On partnering up together
Hannah: After Worlds, it was known within the school [IAM Ice Dance Academy of Montreal] that I split with Ye [Quan].
Zachary: After the Olympics, we re-evaluated ourselves [Zak and Marjorie]. We are very different. Personality wise, it was superb because we worked really well together. However, when it came to artistic vision, we were very different and sometimes we were at an impasse. During our career, there weren’t any fights but let’s just say there were some hesitations artistically. We had to ask ourselves if this could work out for the next four years, maybe even eight years… maybe yes, maybe no. After an Olympic cycle, it was the best time to try something else. There was stuff going on so when I was sure that it was time to change, I gave Hannah a call.
Hannah: He texted me like he was like "can we have a call?”. I didn't want to have my hopes up because I was wondering what was going on and I didn’t know. But then we called and chatted a bit, and then went through the process of possibly trying out together.
Zachary: It’s different but, honestly, it hasn't really been challenging [being in this new partnership]. Having to work with someone new takes work but it’s been a pleasant process overall. It’s a good experience to have. While I still need to learn new things with Hannah, for my own personal career, this is a great opportunity to learn. Since our initial tryouts, there was one week of adaptation with our reflexes.
Hannah: When you first get into a partnership, you're so used to skating with one person. Their habits, and their ways of moving. I thought it was gonna take longer to adjust but it actually only took a week to kind of get used to it. After a week or so, it almost felt normal. I think challenges would maybe be seeing each other under stress or doing runthroughs when cardio picks up, Stuff like that, I think, would maybe be a challenge that we need to overcome but we take it as it comes.
Zachary: I think that also we have a similar dance-style background so that made it easier as well.
Hannah: You did say I get frustrated faster than you,
Zachary: I think so? What do you think?
Hannah: Maybe yes? 😂 Because I feel like I'm rushing, and you're like it's okay, and I'm like, is it!?
Zachary: Yeah, it is okay.
What they admire and appreciate about each other
Zachary: I think I admire Hannah’s work ethics. I think you work very hard. I thought I was working very hard, and then in the first two weeks she broke me. She's open-minded too. It’s just so fun to go to training every morning. It's serious but at the same time we can have fun.
Hannah: I also admire his work ethic. I thought the same for him. I thought I worked hard but I feel like Zak works harder. I think it's the fact that we can go back and forth with ideas on the ice really easily. We also have very similar ways of dancing, ways of moving, and music styles so we can talk on and on about that on and off the ice. I really appreciate that.
Training
Zachary: It doesn’t change [not being able to compete internationally this season]. It's more like it's more of a sprint. It is business as usual.
Hannah: We’re taking this season like an international one because we don't like to get in the mindset that we can chill. We still think it's just as important to showcase our stuff
Goals
Hannah: Short term would be looking more towards Canadian Nationals because our season is not going to be an international one. We're looking to have our best performance at Nationals. Maybe a podium? Somewhere around the top. We’re just being ambitious because we know there's a lot of teams in Canada. Long term would be Worlds and the Olympics, and just trying to climb our way up.
Motivation
Hannah: It's going to be hard to stay motivated because like all our friends are leaving, and everyone is getting Grand Prix assignments. I'm not gonna lie, I am a jealous person so I'll get jealous and frustrated, but I think we can talk about it, and we'll definitely channel that energy towards bettering ourselves at home.
Programs
Hannah: We can give a bit of a hint. For the rhythm, as you know, it's waltz and the pattern is coming back. We're really excited about that. Everyone is having their own take on the waltz; I've seen some latin waltz, polka waltz, jazz waltz, like a bunch of tango waltz, and a lot of different styles. We wanted to really take our own take on it which is just showcasing the waltz. Like, here is our waltz, we want you to see it, and we’re not hiding it. So I think we’re going to go more of a classical route and kind of going back to our roots. I've always loved doing classical skating like ballet and stuff like that, and Zak thinks so too. I think I said this in one of my reels, but I just love the waltz that we chose. I was like, if we're doing waltz, I want to do that, and then he was like, I love that waltz too. So yeah, we just took one of our favourite songs.
On which country to represent
Hannah: It was pretty difficult. Korea really felt like my home for a bit, my parents are both Korean, and I represented Korea most of my ice dance career. That was what I was really used to. The fans, the KSU, and their support was everything to me. I was really going back and forth. I have both passports, so I could equally decide to stay with Korea or to stay with Canada but I decided there were not so many Korean guys. I was thinking there are not many guys that would switch to Korea for me, and I already did that with Ye. I just thought, well, if I'm skating with Zak, he's Canadian and I already have a Canadian passport. It seemed like the easiest route. The only thing was that I needed to take a year off. In the end, I thought that was maybe more beneficial for myself.
About social media
Hannah: A long time ago, I was really into YouTube. I was into YouTube vlogs, vlogging competitions, and like training and behind the scenes. Now, people are shifting away from YouTube and long from content to shorter stuff like TikTok and reels. So I've been trying to do that more. I love vlogging and filming what I do in a day. I find the little trends more fun and silly things like those are more of my vibe. I always look for partnership content and little funny things that Zak and I can do together. Before getting on the ice, or after training, I'll ask if we can do this and he’ll say "Of course, yeah.”
Zak: If I do it with her, it’s okay.
Team name
Hannah: LimGha is not my vibe. I like LiLa! A fan messaged me and was asking me what our team name was. I said I'd do a poll on Instagram, but I think I never did it, but I think I definitely prefer Lila
Zak: How about HanAk? 😂
Hannah: Noooo! Someone was like HanZa.
Zak: HanZa feels nice!
An update! Hannah told us they want to be officially called LiLak because it sounds like the flower!
We’re wishing the best of luck to LiLak in this new partnership!
