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video See more at www.lifeskate.com Interview with Tanith Belbin,  09 World silver medalist in ice dance with Ben Agosto. Tanith was in NYC to support ... Picture

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video See more Tanith and Ben at: www.lifeskate.com My interview with the gorgeous Tanith Belbin and the very handsome Benjamin Agosto at Figure Skating ... Picture

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Title: Tanith BELBIN & Benjamin AGOSTO OD Cup Of China 09

video A truly amazing performance made by Belbin and Agosto during their Free Dance skate at the  08 US Figure Skating Championships. Picture

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video WEBN got up close and personal with  06 Olympic Silver Medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto in this exclusive on ice session prior to their ... Picture

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Tanith Belbin Biography

Tanith Belbin
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Tanith Belbin
Tanith Belbin.jpg

Belbin in a press conference
Personal Information
Full name: Tanith Jessica Louise Belbin
Country represented:  United States
Date of birth: July 11, 1984 (1984-07-11) (age 25)
Place of birth: Kingston, Ontario
Home town: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Residence: Aston, Pennsylvania
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Partner: Benjamin Agosto
Former partner: Liam Dougherty (CAN),
Ben Barruco (CAN - pairs),
Andrew Hinton (CAN)
Coach: Natalia Linichuk
Gennadi Karponossov
Former coach: Igor Shpilband
Marina Zoueva,
Elizabeth Coates
Choreographer: Natalia Linichuk
Former choreographer: Igor Shpilband
J. T. Hornstein
Skating club: IceWorks
ISU Personal Best Scores
Combined Total: 221.26
2005 Worlds
Comp. Dance: 44.00
2005 Four Continents
Original Dance: 67.54
2005 Worlds
Free Dance: 111.54
2005 Worlds
Olympic medal record
Competitor for the  United States
Figure skating
Silver 2006 Turin Ice dancing

Tanith Jessica Louise Belbin (born July 11, 1984) is a Canadian-American ice dancer. Though she holds dual citizenship, she competes for the United States and has competed for the U.S. since she began skating with Benjamin Agosto in 1998. With Agosto, Belbin is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, four time World medalist, three time Four Continents champion (2004–2006), and five-time U. S. champion (2004–2008).

As of November 2009, Belbin & Agosto are ranked third in the world1.

Contents

Personal life

Tanith Belbin was born in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Kirkland, Quebec. She lived and trained in Canton, Michigan for many years, before moving to Aston, Pennsylvania to train at Ice Works.

Belbin's mother, Michelle (McKinlay) Belbin, is a costume designer and she makes some of Belbin's costumes. She trained as a figure skater in St. John's, Newfoundlandcitation needed.

Career

Tanith Belbin competed as a pair skater and ice dancer in Canada before concentrating completely on ice dancing. She was introduced to ice dancing by Paul Wirtz and competed with Liam Dougherty as an ice dancer and Ben Barruco as a pair skater in Canada. She did not compete internationally with them.

Unable to find a good dance partner in Canada, Belbin moved to Detroit in 1998, where she was partnered with Benjamin Agosto by their coach Igor Shpilband. They had early success, winning the bronze at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in their first competitive season. Belbin and Agosto qualified for the 2002 Olympics by placing second at U.S. championships, but were not able to go because Belbin was not an American citizen. Because Belbin started the citizenship process before new rules went into effect, her citizenship would not have been completed before 2007. Belbin and Agosto, therefore, focused more on Nationals and Worlds, winning Nationals four times, and earning the silver at Worlds going into the Olympics.

Fans of Belbin and Agosto wrote letters and signed petitions asking for a special act of Congress to let Belbin become a citizen in time for her to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where many believed they could medal. This was a controversial move. The mother of fellow American ice dancer David Mitchell believed that it was unfair to bend the requirements for US citizenship for Belbin, when so many other "aliens of extraordinary ability" were denied expedited citizenship. Supporters pointed out that the U.S. had three dance team spots at the Olympics only because Belbin and Agosto had earned the third spot by medalling at the 2005 World Championships. Had they not, the U.S. would have had only two spots. By this logic, Belbin and Agosto had earned their own spots. However, by a special act of Congress sponsored by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) that passed on December 28, 2005, which President George W. Bush signed on December 31, 2005, Belbin became a naturalized citizen, making her able to compete for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics. In January 2006, the pair won their third consecutive national title and qualified for the Olympics. Maxim Zavozin, who was half of the 2005 Junior World Champion team of Matthews and Zavozin, also became a U.S. citizen through this special act. At the Turin Olympics, Belbin and Agosto won the silver medal in ice dancing, the highest Olympic result of any American team in the discipline, and the first American ice dancers to win an Olympic medal in 30 years. They went on to win the bronze at Worlds.

For the 2007–2008 season, Belbin and Agosto began with first place finishes at both Skate America and Cup of China which qualified them for the Grand Prix Final, where they placed second. They won their 5th national title and then placed 4th at the 2008 Worlds after a fall by Belbin in the Compulsory Dance.

Belbin and Agosto were regular cast members of the Champions on Ice tour from 2004 until COI went out of business following the 2007 season. They were guest stars on part of the 2008 Stars on Ice tour.

Following the 2007–2008 season, Belbin and Agosto left Igor Shpilband, who had coached them for their entire partnership, and began working with the married coaching team of Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponossov in Aston, Pennsylvania.

Belbin and Agosto began the 2008–2009 season at the 2008 Skate America and 2008 Cup of China, winning silver at both competitions. They withdrew from the 2008–2009 ISU Grand Prix Final after the original dance due to a back injury to Agosto. They withdrew from the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships before the event began due to Agosto's injury2. They were named to the team to the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships. At the World Championships, they won the original dance and placed second in the compulsory and free dances to win the silver medal overall.

Programs

Season Original Dance Free Dance Exhibition
2009-2010 Moldavian Folk Dance Ave Maria
performed by Sumi Jo
Stabat Mater
by Gioachino Rossini
2008-2009 Stepping Out
by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Tosca
by Giacomo Puccini
Falling Slowly
Bleeding Love
by Leona Lewis
2007-2008 Appalachian Hoedown Selections from Frederic Chopin
arranged by Joseph Le Duca
Let's Get Loud
by Jennifer Lopez
SexyBack &
My Love
by Justin Timberlake
2006-2007 Concierto Para Quinteto
by Astor Piazzolla
Oblivion
by Astor Piazzolla
Overture from That's Entertainment!
Amélie (soundtrack)
by Yann Thiersen
Let's Get Loud
by Jennifer Lopez
2005-2006 Let's Get Loud
by Jennifer Lopez
Bulenas
Jaleo
by Luis Winsberg
Duende
by Esteban
Green Acres
American Woman
La Rosa
Let's Get Loud
by Jennifer Lopez
2004-2005 Charleston: Cabaret
Slow Foxtrot: New York, New York
Quickstep: Cabaret
Shadritsa
Edvin Marton's Russian Gypsy Dance
Green Acres
2003-2004 Jitterbug: 5 months, 2 weeks, 2 days
by Louis Prima
Blues: Give me Some Money Too
by Leni Hester
Swing: Hey Pachuco
by Royal Crown Revue
West Side Story
by Leonard Bernstein
Elvis Presley Medley
Green Acres
2002-2003 Waltz: La Traviata Drinking Song
by G. Verdi
Polka: Jolly Robbers
by Franz von Suppe

Heartbreak Hotel &
Hound Dog &
Jailhouse Rock &
Teddy Bear
by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley Medley (modified FD)
2001-2002 The Mask of Zorro, A Los Amigos Sarajevo Oscar Tango
2000-2001 More, Girls Girls Girls Alexandros Un Vie d'Amour
1999-2000 The Four Seasons
by Vivaldi
Un Vie d'Amour

Competitive highlights

(with Agosto)

Post-2004

Event 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010
Winter Olympic Games 2nd
World Championships 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th 2nd
Four Continents Championships 1st 1st 2nd
U.S. Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st WD
Grand Prix Final 2nd WD 2nd WD
Skate America 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st
Cup of China 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st
Cup of Russia 1st
Nebelhorn Trophy 1st
  • WD = Withdrew

Pre-2004

Event 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 2003–2004
World Championships 17th 13th 7th 5th
Four Continents Championships 2nd 2nd 1st
World Junior Championships 3rd 2nd 1st
U.S. Championships 1st J. 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st
Grand Prix Final 3rd
Skate America 5th 3rd 1st
Trophee Lalique 6th 3rd 4th
Cup of Russia 2nd
Goodwill Games 5th
Junior Grand Prix Final 4th 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Mexico 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Germany 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Canada 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Japan 2nd
  • J = Junior level

(with Barrucco)

Event 1996–1997
Canadian Championships 2nd N.
  • N = Novice level

References

  1. ^ "ISU World Standings for Figure Skating and Ice Dance - Ice Dance". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/ws/wsdance.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
  2. ^ Injury Forces Belbin and Agosto to Withdraw from 2009 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships

External links