In focus: Emilia Monika Ziobrowska, Shiloh Douglas Judd and the start of their Romanian journey

On December 14th, 2024, Emilia Monika Ziobrowska and Shiloh Douglas Judd competed in EduSport Trophy in Otopeni, Romania, the first international event of their career, and became the first senior ice dance team that Romania ever had.

They entered the event eyes on the big prize: not only skate on Romanian soil for the first time, as the country’s representatives, but also looking at minimum technical scores needed to qualify for 2025 Europeans.

Which they did, they did!, and you saw them performing in Tallinn this January in what felt like the beginning of a new era for the Romanian skating in general and for the (non-existent up to that point) Romanian ice dance in particular.

So get to know Emilia and Shiloh from the conversations below, as they share their individual stories and then their common story after a successful tryout in the summer of 2023.

And get to know them also through the eyes of their coach, Elena Novak, who travelled with Emilia and Shiloh to Romania, and to their subsequent competitions in Europe at the end of 2024 – beginning of 2025.

by Florentina Tone

With all that was happening around them at EduSport Trophy last December, the firsts, the fret and the excitement, Emilia and Shiloh must have felt the pressure to deliver in Otopeni – and there was indeed palpable pressure all throughout the week preceding the event, Emilia shyly smiles.

She is 20 years old and she wears her youth, her enthusiasm and the pressure of responsibility up her sleeves. Yes, she was nervous, she admits. There are so many things to consider, and she didn’t want to disappoint anyone – her partner, her coaches, people in Romania, because she knows, they know: they’re the first senior ice dance team to ever represent Romania in competitions.

Almost Romania’s first ice dance team ever, come to think of it, since their predecessors, Ioana Risca and Chase Brogan, entered only one competition as Romanian representatives on junior level, 2010 Junior Worlds in The Hague, Netherlands.

MEET EMILIA AND SHILOH

The short version of their story?

Emilia Monika Ziobrowska, born in Warsaw, Poland, and Shiloh Douglas Judd, born in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, are representing Romania in skating competitions starting this season.

First thing you need to know? They’re good already.

And they are beautifully surrounded by people who know ice dance to the core – their coaches, Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov – and by so many people wishing them well.

Take Romania-born Luiz Taifas, owner of ION International Training Center in Leesburg, Virginia, where the two dancers train, and the one who had the idea of forming an ice dance team to represent his country of origin.

You’re the mother and the father of the team, from what we gather, we “confront” Luiz Taifas in Otopeni and he starts laughing: “Elena, Elena is the mother [coach Elena Novak smiles nearby], you can say I’m the uncle…”, and then he delves into the layers of this partnership, from the idea of it to the imagined future.

“We’ve never had ice dance in Romania, I don’t remember any ice dancers from my time as a competitive skater, and I knew very little about ice dance. But I am getting educated by Elena and Alexei, the coaches at our academy, and I am constantly learning about this discipline which is so beautiful.

And at a certain point I thought: why not have a team to represent Romania? So many countries have so many couples, and Romania doesn’t have any, and I suggested Elena and Alexei to try having one.

Shiloh was already at our academy, Emilia was searching for a partner, that’s how it happened.

But we want to do more, we want to bring ice dance to Romania, to organize camps with our coaches here, to have juniors, to have novice, to develop solo dance… This is just the start”, Luiz Taifas says and you believe him.

After all, he built a training center in Virginia from scratch, with all the needed facilities for skating, and then, after COVID, he welcomed Elena Novak, Alexei Kiliakov and their ice dance academy under its roof, and the famous WISA (Wheaton Ice Dance Academy) became ION Ice Dance Academy by WISA.

Among the skaters at this particular academy, Emilia and Shiloh.

And there you have them only hours after their official release performing at 2024 EduSport Trophy in Romania, the country they decided to represent almost a year ago – and there you have them on 3rd place after a sparkling rhythm dance performance to music sang by Donna Summer.

Hear them below, applaud them, because they dive into unknown, into uncharted territories, and they are fully taking on the opportunity, the responsibility.

ABOUT THE VERY IMPORTANT ROLE THAT MOTHERS HAVE

Emilia, when did you start skating? What do you remember from back then?

[Born on August 6th, 2004, in Warsaw, Poland, Emilia talks on a soft, rather shy voice about beginnings, family, skating. Keep that in mind for when their coach, Elena Novak, will be asked to share a couple of things about her students.]

Emilia: I started skating when I was 5 and it was actually because of my mom [smiling].

It has always been her dream to be a figure skater, but she never did it as a child, she started skating as an adult – and me and my younger sister, we started too.

At first, it was just for fun, but then it got a little bit more serious and we started doing it professionally.

Is there something in particular that you remember from those early days?

Mom used to take us to public sessions, she was getting lessons, and I remember we always looked up to her. She was our mentor, I would say, someone we would follow, but then it also became my passion and my favorite thing to do.

You were born in Warsaw, if I read that right…

I was born in Warsaw and I have always trained there until I switched to dance, in 2021. I was a freestyle skater at first, but then, after COVID, I decided that I really wanted to start ice dancing because I have always liked the artistic part of skating, it was always something I enjoyed doing.

Anyone in particular that you admired at the time?

I was always looking up to Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and, from the single skaters, to Carolina Kostner and Yuna Kim.

Exquisite skaters to be inspired by…

[smiling] Yes, they were my inspiration: I really enjoyed the way they skated, the skating skills they presented.

So, in 2021, you switched to ice dance…

Yes, I was 16-17 at the time and I started taking lessons from some ice dance coaches in Warsaw.

And then I got an offer from a very good coach in Poland, in Toruń, and also one from Gdansk. And I made the decision to move to Toruń, to train with Sylwia Nowak-Trębacka.

I stayed there for two years, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t find a partner, I was skating by myself. So I did solo dance for a year, I even competed once, but it wasn’t an international competition, it was an Interclub event in Poland.

And I was doing well, and then I switched coaches again, but not for so long, because Shiloh emailed me and he said he would like to try out with me, and I decided to go for it.

Shiloh, it’s time you step into the conversation: that’s when you messaged Emilia, right?

Shiloh: Yes, that was in the summer of 2023.

“I LOVE GABY AND GUILLAUME FOR THEIR SHAPES AND LINES, AND I LOVE VIRTUE AND MOIR FOR THEIR POWER AND DRAMA”

Until we talk about your common story, and how the tryout went, please tell me a bit about yourself, Shiloh. When did you start skating, which are your first skating memories, who took you to skating lessons?

[Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, on June 15th, 1995, Shiloh is so much like Emilia: he talks in a quiet, contained way. You can’t help but noticing: they don’t like to make any noise these two, they’re the very opposite of effusive.]

Shiloh: I have always lived in Virginia, and my mom and I always liked ice skating. And I figured that the first step would be to try to take the hockey class.

I mean, back then, I didn’t even know there was figure skating… [smiling]

So I went to do hockey, I was 12, and that’s how I found a coach that convinced me to try figure skating. I did hockey first, for a very short while, and then I started skating.

And I found out that I just loved figure skating, I would be at the rink all day. You know, during the summer all day, and after school, you just couldn’t take me away.

And I did freestyle for most of my skating time, and then…, how long is it now?, for 7 years I’ve been doing ice dance. And I feel that I have a much stronger connection to ice dance, because it’s really my favorite part of skating, the artistry, the emotion…

I’ll ask you the same question that I asked Emilia: when you discovered ice dance was there a team that inspired you, a team that you looked up to, or more than one?

I was really drawn to Papadakis and Cizeron, and I also loved Virtue & Moir – for different reasons.

We’re very much into the “inside” part of skating here at Inside Skating, so can you elaborate on those reasons?

[smiling] I love Gaby and Guillaume for their shapes and lines, and I love Virtue and Moir for their power and their drama.

What followed afterwards?

I tried solo dance while I looked for a partner, and I skated with a girl in Delaware at first – she was going to school there.

And there wasn’t much growth, I guess, so I went back to Virginia and I started training with my coaches now, Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov…

I remember you from the days when you were skating for Japan…

I skated for Japan, yes, with Nicole Takahashi – we skated for two years, but only one competitive season.

The first year was right after COVID and Japan wasn’t letting skaters do international events because they didn’t want to have their skaters sick. So unless they were doing senior Grand Prix-s, they didn’t want them to take the risk of going somewhere.

Looking back at those times when you skated with Nicole, how would you say it was, what did you learn from the experience?

I feel I made a lot of growth with Nicole, because it was also when I transitioned to WISA and having a whole year to just work together, building skills versus just doing programs, I feel like that was very beneficial to me.

What were the other teams doing ice dance in Japan at the time?

Kana and Daisuke, that was their last year I think, and also Misato and Tim were skating.

I’ve never seen an arena that full and supportive like the one in Japan, that was really cool.

But when Nicole decided to focus on work, it was difficult to find another Japanese partner. And I had a few tryouts, and I had time for one more, which was with Emilia, and I feel it was the one where we saw the most growth.

How did you find out about her, how did you two find each other?

Through Ice Partner Search.

Oh, that’s a good starting point – a lot of other skaters found themselves like that, I’m thinking at Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri, for example… And when did you have the tryout?

Emilia: It was at the end of August 2023, I came in the US for the tryout with my mom.

And you tried out and… what happened?

Shiloh: I had had a few tryouts and I feel like… They were good skaters, of course, but I didn’t feel that it was going somewhere, whereas with her we saw that, all of a sudden, we could do really good stuff.

“IT’S A LOT OF FIRSTS, ACTUALLY: FIRST FOR ROMANIA, OUR FIRST INTERNATIONAL…”

And how did Romania get into the picture? With Luiz’s help, I gather…

Shiloh: Yes, I knew Luiz for a while, and I feel like the rink that he built [ION International Training Center in Leesburg, Virginia] is like a family, and everybody helps each other out.

And when Emilia came, we thought of maybe representing US, Poland, but it just seemed [“…difficult”, Emilia adds]. Yes, we felt it could be very difficult.

And Luiz mentioned that we could skate for Romania.

And you are doing exactly that, so tell me how the journey has been so far. You competed in two events prior to EduSport Trophy…

Shiloh: Yes, we did Lake Placid, the non-international version, the domestic version, and we also did Challenge Cup, which is in Philadelphia.

And here, at EduSport Trophy, you’re skating in your first international event…

Shiloh: It’s a lot of firsts, actually. First for Romania, our first international…

How would you say your rhythm dance went? [Emilia and Shiloh were 3rd after RD]

Emilia: For me it was really exciting! I really liked the atmosphere, I really liked performing here, and even if I’m stressed, it’s not pressure, I feel very happy and honored to be here. Happy and thankful, yes.

As for the performance, I feel that it was a very good one. Obviously, there are things that could have been better, but I’m very pleased with that, I think we both are.

FIRST SET OF COMPETITIVE PROGRAMS. THEIR ALLIES: DONNA SUMMER AND THE IRREPRESSIBLES

Let’s talk a bit about your programs this season, choreography, music – are there your first or second set of programs?

Emilia: First.

Shiloh: It took a while to find music, mainly for the rhythm dance, but the free dance was hard too. I feel we have a very similar skating style, but with music was a little bit different, our interests…

Emilia [smiling]: We tried to find a balance…

A common language…

Shiloh: Yes, and we found something for the free dance, it’s by The Irrepressibles, “In This Shirt”, and we also found another piece to accompany it, by the same artist, and the same album.

And then Elena was playing music by The Irrepressibles one day and she said: Hey, how about this piece for the first part? And we were like: OK, so that’s how we found the overall music for it.

Emilia: And the rhythm dance is all by Donna Summer. I think we decided first on “The Last Dance”: the music is slow, but it’s also fast and dynamic, so it was a good piece.

But we wanted to add something more, and we were looking for the songs of Donna Summer and “Walk Away” was the one that we liked the most. And not many people are using it, so I feel like it’s a good choice.

You’re now here, at EduSport Trophy, what’s next on your agenda? How do you see yourselves this season – any other competitions to attend to, other places to go to?

Shiloh: We’re really looking forward to Europeans. And the only way to do that was by participating in an international, getting the minimums – but we didn’t ever do international until now, and we didn’t know what we were expecting…

Did you feel that pressure coming here, for your first international?

Shiloh: I was a little anxious, yes, because Romania has never had a team and… it’s a lot to think about.

Emilia: I felt a bit the pressure this week, yes.

I know that many people are excited to have a Romanian team, so it’s a big thing and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone, but I also knew that if I’m gonna stress about it it’s not gonna go well, so I just tried to block this and just do my best and enjoy.

GOING TO EUROPEANS? “IT ALMOST DOESN’T FEEL REAL”

After having performed their free dance at EduSport Trophy, Emilia and Shiloh got the confirmation they were looking for: minimum TES checked, they knew they would go to Europeans.

A chorus of happy voices surrounded them in the Kiss and Cry and you could tell: amidst that joyous noise, the hugs and the congratulations, in the arms of their coach, Emilia and Shiloh looked relieved.

And they’ll still be in shock minutes after the scores had been announced.

How was it today, Emilia? [she was the first to exit the locker room] How was it going into the free dance, were you nervous, were you stressed going after those points?

Emilia: I think I was mostly tired today. I was nervous after yesterday, I still tried not to have too much expectations on myself, just do the same we do every day.

And how do you assess it was?

Emilia: I think that everything was good, and the mistakes we made was something that we can easily fix.

Shiloh: For me it took a lot to be here. There were skate malfunctions, we were sick, it took a lot of work to prepare… And we finally made it, so, overall, I really can’t be upset about, because, yes, one element was bad, but everything else was really good.

You are the first Romanian ice dance team to qualify for Europeans, you’ll go to Tallinn very soon – how does this make you feel?

Emilia: I just want to say that I’m very excited and very, very happy.

Shiloh: I feel like I’m still in shock, it almost doesn’t feel real. Like, it’s our first ever international – and we’re going to Europeans! It’s still a huge shock that we did it.

ELENA NOVAK: „THAT’S THE GOAL”

Head coach at ION Ice Dance Academy by WISA, Elena Novak travelled with Emilia and Shiloh at EduSport Trophy in Otopeni and offered a beautiful, accurate description of her students when the event concluded.

Emilia and Shiloh had finished their first international competition on the 4th place, but, more than that, they had secured the ticket to their first Europeans. No doubt, the coach was thrilled.

Mrs. Novak, tell us about Emilia and Shiloh’s journey… If I’m not mistaking, you were already coaching Shiloh, how come Emilia came to play a part?

Well, because I work in Europe sometimes, teaching at ISU [dance] camps, we know the athletes from Europe and we enjoy to see the progress through the season, through the years…

I saw here in Otopeni as well, watching every dance team attentively, from advanced novice to senior dancers…

Yes, because it’s fun to work with the kids at the beginning of the season, as an ISU moderator, then it’s beautiful to see how the teams progress throughout the year on all levels: advanced novice, juniors, some seniors…

So when Emilia was looking for a partner, she came to our school and we thought this would be a good match: Shiloh is older, he’s experienced, and Emilia needed someone who knew partnering well.

Also: both of them are really, really hard workers – that we could see right away.

Let’s say they have a lesson one time a day, then they would spend several hours on their own. And they’re not the team that is just skating around, or talking, or being relaxed. No, they work, work, work, they repeat elements many times. So this kind of clicked right away.

And if you look at them separately, and then again as a team, what do you see?

They have very interesting personalities, both of them are not…, you know, they’re not loud, they’re not very outgoing, they’re introverted – but not when they skate. Not when they skate.

Also, for me, the most important thing the teams can have, or could learn, is awareness during competition.

Because a lot of athletes are wonderful at practices, but when they compete, they’re not fully on. They’re not fully aware, they don’t have the ability to concentrate on the goal. And the goal is not supposed to be the medal or the scores, it’s really the execution of the elements and your performance.

And we didn’t know how it was going to go with this particular team, because they’re very new, but the two competitions they skated in the United States, they skated both programs clean, and they were very focused, they worked together throughout the programs – and that was already a very good sign.

Here, of course, there were some mistakes on the free dance, but the thing is this was their first international competition, and usually people don’t do well on this. But the way they pulled it off, we are very proud of them.

Shiloh was also very sick prior to competition, we couldn’t do runthroughs, and then he pulled a muscle on the rib so he could not fully use his upper body… There were a lot of factors that didn’t make this a perfect event, but it didn’t affect them, or it affected a little bit the endurance on the free dance, but, other than that, they were not thinking about it and delivered beautiful performances in both programs.

And they qualified a Romanian ice dance team at Europeans for the first time in the history of our sport…

Yes, we are very happy about that.

Throughout the years, the seasons, we at Inside Skating really loved your work with Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter, with Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons, with Caroline Green and Michael Parsons – their programs really stood out, they were always really innovative…

We’re trying, we’re trying. Hopefully we’ll be able to do that with Emilia and Shiloh as well.

Every team needs to reach a certain level, needs to learn enough of the team to be able to do something different for them – but that’s the goal.

***

THEIR FIRST EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

A month later, in Tallinn, at 2025 Europeans, Emilia and Shiloh were truly the embodiment of their coach’s description: they skated their Donna Summer rhythm dance with freedom, ease, abandon – they were fully on.

“They’re introverted, but not when they skate”, remember?

Having scored 49.37 points for their rhythm dance, they finished the first Europeans of their young career on the 26th place, but their performing abilities surely put an exclamation mark around their names.

Emilia and Shiloh competed next at 2025 Egna Dance Trophy, in Italy, in the pursuit of their TES-minimum for 2025 Worlds in Boston. They didn’t get the points they needed – remember, this is only their first season on the international stage – but they had the time of their lives and celebrated the progress, the experience, that team they became in such a short amount of time.

In their own words on their social media accounts at the middle of February:

“Egna Dance Trophy 2025 was a huge success for us and what a great way to end our competitive season! We are so proud of our progress as we feel like we are improving as skaters and as a team at every competition. We would like thank the amazing coaches at WISA for the many achievements throughout this season. Of course we would also like to thank Luiz Taifas for always supporting us!

We are excited to come back even stronger for next season!”

[Story, interviews by Florentina Tone
Photos by Bogdan Buda, Florentina Tone, Alberto Ponti
Featured and Homepage photo by Bogdan Buda]

TO FOLLOW: Emilia and Shiloh’s first competitive season in photos