2005

Skate Canada

Dance Event

By Alexandra Stevenson 

All photos copyright 2005 by George S. Rossano

The competitors had the following to say about this dance:

Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon are the Canadian champions who finished seventh in the world in March. They have skated together for over a decade. Talk about stick-to-it-ness! Dubreuil was the 1990 world junior silver medalist with former partner Bruno Yvars. That shows how determined she is! To get to the top you have to be prepared to put in the years.

The last time they did the Yankee Polka was in the place which is always getting confused with St. John’s. Dubreuil explained, "It was in Saint John, New Brunswick, and the people there also clapped along. That makes it much more exciting. It’s a good dance for us, and the crowd seemed to really enjoy it." They appeared in white and black. He had sewn his own outfit and his mother had made hers. Though they are still not decided whether this will be their final year, they joked that they were about to open "an haute couture firm".

They lead by 1.48 points.

Elena Grushina & Ruslan Goncharov have been a force in the world championships for many years, placing in the top eight for the last seven years. The Ukrainians, who have lived for many years in the United States, finally got on the podium, winning the bronze medals in March.

However, they did not have a good start in St. John’s. She lost her balance in the second section of the second sequence and, though he held her up, her hand touched the ice. They incurred a deduction of 1.0. "We don’t know what happened," said Grushina. Maybe we skated over something, maybe we just lost control. We’ve never fallen in a compulsory before. We have to study the replay." She wore a pink outfit. He wore white with a blue bodice.

Melissa Gregory & Denis Petukhov skated last. They lie third only 0.45 points behind the Ukrainians. They are the twice US national silver medalists currently ranked 11^th in the worlds. With the US champions stymied by Tanith Belbin’s citizenship delay, Gregory, who was born in Highland Park, IL, & Petukhov, who is from Kirov in Russia, are likely to be America’s leading ice dancers at the Olympics. Because they fell in love soon after they teamed up and were married, Petukhov was able to become a US citizen in a shorter time than that required for the younger Belbin, who is Canadian and is seeking to have dual citizenship.

They appeared to be really enjoying the compulsory. "We skated clean," said Petukhov. His wife added, "We like this dance," an opinion which was not reflected by the rest of the skaters. It is a fortunate attitude because the Polka will also be the compulsory for their other Grand Prix event in St. Petersburg at Cup of Russia, and of course at nationals. Gregory explained, "The part where each partner is turning in opposite directions is hard because you are very close there."

She is now a brunette. "I just woke up one morning and decided to do it after skating. Nikolai (Morozov, their coach) likes blondes and he was mad at first but he’s got used to it." It’s such a change that occasionally "people don’t recognize me. I’m waving at them and they’re looking at me with this strange expression on their face."

They are, of course, looking forward to the Olympics but Gregory cautions, "There are no guarantees. It’s no different from any other season. We’ve got to perform and show our best."

She wore a lovely royal blue sparkly outfit with white flower trim. "It was an old one we adapted." Gregory explained. "Denis sat up last night stoning his suspenders. At one point he stoned the wrong side so we had to do some creative rearranging." The pliant husband said it was the first time he’d ever performed this task.

Lying fourth 3.15 points behind the Americans are Kristin Fraser & Igor Lukanin, a California and a Russian, who have represented Azerbaijan in the world championships for the past five years, were 13^th in Moscow.

"We’re waltz people," said Fraser, who wore an amusing white dress with black polka dots. "This isn’t our favorite dance. It’s hard and my legs are too darn long for these short steps. It’s so fast and there’s a lot of pull with partners going in opposite directions and getting disorientated with no time to recover.

Chantal Lefebvre, who represented Canada in the world championships in 1999 with a former partner, Michel Brunet, finishing 15^th, & Arseni Markov, who was runner-up for the world junior title in 2000 representing Russia with Svetlana Kulikova, are the third ranked couple in Canada. They are currently fifth, just 0.98 behind the Azebaijanis and just 0.82 points ahead of the Russians.

They teamed up in 2003 but this is their first international event since he had to sit out the required time for skaters changing countries. She said, "It felt pretty good. Just to be here is pretty exciting." He said, "It’s my first international for two or three years. It’s been a long wait." Neither remembered competing with the Polka before. "At least not for 10 years," said Lefebvre. He was in black. She had a long orange dress with black underskirt.

Elena Romanovskaya & Alexander Grachev, Russians who placed fourth nationally in their first season at senior level, were the 2004 world junior champions. The day before the compulsory they hit they plastic at the bottom of the barrier. He fell and she fell behind him. She let out a scream when she saw the blood flowing out of her left inner calf muscle. She was taken immediately to the hospital where "at least eight stitches were used to close the wound. Nevertheless they competed. Through Igor Lukanin, who served as a translator, she said she was just so relieved and happy to be able to skate that she forgot all about it.

Lying seventh are Sinead & John Kerr, brother & sister from Scotland, who were 12^th at worlds and are the twice British champions. She wore a sleeveless, backless blue top with lime green skirt and blue bow on the back. He said, "It’s not our favorite dance. It’s not a skater’s dance." Their coach, Joan Slater, said, "There are conflicting edges and it’s gap-y (meaning there’s a lot of space between the partners)." They’re hoping the Tango Romantica will be picked for the Olympics.

Mylene Girard & Bradley Yaeger, who finished seventh in senior Canadians this year, were sixth in the recent Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf. They were first on of the second group. He wore a bolero top very suitable for the dance. She had a long pink dress. Girard declared, "It’s the kind of dance to have fun with," Yaeger’s expression showed that this feeling was not mutual. They lie eighth.

Alessia Aureli & Andrea Vaturi, who skated the Polka in the Cup of China two years ago, opened the competition skating to ‘Oh! Susannah!’ They were runners-up for the Italian title for the past two years and were 24^th in their first world senior championship in March. They were expecting to go to the Olympics. "It was quite a shock, a big surprise, when our coach, Barbara Fusar Poli, decided to return to competition." They will almost certainly replace Aureli & Vaturi and, obviously, is no longer their coach.

Although they are lying last, Aureli said, "The dance felt really good." Her partner added, "It was a good experience. He added, "Especially on the start of the second sequence which is usually a problem. There were little mistakes in timing but overall it was good." They wore orange and brown outfits.

Elena Grushina & Ruslan Goncharov

World bronze medalists Grushina & Goncharov, who are trained by Nikolai Morozov, spent a day recovering from their shock of her stumble in the Yankee Polka, and gave a superb showing. "That’s never happened to us before in a compulsory. We wondered if something was on the ice because it was such a sudden stop for Elena. We did hear our blades click. Maybe I was in a deeper edge than normal because the rink is very tight." The rink is hockey size and they are used to training on a bigger Olympic size rink. There are very few of the larger rinks in North America and none are in stadiums capable of hosting these events.

The first part of their non-touching midline step sequence was only Level 3 but the forward starting twizzles gained Level 4 as did straight line step sequence and their rotational lift. Their combination spin and straight line step sequence were Level 3. Though pleased that they advanced over the Canadian champions to take the lead after the original, Grushina & Goncharov said they didn’t understand why they were given a deduction of 1.0 for an extended lift. Both were in white, with her outfit more of a sparkly bikini with one see-thru sleeve. It was the sort of thing that is put on dancers in Las Vegas. They really sold the routine with more energy than a couple of their age normally have.

The 30 and 32 year old couple, who have been skating together since 1989 and were married in 1989, drew to perform last, presenting a samba to begin and end with and a rhumba in the middle, all to Carnival of Batreada by Peter Prade. Goncharov said, "We skated today very good, with good emotions and a good audience."

None of the couples liked having to wait a day before the original. "I’d even like to do the compulsory and the original on the same day," said Grushina, although her husband shot her a frown at this remark. Melissa Gregory, who with her husband, maintained their third place, agreed with Grushina. "We never practice just the compulsory on one day, so it’s not hard to do both." Although they had some practice, both the Ukrainians and the Americans spent their free day just lazing around. It was easier on the Canadian champions who, since they now live in France, enjoyed having time to spend with their family who had traveled from Quebec to Newfoundland.

After their unexpected almost one and a half point lead after the Yankee Polka, Dubreuil, who is 31, & Lauzon, who will be 30 on November 26, performed salsa and rhumba both to Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me) by Jacques Brel, which was choreographed by a ballroom instructor, Jeannette Cournoyer. She wore virginal white and he black with some white.

Dubreuil is known for her ability to project emotion and she and Lauzon sizzled through the rhumba as only a mature couple who have lived can do. "This is the most romantic music ever written and we are lovers on and off the ice," said Dubreuil, who still have no marriage plans after being together for nine years. They also received a Level 3 for the their non-touching midline step sequence and Level 4 for the second part which was a backward starting twizzles. Like the Ukraininans, they were given Level 4 for the straight line step sequence and the rotational lift. Their diagonal step sequence was Level 3 but their combination spin was only Level 2.

The couple is trained by Muriel Boucher Zazoui, a former international ice dancer who guided Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat to Olympic gold. Lauzon said, "We skated pretty good for our first competition of the season. We still have a few boobles to work out but there’s time for that."

Gregory, 24, & Petukov, 27, who drew to skate in the dreaded first spot, train alongside the Ukrainians in Connecticut. They used music from The Mambo Kings, Que Color and Beautiful Maria, beginning with a Cha Cha, going into a rhumba, and finishing with a mambo. She was dressed in a red outfit straight off the ballroom floor. He wore a black and silver creation discretely open to the waist, with his blond hair tied back in a duck’s tail.

She showed three versions of skate to head held positions. The first was in their initial lift, a curve with him on an outside spread and Gregory positioned on his knee but upright. The second was on their fast rotation life and she was horizontal this time. The final version was in their last element the combination spin in which she did a mini Biellmann. Like the Ukrainians, they incurred a 1.0 for an extended lift, which can not be more than six seconds. Timing the lifts is a timekeeper with a stop watch which, of course, is very precise. Four of the nine couples got a deduction for an extended lift. "You are trying to do all you can do to get a higher level and it’s hard to get it done in that time," said Gregory.

The start of the US number two team’s non touching midline step sequence was termed only Level 2 but the backward starting twizzles were Level 4. They also received Level 4 for their curve lift. However, the diagonal step sequence and their rotational lift were awarded only Level 2 by the Technical Specialist, Marie Bowness and her assistant, Sergei Ponomarenko. The combination spin was only a Level 1.

Also getting a deduction for a too long lift were Fraser & Lukanin who maintained their fourth position, although they were fifth in the original. Fraser, who was born in Palo Alto, CA, and is 25, & Lukanin, who was born in Sverdlovsk in the Ural Mountains, and is 29. The duo, who have represented Azebaijan, executed a Cha Cha, Rhumba and Samba.

They seemed best in the more energetic portions. Their highlight was a lift with him in an outside spread and her holding both skates in a donut position with her chin incredibly close to the ice. She was in orange with many beads on her top and a fringe.

Romanovskaya, who will be 21 on December 3, & Grachev, 21, rose from sixth to fifth with a fourth place in the original. They began with a Rhumba to Cantinero de Cuba, followed by a Cha Cha to Santa Esmeralda and a concluding Samba. They are trained by Svetlana Alexeeva and Elena Kustarova and were more covered up than most of the other competitors, with her in a silver, pink and green top and black skirt which dropped on one side to her knee, and one pink sleeve. They included a straight line lift with Grachev on one foot and her in an upside down skate to head position. He had a discrete little cut out covered by net going from the neck to the upper arm.

Advancing from seventh to sixth were the Kerrs. The brother and sister - she is 27 and he 25 - began with Speak Up Mambo by A. Castellanos and I. Marin, progressed into El Raton by Romero, and finished with Baracuda by Carlinhos Brown. Dressed in silvered blue with a long fringe and a bared back and arm bands for her and a black and a bared chest for him. It was a vibrant if not perfect performance.

Very noticeable was her lower back tattoo. She explained, "JP (their long time ballroom instructor John Paul Deloose) said I should get one to remind me of my back so I would shake it more. He felt I wasn’t sexy enough last season." Her brother said that it was early in the season and, "We’re still thinking about the technical elements. It still has a way to go from a performance stand point. You have to put in the hours and miles to make that second nature."

Lefebvre, 28, & Markov, who will be 24 on November 12, dropped from fifth to seventh with a seventh ranking in this section. They not only had a 1.0 deduction for an extended fall, they had another 1.0 taken off because Lefebvre fell on her behind mid-routine.They began and ended with a salsa to Seniorita Sexy by Los Torreros with a Rhumba to You’re My Everything in the mid section. She wore a pink and yellow creation with a thick fringe and a multicolored flower in her abundantly thick curly shoulder length hair. He had a sort of black loose Nehru jacket with much embroidery.

Incurring a deduction of 2.0 because they both fell on their lift, Girard & Yaeger still managed to hold onto eighth place although were ninth in this section. However, they are only 0.48 ahead of the Italians. Girard, a 21 year old from Repentigny in Quebec, & Yaeger, 20, from Montreal, presented a Rhumba, Historia de un Amor (Story of a Love) by Nana Mouskouri, and a Merengue to Mujer Latina. They are trained by Igor Tchiniaev. They are a little too young and fresh-faced and too smiley for the first piece but had a fun, energetic showing in the second half. She wore a lemon and silver knee length dress. He had on a flowered short-sleeved shirt. Of their fall, Yaeger said, "It is so hard to count one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand while you are trying to do all you have to during the lift. We are not machines."

Aureli, a 21 year old who was born in Rome but moved north to Milan to skate, & Vaturi, 23, who is from Milan, opened with a Cha Cha to Lady Marmacade by C. Aguiliera which went into a rhumba, No Me Ames, and concluded with a samba to Ran Can Can from the Mambo Kings soundtrack. They are coached by Paola Mezzadri with extra input from Boucher-Zazoui. It was the French coach, who was in St. John’s with the Canadian champions, who looked after them here. They were dressed in black and magenta with her in a very brief outfit and him in with wide exposure of his chest. Although their footwork was slow a lot of it was on one foot.

Dubreuil & Lauzon gave a captivating performance which made the four minutes fly by to take their first Skate Canada gold by a huge margin of 9.10. They have competed in Skate Canada since 1999, missing one year, placing fourth and winning a silver and two bronzes, so hearing O! Canada played in their honor in their own country was doubly rewarding.

They performed to John Barry’s poignant music, The Journey Back in Time, A Day Together and Somewhere in Time which was written in the 1970’s for the movie Back in Time. "I loved the movie. I watched it all the time when I was young," said Dubreuil. "Last year I downloaded the music into my iPod and when I suggested it to David (Wilson, who choreographed the number) he said it was his favorite soundtrack." It tells the story of a young man who goes back in time to find romance. Dubreuil & Lauzon are a couple off the ice, too, and the light, flowing romantic choreography, suited them perfectly.

Wilson has won kudos for creating delicate but intricate, beautiful singles programs for the likes of Jeff Buttle, Joannie Rochette, and Cynthia Phaneuf but he had never set his mind to a dance routine before. The three-some decided to experiment with an exhibition first but that idea hit the dust when Dubreuil got ill and was confined to bed for three weeks.

When Skate Canada put together an Olympic "Own the Podium" in May and the couple returned to Canada from Lyon in France, where they train with Muriel Boucher Zazoui, they decided to just jump in the deep end with Wilson. They were looking for a new approach since this was probably their last season and they wanted to create something different that people would remember them by.

"I didn’t know anything about ice dance so they had to show me all the elements that had to be included," said Wilson, who had sent them a telegram saying, "If I can’t do anything with two fabulous people like you, I’m no choreographer. Let’s do this. I’m sure we’re going to rock." Dubreuil said she expected it to take "forever" but, in fact, it fell into place in only three days.

The piece starts with their own voices. She wears a gorgeous lace and chiffon outfit with gold appliqué and raglan sleeves. He looks serious and studious in a beige sweater with a large button down white collar and brown tie with diamond shapes. "It’s actually fake," said Dubreuil. "He’s not wearing a full shirt because that would be too hot."

Their performance was certainly the most enjoyable of the nine couples but it wasn’t flawless. The fifth of their nine elements, the forward starting twizzles, was given Level 4 but had a minus 0.50 GOE. They also got deductions of 2.0 for going over the time limit for two of their lifts. "I could see why the one of them was over but not the other," said Lauzon. Nevertheless he did not feel the ISU should change the timing. "On the long lift, you have to have to do three revolutions in three seconds and then change and get into your other position and do three revolutions in three seconds. But if they made it longer then it would be easier to do and wouldn’t be a Level 4."

The other medalists were married couples and Dubreuil & Lauzon have been an item for a long time, so when are they going to tie the knot? Dubreuil, pointing to her naked left fourth finger, said she was waiting for a ring. Lauzon joked that he’d have to get the prize money from a few more wins before he could afford that.

Grushina & Goncharov, who drew to skate first of the top five, looked drained and disappointed after their routine set to The Feeling Begins from Passion by Peter Gabriel. She was backless in a very abbreviated costume with her blonde hair loose. They began with bend hand moves with an Indian flavor which did not suit the spirit of the music.

Goncharov explained, "This competition was not very lucky for us." Not only did she stumble in the Yankee Polka, but they had four deductions in their free, two for both falling during the serpentine step sequence in which he stumbled and took her down with him, and for taking too much time in two lifts.

The couple, who is taught by Nikolai Morozov who also did their choreography, was given only the fifth best element score although their components were the second highest. That put them in third place in the free, 2.56 marks behind Gregory & Petukhov. However, overall they finished second 6.38 points ahead of the Americans.

Gregory & Petukov were the only couple in the top four not to get a deduction, but they don’t like the time limits. "Getting into the lift position, rotating quickly the required revolutions and getting out in time sometimes takes away from the beauty of a lift. It’s a Catch 22 sometimes." Her husband agreed. "Sometimes it’s easier to do a generic lift instead of something unique. That takes away the interest for the audience if we are all doing the same. They need a mark for creativity."

The presented a lovely routine to Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet. Gregory turned from blonde to brunette this season and it suits her role. Her dark hair, with the top of her head prettily adorned with a glittery period piece, contrasts with his blond locks. The difference emphasizes that the lovers were from warring houses in a story about thwarted hopes. The couple, who are taught by Nikolai Morozov and Shae Lynn Bourne, will next be seen in competition at the Cup of Russia.

Fraser & Lukanin, who are trained by 1993 world champion, Sasha Zhulin in Little Falls, NJ, skated to the music he and his partner, Maia Usova used to win that title, Blues for A Clock by Eddie Louis. The choreography was done by Elena Druchinina. Fraser wore a very sexy black and silver backless pants suit. Asked how he thought he would do under the new system, Zhulin said, "I was a good singles skater and you have to be that now. I could spin well. If I was 26 again, I think I could do well."

One problem with the new system is that Technical Specialists vary in their assessments. Recently, Fraser & Lukanin gained the silver medal in a competition in Vienna. Fraser revealed, "Our foot work (closed circular and closed serpentine) gained Level 4 there but it was Level 2 here. Everyone was getting Level 4 in Vienna and so it made the component marks more important."

In St. John’s, they were saddled with a deduction for going over time in one lift. "In practice you do it within the time but in the competition maybe you get tired and it takes a little more time or you don’t go as fast as you had planned and you’re over," Lukanin explained.

In fifth place were Romanovskaya & Grachev, who are trained by Svetlana Alexeeva and Elena Kustarova in Moscow. They skated in a standard outfit with her in a knee length full red skirt. They used Flamenco music by The Gypsy Kings choreographed by Natalia Ulianova.

Lefebvre & Markov, who are also trained by Nikolai Morozov and Shae Lynn Bourne, with Morozov also doing the choreography, were sixth. They skated to acoustic guitar music in outfits that were meant to represent flames. "We’re two persons who must explode on the ice," said Lefebvre. "This is our first international together and we need more experience with the new system. I think there will be more injury with the new system. Even the young girls are getting problems with their backs. My 28 year old body just isn’t as flexible."

The NJS has had a profound effect on all the skating disciplines, but probably the overall change is greatest in ice dance. "It’s blurring the lines between dance and pairs," said Markov. "Skaters are going over the top and you are going to see more mistakes like what I did yesterday. The new system is very different. During the slow portion you can relate to the music, but in the fast parts, on the pretty hard elements, I’m totally erasing the music from my mind concentrating on the elements."

Bagpipes were invented to stir fear into Scotland’s enemies. The strange sound of this strange instrument would travel in advance of the kilt-attired marching soldiers. Poor unsophisticated folk who had never heard such noise or seen such beings with their painted blue faces would flee in terror before the battle even began.

The Kerrs didn’t mean to convey quite that ferocity, but they did want to project their Scottish heritage, something which has never been done before on the ice. It’s a pity the ISU rules forbid men to wear skirts. John has always worn his kilt to functions and skaters’ banquets and hopes to do so in an exhibition. He did, however, have tartan as part of his outfit with tartan flares in his trousers. She wore a turquoise and mauve outfit that had strings over a bare back and part of the bodice with a tartan bow on one side and on her back.

Maybe the music scared the judges who dropped them from sixth after the original to seventh overall. The British champions train in the Deeside rink in northern Wales where their coach, Joan Slater, a former British champion and world silver medalist, is based which is several hours drive from their home in Livingston. When possible, she comes up to Scotland to the Murrayfield rink in Edinburgh nearer their home. Talking of how they performed their routine, John said, "It’s not bad. There’s still a long way to go.

"We went to Chris for both the original and free. He really worked with us with the fundamentals but left us to fill in the elements." They use three updated pieces of Scottish music played on the bagpipes by The Porridge Men, Coronach, Gulravage, Planet Porridge and then return to Coronach for the finish. "The musicians are not famous at all. We were walking down Prince’s Street, which is the main road in Edinburgh. There are all these tourist shops. We were walking past one and we heard this music coming out of one of them and just knew we should use it."

In eighth place were Girard & Yaeger, who are trained by Igor Tchiniaev and whose choreography is done by Angelika Krylova. They used Janis Joplin’s version of Summertime. They wore pretty blue outfits. "We couldn’t wear something that was suitable for Janis Joplin – that would be too daring on the ice," confessed Girard. "But we hoped we could project the emotion of the music." Yesterday, on the original, they had a spectacular fall when both of them collapsed on their lift which was widely reported in the Canadian press. Yaeger laughed at the reaction. "I was told any publicity is good publicity," said the 20 year old from Montreal.

In last place were the Italians, Aureli & Vaturi who presented a lovely, old fashioned free to four Frank Sinatra pieces, Stranger in the Night, Come Fly With Me, My Way and New York, New York. She was dress in a long, flowing white outfit. They are trained by Paola Mezzadri, who also does their choreography.

2005 Skate Canada Medalists