# Massimo Scali

Massimo Scali (born 11 December 1979) is an Italian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Federica Faiella, he is the 2010 World bronze medalist, a two-time (2009–2010) European silver medalist, and a six-time (2003–2005, 2007–2009) Italian national champion. They also won eleven Grand Prix medals together.

## Career
### Early years

Massimo Scali began skating at the age of ten. His early ice dance career was with Flavia Ottaviani, with whom he won six medals on the Junior Grand Prix. They were the 1997/1998 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalists. He and Faiella trained at the same rink under the same coach. After his partner quit skating, he briefly partnered with Jennifer Wester.

### Partnership with Faiella

Scali teamed up with Federica Faiella in 2001. Despite skating together for only a brief period of time, they were able to qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics, where they finished 18th.
In their second season of competition together, Faiella/Scali won Italian nationals for the first time, and placed in the top ten at the European Championships. A year later, they moved into the top ten at Worlds. In the years leading up to the 2006 Winter Olympics, they continued to make steady progress up the ranks. Prior to the 2005-06 Olympic season, Barbara Fusar-Poli / Maurizio Margaglio, who won bronze for Italy at the 2002 Games, returned to the eligible ranks. Faiella/Scali became the second Italian team, and finished outside the top ten at the Olympics after a fall in the original dance.
Following the season, they made a coaching change and relocated to the United States to work with Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Krylova at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They had an up and down season in 2006-07 but enjoyed good results in 2007-08, including a fourth place at the Europeans and a fifth-place finish at Worlds.
In the 2008-09 season, Faiella/Scali finished second at the Trophee Eric Bompard and won their first Grand Prix event, the 2008 NHK Trophy. This qualified them for their first Grand Prix final, where they finished fourth. They won their first European medal, a silver, behind Russians Jana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitski. At the 2009 World Championships, a fall in the original dance ended their hopes of medal contention, and they finished eighth.
In the 2009–10 Olympic season, Faiella/Scali began their season with a bronze medal at the 2009 Cup of China. They withdrew from their next Grand Prix event due to Faiella's illness. At the 2010 Europeans, they won both the original dance and the free dance on their way to their second European silver medal. They finished fifth at the Olympics. Faiella fell ill after the Olympics and returned to the ice only four days before the World Championships. The duo won their first world medal, a bronze, in Turin.
At the 2010 World Championships, Faiella/Scali announced that they would return for another season. Their assigned Grand Prix events in 2010-11 were the Cup of China and the Cup of Russia. Visa problems delayed their training in the U.S. and Faiella had recurring back problems. They again finished third at the 2010 Cup of China after Scali tripped on Faiella's skirts in both programs. They withdrew from the 2010 Cup of Russia prior to the free dance due to Scali's back injury. At the 2011 European Championships, they placed ninth in the short dance but moved up to fifth after the free dance.
On 15 March 2011, Scali announced on the team's website that they were retiring from competitive skating and that he would work with coach and choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo's team at the Detroit Skating Club. However, in May 2011, after Faiella's recovery progressed better than expected, they announced through their official website that they would in fact continue to skate competitively. An injury to Faiella ended this comeback attempt, and in 2012 Scali confirmed that they would not return to competitive skating.
Faiella/Scali often performed reverse lifts in competition, in which she lifted him.

## Career as a coach and choreographer

In 2011, Scali began working as a coach and choreographer in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan at the Detroit Skating Club, alongside Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, Natalia Annenko-Deller, and Elizabeth Punsalan. He has worked with Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue, Danielle O'Brien / Gregory Merriman, and Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam. Scali was working as a coach and choreographer at the Arctic Edge in Canton, Michigan with Marina Zueva. He coached Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani until their retirement in 2018.
In addition to his coaching career he has served as a choreographer. His clients include:
* Karen Chen
* Madison Chock / Evan Bates
* Isabella Flores / Ivan Desyatov
* Isabella Gamaz / Alexander Korovin
* Darya Grimm / Michail Savitskiy
* Wakaba Higuchi
* Ekaterina Kurakova
* Natacha Lagouge / Arnaud Caffa
* Alysa Liu
* Mai Mihara
* Leah Neset/Artem Markelov
* Yuka Orihara / Juho Pirinen
* Anna Pezzetta
* Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevičius
* Matteo Rizzo
* Kaori Sakamoto
* Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani
* Akiko Suzuki
* Noemi Tali / Noah Lafornara
* Keiji Tanaka
* Tatsuya Tsuboi
* Juulia Turkkila / Matthias Versluis
* Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita
Scali also worked with Olympic gold-medalist Nathan Chen to update his revived Rocketman program for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

## Programs

(with Faiella)
| Season | Short dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2010–2011 | My Fair Lady: "On the Street Where You Live" (instrumental) I could have danced all night The rain in Spain | Manolete by Pepe Romero: Que se ven desde el conquero De mi vera te fuistes | |
| | Original dance | | |
| 2009–2010 | Italian folk: Tammurriata nera Tarantella Pizzicata | Gli Emigranti by Nino Rota | Quel posto che non c'è by Negramaro |
| 2008–2009 | Follow the Fleet Let's Face the Music and Dance Let Yourself Go | Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven | By Missy Elliott: Past that Duch The Rain Lose Control |
| 2007–2008 | Pizzica Salentina Lu Rusciu de lu Mare Santo Poulo by Suono Salento | Yentl composed by Michel Legrand sung by Barbra Streisand | |
| 2006–2007 | Tanguera performed by Sexteto Mayor | Pantera en Liberta by Mónica Naranjo | Elisa |
| 2005–2006 | Cha Cha "Pata Pata" Rhumba Samba | The Mission by Ennio Morricone | The Mission Carmina Burana Elisa La traviata |
| 2004–2005 | How Can I Live to Another Day by Frank Sinatra Girls, Girls, Girls | By Aretha Franklin: Spirit in the Dark (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Think | Ice Cube Carmina Burana Romanza by Andrea Bocelli |
| 2003–2004 | Hafanana by Afric Simone Minnie the Moocher (from Blues Brothers soundtrack) Hafanana by Afric Simone | Libertango by Ástor Piazzolla Orchestra disco soledad Uno (from A Passion for Tango) Libertango by Ástor Piazzolla Orchestra disco soledad | Big Spender |
| 2002–2003 | Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II | Ayer by Gloria Estefan Demasiado by Willy Deville Volveras by Gloria Estefan Demasiado by Willy Deville | Big Spender |
| 2001–2002 | Scott & Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom OST) by David Hirschfelder & Bogo Pogo Orchestra The Fencing Lesson by Marc Anthony Scott & Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom OST) by David Hirschfelder & Bogo Pogo Orchestra | Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi performed by Boston Pops Orchestra | Por una Cabeza |

## Competitive highlights
### With Faiella

Results :
| International |||||||||||
| Event | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 |
| Olympics | 18th | | | | 13th | | | | 5th | |
| Worlds | 16th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 8th | 9th | 5th | 8th | 3rd | |
| Europeans | 12th | 8th | 6th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 5th |
| Grand Prix Final | | | | | | | | 4th | | |
| GP Bompard | | | | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | | 2nd | | |
| GP Cup of China | | | | | 6th | | 3rd | | 3rd | 3rd |
| GP Cup of Russia | | 5th | 5th | 3rd | | | | | | WD |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | | | | | | 1st | | |
| GP Skate America | | | 4th | | | | 3rd | | | |
| GP Skate Canada | 7th | 5th | | | | 3rd | | | | |
| Bofrost Cup | | | 3rd | | | | | | | |
| Karl Schäfer | 2nd | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebelhorn | 2nd | 1st | | | | | | | | |
| National |||||||||||
| Italian Champ. | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | WD |
| GP = Grand Prix; WD = Withdrew |||||||||||

### With Ottaviani

Results :
| International |||||
| Event | 1996–1997 | 1997–1998 | 1998–1999 | 1999–2000 |
| Junior Worlds | 22nd | | 7th | 4th |
| JGP Final | | 3rd | 6th | 5th |
| JGP Bulgaria | | | 1st | |
| JGP China | | | 1st | |
| JGP France | | 1st | | |
| JGP Japan | | | | 1st |
| JGP Slovakia | | 1st | | |
| JGP Slovenia | | | | 3rd |
| Autumn Trophy | 10th J. | | | |
| National |||||
| Italian Champ. | | 2nd J. | 2nd J. | 1st J. |
| J. = Junior level; JGP = Junior Grand Prix |||||