Piper Gilles

Piper Gilles (born January 16, 1992) is an American-Canadian ice dancer who currently represents Canada internationally. With Paul Poirier, she is the 2014 Four Continents silver medalist and a four-time Canadian national medalist.

Earlier in her career, Gilles competed for the United States with Timothy McKernan and Zachary Donohue, winning four medals altogether on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.

Personal life

Piper Gilles was born January 16, 1992 in Rockford, Illinois.^[1] She attended Cheyenne Mountain High School.^[2] Her mother and grandmother are Canadian.^[3] She herself became a Canadian citizen on December 17, 2013.^[4] Her older brother, Todd, competed in ice dancing and her twin sister, Alexe, in singles.^[5]

Career

Early career

Gilles teamed up with Timothy McKernan in January 2003 after skating with him on a temporary basis earlier.^[6] They began competing on the Juvenile level in 2004 winning the bronze medal. In 2005 they were the Intermediate Dance champions. During their career, they were the 2007 U.S. Junior pewter medalists and the 2008 U.S. Junior silver medalists. They announced the end of their partnership on May 22, 2008.^[7]

Gilles teamed up with Zachary Donohue in the summer of 2008. They made their international debut at the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Ostrava, Czech Republic, which they won. At their second event, in Cape Town, South Africa, they won the silver medal. They won the bronze medal on the junior level at the 2009 U.S. Championships. Their split was announced in May 2010.^[8] With the likelihood of finding a new partner low, Gilles decided to pursue other interests but returned to skating a year later.^[3]

Partnership with Poirier

Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier contacted Gilles to arrange a tryout.^[3] On July 27, 2011, Gilles and Poirier confirmed they had teamed up to represent Canada.^[9] They could not compete internationally in their first season due to Gilles needing a release from U.S. Figure Skating.^[9] They are coached by Carol Lane at the Scarboro Figure Skating Club at the Ice Galaxy in Scarborough, Ontario.^[9]^[10] Their free dance was choreographed by Christopher Dean in Colorado Springs, Colorado in early June.^[11] Gilles/Poirier won the bronze medal at the 2012 Canadian Championships.

In the 2012–13 season, Gilles and Poirier won the U.S. Classic. They received two Grand Prix assignments, 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard.^[12] They finished 4th and 6th at the two events and then won the silver medal at the 2013 Canadian Championships. They were 5th at the 2013 Four Continents and 18th at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships.

In May 2013, Poirier suffered a serious ankle injury,^[4] delaying the duo's preparation for the upcoming season. Their assigned events for the 2013-14 Grand Prix season were the NHK Trophy, where they finished fifth, and the Rostelecom Cup, where they placed sixth.^[13] Gilles became a Canadian citizen during the 2013-14 season, making Gilles and Poirier eligible to participate in the Olympics. However they finished 4th at the 2014 Canadian Championships and were not selected for the Canadian Olympic team.

For the 2014–15 Grand Prix season, Gilles and Poirier took second at 2014 Skate Canada International and second at 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.^[14] The team then went on to place fifth at the 2014–15 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final before taking second place at the 2015 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. The ice dancers then capped off the season with a 6th place finish at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships.

Gilles and Poirier opened their 2015-16 season with a win at the 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy.

Programs

With Poirier

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2015–2016 ^[15]^[16]	Waltz: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles March: Six German Dances, K. 571, No. 6 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Waltz: Air Pour Les Sauvages (from Les Indes galantes) by Jean-Philippe Rameau choreo. by Carol Lane	Saudade: She Said by Jorane Neverland by Takenobu choreo. by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs, Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier	Reaching for the Moon by Ella Fitzgerald
2014–2015 ^[17]	Paso doble: El Gato Montes Spanish waltz: Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov	A Street Car Named Desire Overture from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" Si tu vois ma mere by Sidney Bechet Dans les rues d'Antibes by Sidney Bechet	Would You by Burn The Floor Orchestra
2013–2014 ^[18]^[19]	Swing: Just One Dance by Caro Emerald Quickstep: You Don't Leave Me by Caro Emerald	End Credit from Hitchcock by Danny Elfman Explosion from Hitchcock by Danny Elfman The Premiere from Hitchcock by Danny Elfman The Rainstorm from Psycho by Bernard Hermann	Sweet Dreams Pure Imagination
2012–2013 ^[12]^[20]	Mary Poppins: Overture Step in Time by Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman choreo. by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs	The Gulag Orchestra by Beirut I Don't Think About You Anymore But I Don't Think About You Anyless by Hungry Ghosts Nicoleta by Fanfare Ciocărlia choreo. by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs, Christopher Dean	Sexy and I Know It by Glee Sweet Dreams Pure Imagination
2011–2012	Put It in a Love Song by Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Magalenha by Sérgio Mendes choreo. by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs	Pure Imagination performed by Maroon 5 Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics Pure Imagination performed by Glee choreo. by Christopher Dean^[12]

With Donohue

Season	Original dance	Free dance
2009–2010 ^[2]^[21]	Thank God I'm a Country Boy by John Denver Country Roads by John Denver Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band Flamenco medley by the Gypsy Queens and Kings	Alfred Hitchcock movies: The Man Who Knew Too Much by Bernard Herrmann Vertigo Suite by Bernard Hermann North by Northwest Overture by Bernard Herrmann
2008–2009 ^[2]^[22]	Go Daddy-O by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Flat Foot Floogie by Yallopin' Hounds Orchestra Sing, Sing, Sing by James Horner	Malagenha by Sergei Mendes Besame Mucho performed by Michel Petrucciani with the Graffiti Quartet Pontero en Libertad by Monica Naranja

With McKernan

Season	Original dance	Free dance
2007–2008 ^[23]^[24]	St. James Infirmary Blues	Cinderella
2006–2007 ^[6]^[24]	Tanguedia by Astor Piazzolla	Bulgarian Baroque (from Dreamscape)

Competitive highlights

With Poirier

International^[25]
Event	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17
Worlds		18th	8th	6th	8th
Four Continents		5th	2nd	4th	5th
Grand Prix Final				5th
GP Rostelecom Cup			6th
GP NHK Trophy			5th
GP Skate America					3rd
GP Skate Canada		4th		2nd		3rd
GP Bompard		6th		2nd	2nd	3rd
CS Autumn Classic				2nd
CS Nebelhorn						3rd
CS Nepela Trophy					1st
U.S. Classic		1st
National^[1]
Canadian Champ.	3rd	2nd	4th	2nd	2nd
SC Challenge	1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series (began in the 2014–15 season)

With Donohue

International^[26]
Event	2008–09	2009–10
JGP Czech Republic	1st
JGP Germany		3rd
JGP Hungary		4th
JGP South Africa	2nd
National^[2]
U.S. Champ.	3rd J.	3rd J.
Midwestern Sectionals		2nd J.
J. = Junior level JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With McKernan

International^[27]
Event	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
JGP Austria			5th
JGP Chinese Taipei		6th
JGP Mexico		3rd
JGP United Kingdom			4th
NACS Vancouver		1st J.
NACS Pierrefonds	4th N.
National^[24]
U.S. Champ.	7th N.	4th J.	2nd J.
Midwestern Sectionals	2nd N.	2nd J.	2nd J.
Southwestern Regionals	1st N.
Levels: N. = Novice; J. = Junior JGP: Junior Grand Prix; NCAS= North American Challenge Skate

References

1 2 "Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier". Skate Canada.
1 2 3 4 "Piper Gilles / Zach Donohue". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010.
1 2 3 Walker, Elvin (September 23, 2012). "Gilles and Poirier make big impact at international debut". Golden Skate.
1 2 Green, Jeff (December 7, 2013). "Sochi 2014: Piper Gilles lands Canadian citizenship". Hamilton Spectator.
↑ Cox, Jocelyn Jane (February 7, 2008). "Gilles gang: skating times three is golden". Icenetwork. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
1 2 Mittan, Barry (May 27, 2007). "Quick Move to Juniors Pays Off for Colorado Dancers". SkateToday.
↑ "Ice Dancers Piper Gilles and Timothy McKernan End Partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. May 22, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
↑ "U.S. Figure Skaters Announce Off-season Changes". U.S. Figure Skating. May 7, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
1 2 3 Kany, Klaus-Reinhold (July 27, 2011). "Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier Dance to a New Rhythm". IFS Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
↑ Giffin, Taylor O. (February 14, 2013). "Worlds next stop for ice dance pair Gilles, Poirier". Toronto Observer.
↑ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (November 9, 2011). "The Inside Edge: Gilles and Poirier skate, play". Ice Network. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
1 2 3 Thayer, Jacquelyn (July 8, 2012). "Catching Up with Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier". ice-dance.com.
↑ Chiasson, Paul (December 17, 2013). "Sochi 2014: Ice dancer Piper Gilles becomes Canadian citizen". CBC. Associated Press.
↑ Slater, Paula (December 9, 2014). "Work has 'paid off' for Canada's Gilles and Poirier". Golden Skate.
↑ Smith, Beverley (September 29, 2015). "Gilles, Poirier stray from norm in effort to close gap". IceNetwork.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
↑ "Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier: 2013/2014". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Zachary DONOHUE: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 9, 2010.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Zachary DONOHUE: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 20, 2010.
↑ "Piper GILLES / Timothy McKERNAN: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008.
1 2 3 "Piper Gilles / Timothy McKernan". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008.
↑ "Competition Results: Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER". International Skating Union.
↑ "Competition Results: Piper GILLES / Zachary DONOHUE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013.
↑ "Competition Results: Piper GILLES / Timothy McKERNAN". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013.

External links

Media related to Piper Gilles at Wikimedia Commons

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