By: Dylan Nazareth

It’s a beautiful, sunny day in early June, so of course top Ontario pairs skaters Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud have just spent it at the rink in Brantford training their new programs.

Things are ramping up for the pair as they get a headstart on a busy summer of training ahead of the upcoming Olympic year. But they’ve hardly taken a break since their season wrapped at the World Championships, then turning to a different kind of on-ice performance.

Stars among Stars

After a strong year of competitions for Pereira and Michaud, they received the opportunity this spring to tour as part of Stars on Ice Canada.

“It was a really great experience with a really great team,” Pereira said of their debut appearance in the show. “The whole cast itself was so inspiring and motivational.”

This year’s show was dubbed Rock Stars on Ice, featuring tributes to the greats of rock and roll, headlined by Canadian legend Elvis Stojko alongside Nam Nguyen, Keegan Messing, and Jason Brown, among other world-class skaters. For a comparably young veteran of the sport like Michaud, it was one of those moments to step back and really take it all in.

“I remember being at Stars on Ice as a kid and thinking that would be the coolest thing ever to be in,” Michaud said. “So we were pretty lucky to work with Kurt Browning as the choreographer, obviously one of the greats, and perform alongside Elvis Stojko in our first number. It was a pretty cool moment for little Trennt.”

While it furthered a year of non-stop skating for Pereira and Michaud, it was a whole different experience than competing. For them it was a treat to move away from the judging and tech scores and focus on putting on a show for the adoring crowds of figure skating fans across the country.

“Just to perform under a different setting when it was more based on performance,” Pereira said. “We focus on that a lot in our competitive programs, but to look at the programs with a different lens, all those different challenges, I think we enjoyed.”

Between the strength it offered their partnership and the inspiration they took from skating alongside some of the greats, there’s no doubt they would return to tour again next year in a heartbeat.

All Eyes on Italy

After Stars on Ice wrapped on May 13th, they were back to the ice days later, working on choreography for their two new routines over the long weekend.

“I’m excited for the short, because it’s something we’ve never done before in competition,” Pereira said. “I think it suits us really well … there’s a really cool storyline behind it, so I’m excited to continue to work on that and perform that.”

While they’re keeping mum on their music choices for now, Pereira also teased a new, grand long program.

“It feels Olympic,” she said. “Having that feeling when you listen to it, before you even skate to it, it was so huge to us.”

Of course, the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan are top of mind for Pereira and Michaud, who are aiming to grab one of Canada’s two spots at the event for pairs skaters. In anticipation of that, they attended last month’s Olympic Lab in Montreal run by Skate Canada, another fun and unique first experience for them as a duo.

But first, they have two Grand Prix assignments this Fall: the Skate Canada International and the Finlandia Trophy. These competitions will be key early tests for the pair hoping to have everything spotless by the time Nationals and the Olympics roll around.

“I think we just want to feel prepared for each event that we go into,” Michaud said. “That way if we need to make changes, we can make a change. It’s a lot easier to bounce back with those things and be able to have a bit more receptive feedback for ourselves if we’re feeling prepared. We want to get out to a strong start and keep pushing ourselves up and up as the season goes on.”

Heading into their fourth season together, it’s clear they have a mature approach to their skating and their mentality for competitions, having gone through it so many times together.

“We’ve never really tried to prioritize a necessary score or placement goal, because we know that if we focus on the things that we can control, we can reach those goals,” Pereira said. “So yes, we have ideas of where we want to be placement and score-wise, but we try to focus on the actual output.”

Feeling the Heat

Spending so much time at the cold rink, the pair still make sure to find time to get outside and enjoy the summer heat. And Michaud is quick to bring up his top summertime passion.

“Disc Golf is number one, the most important thing,” Michaud said, almost to a groan from his partner.

“I usually go once a year, so maybe I’ll get that out of the way early on,” Pereira joked.

Beyond her yearly forced outing to the Disc Golf course, Pereira says any time off she gets is all about just getting out and appreciating the nice weather.

“I love anything outdoors,” she said. “We have a cottage, so tanning, swimming. Literally anything outside. When the sun’s out, I’m a happy girl.”