Q&A with Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin
The reigning U.S. junior ice dance champions are off to a strong start in 2025-26
The 2026 Winter Olympics are still 199 days away, but it's never too early to start thinking about the 2030 cycle. By that time, Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin -- the reigning U.S. junior ice dance champions -- will be eligible to compete, and if their career trajectory is any indication, it would not be a surprise to anyone if they were in Nice, France that season.
For now, the duo is still competing at the junior level, looking to defend their title and build on their success from their first season skating together. They already won gold at the Dallas Classic last week, with a combined score of 160.56, a full 32 points higher than the silver medalists. The duo took some time after the Haus of Diamonds exhibition show this past Saturday to talk to me about the upcoming season, their new programs, and -- because it wouldn't be a "Kingdom of Ice-olation" story without a Disney reference -- how the movie "Frozen" inspired Hana Maria to become a skater.
Q: This is only your second full season together. But you work really well together. How have you developed that kind of chemistry so quickly?
Aboian: We work a lot on the ice, probably six hours of training a day, just to get used to each other a lot. It's a lot of communication this way.
Veselukhin: Yeah, trying to understand each other, and trying to help each other in some forms. Trying to listen. I think the most important thing is to listen to each other and listen in our approaches and just kind of work together, and it's been pretty good.
Q: One of the things I noticed while watching your programs from last season is the announcers consistently praise your speed on the ice. How have you been able to develop that without sacrificing everything else that goes into a good ice dance program?
Veselukhin: I feel like we really just try and work on every skill one-by-one-by-one. So when we work on the speed, for example, we'll also work on our elements, just try to do it together as much as we can, and really focus on each little thing going together as a whole program. That's kind of our way of doing it.
Q: You had a great season last season. Gold at Lake Placid, gold at the U.S. Ice Dance Final, gold at nationals, two podiums in junior grand prixs. You've already got a gold this season at Dallas. So what are your goals for 2025-26?
Aboian: This season, the goal is to really showcase our newest programs to their fullest ability. To compete internationally as much as possible.
Veselukhin: Just be proud to represent the United States of America, of course.
Aboian: Especially since it's the Olympics season. It's truly incredible that USA is able to send out juniors and to support us as well.
Veselukhin: Yeah, we are just really grateful for our federation and everybody who's supporting us.
Q: You mentioned the new programs for this season. Let's start with the rhythm dance. What was your reaction when the ISU announced the '90s as the theme?
Aboian: I love the 90s. There's so many good selections when it comes to programs. I am a huge fan of Madonna and Ricky Martin, so those were my two top picks. And I'm really glad Melissa [Gregory] and Denis [Petukhov] were like, 'We have to go with Vogue.' So it really worked out nicely when it comes to that.
Q: 'Vogue' is an iconic song, also an iconic music video. How much time did you spend watching the video to develop your choreography?
Aboian: Lots of time. Earlier in March we worked with choreographer Dmitry Chaplin and we spent like three full days of just working on watching the video, gathering all the little tidbits that she left. In our footwork, we have a lot of movements from there. We've just really spent a lot of time making sure it aligned with 'Vogue.' We also worked with a 'Vogue' dancer himself, who was in the Madonna shows to really make it like a true Madonna 'Vogue.'
Q: One of the things that's most associated with 'Vogue', particularly the video, is the hand movements. It seems like you really got those down, literally from the very first movement you make in your program. So what was it like to replicate those?
Veselukhin: We were working a lot on our arm movements and the aesthetic of 'Vogue,' and just really be in this feeling. Just kind of imagine ourselves as 'Vogue' dancers and models.
Q: Now, for your rhythm dance, it's a completely different vibe, with Hymnus Orbis by Trailerhead. What was the thought process behind that choice?
Aboian: That one was completely different when it comes to the process. When we were skating in the Junior Grand Prix in Turkey, Melissa and Denis went to Ephesus and they saw the goddess Nike in sculpture form. Something about that goddess, the way that they built, it just really stood out to anyone who sees it. And so we were like, 'we gotta make our own take on this.' So we found some pieces from older shows, and it was and it's kind of its own building concept.
Q: Your rhythm dance last season was frequently praised for basically being ballet on ice. How much did you want to replicate that this season and how much did you want to evolve that?
Aboian: I think we're trying to step in a bit of a different direction and to involve more than just the ballet. It's really creating more of a story. Last year's ballet on ice was truly its own masterpiece. And so there's a lot of things we can take from it. But this year I think the goal is to build more skills, so that when we make our transition to senior, we have our repertoires full of options.
Q: With Denis standing right here, this might be awkward to ask, but what has been like working with Melissa and Denis as your coaches?
Aboian: They're the best. I think they push us every day to our maximum potential. So for each day, we try to push that limit. And I think that they're the best coaches.
Veselukhin: We just have that chemistry together and they really understand us. It really worked out very well with our coaches, and we're just really grateful to everyone.
Q: How much did you lean on their experience specifically to develop your 'Vogue' program this year?
Aboian: They did a 'Vogue' program for a show, right?
Petukhov: Yes, we had a show that we brought in dancers that danced with Madonna at their 2013 Super Bowl. One of them was Javier Madrid. He's one of the main figures in the House of Ninja in New York. So we had quite a bit of choreography and ideas from the show that we did in New York and then we decided once the International Skating Union released the '90s theme, we decided to go. This is it. This is perfect. And we have the perfect skaters and the perfect music, so we just saw this right away and it was an easy choice for us to give Hana and Danil 'Vogue.'
Q: Hana, I specifically wanted to ask you, I saw that you had said previously that you wanted to start skating after seeing the movie 'Frozen.' I'm a huge Disney fan, so I have to ask, what made you decide that?
Aboian: There's that scene where Anna skates on the pond with Olaf. I thought, I was like, 'oh, my gosh, I love this.' And the way she moved created these spirals and she had this really soft elegance to her. And I really wanted to do it. And then I later saw it in the magazine of the town that there were skating lessons available, so I just persistently went to my mom for like a year until she finally let me go skate.
Q: That's incredible. And last but not least, where can we see you skate next?
Aboian: We'll be at the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships [July 27-31 in Lake Placid, N.Y.].