Two-time Czech ice dance champions Natalie Taschlerova and Filip Taschler were excited to start their season this fall. The brother/sister team earned medals at two Challenger Series events and placed 5th at Skate America. There was one big problem, though: Filip Taschler was increasingly suffering from back pain.
“I’d had a problem with my lower back for a long time,” Taschler revealed. “I was thinking it’s just a muscular problem, or inflammation from the hard training. But it was building up. Then it was constant.”
With the pain worsening, Taschler decided to undergo an MRI after Skate America in October. The results revealed his injury was worse than expected: One of the vertebrae in his spine was fractured. If he continued skating, there was a risk of real damage.
“It was a surprise, and not a nice one,” Taschler said. “I had to immediately stop the preparation for Cup of China–even though I was doing normal run-throughs on the day I found out. The main thing was to heal the injury and save our career. It didn’t make sense to push it and destroy my spine completely and not be able to skate anymore. So this was the main thing: To heal it, and learn how to work with it for the future, to prevent other injuries.”
The news came as a shock to Taschlerova.
“Of course, I wasn’t happy at all,” she said. “We were super-excited and ready to go to China. I cried, and I was sad. For a moment, it felt like our whole world just fell down. But in the end, this time was super-useful for us.”
The Czech skating federation requested that Taschler do his rehab and medical follow-up in Prague, where they could monitor and assist. So the duo left their base in Egna, Italy, where they train with coach Matteo Zanni and his team.
“I’m super-grateful that we have these possibilities in the Czech Republic. They really take care of the athletes,” Taschler said. “I did all the rehabilitation there. I also checked other stuff. I wanted to use the time, as much as possible, to arrange and regulate all of my body. Even going to the dentist.”
Taschlerova addressed some of her own health concerns in Prague and spent time with their mother and friends. She continued skating and working out by herself.
“Of course, I missed Italy, because I live there, and I have more friends there now than in the Czech Republic,” Taschlerova noted. “So at the beginning, it was a bit hard. But I think we used this time fully. We tried our best to take care of our bodies, and to get back on the ice in good shape and rested and ready.”
Their goal was to make it back in time for the 2024 ISU European Championships, which begin Monday in Kaunas, Lithuania. At first, they didn’t know if it was possible.
“I had to wait. After one month [off the ice], I did a control MRI with the doctors,” Taschler said. The test showed that the fractured vertebra had healed. Doctors gave the green light for Taschler to return to the ice, as long as he complied with follow-up checks and did special exercises for his back.
The team resumed training in early December. Taschler immediately noticed a huge difference.
“I feel amazing. Pain-free,” he marveled. “Doing the difficult turns without pain, it’s my Christmas gift. I feel much better. Also, with these new exercises, I feel better balanced.”
The team had to ramp up their training gradually.
“The first focus was to get the resistance work [training] to be able to finish the run-throughs,” Taschler said. By late December, they were nearly up to speed. “Now, we are paying attention to the details again–how to make things better, how to score more. And trying to improve until we fly to Kaunas.”
The Taschlers’ coach, Matteo Zanni, is sanguine about the injury.
“To be honest, I think the guys are doing really well,” Zanni said. “Of course, I was not happy at first. But I like to look forward, and I think we got a lot from the situation. It can happen sometimes, it’s not a tragedy. We have to think in the long term. Taking a break is very useful in changing the perspective. So it’s fine.”
Both the Taschlers and their longtime coach hope the injury turns out to be just a brief break in the duo’s impressive rise through the ice dance ranks.
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When the Taschlers first started skating in their hometown of Brno, in the Czech Republic, they didn’t expect to become an ice dance team. As children, both were involved in other sports as well as skating–gymnastics for Natalie, and martial arts for Filip. They also were part of a street/hip-hop dance group. But circumstances led to their teaming up on the ice in 2016.
“I was with my ex-partner, Karolina Karlikova, in advanced novice [level], and I wanted to move to junior. And I was not really feeling that I can keep going with her,” Taschler said. “So I was searching for someone. And I tried ice dancing with my sister.”
“I got injured when I was still doing gymnastics. I broke my arm,” Taschlerova recalled. “After that, I was scared of jumping. At competitions, I did level 4 steps, and everyone was like, You should try ice dance. I said, Okay, let’s try and see. And we ended up together.”
Although it was a financial challenge to have two children skating competitively, the Taschlers’ parents were happy they could compete together.
“They felt glad that we were together and not alone,” Taschlerova said. “Wherever we went, we had each other, so it was good.”
The duo have had their share of sibling fights in the past, but say they now get on well.
“I was 14 when we teamed up, so I was getting into my teenage years,” Taschlerova said. “And I had super-strong opinions, so we had fights. But I think it’s long past.”
“We learned to respect each other and figure it out,” Taschler agreed.
“I’m more emotional,” Taschlerova said of the difference in their personalities.
“She cannot hide things–I always know how she’s feeling,” Taschler said. “I’m not that emotional outside. But inside, I’m competitive.”
Growing up, the Taschlers were inspired by the ice dance teams they saw in high-level competitions.
“For me, it was Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. I had their book, I had their pictures under my bed,” Taschler said. “I was always thinking: I want to be like Scott. Then I realized it’s not really the way, that I have to be myself: Filip Taschler. But it’s always amazing to watch them. At the last Olympics [2022 Winter Olympics], it was amazing to be there and see all the top level [ice dancers]. You could see the details–which, in ice dance, count a lot. There’s a lot of inspiration, or examples we can look up to.”
“For me also, it was Tessa and Scott. And Madison Hubbell,” Taschlerova added.
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Initially, the siblings trained in their hometown of Brno. But, after doing a few skating camps with coach Matteo Zanni in Milan, Italy, they decided to move and train with him full-time. The duo have worked with Zanni ever since (although they also trained part-time with other coaches in the United States in 2019-20).
When the Taschlers and Zanni first started working together, the brother-sister duo were starting juniors, and Zanni was relatively new to coaching. Zanni had been a successful ice dancer at the junior level internationally, competing with Anna Cappellini (later World champion with Luca Lanotte), as well as two other partners. In 2013, Zanni turned his attention to coaching, working initially with Barbara Fusar-Poli and later with several coaches in Milan.
Since the pandemic, Zanni has started his own ice dance group at the Young Goose Academy in Egna. The Taschlers came with him to Egna. Their rise in the sport is intertwined with the growing prominence of their coach’s school.
Asked about his plans for his ice dance group, Zanni replied simply: “I think it’s the goal that everyone has: To be the best. We know it’s not easy. But I’m not afraid of anything about work. I enjoy challenges. I get excited, so it’s fun.”
Zanni decided to move his school to Egna because of the rink there.
“It was very hard to find a rink that would give me the condition to do whatever I wanted,” he explained. “It’s a worldwide problem. It’s hard to find a free field [with sufficient time]. Often you encounter issues with sharing the ice with other disciplines–singles, or pairs. Or hockey or speed skating. Around Europe, there were few rinks offering the conditions I wanted. I thought that Egna was the most promising choice long-term, where I could do what I wanted, with the people I wanted.”
Zanni and the Taschlers poured their energies into improving. The brother-sister duo started their international career with little fanfare. In their first two junior seasons, they placed below the top 10 at most events. In their third junior season, they broke through to win a Junior Grand Prix medal in fall 2019. It wasn’t until their second senior season (2021-22) that success and recognition really started to come. They qualified for the 2022 Olympics, placed 13th at 2022 Worlds, and moved up to 8th place at last year’s Worlds.
Taschlerova said the key to their rise is simply “hard work, all the time, every day. We accept the challenge and go for it.”
“Blood, sweat, and tears,” her brother agreed, with a smile. “There are still a lot of things for us to do. But the main key is hard, smart work.”
“Thanks to Matteo,” his sister said.
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The Taschlers are known for their skating skills, power, and speed on the ice. Reigning Junior World champions Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek, who also train with Zanni, share these qualities.
“For sure, we work that side,” Zanni said. “I think today, the skating side is a bit lost in ice dance. In the natural evolution of the sport, I think we need to bring back those strong skills in skating. We need both the artistic side and great skating. This is our significance. When someone has great speed on the ice, and can provide skills, and not just dancing–which remains the base of the sport–I believe that the skating will attract people [viewers]. I believe in this, and I think we can offer this. Of course, you have to work like an athlete for it to be sustainable physically. But I believe in this vision, and we simply carry on this way.”
In addition to their speed and skating skills, the Taschlers are also noted for programs that are inventive and sometimes unusual. For example, their 2022-23 free dance explored the theme of climate change and included voiceover sections speaking about climate change. The free dance was the subject of debate, but was certainly among the more memorable programs of the season.
“It was Matteo who had the idea first. He told us that we should expect the two sides,” Taschler said of the mixed reaction to the climate change program. “We just loved the idea, because the program overall was really good and interesting–the music, the elements, the [connection to] nature. We were a bit sad that we had to take out some of the voiceovers because we got comments that it was too political. In the end, we are proud that we did it, because you can see in the news what is happening with the climate.”
“The opinion of others will always be [that] someone likes it, someone doesn’t like it,” Taschlerova commented. “It’s important that we feel good in the program, that we like it.”
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The Taschlers and Zanni again chose a slightly different approach to this year’s 1980s rhythm dance. While many teams are skating to top hits from the 1980s, the Taschlers went with songs that are authentic to the era, but not immediate sing-alongs. The first track in their rhythm dance is by Janet Jackson. It’s not one of her iconic hits such as “Rhythm Nation” or “Nasty,” but a track called “The Knowledge,” which addresses themes of self-education and awareness.
“It was super-hard,” Taschlerova said of the process of choosing music.
“We listened to tracks with Matteo. We knew we wanted something from the late 80s, and to mix it in the modern way,” Taschler said.
Initially, the team planned to skate to music by British pop group Wham!.
“But something was missing, and it was not giving them the freedom to express themselves. So we arrived at Janet Jackson,” Zanni said.
“The main thing was to not have the same music as other teams,” Taschler said. “Because of course, it’s super-easy to take the famous tracks. Of course, it’s less complicated. We made it more complicated for ourselves–it took forever to choose the music. But we are happy with this choice. I love the first track by Janet Jackson. People maybe didn’t know it at all [before]. We were just trying to find what will suit us.”
Their rhythm dance music also includes sound effects of cars revving up and accelerating. It’s an added subtext that emphasizes the Taschlers’ speed.
“We were playing with different sounds in Janet Jackson’s albums,” Zanni said. “I mostly do the mixing by myself, it’s part of my passion, and I like it. But I also cooperate with different professionals who help me to compose [program music]. When I need something more difficult to compose or to find, I ask some of the professionals to help. It takes a lot of time to do this work, and I like to mix, but my main job is to be a coach first.”
The Taschlers did a lot of off-ice dance work to prepare for the rhythm dance.
“We first worked with a waacking style,” Taschler said. “Then we were working with a hip-hop funk guy.”
“For us, doing off-ice dance is super-enjoyable, because when we were younger, we were in a street/hip-hop dance group. We also did competitions with the group,” Taschlerova added. “So we enjoy the atmosphere, and the dancers are always super-chill and having fun. It’s a time to just release and let your mind go. You just dance. It’s amazing–the best part of making the new programs.”
Although the Taschlers enjoy the 1980s theme, they are less sold on the other new aspect of this year’s rhythm dance: A choreographic rhythm sequence that incorporates steps from the Silver Samba compulsory. This element replaces last year’s choreographic rhythm sequence, which was skated on the short axis of the rink, had no required steps, and is similar to the choreographic step sequence in the free dance (better known simply as “the choreo step”).
“I’m enjoying the Silver Samba steps,” Taschler said. “But I prefer the choreo step from last year’s rhythm dance. It’s interesting that the ISU is trying to move ice dance in a different way.”
“I agree with Filip that I was enjoying last year’s choreo step more,” Taschlerova said. “In the end, what I really like is that, every year, it’s different. The pattern dances are a bit boring, because it’s all the same. If you imagine that, at this year’s Europeans, 33 couples would do the same pattern dance, also to similar music, I think I would get crazy. So I like that they are trying to change it and search for new things. I like the Silver Samba–it’s strong. But of course, with the [unrestricted] choreo step, you can dance more and be more creative. I like both, and I’m curious what will come for the next year [with rhythm dance requirements].”
Zanni, like fellow ice dance coach Marie-France Dubreuil, is not a big fan of the new choreo rhythm sequence element. He offered a frank assessment of it.
“On one side, it’s good that we are looking for new ideas. But, to be honest, I don’t see anything good aesthetically in this choreo element,” Zanni said. “There is not any artistic side, or anything interesting with this part [element] that is lasting a while, but doesn’t bring anything special to the music or the performance. I prefer the choreo step, because it gives more freedom to create something interesting and suitable for each team. On the other hand, there is the pattern dance with key points. I don’t like this halfway [element] that pretends to be creative, but is not, and you’re still having some limitations.
“Mostly, I think, the judges didn’t understand what to look for,” Zanni continued. “There is such a big range of scoring in the GOEs. Some give zero, some give +4. But, okay, we are exploring. I think it’s a good time to explore, because we are still far from the Olympics. I haven’t met many coaches that like this idea. But this is the rule. We take the challenge, and we try our best within the situation, like always.”
Despite his doubts about this particular element, Zanni broadly supports recent changes in ice dance and attempts to innovate in the discipline.
“There are many cool changes in the rules that I actually like,” he said. “So I think it’s good to try, and to trace a line at the end of the season and say, Okay, it worked quite well, or not. It takes time to explore new ideas. It’s also the fun part of this: We see who is finding the best formula.”
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Unlike their rhythm dance, which is upbeat and funky, the Taschlers’ free dance this season is quite personal and emotional. The program is a tribute to their late father, who died of liver cancer a few years ago. Filip Taschler described the storyline of the program.
“It starts when he was born, in the beginning. Then the twizzle section tells about his love story with our mom,” Taschler explained. “Then the sickness [cancer] is coming, when he’s starting to feel it. And then the last part is heaven. This is the message behind it.”
The team found the music tracks for the program–two songs by Italian musician Giuliano Sangiorgi and his band Negramaro, and a piece by Hungarian pianist Balazs Havasi–and then created the storyline. They’ve continued to refine the program since Skate America.
“We’ve been working more with the music–making some cuts, adding some effects under the music,” Taschler said. “I think now it’s completely perfect. It’s matching the parts [of the story]. We feel really comfortable now in the free dance, I think.”
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Keeping in mind their comeback from injury, the Taschlers don’t have any placement goals at this week’s European Championships.
“We want to perform our best, of course,” Taschler said. “And show that, even with this injury, we improved. We want to enjoy the competition. I’m not really thinking about a position [placement], but to do two clean, amazing performances that people will remember. For me, that’s the main goal now. And what will come from it, it will be a surprise.”
In the long term, though, the Taschlers have higher aspirations.
“We’ve sacrificed so much for this sport,” Taschler said. “We want to get everything we can out of it.”
