Piper Gilles is a Canadian-American ice dancer who competes internationally for Canada. She is a two-time Canadian national medalist and the 2014 Four Continents silver medallist with Paul Poirier. Gilles raced for the United States with Timothy McKernan and Zachary Donohue earlier in her career, collecting four medals in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.
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Early Life, Family, and Education
Piper Gilles was born in Rockford, Illinois, on January 16, 1992. She started her basic studies at Cheyenne Mountain High School. Her grandma and mother are both Canadians. On December 17, 2013, she joined her Grannie and mom to become a Canadian citizen. Todd, her older brother, competed in ice dance, with Alexe, her twin sister, in singles.
During her childhood, the Gilles family’s home in Colorado was frequently visited by other skaters training in the area, including Adam Rippon, Liam Firus, and Yukina Ota.
She went to Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, to study fashion design.
Gilles suffers from dyslexia.
Career
Piper Gilles and Timothy McKernan
In 1994, Gilles began learning to skate. In January 2003, she teamed up with Timothy McKernan after skating with him on a trial basis earlier in the year. They first competed at the juvenile level in 2004, and won a bronze medal. They were crowned intermediate dance champions in 2005. At the 2007 U.S. Championships, the duo won the junior pewter medal, followed by silver at the 2008 U.S. Championships. On May 22, 2008, they announced the end of their collaboration. Gilles had outgrown McKernan physically, so the partnership came to an end.
Piper Gilles and Zachary Donohue
In the summer of 2008, Gilles teamed up with Zachary Donohue. They made their international debut at the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix, which they won in Ostrava, Czech Republic. They took silver in their second competition, which took place in Cape Town, South Africa. At the 2009 U.S. Championships, they took bronze in the junior division.
Gilles/Donohue finished ninth at the 2010 World Junior Championships after repeating as national bronze medalists. In May of 2010, they announced their breakup. Years later, Gilles reflected on the end of their partnership and say that she and Donohue were “very similar – very emotional and driven – but it didn’t work for us. And we tried, we tried so hard to make it work, and again, it just wasn’t the right partnership for either of us.”
With the chances of finding a new partner being slim, Gilles decided to branch out and relocate to Los Angeles. She was offered the role of Rapunzel in Disney on Ice’s production of Tangled after appearing in the band Simple Plan’s music video for the song “Can’t Keep My Hands off You.”
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier
Paul Poirier, a Canadian ice dancer, contacted Gilles to set up a tryout. On July 27, 2011, the two confirmed that they will be representing Canada together. Due to Gilles’ need for a release from US Figure Skating, they were unable to participate internationally in their first season. They chose to train at the Scarboro Figure Skating Club at the Ice Galaxy in Scarborough, Ontario, under Carol Lane. Christopher Dean choreographed their free dance in early June in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
At the 2012 Canadian Championships, Gilles/Poirier took bronze. Fourth-place finishers Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill took the third world team spot that season due to their ineligibility for international play.
Gilles and Poirier won gold at the US Classic in September 2012. 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard were their Grand Prix assignments. They finished fourth and sixth in both events, respectively, before winning silver at the 2013 Canadian Championships. They finished fifth in the 2013 Four Continents Championships, with a bronze medal in the free dance. They finished eighth at their first World Championships, which were hosted in London, Ontario.
Poirier had a major ankle injury in May 2013, postponing the team’s preparation for the upcoming season. The NHK Trophy, where they finished fifth, and the Rostelecom Cup, where they finished sixth, were their assigned tournaments for the 2013–14 Grand Prix season. In December 2013, Gilles became a Canadian citizen, allowing him and Poirier to compete in the Olympics.
The couple finished fourth in the 2014 Canadian Championships, hampered by Poirier’s injury, and were not selected for the Canadian Olympic team. Years later, Gilles would agree that the outcome “was definitely disappointing… We didn’t want that big upset to change our goals in the future, and I think that made us stronger, and more comfortable with each other because we really had to lean on each other. So I think it made all of us closer and better as athletes, and more well-rounded.” They were sent to the 2014 Four Continents Championship instead of the Olympics, where they won silver, finishing behind Gilles’ former partner Donohue and his new partner Madison Hubbell.
Both of their Grand Prix tournaments, the 2014 Skate Canada International and the 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard, saw Gilles/Poirier win silver. They qualified for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in 2014–15, where they finished sixth. They came in second place behind Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje at the 2015 Canadian Championships. The two finished sixth at the 2015 World Championships, bringing their season to a close.
The 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy was Gilles/Poirier’s first win of the season. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final as second alternates after winning bronze at the 2015 Skate America and silver at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard. After winning national silver in the 2016 Canadian Championships for the second year in a row.
They came in fifth place at the 2016 Four Continents Championships, a dismal performance that forced major changes to their short dance routine, which had originally been designed as a mix of music by The Beatles and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The dance was mostly set to Beatles music after the changes. Gilles/Poirier debuted the new program iteration at the 2016 World Championships in Boston, finishing fifth in the short and making the final flight in the free dance for the first time in their relationship. They came in eighth place in the free dance and eighth overall.
Gilles, Poirier, their coach Carol Lane, and choreographer Juris Razgulajevs are credited with elements of the short dance choreography that premiered in Boston being chosen by the ISU as a new pattern dance dubbed the March.
The return to competition of Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir in the 2016–17 season had an impact on the standings of the other Canadian ice dance teams. At the 2016 Skate Canada International, the 2016 Trophée de France, and the 2017 Canadian Championships, Gilles/Poirier won bronze. For much of the season, the two suffered from mistakes in their disco-themed short dance, with Gilles falling in the 2017 Four Continents Championships and a stumble at the French tournament. “Physically challenging and absolutely taxing mentally,” Gilles said of the outcomes. At the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, they came in eighth place.
Both of their Grand Prix assignments, the 2017 Skate America and the 2017 Rostelecom Cup, saw Gilles/Poirier finish fourth. Following this, the two decided to change their free dance program in the middle of the season, ditching a film noir-themed routine in favour of a James Bond routine. “A more accessible vehicle going into the Olympics, and one that (fans) can more readily relate with,” Poirier explained.
Is Piper Gilles in a relationship with Paul Poirier?
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier may seem to have very strong chemistry like Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. However, the honest truth is that both of them ain’t seeing each other and never have. Paul Poirier has openly confirmed that he is gay in an interview with Glory Media.
Piper Gilles Engaged to her Boyfriend (Getting Married)
After dating for four years and two days, Piper Gilles accepted her boyfriend Nathan Kelly’s proposal.
Although they had discussed getting married and Gilles had shown Kelly the type of ring she preferred during a trip to the jeweller, Kelly’s whereabouts and Kelly’s planned proposal date were unknown to her.
Piper Gilles Age and Date of Birth
Piper Gilles is 32 years old. Piper Gilles was born on 16th January 1992.
Piper Gilles Net Worth
Piper Gilles is worth $1.8million. This beauty made money from her successful dance career.
Piper Gilles brain tumor
Gilles lost her mother to glioblastoma, a type of aggressive brain cancer, on May 27, 2018. She is aware, however, that her mother is watching her at all times when she is on the ice.
Glioblastoma is one of the most insidious forms of cancer, affecting about 1,000 Canadians each year, the majority of whom are between the ages of 45 and 75.
“It was a death sentence from the beginning – when she was first diagnosed she had a tumour the size of a tennis ball in her brain,” Piper Gilles told The Toronto Sun.
FAQ
is Piper Gilles married?
Piper Gilles is not married yet. Although she’s engaged to her boyfriend, Nathan Kelly.
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