{"id":43068,"date":"2024-02-26T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T14:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/?p=43068"},"modified":"2024-03-12T21:08:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T01:08:14","slug":"the-force-is-with-flores-and-wang-in-taipei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/2024\/02\/26\/the-force-is-with-flores-and-wang-in-taipei\/","title":{"rendered":"The force is with Flores and Wang in Taipei"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lynn Rutherford
\nPhotos by Robin Ritoss<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Luke Wang has a confession.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Star Wars<\/i> nerd,\u201d he says. \u201cMy dad introduced me to it, and I watched the original movies as a child. I grew up with the TV series \u2013 Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels, all of those — and then the Disney Plus projects. I follow up on everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Packed with memorable characters and rousing action, the Star Wars<\/i> universe still inspires skaters and their choreographers, more than 50 years after the debut of the original blockbuster film. When he pondered a free skate for Wang and his pair partner Olivia Flores\u2019 sophomore season, Samuel Kim\u2019s \u201cThe Force\u201d theme crossed Drew Meekins\u2019 mind \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t Wang\u2019s fandom that tipped the scales. It was Flores\u2019 strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cOlivia is super strong and dynamic and very powerful,\u201d Meekins, who trains the skaters in Colorado Springs, says. \u201cAnd Lucas is very expressive and able to really captivate the audience and judges. Oftentimes, that is the dynamic of a pair team, but the roles of the man and woman are typically reversed. Star Wars<\/i> is such a cool story, because there are such powerful female characters, and there is also a lot of emotion. It played right into Olivia and Luke\u2019s dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The choice suited Flores and Wang fine. Both embrace the opportunity to portray characters, and the Star Wars<\/i> universe offers plenty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m trying to embody all of the strong female characters of the cast, so of course, there\u2019s Princess Leia, and also Rey from the (sequel trilogy),\u201d Flores, 16, says. \u201cWhen I was growing up and watching them, I wanted to be these characters. They fought and they’re just so strong. I thought, \u2018That’s who I want to represent.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As for Wang, there was only one choice: Leia\u2019s twin.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I’m playing just mostly Luke Skywalker,\u201d says Wang, who will turn 20 on March 9th. \u201cWe wanted to showcase our strength through the characters and the sweeping music. I thought, \u2018You know what, I really want to pursue this.\u2019 I liked the overall concept of being united and fighting together.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Meekins\u2019 choreography has the two as equals, battling the Empire side-by-side, even brandishing (virtual) lightsabers in the final choreo sequence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have that moment where we are literally fighting together, and that\u2019s so cool,\u201d Wang says. \u201cWe’re both, I think, really strong individuals, and so we wanted to showcase that together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The athletes, paired up by Meekins in June 2023, are already \u201cLiv and Luke,\u201d a well-matched duo with strong basic skating and jumping skills. Both qualified for the U.S. Championships in junior singles<\/a> in their careers; Wang was slated to compete in the junior men\u2019s event <\/span>at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, before withdrawing after the short program to focus on pairs. A wise choice, considering he and Flores won the junior pair title by more than 10 points.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think because we knew how to do our own singles\u2019 jumps, that (made it) easier to go into throws,\u201d Flores\u00a0 <\/span>says. \u201cAnd then you can focus more on other pair elements. And for a while, that\u2019s where we struggled, because we were both new and learning those elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe side-by-side jumps and really even the throws came pretty naturally to them, because of their ability in singles,\u201d Meekins says. \u201cLast year, they were doing two triple throws (loop and salchow), after just half a year together. But, you know, you put two good skaters together and it doesn\u2019t mean you have a pair, right?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores and Wang placed fourth in junior pairs at the 2023 U.S. Championships, gaining the chance to compete on the 2023\/2024 Junior Grand Prix. There, they won two silver medals and earned a trip to the Junior Grand Prix Final, where they placed fifth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFor true pair elements, it\u2019s timing, it\u2019s unison \u2013 that\u2019s why we hear about the need for teams to stay together,\u201d Meekins says. \u201cIt takes time, mileage and repetition. That’s a big part of it, along with the technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meekins wants Flores and Wang to skate like a team, instead of two individuals. He thinks that happened in their Star Wars<\/i> free at the U.S. Championships in Columbus, Ohio, where they not only landed their throws and side-by-side jumps \u2013 including double axel-single axel-double axel sequences, and triple salchows \u2013 but also nailed a triple twist and two challenging lifts. It was a huge step up from the Junior Grand Prix Final six weeks earlier, where they fell three times in their free skate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re really learning to skate with each other, not sort of around each other,\u201d Meekins says. \u201cI think that\u2019s what we saw in their free skate in Columbus: a performance from a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technique and talent are essential, but the skaters\u2019 compatibility has also helped fuel their rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe connection between us has grown since when we started,\u201d Wang says. \u201cWe’ve got that deeper understanding of each other, and what we each need, and how we can actually grow together as a team. I think that’s also a big factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Training with WASA Pairs (World Arena Skating Academy Pairs) in Colorado Springs\u2019 mile-high altitude, under Meekins, Natalia Mishkutenok and Danny O\u2019Shea, is yet another advantage for the young team, who share the ice with several other elite pairs, including U.S. champions Ellie Kam and O\u2019Shea, and U.S. junior silver medalists Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s everything, having role models; Natalia is an (1992 Olympic) champion,\u201d Wang says. \u201cJust having those people that you can be inspired by, and look up to, and be able to watch their past performances, is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe team of athletes we have there all kind of build each other up, and I think that helps push all of us,\u201d Flores says. \u201cAnd that’s something that is really special that you don’t see a lot in singles. It\u2019s something that really makes me enjoy pairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meekins, himself the 2006 world junior pair champion (with Julia Vlassov), strives for a supportive atmosphere where skaters help each other to succeed, while pursuing their own success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want everyone to value the fact that they can grow more when they work together,\u201d he says. \u201cYou see that in the way Olivia and Luke, and Naomi and Lachlan, push each other. Prior to nationals, we had a kind of family meeting \u2013 we all got coffee, and we kind of talked through how we were feeling. Stuff like that impacts the culture of the school, and that is really what I want to build.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea, who also won the 2016 U.S. title with Tarah Kayne, pulls double duty at WASA Pairs, as a skater and coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do try to act as a mentor to the younger pairs \u2013 I definitely talk to them about my experiences competing, which includes a little over a decade at this point,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s been great to see them grow as humans and really go through the joys and difficulties as a group. It\u2019s amazing to have people in the rink going through the same thing that you\u2019re going through, it makes the process a little bit easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Flores and Wang take the ice in Taipei for their biggest test yet, the 2024 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. European silver medalists Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulara of Georgia, winners of the Junior Grand Prix Final, are heavily favored for gold.\u00a0 <\/span>If the U.S. junior champions skate the way they did in Columbus, a medal is possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cConfidence is a big thing for us,\u201d Wang says. \u201cComing into nationals, we established what we can do when we are confident in ourselves and each other, and that we can grow and continue to get better. So definitely, furthering that mindset, is going to be something we’re going to practice and really reinforce every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’d say, establish what we know we can do,\u201d Flores says. \u201cFind our normal. Don\u2019t do too much. Don’t do too little. Keep that calm, but also determined, mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lynn Rutherford Photos by Robin Ritoss Luke Wang has a confession. \u201cI\u2019m a Star Wars nerd,\u201d he says. \u201cMy dad introduced me to it, and I watched the original movies as a child. I grew up with the TV series \u2013 Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels, all of those — and then the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[290,341,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-featured","category-worldjrs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43068"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43085,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43068\/revisions\/43085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}