4:22
Brother and sister ice dance to Metallica
It's early morning at the Winter Village ice rink in Bryant Park, and Oona and Gage Brown have the ice almost to themselves. more
The brother and sister are ice dancers with Team USA. Their coach, Joel Dear, watches from the side of the rink. Jordan Cowan, the cameraman, glides along with them.
Their music is Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters." Less than a minute in, Gage lifts Oona high over his head, and they keep sailing across the ice.
SaveCowan stays close the whole way, weaving in and out of their path as if he were part of the routine. Of everything people praised afterward, his camera work came first, by a huge margin.
Hand in hand, they glide across the rink. With no crowd and no announcer, you can hear their blades grind and growl through each turn.
SaveThere are no fancy costumes here and no judges. They wear plain black with white skates, and hardly anyone is around to watch.
Out in the open air, they swing past blue umbrellas, with trees and buildings behind them. Their arms stretch out at the same moment, and they move as if they were one person.
SaveAs the song builds, they launch into a run of lifts and spins. Past the three-minute mark comes the move one fan singled out, when Gage holds Oona up with one hand while gliding on one foot.
SaveThen the last notes fade. They take a bow to a rink with almost no one there to cheer, and the quiet that follows suits it. Faces flushed, the two skate off with their arms around each other.

















