Ashlie SLATTER / Louis GREGORY (GBR) | Junior Ice Dance Free Dance | Riga 2025

Our next team represents Great Britain, Ashley Slater and Louis de Gregory. Ashley's 16, Louis is 20. A new team in 2025. Yeah, completely a new partnership, one with an abundance of experience and one new to this ice dance discipline. And they will skate the music top hat for their free dance. Put it on the wrist. Different types wear a cape. Hatchback stripes. Hatchback tits. In their midst. Me. You. And my heart. I did not know this before. This young man who came from singles, he's only been dancing for a couple months or for a number, a few number of months. That is extraordinary. The challenge from singles to pairs is easier than singles to dance. He looks like a dancer already. Yeah, and it's just amazing what has been accomplished in such a short space of time. And also, the program choreography, the composition of this program was so intricate. I was mindful of the different holds, perfectly fitting the top hat theme and style they've gone for. But Philippa Taylor-Green hasn't made it easy for them because it was complex and intricate. And they were intertwined, which is brilliant. But it makes you appreciate all the more how well Louis has done to embrace skating with somebody else so closely. Great piece of choreography. I would not have known that. Here's the twizzles, good speed, good unison actually. What are we dealing with? A level 4 for her, a level 3 for him. And you can see in the slow motion just that Louis stylistically is not quite totally aligned to the ice dancer kind of stylization. And actually, understandably, has more clarity of body control. But she's way more experienced. And if you think what he's achieved in this space of time, it's exciting to consider what he's going to be able to achieve. Do you know what he does have, though? He's got a bit of swagger. He's like there. He's cool. I think he's perfectly synthesized. He's not afraid of the expression of dance. He embraces it. And that is a good transition for him. See the curved lift here. The rotational level 3 on both lifts. And what's interesting to note, and what we can see from the judges' input on the component scores, is that the composition of this is highest. And I really think, I think it's Philippa, one of their coaches, that choreographed alongside Mathieu Jeffrey. I'm not sure what input Mathieu had, whether it was this or their rhythm dance. But choreo is really on point for the top hat. As is that positioning just there. And the expression. Oh yeah, he's got swagger. He's just there, pulling his hair back. I think he likes this. Yeah, yeah. I do, and you can see it. You know, if a single skater goes into dance and goes, I'm kind of here because I was told to go here. And you can see that in the body action. It's not the case here. No, no. And now, I suppose, like, temperament. And temperament, he seems perfectly suited for. Now, with time, I suppose they've had to get together so quickly. They've had to spend, presumably, most of their time just getting choreography ready in anticipation of competing here. How old is he? Oh, he's 20. But, you know, he's lucky later in life because he looks 14. Yeah. 75.75 for Ashley and Louis. And that is fourth in the free dance. And 124.86. And that will put them currently in third place. And just a few months into dance dancing for this young man who's a single skater. That's extraordinary. Congratulations.