Layla VEILLON / Alexander BRANDYS (CAN) | Junior Ice Dance Free Dance | Riga 2025

This team represents Canada, 19-year-old Laila Belian and 20-year-old Alexander Brandy, second after the Rhythm Dance. They too will skate to music by Max Richter, Summer, with Laila and Alexander. Laila Belian, Alexander Brandy. That was beautiful. Magical. And I love music to movement. We all love music to movement, but when the movement makes sense of the music, or the music makes sense of the movement when they're at one, and the choreo character's there, it's just so precise. And the music was the perfect backdrop for that. I couldn't taste the cathode movement, and it was just fabulous. And that one foot steps, almost two points added in the GOE to the base value, because that was so beautiful. And it covered such a huge amount of ice, and so that will really bolster the skating skills component. The judges want to see balance and glide, control of the blade, no friction with the blade, and that one free turn is exemplary. This is going to be a big score. Let's take a look at some of the elements in the program. You can tell so much work has been done here. Forward outside counter, using the knee and the ankle to change edge. Back three turn, holding and sustaining the edge into the forward outside rocker. Power pulling, they're working their knees and their ankles to create the ice coverage. Just made it really easy for the judges to start high in the components when they start with an element delivered like that. I love how Leila looked so intensely at the judging panel. So this element really leans into a different component. This is presentation, where the one foot was skating skills. And here, good ice coverage too, throughout the twizzles as well. So hard to do. Back outside twizzle, continuing to cover the ice. And then the group C feature at the end. That could put pressure on taking the title. Really enjoyed it. Yeah, really well done. I mean, no matter what the score is, no matter what the placement, I think, obviously, it'll be at the podium, but... It does seem like, as I think I mentioned in the rhythm dance, they've had a bronze medal on the Junior Grand Prix before, but they seem renewed with winner-type energy. Yeah, totally, yeah. 97.67, and they are thrilled with that number. That's first in the free dance so far with a total score of 161.83. And you're right, that might put a little pressure on the next team who is in the lead.