David Dai at ISU Grand Prix Cup of China 2023

ДDavid (Dawei) Dai, representing China, debuted at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China with his short program Night Traveller — I Still Love You, leaving the impression of fresh, deep skating. Born in Saint-Petersburg, living and training in Shenzhen, David is fluent in Chinese, English and Russian, in which this interview was recorded.

— How do you like it here? How do you feel?

— It's great. I've been here at Cup of China in 2019, watched the competitions.

— Huh, I've been working at those as well. Xiangyi An was there, she was also too young to compete at the time, but skated at gala.

— Well, I didn't skate, I just watched.

— You're not yet well known to a large audience. Please tell us about yourself, where are you from, how did you start skating.

— I was born in Saint-Petersburg, the year was 2003. We moved to China when I was two. Kindergarten, school, studied in China. I started skating when I was 6. I actually really wanted to skate, but my parents weren't allowing me to, they though it's difficult and dangerous, so I haven't had a chance to try earlier. But I finally got onto the ice, and really liked this sport from the beginning. And so I'm on ice for 15 years already, still skating, still love the sport.

— Your dad is from China, your mom is from Russia, right? How did they meet?

— Yeah. They've met when my dad was studying there in a university.

David Dai at ISU Grand Prix Cup of China 2023

— And at some point you all moved to China, and are still here?

— Yeah, me and my dad are here. My mom went to Russia during Covid, and couln't make it back yet because of the visa difficulties.

— Oh, I'm sorry. Some of my friends are in a similar situation. Tell me where your started skating, who did you train with?

— I started in Shenzhen, at the Lu Chen center with Denis Petrov. Then there was a period when I was skating on my own for two years. I was working on my double Axel and triple toe and Salchow. Later a German coach Constanze Paulinus came to our club (she jumped triple Axel at some point), so I had an opportunity to train with her for the next two years. And then I trained in Beijing with Tong Jian.

— So you've never trained in Russia or elswhere abroad? Foreign coaches would just come here?

— That's right, and I haven't been to Russia ever since we've left.

— Being here, at these competitions, do you feel any pressure, sense of responsibility?

— I wouldn't say so. There are my first big internetional competitions, yeah, but so far so good, everything's fine. Two weeks ago I had a leg injury, so I only had a week to prepare for these competitions. But today I landed the triple Axel, seems fine.

— The style of your skating is very different from typically Chinese. There's something rather Japanese, or even American about it. What influenced it?

— Definitely my coaches contributed a lot. When I was training with Denis, we worked on skating skills a lot, which isn't typical for Chinese schools. And when I was skating with the German coach, she also paid a lot of attention to this.

— And your programs look like they were created with this style in mind. Is it so, or is it just a coincidence?

— Just a coincidence. I like this music very much, that might have something to do with it. But we haven't specifically selected the style or anything.

David Dai and Boyang Jin at ISU Grand Prix Cup of China 2023

— What are your plans for the future?

— I dream to become the champion! Be the best. Achieve the highest highs in the sport, because this is my life.

— Are you studying?

— Yeah, at the Harbin Sports University.

— How does your schedule look like?

— Training most of the time, don't have much time for school.

— Have you got any hobbies? What do you do with friends?

— I actually enjoy hanging out alone, walk around, go to the movies, coffe shops. I don't have too many friends, I like being alone more.

— Do you do anything apart from skating?

— I like to play piano. But I've got short fingers, so no prospects [laughs].

— Did you learn by yourself?

— I've been taught, but now I play by myself. Nowadays skating leaves no room for anything else. I like playing, but no time to pursue it seriously.

— Thanks a lot! Hope to see you at the next competitions!

— Sure. I'll be competing on Four Continents.

— Great!

— Bye-bye!

David Dai with the coach Shuguang Jia at ISU Grand Prix Cup of China 2023