at the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Norwood, Massachusetts. The event at the Skating Club of Boston will be their second competition of the season, and their goal is to show improvement since their initial showing at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International (also hosted in Norwood).
"I think every time we're in front of judges, we show the big steps we take," Spiridonov said. "We intend to show we're consistent and heading in a positive direction. We're very clear on what we want."
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the skaters are ready to experience a normal season together. They hope to learn more about one another's strengths under pressure.
"We haven't traveled or experienced very stressful moments, like how it feels to get on the ice in front of a large audience," Spiridonov said. "We need those to grow, to keep building."
"We just feel so ready to introduce ourselves to the world," McNamara said. "We want to show that despite being new, we have an instant appeal. We don't want people to say, 'Give them time.' We're prepared and ready now. We're here now, and we're just going to keep getting better and better."
Fans can watch Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov compete at the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic this week live and on-demand on Peacock Premium.
