How Tessari and Garavaglia Turned Their Passion right into a Career – Ice-dance.com

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How Tessari and Garavaglia Turned Their Passion right into a Career – Ice-dance.com


By Matteo Morelli

Jasmine Tessari & Marco Garavaglia have lately joined forces partnering as an acrobatic couple, already performing in varied exhibits round Europe. We talked with the 2 former aggressive ice dancers, who share how they transitioned from competitions to exhibits, and how one can make a residing out of your ardour for skating.

Jasmine and Marco, thanks for sharing your expertise with us. You formally introduced your new collaboration in the summertime. How did you find yourself working collectively?

Jasmine Tessari (JT): Marco contacted me. We met at a efficiency in Turin this February (Lights On U), the place we have been each working with Ghiaccio Spettacolo. I informed him that I used to be concerned with one of these exercise, and his reply was merely “good to know.” Then, round May, I obtained a message from him saying he had been contacted by his managers and that he was searching for a associate, asking me if I used to be nonetheless .

Marco Garavaglia (MG): Jasmine approached me in Turin as a result of she knew that I’ve been doing this since 2012. I began specialising in acrobatic pairs since 2017: I used to be on tour with Holiday On Ice and I began to have somebody educating me a number of the acrobatic pair components, which aren’t actually thought of in aggressive skating as a result of they’re both unlawful or too harmful. Being on tour for a lot of months with {couples} who have been already doing this, I had the chance to begin studying this totally different method of skating. I had already launched into a path that’s normally not a lot considered, that’s skating and performing as a job, fairly than simply ending my aggressive profession and shifting into educating, which is what regularly occurs in Italy. It has been just a few years now that I’ve been making an attempt to convey this message to the brand new generations, additionally doing particular camps on ice the place I present this various method of being within the skating as a job.

I needed to get to this: are you able to make a full-time job out of your efficiency skating?

MG: I’ve been doing this full-time for nearly ten years. The downside is that it isn’t a possible profession, at the least in Italy, so I’ve at all times been compelled to journey. To do that job I needed to preserve shifting, so I labored with the Gandeys Circus, Holiday on Ice, Royal Caribbean Cruise, for instance. I might say that if one is keen to journey, to be away, this job could be finished full-time. There are corporations that supply long run contracts of six to 10 months, after which there are people who supply “holiday contracts”, that are brief time period contracts to tackle between huge contracts, like Illusion On Ice in Mexico, the place I went between lengthy contracts. This job can positively be finished full-time, however it’s a job that’s greater than a full-time as a result of we’re compelled to journey, so I wanted to discover a associate that might equally do that full-time.

Is this one thing new for you, Jasmine?

JT: After leaving my sports activities profession I already began to do some performances, however one of these self-discipline is totally new to me. I used to be limiting myself to doing solely group exhibits or duets, however at all times inside the ice dance remit, so excessive lifts or acrobatics of this sort are all new to me. I belief Marco fully as a result of he’s the one educating me all the pieces, he’s my associate and my instructor on the identical time. My motto these days is “I jump into this”, as a result of I throw myself in and he catches me, actually.

How Tessari and Garavaglia Turned Their Passion right into a Career – Ice-dance.comWhen I took a have a look at your Instagram account, I may see some movies the place you appear to attempt one thing new, doubtlessly dangerous. How do you method engaged on these new components, a few of that are thought of unlawful from a aggressive viewpoint?

JT: First of all, we be taught them off the ice. There are some which can be a bit harder to attempt to it’s essential be on the ice, however most are examined off the ice. If you’re in good bodily form, it’s positively simpler. I began after being fully off for 2 years, so the beginning was a bit traumatic for me. We have been each out for various causes, so we actually began from scratch, with out having the best health stage to assist us.

MG: After working with Gandeys Circus in Manchester in 2022, the yr after I attempted to remain in Italy with Ghiaccio Spettacolo to see if I may perhaps proceed doing what I really like. The associate I had on the time was working in Italy and will by no means journey, in order that winter I attempted to work like this, doing exhibits solely on weekends. I noticed this wasn’t good for me, as a result of it wouldn’t be sufficient to outlive and since I needed a extra steady dedication, which additionally helps to keep up my health stage which I misplaced by doing what I used to be doing then. Starting once more with Jasmine allowed me to get again in form and to reactivate our athletic stage, supporting one another.

Would you say that, after just a few months collectively, you’re feeling optimistic about this partnership and that issues are entering into the best course?

MG: Yes, I might say so. As I stated, in Italy this isn’t but seen as a job, it isn’t attainable to do it full-time and make sufficient cash to outlive from it. With Jasmine, I’m discovering this proper stability that enables us to be fairly constant in coaching and thus attain a sure stage, particularly as a result of in Europe there are only a few {couples} doing what we’re doing, I may most likely depend them on one hand. Opportunities are there: it’s essential proceed coaching and attain a sure stage after which from there it turns into a lot simpler. The hardest half was beginning, additionally as a result of there have been fully new components for Jasmine to be taught. It was most likely more durable for her than for me within the preliminary part, having to get used to being grabbed by an ankle and thrown on two ft.

JT: Now I really feel like I can discuss one thing as a result of I’ve by some means accepted and discovered to cope with what I went by. Marco’s proposal got here at a really explicit second in my life, during which I had been affected by a number of continual pains for 2 years. I used to be ultimately identified with an autoimmune illness that fully affected my morale. So, when Marco supplied the choice to check out, I used to be stuffed with enthusiasm but additionally of concern. I talked to him about it instantly, and I bear in mind I informed him, “Look, I want to try, I want to do it, but I have to tell you I don’t know if this new activity can do me good or harm me, I am still waiting for answers from some doctors.” And, as I stated earlier than, I jumped in, I attempted, and enthusiasm helped me rather a lot to beat all the pieces. I at all times say that this chance most likely got here on the excellent second, it saved me a bit. I then found that I had fibromyalgia, it’s nothing too critical and it’s at delicate to reasonable stage, however once we began, not being match and studying new components, I had ache in every single place and I panicked as a result of I couldn’t inform if it was regular muscular ache or if it might be my situation. The starting was very difficult, however ultimately, doing all that is serving to me no to really feel ache anymore, each mentally and bodily.

Thank you very a lot for sharing, and I’m glad that issues are going properly. I think about it’s one thing that may resonate within the lives of many different post-competitive skaters as a result of, for one motive or one other, one should perceive what the physique can do. I’m happy that, in your case, you discovered the best stability regardless of the brand new state of affairs you’re in.

JT: Yes, it was an ideal method to deal with my new actuality.

MG: If I’ll add to this shortly, I can let you know that I additionally skilled one thing comparable. When I ended competing and I began searching for one thing else to do, I found I had a lumbar hernia that saved me off the ice for greater than a yr and a half, limping badly, and I believed I might by no means have the ability to do something once more. I began to observe a physiotherapy path, and I additionally reached the identical conclusion as Jasmine, which is that if I saved coaching and continued to skate, I had no ache. To at the present time, I’ve by no means had ache once more.

It appears that it was nearly future so that you can meet and begin working collectively! So far, you could have already began to work on contracts, together with the summer season tour of Ghiaccio Spettacolo, which coated 4 areas, one among which was in Varese with the Japanese Federation.

MG: We rushed to be prepared for it as a result of they trusted us to do a solo quantity, which grew to become our first debut. We struggled to search out ice to coach on, so we actually had a mad rush to be prepared, and three days earlier than leaving Jasmine virtually broke a bone in her hand, so we did the tour together with her hand damaged. We have been nearly about to surrender, however ultimately, we managed to undergo it by adjusting some issues. Although it was most likely my twelfth version with Ghiaccio Spettacolo, this summer season tour was fully totally different from the standard, we joined a global forged with artists that we admire. Behind the scenes, we took the chance to speak to different skilled skaters on the present. It was additionally an expertise to have the ability to share the ice with all of the athletes of the Japanese nationwide workforce and to see how they educated. I imagine you at all times must “steal” together with your eyes, that’s what I at all times say to Jasmine: to look at movies, watch different skaters, as a result of there may be at all times one thing good to attract inspiration from.

JT: It very good to see how Marco and I responded to this example collectively, nearly not realizing one another but as companions and as a brand new couple on the ice. Despite the assorted difficulties, together with the damaged hand, which we didn’t even know was damaged in the intervening time however, with the inexperienced mild from the docs, we jumped into the tour, though the ache was actually robust for me. We managed to deal with the state of affairs as greatest we may. That is once we actually bonded as a workforce, most likely that week introduced us nearer collectively.

Thinking about this, did you truly know one another earlier than?

JT: Yes, once I was somewhat youthful he was coaching in Milan doing ice dance, and I bear in mind seeing him skating on the rink.

MG: We are ten years aside. I knew who she was however I’ve been away rather a lot for the final ten years to skate all over the world, so we by no means actually had an opportunity to speak and know one another. It was solely in February that we truly correctly spoke for the primary time.

Do you have already got upcoming initiatives that you’re engaged on?

MG: We need to deal with a few of our initiatives, that might be within the type of movies, pictures or issues that we need to attempt to do exactly to precise ourselves artistically. This is the liberty that exists in performing, to do what you need with out judges or a regulation to observe. So to begin with, we need to be free to precise no matter we would like and for that, we’re engaged on some small issues that perhaps will come out on our Instagram web page or on social media generally. Then now we have a piece contract in Belgium in an amusement park for the winter interval, the place they do exhibits, as much as 4 a day.

JT: We are additionally engaged on inline skating.

MG: I used to be most likely the primary in 2011 to open an inline skating college with the concept of bringing ice skating to the inline world. Now, there may be additionally an try to encourage inline skating to implement acrobatic ice skating efficiency model.

What message would you share with present or retired rivals that aren’t certain how you can begin a path just like the one you took?

MG: With my in depth expertise on this, I might inform people who stopped skating that it isn’t the tip. I’ve seen lots of people not wanting to place their skates on after they finish their very demanding aggressive profession, nonetheless the message to share is: your profession doesn’t finish with competitions, and educating or teaching will not be the one solution to proceed skating. Shows could be a possibility, not solely a job alternative but additionally an opportunity to totally categorical your self, free to skate for the pure pleasure of skating with out the pressures coming with the competitions. There are quite a lot of corporations on the market which can be placing collectively exhibits and recruiting skaters. A profession like this could enable one to earn cash, journey all over the world, mixing in with totally different cultures. This can also be why I’m spending a lot power to share this message, particularly in Italy the place this profession will not be actually valued. I want everybody to search out somebody who has the will to share their expertise, as I used to be fortunate to have. I discovered a Ukrainian couple who, on the finish of their present profession, had the willingness to show me with out asking for something in return, they gave me this chance that I wouldn’t have in any other case, it opened so many doorways for me. So far, I’ve had many experiences, not solely work-related but additionally life-related, travelling a lot, seeing new locations, assembly individuals from different cultures.

JT: I completely agree with Marco. During my aggressive profession, I dreamed of going to the Olympic Games however, for a lot of totally different causes, I couldn’t obtain that. When I ended my profession, I went by that sense of not desirous to skate that Marco talked about, however I first ultimately received again to the ice as a choreographer, which is what I’m nonetheless doing now. While doing this, I noticed I missed being the protagonist on the rink and do issues at some stage, I even thought of the choice of returning to compete, over a yr in the past, however I agree with Marco, the exhibits are a superb alternative. What I might say to any athlete who end their profession is “never say never”: I might by no means have imagined I might find yourself doing what I’m doing now, given the state of affairs I’m in. I lately occurred to speak about this with a lady who I used to coach with, who was very down as a result of she couldn’t discover a associate and so she determined to finish her profession. I stated “never say never”: don’t give it some thought now, it isn’t the best time, however you will notice that if one thing is supposed to occur, it will probably come at any second. When you’re finished with competitions, there’s a complete new world on the market: the world of exhibits is a world of its personal and for me, it’s improbable.



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