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| Foy Finds Success with Blum in Berlin |
| Published on September 15, 2008 |  
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Ashley Foy and Benjamin Blum
September 15, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Ashley Foy and Benjamin Blum were both born in the northeastern United States, but now compete in ice dancing for Germany. They finished 13th at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships last season and will compete in senior dance in the coming season.
Foy, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, began skating when she was five years old. "I was living in Simsbury and both of my older sisters were skating," Foy stated. "I saw Oksana Baiul skating when I went to the rink with my mother and sisters and kind of forced my mother to let me skate too. I skated singles until I was 12 but I really wanted to try pairs and didn't like jumping much!"
"I skated pairs from ten through 13 because I enjoyed skating with a partner more than just skating by myself," she continued. "I got as high as winning North Atlantic Regionals and placing 14th at the 2002 Junior Nationals with Craig Ratteree. When I was 12, I started dance while I was in between pair partners, and I did both pairs and dance for a year."
"I danced with Dean Copely for one season and we finished first at North Atlantic Regionals and fifth at Nationals in juvenile dance in 2003," she continued, "but I was growing taller than him. Later I skated with Nathan Jarmuth for a year and competed in Novice Dance."
Blum was born in Boston and moved back to Germany with his German parents when he was a newborn. He didn't go on to the ice until he was ten. "I was involved in all kinds of other sports," he said. "I was in a soccer club and I was skiing and snowboarding, swimming and playing tennis. My sister wanted to try ice dancing so I went with her, but she quit within a week and I didn't."
"I started skating in Dortmund," he continued. "I danced with Julia Novikov. We won German Nationals two years in novice in 2001 and 2002 and third in juniors in 2006. Then I took a break for a year to train in short track in the 500 and 1000 meters, but I didn't compete."
"Then Hendryk Schamberger called and said he had several girls, so I went to Berlin," Blum said. "Michelle Chrudinak was the best of the five. We were second in juniors at German Nationals in 2004 but then Michelle quit in November."
"I went to Oberstdorf in June 2005 for a tryout with Benji," Foy added. "I wanted to stay in Simsbury but there weren't any boys and it was expensive to train there. Some coaches told me about Benjamin and that he was a strong skater. I thought it was the only way I could continue. It was the best tryout ever and I moved to Germany in August to train."
"I myself am not German, but my grandfather is Swedish, and he spoke German," Foy noted. The couple finished third in juniors at German Nationals in 2005-06 before winning the title in 2007-08.
Rene Lohse and Hendryk Schamberger coach the couple. They train on ice for three to four hours a day, six days a week and do another two hours a day in off ice work. Foy also does yoga by herself. Although they normally train in Berlin, they go to training camps in Oberstdorf during the summer. "We work ten hours a day there," Blum said. "And we walk a lot in the mountains." They also worked with Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov in Simsbury for six weeks in the summer of 2006.
Paola Mezzadri choreographed their 2007-08 programs. For the original dance, the couple used a Turkish folk dance and for the free dance they skated to "Romeo and Juliet." "It is really nice beautiful music," Foy said. "I took some lessons in belly dancing for our original dance."
"We changed our free dance after the Junior Grand Prixs," Foy continued. "We didn't like the first one, 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now' by Meatloaf, because it was too much like a gala program. But 'Romeo and Juliet' was the best we ever had. It had a good story behind it." For a gala program, the couple skated to "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by Amy Winehouse.
Blum cuts all the music. "I have the free dance in my head," he said. "When I cut it, I can match it to the elements. We choreographed the second free dance ourselves. That was the first time and it went pretty well. We did it in two and a half days using the same elements and footwork because we had a lot of pressure to do it fast." He also cuts music for other skaters.
Off ice, Blum listens to all kinds of music. "One day it's Mozart and the next day it's German rap," he said. "I like R and B, hip-hop and classical." He also plays the piano at home to relax. "I listen to a little bit of everything," Foy said. "Christina Aguilera is one of my favorites."
Blum is in a college preparatory program in advance of starting dentistry school in October. Foy has graduated from high school and is taking online courses through the University of Connecticut. "When I was younger I planned on becoming a pastor," Foy stated, "but I have decided since then that I would not be entirely happy with that choice, since it would consume all of my time and I have other interests which I would like to pursue, like teaching and writing. I love to write fantasy stories and poetry."
"When I lived in America I was involved a lot more with my church, and did some charity work," she continued. "I also volunteered many years at the Special Olympics in Connecticut for speed skating and figure skating. I volunteered last year at the skating Special Olympics in Berlin, Germany as well. I plan to continue being involved with my church, while studying German and English in college. I decided to minor in religious studies, since not only my own but all religions fascinate me and I really enjoy learning, and I would like to be better educated in the world religions."
Foy's other off ice interests include shopping and reading fantasy books. "Though I am a devoted Christian, I love Harry potter and books with magic," she said. "It's the child in me." Blum plays other sports in the summer and enjoys windsurfing and sailing.
The skaters are hoping to find sponsors for the 2008-09 season because Foy cannot work in Germany under her current visa. "After next year I can come back to Germany on a student visa and have the legal right to work to help pay for skating," she said. "We have also started working on getting my German citizenship, but that will take at least a few years."
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