In the months after the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were productive for Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, but they weren’t very exciting. “Lots of long days, long hours, not doing anything but drills. It got a bit monotonous,” Hawayek said. “We’d ask our coaches, ‘Can’t we work on new programs? New elements?’ They said, ‘No, […]
Ice dancers, Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker, have only been skating with each other for roughly four years, but they have quickly become one of the rising teams to watch in the U.S. After partnering in 2012, they captured the silver at their very first U.S. championships and went on to become the U.S. junior champions in […]
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker are rising stars of American Ice dancing. During the 2013-2014 season, the US Junior Ice Dance champions competed at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships and were crowned World Junior Ice Dance champions. After a strong showing at the junior level, the duo moved up to the senior rankings the […]
There are seasons that can make a career and seasons you just, well, manage. Sometimes they’re one in the same, though Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker will have to look back from a spot well down the line to know if this is one of those. Right now, with the calendar just turning over to 2016, […]
If American ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker know their stylistic strengths, they know even better how they aim to expand them — beginning with a season’s debut at this week’s Finlandia Trophy. Their new short dance, featuring “Waltz of the Flowers” and “Dance of the Parents” from The Nutcracker, came together through collaboration between the […]
There are days when some things don’t work quite right for Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. Twizzles aren’t in perfect unison. A lift doesn’t go up quick enough. Their coaches at the Detroit Skating Club (DSC) are grumpy. Frustration flares. “Why can’t we get this? What’s the matter with us today?” Then they think about the […]
American ice dancers Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker couldn’t be happier with their first run on the senior circuit last season. They fully embraced their transition from juniors to seniors and felt they made a great splash. “We were thrilled with how we transformed into a senior team as well as the performances we put […]
Though Jean-Luc Baker has an unquestionably bright future in skating, his recent past was very good, too. In the past year Baker, who grew up in Edmonds and is a 2012 graduate of Mukilteo’s Kamiak High School, collected two big prizes in ice dancing with partner Kaitlin Hawayek of East Aurora, N.Y. The duo won […]
