2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Junior Dance

Final Standings

Notes after the free dance.

by Alexandra Stevenson

Manon & Klus drew to skate last of the twelve couples. Manon admitted she was very nervous at the beginning "but I really wanted to give the dance to the audience, to have them experience it." They had a very slight slip, a momentary weight imbalance, right at the end of the three minutes. Klus explained, "I got a little overexcited. I thought it was over and I was already saying, 'Yes' and I lost it." Their free, skated to music by the renowned New Age Icelandic musician, singer and actress Bjork and the popular UK band "Kid Loco", gained unanimous firsts. The first set of marks consisted of two 5.2s, four 5.3s and three 5.4s. The second set comprised three 5.3s and six 5.4s.

The senior dance champion Peter Tchernyshev has his swearing in to become a U.S. citizen on January 29 and Klus is following that same path. He has his immigration interview in February. Klus's parents are from Ostrava in the Czech Republic. They left to go to Germany where Klus's sister, who is ten years older than he, was born. Then they went to South Africa and he was born in Johannesburg. Klus was six when the family came to the United States and settled in Dallas. "I don't remember much about South Africa." His sister, a former gymnast who had to leave the sport due to injury when she was 16, is still in Texas. He lived in Texas for ten years before transferring to Boston for a couple of years, and then to Detroit.

Manon said after her partnership with Obzansky broke up, "Mike contacted me in March. I really wanted to come to Detroit. They have a very different setup there. Liz (Coates) works on stroking and Igor (Shpilband) is very artistic. I had to relearn how to stroke and get the leg movement exactly the same as Mike's. Detroit is very supportive. When it's your turn to run through your program, everyone steps aside and then they clap." Manon & Klus were immediately named along with Kendra Goodwin & Christopher Obzansky who finished second and Belbin & Agosto to the team for the world junior championships.

This is the third year in a row and the fifth time in six years that a couple coached by Igor Shpilband has won the junior dance championships.

Goodwin & Obzansky's routine to Cirque du Soleil gained eight second place votes and one third. Obzanski explained, "It is a very acrobatic show. We tried to make our theme into that. Everyone has their own interpretation of our theme. That's what skating's for. You take what someone presents to you and interpret it into your own." The most unusual routine was presented by the Youngs. It used square dance music taken in a different direction. They explained, "It's by Adiemis who takes vocals to replace an instrument. A hoedown has to have a fiddle but here the fiddle is replaced with women's voices." To me the music was as unique as if Prokofiev had decided to compose Oklahoma. It definitely provided the event with a different dimension and the Youngs worked very hard to get footwork to fit exactly and seemlessly. The judges awarded them seven third places, a second and fifth.

The 2000 Novice champions, Loren Galler-Rabinowitz & David Mitchell from the SC of Boston were fifth throughout the junior dance contest beind the fourth placed Melissa Ralph & Ryan O'Meara.

Notes after the Original Dance.

by Alexandra Stevenson

The competitiveness in Junior Dance was clearly demonstrated in the first compulsory dance, the ancient Rhumba (devised in the 1930s by Britons), in which the nine judges spread their first place votes over four couples. Bringing additional tension onto the ice was the change-around of partners among the top couples. A very high standard was set by Kendra Goodwin of the SC of Morris, NJ, and Chris Obzansky, of the University of Delaware FSC, who drew to skate this classic compulsory first of the twelve couples. Their controlled, deep-flowing edges gained three first places, five seconds and a third, which gave them a fleeting, marginal lead. Lydia Manon & Michel Klus of the Detroit SC also won three first places. In addition they were awarded two seconds, two thirds, a fourth, and a very surprising tenth from that most controversial of judges, A. Jim Larkin from Salt Lake City. That put them in second place initially. Kakani and Ikaika Young of the Seattle SC gained two first places, a second and six thirds to gain third place. The remaining first place vote went to Melissa Ralph of the Detroit SC and Ryan O'Meara of the Coyotes SC of AZ, who lay fourth going into the Cha Cha Congelado. The judges changed their votes slightly in the Congelado but still no clear majority for first emerged.   Manon & Klus won the Congela despite getting an eighth place from Mr. Larkin. Overall, after two dances, Manon & Klus were in the lead going into the original with the Youngs second and Goodwin & Obzansky third.

The Cha Cha Congelado was accepted into the international schedule only four years ago. It was devised by Bernard Ford, the 1966-69 world champion, with help from fellow coach Kelly Johnson and two of his pupils. Ford currently coaches the Youngs. I asked Bernie about this dance. He said, "The Canadian Association wanted a dance that the junior couples could do which would help them to become more expressive using the upper body more. When the CFSA accepted it, Joyce Hisey put it forward to the ISU and they accepted it."

Collectively, the judges were more decisive in the original dance than in the compulsory dances.  Five judges, including the errant Mr. Larkin who had penalized Lydia & Michel so heavily in the compulsories, awarded Manon & Klus first place. They also were given three seconds and a third. Their dance was well skated and pleasant to watch but might have been faulted for lacking power in places.  Goodwin & Obzansky gained three firsts, five seconds and a third and so went into the free in second place with the Youngs third. The Youngs did gain one first place for their original and one second but five thirds and two fourths put them firmly in third place.  Melissa Ralph & Ryan O'Meara stayed fourth.  Goodwin & Obzansky gave a very nice performance with lively skating to a medley of vocal music from Frank Sinatra.  The Youngs also gave an entertaining performance but Ikaiki tended to overpower his sister who tended to fall behind him in the footwork sequences.

Last season Lydia Manon skated with Chris Obzansky. They broke up immediately after finishing sixth at the 2000 U.S. Junior Championships.  It must have added quite a degree of tension to be in such a tight battle with your ex-partner.  Manon is 18, and Klus 19.  They train in Detroit with Igor Shpilband and Liz Coates.  Despite the fact that teamed together after Nationals, the USFSA sent them to two Junior Grand Prix events. They finished fourth in Ukraine and fifth in Poland.  Manon, whose father is a professor at the University of Delaware, has quite a sense of humor.  At home she has two hermit crabs named Torvill and Dean.  There was a second set of ex-partners competing in the event.  Fourth placed Ryan O'Meara was fourth last year at this level with his previous partner, Lia Nitake.  This year, Nitake, skating with Ian Ross-Frye, was eighth in the first dance, ninth in the second and original, and were lying ninth going into the free.

Compulsory Dance 1

Compulsory Dance 2

Original Dance

Free Dance

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