Near Miss Energizes Blynn and Fishpaw

Emily Blynn and Charles Fishpaw

October 5, 2005
Article and Photos © J. Barry Mittan 

Emily Blynn and Charles Fishpaw just missed making it to U. S. Nationals in junior dance in their first season together. "We missed by one-tenth of a point from one judge," Fishpaw noted, "but it allowed us to have more time working on things for this year. We'd really like to get to Nationals this year." "We're making good progress at each competition," Blynn added. "We're just trying to skate as well as we can." The couple finished tenth in the free dance, seventh in the original dance, and eighth in the compulsory dances at the Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships in August to start their season.

Fishpaw didn't begin skating until he was ten. "My brother took basics but did not like it. When he quit, I decided that I would like to try... and here I am." He started skating competing on a synchro team and progressed into dance from there. "I like the intricacies of the edges in dance," he noted. "Dance is the truly the expressive element of skating."

"I used to skate on ponds a lot when I was about two, but I started taking lessons when I was eight," Blynn recalled. "Most of my friends were skating and I decided since I already sort of knew how to skate that I'd try it. I do dance because especially by now I've realized that in freestyle, most skaters don't have very much expression, but in dance you have to go all out and sell it because if you don't, you're not going to get very far. I also like dance because you are sharing the experience with another person, not just going out there and doing it all yourself. Having a partner is sometimes a challenge, but it makes skating so much more fun."

The couple decided to begin skating together in April 2004, but actually started skating in June of 2004. "My former coach in North Dakota, Bruce Montemayor, was a student of Robbie Kaine's," Fishpaw said, "so I came to the Philadelphia area through that connection. I came to the Philadelphia area for about ten tryouts one weekend and met Emily then. Emily and I get along pretty well. Our personalities mesh well so that makes training more fun and interesting." "We have the same goals in skating," Blynn added. "And we both like the expressive aspect of dance."

The dancers' primary coaches are Cheryl Demkowski-Snyder and Robbie Kaine. In the summer they train on ice for about four to five hours per day, five days a week at The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society rink, with an hour of off ice training daily. Natalia Linichuk choreographed the couple's original dance using a cha cha club mix version of "Sway Me" and a mambo to "Mambo Jambo".

"We had different music originally, but then we found out that there was a rule that was actually never passed that we had to have one or two pieces from two of the different groups of music and all our music was from one group," Blynn noted. "Robbie had a CD of music that he liked that had some of the music on it, then Cheryl found a different version that we liked. It fits our personalities, very playful and happy." Angelika Kirchmyer and Oleg Ovsiannikov choreographed their free dance to Sting's "Desert Rose". "They are great to work with," said Fishpaw. "Emily had the idea of skating to the free dance music, and as I have always enjoyed the piece, I was happy to skate to it."

Blynn is a junior in high school, where she is an honor student. She plans to study architecture and Spanish in college. "I love speaking Spanish," she said. "I've always been interested in architecture. Ever since I was little, I've been intrigued by houses." Fishpaw is a sophomore at the University of Delaware, carrying a full class load. He hasn't declared a major because he's interested in exploring all the available options, but has always been interested in medicine and music. Last year he sang in a choir and performed on the cello in two chamber music groups and the orchestra.

Off ice, Fishpaw said, "I like a little of everything. It depends on my mood. I listen to a lot of different music and National Public Radio in my car." Blynn said she listens to whatever is on the radio except for classical and hard rock. She used to play the piano and has participated in a few school musicals because she loves to sing. "I have always loved to perform," Blynn stated.

To relax, Blynn enjoys being with her friends, both from school and skating. She also likes to dance, sail, read, collect state quarters, and make bracelets of strings and beads. Fishpaw said, "I do a lot of random activities - reading, collecting wine bottles, theatre-- attending and participating, and writing poetry. But I don't go to the beach because I hate sand."

Blynn, on the other hand, loves to go to the beach for sailing and water skiing on vacation. Blynn also enjoys other sports. She played volleyball for her school's team in middle school and also enjoys lacrosse, tennis, and swimming. Fishpaw also has a lot of other athletic interests. "I played just about everything as a kid," he noted. He also played varsity tennis in high school.