Dean J. Copely, Jr. (born August 28, 1989) is an American former competitive Ice Dancer. With Charlotte Lichtman, he is the 2011 World Junior Ice Dance Bronze Medalist and 2011 U.S. Junior Ice Dance Champion.

Dean Copely
Lichtman & Copely at the 2010–2011 JGP Final
Born (1989-08-28) August 28, 1989 (age 35)
Fort Myers, Florida
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
CoachIgor Shpilband
Marina Zueva
Skating clubAll Year FCS
Began skating1993

Career

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Dean Copely began skating in 1993.[1] He began as a singles skater and competed at the intermediate level coached by Priscilla Hill for six years.[2] He began training in ice dance at the age of 12 at which time he partnered with Rachel Siegel and competed with her on the juvenile level. He later partnered and competed with Ashley Foy in ice dance.[2][3] Dean also competed for a season in juvenile Pair Skating with Meredith Pipkin . [2]Dean qualified for the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships in all three disciplines.

Copely competed at both the Novice and Junior levels with Anastasia Cannuscio until April 2008 when he relocated to Canton, Michigan[2] to train with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva known for coaching many North American and European teams to National and Olympic podiums. There he teamed up with Charlotte Lichtman following the 2008 Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships.[4] They began competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series during the 2009–10 season.

Lichtman and Copely won Gold and Bronze medals competing in the 2010–2011 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, and qualified for the JGP Final in Beijing, China where they finished 5th. Together they won the Gold in Junior Ice dance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, N.C.[5] after which they were featured in the Smucker's Skating Spectacular exhibition show and the RISE Tribute performance (choreographed by Randy Gardner and later included in the USFSA's skating documentary RISE). They went on to win the Bronze medal at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Gangneung, South Korea..[6]

Lichtman and Copely announced the amicable end of their partnership on April 27, 2012. [7] Dean is a graduate of Western Michigan University. He currently coaches at a number of rinks throughout the state of Michigan.

Personal life

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His sister is the former Lithuanian National Ice Dance Champion Katherine Copely.[4]

Programs

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(with Lichtman)

Season Short dance Free dance
2011–2012
[1]
  • Austin Powers
2010–2011
[8]
Beetlejuice:
Original dance
2009–2010
[9]
Georgian folk:
  • Lezginka
  • Suliko
Limelight
by Charlie Chaplin
2008–2009
[10]
Crazy for You
by George Gershwin:

Competitive highlights

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Ice dance

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(with Cannuscio)

Event 2007
U.S. Championships 3rd N.
N. = Novice level

(with Lichtman)

Results[11]
International
Event 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
GP Cup of China 7th
International: Junior
Junior Worlds 3rd
JGP Final 5th
JGP Austria 1st
JGP Croatia 4th
JGP Germany 3rd
JGP Hungary 8th
National
U.S. Championships 9th J. 8th J. 1st J. 10th
Pacific Coast Sectionals 2nd J. 1st J.
GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix
J. = Junior level

References

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  1. ^ a b "Charlotte LICHTMAN / Dean COPELY: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Mittan, Barry (September 28, 2009). "Canton's Copely Channels Chaplin with Charlotte Lichtman". SkateToday.
  3. ^ "INTERVIEWS: Katie Copely and Dean Copely". ice-dance.com. January 7, 2003. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Walker, Elvin (February 27, 2011). "Lichtman and Copely hungry for another podium". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  5. ^ Walker, Elvin (January 26, 2011). "Copely takes Lichtman to the dark side and to a gold medal". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  6. ^ Flade, Tatiana (March 4, 2011). "Monko and Khaliavin capture gold". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  7. ^ "Lichtman, Copely end four-year dance partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. Ice Network. April 27, 2012. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  8. ^ "Charlotte LICHTMAN / Dean COPELY: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011.
  9. ^ "Charlotte LICHTMAN / Dean COPELY: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010.
  10. ^ "Charlotte Lichtman / Dean Copely". Ice Network. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012.
  11. ^ "Competition Results: Charlotte LICHTMAN / Dean COPELY". International Skating Union.
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