Introduction
Igor Yuryevich Shpilband (Russian: Игорь Юрьевич Шпильбанд, born July 14, 1964) is an American ice dancing coach and former competitor for the Soviet Union. He is the 1983 World Junior champion with former partner Tatiana Gladkova.
Personal life
Shpilband was born in Moscow on July 14, 1964, to a Jewish family. In 1990, he and several other Soviet skaters were part of a U.S. tour headlined by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean when one of them, Gorsha Sur, decided to defect; Shpilband, Veronica Pershina and Elena Krykanova decided to join him.
Shpilband got a coaching position in Detroit not long after. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 2000. With his former wife Veronica Pershina, he has a daughter, Ekaterina, a competitive figure skater for the United States. In 2006, he became engaged to skating coach Adrienne Lenda.
Competitive and coaching career
Shpilband was coached by Lyudmila Pakhomova from age 12 to 20. He and his partner, Tatiana Gladkova, won the silver medal at the 1982 World Junior Championships and then gold in 1983. Shpilband retired from competitive skating following Pakhomova's death in 1986.
Following his defection, he began working as a coach and choreographer at the Detroit Skating Club. Gorsha Sur recommended him as a coach to Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow, who were among his first students. Shpilband formerly worked in collaboration with British coach Elizabeth Coates. He began coaching with Marina Zueva in 2001. In 2003, Shpilband began coaching at the Arctic Edge Arena in Canton, Michigan. On June 3, 2012, Shpilband confirmed that he had been fired from the Arctic Edge Arena. On June 12, it was announced that his new training site is the Novi Ice Arena in Novi, Michigan, and American ice dancers Madison Chock/Evan Bates confirmed that they would train with Shpilband in Novi. They were joined soon after by Isabella Tobias/Deividas Stagniūnas of Lithuania.
Shpilband has coached the following skaters:
- Alisa Agafonova / Dmitri Dun
- Alissandra Aronow / Zachary Donohue
- Tanith Belbin White / Benjamin Agosto
- Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte (co-coach, with Paola Mezzadri from June 2012-July 2014)
- Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein
- Katherine Copely / Deividas Stagniūnas
- Charlotte Lichtman / Dean Copely
- Meryl Davis / Charlie White (until June 2012)
- Margarita Drobiazko / Povilas Vanagas
- Grethe Grünberg / Kristian Rand
- Jessica Joseph / Charles Butler
- Jessica Joseph / Brandon Forsyth
- Siobhan Karam / Joshua McGrath
- Naomi Lang / Peter Tchernyshev
- Caitlin Mallory / Kristian Rand
- Lydia Manon / Ryan O'Meara
- Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat, from May 2013.
- Justyna Plutowska / Peter Gerber
- Elliana Pogrebinsky/Alex Benoit
- Elizabeth Punsalan / Jerod Swallow
- Thea Rabe / Timothy Koleto
- Jamie Silverstein / Ryan O'Meara
- Jamie Silverstein / Justin Pekarek
- Lauren Senft / Leif Gislason
- Lauren Senft / Augie Hill
- Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani (until June 2012)
- Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir (until June 2012)
- Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
- Yu Xiaoyang / Wang Chen
- Penny Coomes / Nicholas Buckland (from May 2015)
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- Thea Rabe / Timothy Koleto at ISU
- [1]
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- [3]
- Coomes, Penny. "Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland change coaches". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
Competitive highlights
(with Gladkova)
| Event | 1981–82 | 1982–83 | 1983–84 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Junior Champ. | 2nd | 1st | |
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2nd |