Jennifer Wester

Wester took up metal sculpture during her time at Yale among other artistic practices. She now has a website dedicated to her work as an interdisciplinary artist: jenniferwester.info. Notable events in which she has appeared as an artist include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's international music and arts festival, SOLUNA Festival, 2018. Her SOLUNA performance, Breaking Shadows, was hosted at The Cedars Union's Boedeker Building location.

In 2018, Wester performed a new work commissioned for the SOLUNA Festival entitled, Breaking Shadows, in which she designed and skated to the movements of shadows, accompanied by an original musical composition of skating sounds and classical instrumentation in collaboration with Dutch sound artist, Baz Laakakers. Wester's work is often additionally produced in collaboration with Turkish born, Dallas-based artist, Can Turkyilmaz and New Hampshire born, Dallas-based artist, photographer, and event producer, Erica Felicella.

In 2017, Wester began appearing in various art venues painting on canvas while skating on inline roller skates designed to act as figure skates. In December 2017 she also debuted an audio/visual/projection art featuring the sounds of skating as a musical composition in collaboration with percussion artist and professional figure skater, Marco Garavaglia.

In March 2017, Wester additionally began authoring a Montessori-based activity workbook series, Artistic Refinement Therapy Books & Exercises (ARTb), performing as a public speaker at Montessori conferences and as a co-host at events by Total Life Complete, including a web-based video series titled B-side on LinkedIn, and teaching art classes for elementary and middle school students.

In 2016, Wester launched a career in fine art after graduating from Yale University. Her first solo show was in metal sculpture at Life in Deep Ellum's Umbrella Gallery.

In 2010, Wester was cast on ABC's primetime television series Skating with the Stars as the professional skating partner for Vince Neil. In the spring of 2011, she and Barantsev began running the Newington Arena Learn to Skate School at the Newington Arena in Newington, Connecticut. She performed, partnering Ruslan Goncharov, at the 2012 Tribute to Life Charity Exhibition at Newington Arena in support of the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital. In 2015, Wester joined the cast of Notti Sul Ghiaccio produced by Endemol and Rai, as the coach and professional partner of Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia. See Clip Reels from each show here: 2010 Skating With the Stars 2015 Notti Sul Ghiaccio

A back injury to Barantsev led them to withdraw from the U.S. Championships in January 2009 and Wester underwent knee surgery later that year. The two did not compete the following season and retired from competition shortly thereafter.

Wester/Barantsev placed fourth at their first ISU Championship together, the 2008 Four Continents Championships. In autumn 2008, they debuted on the Grand Prix series, Wester competing with pneumonia.

In the summer of 2007, Wester/Barantsev moved to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to train at the Detroit Skating Club under the tutelage of Anjelika Krylova and Pasquale Camerlengo. Recovering slowly from her injury, Wester returned to the ice around mid-June 2007. In September, the duo won gold at the 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy, skating in their first international competition as a team.

Wester married Daniil Barantsev on May 6, 2006. They have two sons, Anden Daniel Barantsev, born on December 29, 2011, and Devin Daniel Barantsev, born in July, 2014.

Skating association paperwork issues prevented Wester/Barantsev from competing nationally until 2005. As a result of ISU paperwork regulations, they remained ineligible for international competitions until the Russian Skating Federation granted Barantsev a release, in January 2007. In the same month, Wester injured her knee in a practice immediately prior to the 2007 U.S. Championships, where they finished sixth. Initially believed to be a severe bone bruise, her injury was diagnosed in April 2007 as a fractured patella requiring immediate surgery.

Wester teamed up with Daniil Barantsev in Newington, Connecticut in March 2003. She underwent surgery on her shoulder in 2003 and again in 2004.

Wester returned to the United States in the spring of 2001. In 2002, she competed on the Junior level with Jonathan Harris at the US National Championships. However, that partnership ended immediately following that competition — the same time Wester underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn ligament.

Wester began ice dancing in the spring of 1999, partnered with Nicholas Hart on the junior level. Their partnership dissolved in October of the same year. Wester continued ice dancing, testing through her US Gold Medal by the following summer. She then partnered with Italy's Massimo Scali and trained with him in Milan, Italy. They skated in shows throughout 2000 in Europe but never competed together due to international skating regulations.

Wester began skating as cross-training for shooting sports after her father read that skating could enhance her balance and thus improve her shooting skills. Soon after stepping on the ice however, she changed her focus from shooting to skating. She started skating at the America's Ice Gardens in Dallas, Texas in the fall of 1996, under coach Monica Reyes.

Jennifer Nicole Wester (born February 27, 1985) is an artist and a former American competitive ice dancer. With partner and husband Daniil Barantsev, she is the 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy champion, 2008 ISU Four Continents 4th place finishers behind Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (Olympic Champions 2010 & 2018), Meryl Davis & Charlie White (Olympic Champions 2014), and Kim Navarro & Brent Bommentre. Wester/Barantsev were also the 2008 World Championship first alternates for Team USA. They teamed up in 2003. They retired from competitive skating in the 2009-2010 season. Following which Wester continued skating professionally, attended and graduated from Yale University with a degree in Computing and the Arts and became a professional artist based out of Dallas, Texas.

Jennifer Wester was born February 27, 1985 in Dallas, Texas. She has an older brother, Chris. She is trained in shooting sports, including air, smallbore, and high-power silhouette. She began studying at Yale University in 2010. She became a multimedia and interdisciplinary artist upon graduation from Yale University with a Bachelors of the Arts degree majoring in intersection of Computer Science and the Fine Art (Computing and the Arts) in 2016.