I did not get enough sleep last night, and Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès are to blame. Theirs may be the most beautiful figure skating I’ve ever seen. Their choreography is so different, it’s making me a little crazy. I cannot stop watching them. Part of my obsession is that their music choices, not just the songs but also the cover artists, are positively heartbreaking and so very effective. Their music is giving me all the feels. Oh, and they’re both drop-dead gorgeous, and positively filled with joy. Sure, while they’re skating, they maintain the perfect dramatic tension, but the very second their routine is over, they are all smiles and loving punches and wagging tails. I want to be friends with them both.
The pair has been skating together since 2010. 10 years is an eternity in skating, and that’s no doubt why they are so remarkably in synch. There is an unconfirmed rumor that the duo first found each other on the website icepartnersearch.com. If that’s true, it just confirms my opinion that the internet is a weird and wonderful place. However they found each other, I’m certainly glad they did.
I know there are a LOT of videos below, but I promise you it’s just a small subset of the videos I devoured on YouTube. Just could. Not. Stop. I’m sure I’m going to be sorry by this afternoon, but for now, I regret nothing!
You can follow Vanessa James on Instagram.
Epilogue: A friend and reader let me know that Ciprès is a predator and a Very Bad Man. He is, however, a magnificent skater, so I’m going to leave this here. Poor Vanessa James. But now I am pissed off and I want my sleep back.
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My OBT 
February 21, 2020 at 7:34 am
Oh Donna I am so sorry to burst your bubble. I have been an avid fan of competitive figure skating for about 40 years and know this pair well. Although I agree with everything you say about their skating, and their connection on the ice, unfortunately Cipres is a predator and likely will never be able to return to the US where they trained. To make matters worse his coaches (Fontana and her husband Zimmerman) threatened the 13 yr old girl involved to remain silent about Cipres’ inappropriate behaviour with her. The coaches were in a position of direct responsibility to report Cipres’ behaviour to Safe Sport (let alone to the police) but instead chose to threaten the girl to convince her to be quiet. Some links to this story.
Rumors are he and another coach were grooming the girl and her friend for a long time, among other things. Apparently there is a lot more of this story to come. I doubt very much if Morgan and Vanessa will even compete again.
Just FYI James and Cipres are technically Pairs skaters not Ice Dancers.
To cleanse your palate I offer you France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillome Cizeron’s Free dance from the 2018 Olympics, and Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s winning Free Dance from the 2018 Olympics. Both couples are ice dancers as opposed to pairs skaters.
Alison
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February 21, 2020 at 10:10 am
How heartbreaking. That poor child. And this is the danger of writing a blog about things of which I know nothing. I am thoroughly deflated. I’ve (accidentally) posted about people who made beautiful art but turned out to be monsters before. I’m going to leave this here (with some edits), but now I’m pissed. Thank you for telling me. And thank you heaps and heaps for the palate cleansers!
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February 21, 2020 at 10:50 am
I so agree about poor Vanessa James. We’ve heard nothing from/about her in this mess but for sure her career has also been completely derailed by this. Sad all round. I’m beyond appalled by the coaches too. Much is coming to light now about sex abuse in the very close-knit and secretive figure skating world. Perhaps not on the scale of what happened in gymnastics, but bit by bit much is coming out of the woodwork.
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February 21, 2020 at 11:18 am
So ugly. I’m glad it’s finally coming to light, but the illusion is completely shattered.
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February 21, 2020 at 11:28 am
Sorry 😦
My faves of all time I think are Virtue and Moir – dive down that rabbit hole. Nothing icky there 🙂
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February 21, 2020 at 4:32 pm
I shall, and thank you for letting me know, sincerely.
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November 1, 2020 at 11:32 am
I did note you used the word rumor, maybe we should hear both sides before we condemn. I have read the story concerning this charges and I have more questions, so I will wait until investigation is over before I cast my verdict, because unfortunately everytime I see anything about this story Vanessa James name is attached, she is not involved in the Alleged offence, so I definitely will continue to enjoy this magnificent skating pair. Thank you for posting their videos, their skating is truly beautiful.
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November 1, 2020 at 11:46 am
I agree. That’s why I left the post up.
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February 21, 2020 at 7:39 am
I can see none of the links worked – will try again.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/12/10/sexual-abuse-olympic-figure-skater-coaches-being-investigated/2629777001/
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February 21, 2020 at 8:30 am
They have a real chemistry on the ice
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February 21, 2020 at 11:16 am
They really do.
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February 21, 2020 at 8:33 am
I do love ice dancing. This was once a dream of mine but living in Texas with no ice kinda smushed it. LOl
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February 21, 2020 at 11:17 am
I always thought I would love it, too, but I didn’t want to work that hard.
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February 21, 2020 at 12:52 pm
I watched the videos about three hours ago. I debated if I wanted to post anything on this or not. I decided to go ahead and post. Donna mixed dance and free style, which was enjoyable. But they are two totally different skating. I met my wife of 48 years at a skating rink in St. Louis. Yes, I was aware of the Cipes’s charges. Not to the detail that Allison and Don knew and posted. It happens a lot more often that is ever reported. Between dancing and skating I watch a lot of You Tube and have my favorites. The jury is still out but I am watching and following the current Weinstein USA Trial that finally made it to court. I am torn between wishing they would remove the Cipes’s video or leave them. They are beautiful on ice. I did have a small smile, when she changes dresses back and forth in one of the videos. I strongly support Donna and I am happy she did not remove the video’s and left them here today. What happens off stage does not take away the beauty of what happens on ice. Donna gave us a real gift today with this post. I don’t want to belittle it but if all he did was send an inappropriate picture, should that ban them? Doesn’t that hurt her and much as him? Couldn’t she find another partner and continue? I hope, like a lot of Hollywood movies, there is a happy ending to this. NO, Donna feel free to post what you find without doing weeks of background research on it. I think there is a lot more dirt in gymnastics then skating. I love both. — Hal
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February 21, 2020 at 4:36 pm
Thanks, Hal, for your continued support. I really do appreciate it. I do not want us to get into why the pictures, the intimidation, and the grooming were so wrong, but I certainly won’t be watching any more of his videos.
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