#isabelle duchesnay

[dozydawn]

[vesperatio]

Day 17 of ✨ @anythinggoe‘s 31 Days of Figure Skating  ✨

Today: Favourite Skating Program From the 80s/90s

Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay / West Side Story / 1991/1992 free dance

Admittedly, I have not seen enough skating from the 80s and 90s to have a favourite BUT I was reading Ellyn Kestnbaum’s article ‘Compulsory Mating Dances’ and the team of Duchesnay/Duchesnay really piqued my interest. So, among the skating from the 80s and 90s I have seen so far, this programme is my favourite.

The Duchesnays skated to music from West Side Story, as sister and brother Maria and Bernardo. This Maria, however, seems to be more actively involved in the street warrior culture — as one of the Sharks — than the original Maria in the musical, who lives in the female culture of "I Feel Pretty." The lifts early in the program seem to be for the purpose of gaining a higher vantage point to keep a lookout for enemies. Later in the program, on two separate occasions, Isabelle lifts Paul off the ice, or at any rate holds him while he flips his legs up and either over his head or around her waist. This time, the Duchesnays erase sexual difference by making the girl one of the boys.

Ellyn Kestnbaum, 'Compulsory Mating Dances: The Construction of Gender Difference in Ice Dance Figure Skating', Theatre Topics, 5.1 (1995), p. 14.

[illyria-and-her-pet]

Ice Dance Drama Timeline

Natalia Dubova rises as an ice dance coach in the 80s when Irina Moiseeva/Andrei Minenkov go to her as their career ends.

Tatiana Tarasova coaches Natalia Bestemianova/Andrei Bukin to 1988 Olympic Gold. They retire from amateur skating after winning 1988 Worlds.

Dubova’s Marina Klimova/Sergei Ponomarenko and Maya Usova/Alexander Zhulin are now fighting to be the top team in the world. Dubova also coaches another medal contender, Oksana Grishuk/Evgeni Platov.

Dubova favors Usova/Zhulin going into the 1992 Olympics.

According to Elena Vaitsehovskaya’s book, she saw Klimova cry when she found out Dubova favored Usova/Zhulin.

Andrei Bukin, who became good friends with former rival Sergei Ponomarenko after his retirement through show skating, begs TAT for over an hour to leave the theater and comeback to coaching and take Klimova/Ponomarenko, so they aren’t robbed of 1992 Olympic gold. He had already told Klimova/Ponomarenko that TAT would coach them before he even talked to her. TAT ends up agreeing.

Usova/Zhulin have been married since 1986. Zhulin starts having an affair with Grishuk.

Zhulin gives Grishuk his wedding ring before the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France for good luck. Grishuk wears it on a chain on her neck for the compulsory dances: 

“How did she find out? This is just a guess, but maybe it was because he gave me his wedding ring for good luck before the Winter Olympics in France. I wore it on a chain around my neck in the compulsory dances. I gave back the ring the next day, after Maia went ballistic.” (x)

At the 1992 Olympics in February, Klimova/Ponomarenko win gold (TAT), Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay (Martin Skotnicky) win silver, Usova/Zhulin (Dubova) win bronze, and Grishuk/Platov (Dubova) come in 4th.

At the 1992 World Championships in late March, the podium is 1. Klimova/Ponomarenko (coached by TAT, but formerly coached by Dubova), 2. Usova/Zhulin (Dubova’s faves), and 3. Grishuk/Platov (also coached by Dubova).

Grishuk and Zhulin’s affair continued during the 1992 Tour of World and Olympic Champions. Usova caught Grishuk and Zhulin together at a restaurant and hit Grishuk’s head against a bar counter: 

“Usova walked into Spago’s restaurant in Hollywood, saw Grishuk sipping a margarita at the bar, came up behind her, grabbed her hair and smashed her head against the counter." (x)

According to Grishuk, Usova actually went to her hotel room and begged her for forgiveness the next day: 

“What they don't write is that Maia came to my hotel room the next day, got down on her knees and begged me to forgive her. Now we are friends.” (x)

Dubova kicks Grishuk out of her coaching camp for getting involved with Zhulin in mid-1992: 

“Natalia Dubova, the woman who coached the four of us in Lake Placid, N.Y., sent me home to Moscow. She said she couldn't stand to see Maia cry.” (x)

Dubova tries to pair Platov with Tatiana Navka (future 2006 Olympic champion who is just a teen at the time). Grishuk goes back to her first coach, Natalia Linichuk. She is getting ready to skate with Peter Tchernyshev in case, but calls Platov saying “don’t let them tear us apart” even though Grishuk and Platov hate each other. BTW back in the late 80s, Peter Tchernyshev also skated with Maria Anikanova (Evgeni Platov’s wife).

Platov follows Grishuk to Linichuk in fall 1992 and they train under her: 

“After a brief stop in Germany, where she, too, sought a new partner, Gritschuk returned to Moscow and her previous coach, Natalia Linichuk, Dubova's rival. Platov, who was supposed to go to Lake Placid in September 1992, stayed in Moscow to be with his new wife and rejoin his old dance partner.” (x)

Apparently Linichuk thought Grishuk was a traitor for leaving her in the first place since she was her first coach from 11 years old to 1989. Grishuk’s mom and aunt explained her situation to Gennadi Karponosov, Linichuk’s ice dance partner, husband, and co-coach and Karponosov convinced Linichuk to take her back.

Not sure if this is a reliable source, but allegedly Zhulin wanted Grishuk to quit skating to prove her devotion to him, she agreed, Platov got mad and snitched to Dubova that Grishuk wanted them to move to her old coach Linichuk, and then Dubova and her husband beat Grishuk when she kicked her out: 

“Because of Grishuk Platov forgot about the wedding. He was going to marry Masha Anikanova, a skater who later became an actress. That time Oksana was head over heels in love with another skater Alexander Zhulin. She fell in love so much that could fulfill any Zhulin’s wish. Alas Alexander was married to Maya Usova. 

Once, during a foreign tour Zhulin presented Oksana with a wedding ring, but… asked not to put it on, as he was not divorced yet.

“Now you know how I love you”, said Zhulin. “Can you prove your love to me?”

– What should I do? – Oksana asked quietly.

– You should quit skating. For me. For us.

– But why?

– We’ll have a family, you know. My wife is a skater. I do not want this. At work and at home, we have the same problems. I need another family. Well, do you agree?

Oksana almost cried. At the beginning of the career. But if because of love… So, she agreed.

Grishuk didn’t want to be with Platov and refused him. The man was offended. And Platov said to their coach Dubova that Grishuk wanted to take him and returned to Natalia Linichuk, who was Oksana’s ex-coach.

Dubova was shocked! She and her husband couldn’t cope with their nerves and broke Oksana’s rib and nearly knocked out a tooth.

As a result, Grishuk packed up and flew to Moscow.

Platov found a new partner – Tatiana Navka. Evgeni was still together with Masha Anikanova, but their marriage was short-lived.

Grishuk came to Moscow, hung her skates on the wall and began waiting for her prince Zhulin.

One night Maya Usova phoned Oksana and told her about her husband’s love affair with Tatiana Navka. Grishuk could not sleep.

A day later Zhulin called her: “Well, dear, are you waiting for me?”

Oksana said that she knew everything about his affair with Navka and asked not call her anymore.

The duo Platov-Navka broke up and he came to Linichuk and Karponosov.

To get over the depression Grishuk also came to Linichuk. So the couple Platov – Grischuk was reunited and in 1994 they became Olympic champions. Then, in 1994 Oksana could not even imagine that just four years later she would skate paired with Zhulin, with a man, whom she thought she would never forgive.” (x)

1990 and 1992 World Junior Champions Marina Anissina/Ilia Averbukh split at the end of the 1991-1992 season because Averbukh falls in love and teams up with Irina Lobacheva. Anissina  and her mother studied videotapes of international competitions and selected Gwendal Peizerat and Victor Kraatz as suitable partners. Anissina sent letters to both but the one to Kraatz did not reach him. Peizerat did not respond immediately but when his partnership with Marina Morel fell apart, he contacted Anissina. Anissina wanted them to skate for and train in Russia, but Peizerat’s family was opposed, so they trained in Lyon with Muriel Zazoui and represented France.

At the 1992 Russian National Championships, Alla Shekhovtsova tells the judges if they put Elena Kustarova/Oleg Ovsyannikov over Anjelika Krylova/Vladimir Fedorov their careers will be over: 

“The only rock on Linichuk’s way to gathering all potential contenders for the two vacancies on the Russian team (one was reserved for Usova and Zhulin) under her umbrella was her collegue Svetlana Alekseeva. To be exact, the problem was her skaters – her daughter Elena Kustarova and Oleg Ovsyannikov, who were constantly competing with Linichuk’s Angelica Krylova and Vladimir Fedorov, and along with them eyed the third spot on the team (the second was predestined to belong to Gritchuk and Platov).

The 1992 Nationals in Chelyabinsk were supposed to make the final determination. I naively supposed that all the talk of the “bought” judges that I kept hearing from all camps was nothing more than an attempt by the weaker (or less confident) contender to excuse their possible loss in the fight. Yet on the second day of the competition, after the dancers were done with their compulsories, I became an unwitting witness to the most engaging scene. Piseev’s wife, judge Alla Shehovtseva, was surrounded by the judges from this competition, and without pulling any punches or choosing her words, was driving home a very simple point – anyone who will place Alekseeva’s team above Linichuk’s in the upcoming programs can consider their careers over.

Despite those instructions, the results were even. Kustarova and Ovsyannikov lost by one vote. However, they also lost their whole career – Krylova and Fedorov got onto the team, got bronze a few months later at the Worlds in Prague, and just a little later Ovsyannikov was lured to Linichuk’s camp to skate with Krylova just as Fedorov was thrown out. The dangerous opposition was rooted out.” (x)

Usova/Zhulin are clearly the #1 team in both Russia and the world in the 1992-1993 season. They win both the 1993 European Championships in January and the 1993 World Championships in March with 1st place finishes in every segment. Grishuk/Platov place 2nd at both events. At Worlds, Grishuk/Platov are even almost overtaken by bronze medal winners Krylova/Fedorov.

Dubova refuses to let Rusfed see Usova/Zhulin’s programs ahead of time since Zhulin is injured. Rusfed switches their support to Grishuk/Platov for Olympic season.

At the 1994 Olympics in February, Usova was extra depressed because Zhulin started having an affair with Navka as well while Grishuk was away. Zhulin was 31, while Navka was only 19. Then Navka’s partner, Samvel Gezalian beat Navka and said “HOW COULD YOU DO IT TO MAYA SHE’S YOU’RE FRIEND.” Then Usova’s mom and Zhulin’s mom started beating each other too. The police got involved. 

Grishuk/Platov win the 1994 Olympics. Usova/Zhulin retire from amateur competitions. Grishuk/Platov then go on to win the 1994 World Championships in March as well.

Krylova/Fedorov split after 1994 Worlds where they had to withdraw from the free dance due to an injury to Krylova. Krylova teams up with Oleg Ovsyannikov.

Linichuk moves her base to Newark, Delaware. Grishuk/Platov and Krylova/Ovsyannikov follow her there.

After 1995 Worlds, Navka/Gezalian split.  

At 1996 Worlds in March, you can see this fluff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrpC9QEXAZs about Grishuk/Platov and Krylova/Ovsyannikov and how they love training together in the US and the most important thing is to stay friends. Grishuk/Platov got gold and Krylova/Ovsyannikov got silver. They were the top 2 teams in the world leading into the 1998 Olympics.

Grishuk/Platov and Linichuk start to have problems. Some say that Grishuk/Platov wanted Linichuk to weaken Krylova/Ovsyannikov, so Grishuk/Platov would have an easier way to another Olympic gold, while others say Linichuk wanted Grishuk/Platov to retire so Krylova/Ovsyannikov could win Olympic gold. Linichuk also tried to take credit for choreographing Grishuk/Platov’s 1996-1997 programs from after they left her:

“On the other hand, when, in 1997, Russian, World, and Olympic ice-dance champions Grishuk & Platov split with their coach, 1980 Olympic champion Natalia Linichuk, they chose to fight all of their battles exclusively in the press.  In December of 1996, Grishuk & Platov, having been off-ice for most of the season due to Platov's knee injury, reportedly travel led to Moscow, for a secret meeting with the Russian Federation.  There, they sought a guarantee that they would win all the competitions they entered, leading up to the 1998 Olympics.  The Federation told them they could provide no such guarantee.  Grishuk & Platov then returned to their home-base in Newark, DE, to ask their coach, also coach of the 1996 World Silver Medallists, Krylova & Ovsianikov, to insure another year of victory for them, by deliberately weakening the second team. When Linichuk also refused, Grishuk & Platov split for Marlboro, MA, and Tatiana Tarasova, trainer of 1996 World Silver Medalist Ilia Kulik.  At the 1997 European championship, after Grishuk & Platov's new dances not only won them the gold, but also an almost record-breaking twelve perfect 6.0's (England's Torvill & Dean still hold the record, 17 6.0's at the 1984 Europeans), Linichuk tried to take credit for the stunning victory, by claiming she'd participated in choreographing their new numbers. Grishuk categorically denied the contention, adding ‘Let God be her judge.’

God, or at least, the Russian media, who sided squarely with the skaters over their ex-coach, asserting in ‘6.0,’ the official publication of the Russian Skating Federation, ‘Linichuk did every-thing in her power to push Grishuk & Platov into the professional realm.  This duo had already done their thing for her (won Olympic gold) and she was convinced it was time for them to leave.’ At Europeans and the subsequent Worlds, even the Ukrainian media got into the act, ruminating about their national champions, Romanova & Yaroshenko, who also trained under Linichuk, ‘One can only feel sorry for the athletes. Their mentor will never make champions of them.  Linichuk is a trainer first and foremost of Russian skaters, and she always places her bets on the Russian athletes.  As long as (Romanova & Yaroshenko) keep training with Linichuk, they will see medals hanging only on the necks of their opponents.’

Within months of the media declaring Natalia Linuchuk persona non gratta of skating, the coach who, at the 1996 Europeans, saw a podium filled with only her skaters (Grishuk & Platov Gold, Krylova & Ovsianikov Silver, Romanova & Yaroshenko Bronze) was down to one winning team. Heeding the advice of the Ukrainian press, Romanova & Yaroshenko also defected to Tarasova.” (x)

Later in 1996, Grishuk/Platov leave Linichuk and move to Tatiana Tarasova in Marlborough, Massachusetts. TAT said in her book that Grishuk could be such a bitch sometimes that she wanted to beat her, but congratulates herself for refraining herself.

In 1996, Navka teams up with Nikolai Morozov. They are coached by Zhulin and Bob Young in Connecticut.

On a summer skating tour, American singles’ skater, Nicole Bobek, and Grishuk start feuding over both being romantically involved with figure skating tour promoter, Michael Collins. Grishuk claims Bobek slapped her, while Bobek denies ever touching her. Apparently, Bobek was also linked to the divorce of Platov and Anikanova: 

“American skater Nicole Bobek slapped Grishuk while the two argued over a mutual lover, Michael Collins, a skating tour promoter. ‘I almost fainted,’ Grishuk said. ‘I'm not very big. I thought to hit her back but I didn't want to get into a fight. I didn't understand. I was crying, of course. I didn't do anything. Then she apologized later that night.’” (x)

“‘Pasha, or whatever she calls herself, is one of those people who needs attention,’ said U.S. singles skater Nicole Bobek.Where, you might ask, does Bobek fit into this plot? It was a boyfriend thing, with first Grishuk and then Bobek vying for the affections of the same man. Grishuk said Bobek slapped her in a hotel lobby last spring.‘I never touched her,’ said Bobek, who once was linked romantically to the divorced Platov.” (x)

On September 29, 1997, Oksana Grishuk changed her first name from Oksana to Pasha because she was tired of being confused with 1994 Olympic ladies champion who had been arrested for drunk driving, Oksana Bauil: 

“I legally changed my first name to Pasha.If you are going to have a name for the rest of your life, it should reflect your personality. I am passionate about life, about skating, about Hollywood.

I didn't want to be Oksana any more because so many people confused me with Oksana Baiul, the bad Oksana, the criminal Oksana. She is a fat has-been.” (x)

Elena Vaitsehovskaya said that one of the reasons Grishuk changed her name from Oksana to Pasha was because she was jealous that everyone in America knew Oksana Bauil, but not her and was offended when people would confuse them.

At the 1997 Champion Series Final (the equivalent of today’s Grand Prix Final) in December, Grishuk’s aunt confronted Canadian team Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz over their Beatles original dance not being rock n’ roll enough. Shae-Lynn thinks Grishuk sent her aunt, but Grishuk denies sending her: 

“Grishuk trashed Baiul during December’s Champions Series Final in Munich, Germany. That also was where her aunt, Zoya Kujawsky, interrupted a news conference to excoriate the quality of Bourne’s and Kraatz’s skating. Kujawsky, who Grishuk says is a journalist, did not have media accreditation. ‘Some people would stoop to any level,’ Bourne said, implying, as others have, that the aunt was planted by Grishuk.” (x)

“A bizarre outburst occurred at a news conference following the original dance when a woman identified as Grishuk’s aunt criticized the Canadians, telling them they didn’t belong in second place and that their performance to Beatles music could not be considered rock and roll. Kraatz said the criticism felt like a kick in the groin. Bourne seemed on the verge of tears. ‘I don’t know the woman very well,’ Grishuk said of her aunt. ‘I haven’t seen her in three years.’” (x)

Before the 1998 European Championships where Grishuk/Platov were 1st and Krylova/Ovsyannikov were 2nd, Krylova said she thought the result was already decided: 

“But there is plenty of oral sparring among the coaches and athletes in this discipline where rules are disregarded by both skaters and judges. Krylova, runnerup at the European championships, did not hesitate to say, ‘I think the result already was decided’ before the competition.” (x)

At the 1998 European Figure Skating Championships in January, Krylova/Ovsyannikov and Grishuk/Platov collided TWICE in practice and sustained injuries. Krylova claimed it was an accident, but Platov thought they were out to kill them: 

“Linichuk also coaches Krylova and Ovsiannikov. At the European championships in January, first Grishuk (forearm) and then Platov (pant leg) was cut by one of Krylova's skates during encounters that occurred in a practice session and the warmup for the compulsory dances.‘Everybody wants to win, but nobody wants to kill each other,’ Krylova said. ‘We're not boxers.’” (x)

“At the last European Championships in Milan, Italy, Krylova slashed Grishuk on her forearm with a skate blade and sliced Platov's costume behind the knee. Krylova called it an accident. ‘I think maybe because we are winning so many times,’ Platov said, ‘they are trying to kill us.’” (x)

Linichuk threatened to sue Grishuk/Platov for $100,000 in unpaid coaching fees, but they said that she didn’t give them enough attention and that’s why they moved to TAT: 

“It also has brought them near legal action by former coach Natalia Linichuk, who claims she is owed nearly $100,000 by Grishuk and Platov. They counterclaim Linichuk, who coached the pair to 1994 Olympic gold, owed them more personal attention. They left her 14 months ago for Tatiana Tarasova.” (x)

TAT said that she didn’t think Bourne/Kraatz deserved a medal at the 1998 Olympics: 

“Tarasova thinks anyone could see Bourne and Kraatz don’t deserve a medal. ‘In my professional view, the Canadians are not ready for competition this year,’ said Tarasova, who coached the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympic dance champions." (x)

Dubova who of course hates her former pupil Grishuk and was also Bourne/Kraatz’s coach replied with this: 

“Dubova, the Canadians’ coach, countered: ‘Probably we are being attacked because for the first time in history, a North American couple (is trying) to win an Olympic gold medal in ice dancing.’” (x)

Victor Kraatz trashed Grishuk/Platov’s Memorial free dance saying they always recycled their programs, while Grishuk said Bourne/Kraatz’s Riverdance was so easy she could learn it in a day:

“Grishuk said she could do the Canadians’ ‘Riverdance’ routine in a heartbeat. One of Grishuk’s relatives even got into the fray by lambasting the Canadians for their original-dance piece. The relative, who was wearing a press pass, claimed the Canadians weren’t dancing to rock and roll. The Canadian couple responded that the Beatles are, indeed, rock 'n’ roll. ‘It seems like every year the Russians pick the same kind of TC music and the same kind of programs,’ Kraatz said. ‘They pick that slow, sad music. It seems like all they have to do different is change the expression on their faces.’” (x)

“Grishuk said at a competition last December that she could learn Bourne and Kraatz's Riverdance routine in a single day. ‘Why don't they try?’ Kraatz huffed.Then he ripped the Russians, saying they choose the ‘same, sad, slow’ music each year. ‘You just have to look very sad,’ Bourne said.” (x)

The Canadian federation accused the Russian, French, and Italian federations of making judging deals: 

“The Canadian skating federation has accused the Russian, French and Italian judges of deal-making in order to prop up their own skaters.

Grishuk said that those who complain about the judging are ‘weak.’” (x)

After the compulsory dances, Dubova claimed the Olympics was rigged against Bourne/Kraatz in favor of the French and Russians: 

“‘It's a joke,’ Dubova said. ‘I don't know what else to call it. The judges had a lot of time in Milan, at the European championships [in January], to discuss what to do here, to discuss how beautiful the Russians and the French are skating, to decide who must be on the podium.’

‘They think they need to put us down to make sure they have a third place to give. I saw this from the Russian judge. I saw this from the French judge. I knew they would do this.’

Dubova, who once coached Grishuk and Platov, was asked if she believed the competition was rigged.

‘Oh yes, oh yes,’ she replied. ‘They did this all before the competition. . . . It was prepared before by the Russians and the French.’

Dubova's eyes were red as she spoke emotionally about Friday's judging, visibly upset over the fifth-place score Bourne and Kraatz received for their first compulsory dance, the Golden Waltz.

Bourne's voice, too, cracked as she railed against the judging.

‘I'm a little disappointed, but I also expected that this could happen,’ Bourne said. ‘It's frustrating because it's out of our control. It has nothing to do with how we skate this week--it has to do with what goes on outside the sport. It's out of our hands, so far beyond our control.’

‘I think you saw all the mistakes,’ Dubova told reporters. ‘That was almost foul, what Grishuk and Platov did. The other Russians, they did not skate close together, and same with the French. The first partner was much faster--they could not hold the same speed.’

‘I can tell you Bourne and Kraatz had the [most complex] program, skated the closest to the other partner, had equal speed and had great positioning. . . .’

‘But the judges, they so wanted to show that North Americans cannot have more than the bronze medal. They know North America has many good skaters now, and they want to keep them down. I think Punsalan-Swallow is a very good couple. I think the second Canadian couple [Chantal Lefebvre and Michel Brunet] should not be 19th--they should be higher than that.’

‘I don't know what to tell our skaters.’

‘We need to explain what they are doing to us,’ Dubova said. ‘We are not happy with the bronze medal. We are ready to fight for gold.’” (x)

Gwendal Peizerat said there was no deal between the Russians and French: 

“‘All this political stuff with the Russians is not our stuff,’ Peizerat said. ‘Our stuff is the skating side. We are really out of the political side.’

‘At Munich [at the Champions Series Final in December], we won four judges to five for the Canadians. Every competition is close. That's what happened tonight.’” (x)

On the night of the 1998 Olympics free dance, Grishuk wrote this: 

“Torvill and Dean’s Bolero in 1984 was the best ever, but I think you’ll all like our Memoriam tonight. It is about artists, many of them skaters, who lost their lives in recent years. It is very moving. Evgeny and I get along well most of the time. He says I am half crazy and that I drive him full crazy. Maybe that’s why he hit me with a hockey stick once.

I thought about filing for a restraining order against him, but somebody, probably our coach, pointed out that we might have trouble practicing together if he had to stay 100 yards away from me at all times.” (x)

Grishuk claimed Platov hit her with a hockey stick and she almost filed a restraining order against him. Apparently she has also said Platov beat her all 10 years they skated together and she called the cops on him claiming he beat her, but then they found she just had a minor lip wound and all the witnesses at the rink said he accidentally pushed her and she fell on the ice.

Grishuk/Platov won the 1998 Olympics in February. Krylova/Ovysannikov won silver. Anissina/Peizerat won bronze. Bourne/Kraatz came in 4th place.

On the podium when they got the gold medal, Platov said that Grishuk told him he was only responsible for 20% of their success. He says it in “The Dark Side of Skating: Maia, Evgeny, Pasha, & Sasha”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w227JiWLImM

After Grishuk/Platov won gold, silver medalist Krylova said that she thinks the public liked Krylova/Ovysannikov better:

“All I can say is the public liked us better. I think we had a better program overall.” (x)

4th place finisher, Shae-Lynn Bourne, thought the results were a joke:

“‘I think we skated like champions tonight. . . . I really believe we could have been at the top.’

‘The Olympics are all about survival of the fittest. It's about true games and sport,’ Bourne said. ‘That's not what ice dancing is right now. It's all about off the ice.’

Bourne and Kraatz were assigned fourth place after Friday's compulsory dances, and remained there through Sunday's original dance and Monday's free dance competitions--even though the judges rated their free dance superior to bronze medalists Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat, by a vote of 5-4.

Bourne and Kraatz dressed in green and white for their free dance, instead of traditional Canadian red, possibly in an attempt to fool the judges. They performed to ‘Riverdance’--or, as one rinkside reporter quipped, ‘The Judges Sold Us Down the Riverdance.’

‘It's funny,’ Bourne said. ‘You would think I'd be real upset, but I don't feel awful at all. . . . I look at it as more of a joke than anything. You've just got to look at it, laugh at it and get past it.’

Can anything be done to alter the system?

‘We're talking about it. That's all we can do,’ Bourne said.

‘People now know a little more about what's going on. The media are talking about it, the skaters are talking about it. It's like an explosion about to happen.’

‘It's coming to head. Maybe it will bust wide open and bring about a change.’” (x)

Dubova trashed her former pupils, Grishuk/Platov, saying they regressed without her and can’t do what her current pupils Bourne/Kraatz can:

“Natalia Dubova, former coach of Grishuk and Platov, currently employed to train Bourne and her partner, Victor Kraatz: ‘All of us remember what [Jayne] Torvill and [Christopher] Dean did to improve our sport, how many steps they brought up the sport. I always ask myself, ‘What have Grishuk and Platov done for the sport?’ For me, they don't bring the sport up.’

And more from Dubova: ‘Grishuk and Platov, I teach them so many things, and they don't use any of it. I teach them for so many years, and they can do so much more. What they have now, is just a funny program.’

And more from Dubova still: ‘They have not improved, they are just more experienced. They are tired. They cannot do this work that Bourne and Kraatz do, they can only do these simple things.’

‘Grishuk and Platov, their music must be much louder and stronger. They need the music to help them. Bourne and Kraatz, the music and the skating are together, like a package.’

Even long-time coach Dubova concedes that ‘Ice dancing is not a sport. Something must be done. It's impossible anymore. When five of them are from the East bloc, it is easy for them to work together.’” (x)

Grishuk said that she believes they have pushed the sport:

“‘We brought the sport back,’ Grishuk said. ‘We did it. When people were saying the ice dancing does not belong in the Olympics, that it is not a sport, that it is like ballroom dancing, we tried to improve the sport and make it look very interesting, very exciting and difficult. . . .’

‘In my opinion, and in the opinion of a lot of people who were telling us this, we really developed the sport and make it look like a real sport. We brought a lot of new movements into ice dancing, things nobody else ever did before.’

‘We make the sport happen, and we make the sport continue.’” (x)

In 2012, Grishuk said she actually considered going for another Olympics, but she knew Platov’s knees wouldn’t be able to handle it, so she retired from amateur skating:

“They won countless Grand Prix events, four World Championships, three European titles and two Olympics. She considered another Olympic run but retired knowing Platov’s knees couldn’t hold up for another four-year cycle.

‘I felt thankful and blessed that he agreed (to compete through 1998) and that I was able to do the most passionate thing in my life,’ she said. ‘We were considered an ‘unbeatable’ team.’” (x)

After 1998 Worlds in March, Navka and Morozov ended their partnership. Morozov tried skating with another partner for 3 months, but retired. He became an assistant coach to Tatiana Tarasova.

In professional skating, there was a partner swap. The new partnerships were Usova/Platov and Grishuk/Zhulin.

Grishuk claims Platov dumped her in the summer with no explanation: 

“Evgeny? That's a different story. I suspected there were problems, like the time he hit me with a hockey stick. But I thought we would be a team forever. Then he dumped me this summer with no explanation. Maybe it's like he used to say, that I am half crazy and that I drive him full crazy.” (x)

According to Elena Vaitsehovskaya’s book, Platov dumped Grishuk for Usova because he found out that Grishuk was just using him in ice shows, so that she could have a big Hollywood career. Grishuk has said multiple times that she wanted to break into Hollywood and win an Oscar. John Frankenheimer actually wrote a part for her in “Ronin”, a Robert DeNiro movie, but she couldn’t do it because of the 1998 Olympics, so it went to Katarina Witt instead. Grishuk was supposed to play a figure skater who is the girlfriend of a Russian mobster and is shot to death on the ice.

Platov in “The Dark Side of Skating” also said that he was so happy when Grishuk and Zhulin teamed up because it was his chance to get revenge.

Usova/Platov beat Grishuk/Zhulin to win the 1998 World Professional Championships.

Usova said that Zhulin beat her all 18 years they skated together and that when she made a mistake while skating with Platov she would always panic and prepare to be hit, but Platov was so nice and kind to her.

Platov was IN LOVE with Usova. Look what he said about her in 1999: 

"Maia was an amazing partner - hardworking and most importantly not scandalous since I sure had enough with Grishuk. I was very flattered to have besides me not only famous and talented but beautiful woman. Maia is one of the most feminine and graceful skaters. Time (as in age) can’t do anything to her.”

Usova said Platov was in love with her and TAT (TAT coached her and Platov in professional skating) and her mom wanted her to date Platov, but she could never fall in love with Platov no matter how hard she tried.

In a 2009 interview, Usova said that she should have ended her partnership with Zhulin and teamed up with Platov in amateur skating: 

“After you and Alexander Zhulin finished skating as amateurs, I often thought that your career was very cruel, so to speak. You worked toward that Olympic gold medal for so long, you sacrificed so much to it – and then you lost. How do you look at it?

I certainly don’t consider it senseless. I’ve been thinking lately about how everything the person goes through is predetermined from above. Sasha and I are still remembered, loved, and I am often reassured that in many people’s thinking our sports rating is far higher than some of those have become Olympic champions. The only mistake, and it is purely my mistake, was remaining with my partner after our family fell apart. It could have all been different then…

What do you mean?

My career. I should not have held on to my relationship with Zhulin. I should have partnered with Platov there and then. At one time, our coach Natalya Dubova threw Oksana Gritschuk out of her group precisely for personal reasons. Dubova really loved me, and wanted to thus clear my and Zhulin’s path to medals, so to speak. I just didn’t find the strength to tell my coach that it wasn’t about Gritschuk, but about the relationship that has become unbearable for me. However, after what Dubova did, I just couldn’t stab her in the back by quitting the team. Had I done it, though, it is entirely possible that Platov and I could have had our results in the amateur sport, not in the professional which we ultimately did.” (x)

Platov has said that he suspected Grishuk was mentally ill because she had a paranoia that everyone wants to hurt her and during one of her panic attacks the only way to get sense into her was to shake her shoulders with might and she picked his leg with her skates, so he has holes in his training pants because of this.

Navka teamed up with Roman Kostomarov. They were coached by Linichuk and competed together during the 1998-1999 season. After placing 12th at the 1999 World Championships, Linichuk dissolved the team and paired Kostomarov with Anna Semenovich.

Linichuk actually claimed in an interview after 2003 Worlds that she had to work hard to convince Kostomarov to agree to partner with Navka:

Q: Your former students Tatyana Navka and Roman Kostomarov are progressing, they took second at the Grand Prix Final and nearly bronze at worlds. Are you surprised?

A: “When I created this pair, Roman was categorically opposed to skating with Tanya. He thought he neated a more lively, quick partner and a bit smaller in size. It was so much labor to convince him. It seems, I didn’t try for nothing.” (x)

Krylova/Ovsyannikov win 1999 Worlds. They planned to compete the next season and even had programs and costumes prepared, but doctors advised Krylova to retire due to a risk of paralysis stemming from her back problems. Krylova suggested Ovsyannikov team up with another skater, so he could still compete, but he declined. After a year Krylova grew more confident and they competed in professional skating, since it was less demanding on the body.

Zhulin went back to Grishuk briefly before getting married to Navka in 2000.

Navka and Zhulin’s daughter Sasha was born in May 2000. Navka took the year off from competition.

In mid-2000, Kostomarov called Navka and asked to skate with her again. She agreed and the were coached by her husband, Zhulin.

Bourne/Kraatz changed coaches from Dubova to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in 2000.

Dubova, who previously trashed Anissina/Peizerat back when they were her former pupils’ Bourne/Kraatz’s rivals, became a consultant and choreographer for Anissina/Peizerat during the 2001-2002 season.

Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat win the 2002 Olympics, coached by Muriel Zazoui and choreographed by Natalia Dubova and then retire from amateur skating. Ilia Averbukh, Anissina’s former partner, and Irina Lobacheva, coached by Natalia Linichuk, win silver. Barbara Fusar-Poli/Maurizio Margaglio, coached by Paola Mezzadri, win bronze. Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz, coached by Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov come in 4th.

Usova and Platov were assistant coaches to Tatiana Tarasova from 2002-2004.

Linichuk said in an interview that she believed Lobacheva/Averbukh should have won 2003 Worlds and that Bourne/Kraatz won because the judges pitied them for competing so long, but never becoming champions:

Q: Natalya, what do you think of the new system in which 5 judges of fourteen are absolutely not included and the judges give their marks anonymously?

A: “I’ve noticed that the judges’ posture is better, they are not afraid to show their opinion. Maybe this system isn’t ideal, but it’s working. Before the worlds, nothing criminal happened. But in Washington, a portion of the judges gave Bourne and Kraatz a gift for long patience. These skaters were in the world elite for many years, but were never champions. SO they pitied them. By the way, if you add all 14 marks, Lobacheva and Averbukh would have been first. I think their free dance in rock and roll style looked more winning.” (x)

In the same interview, Linichuk also said that she had repaired her relationship with Grishuk who was once again Oksana instead of Pasha:

Q: Do you associate with Oksana Grishuk anymore?

A: “Why not? She had a daughter recently, she calls about every three weeks from Los Angeles. She sent pictures of her daughter, Grace Skyler. The baby has SUCH cheeks! Oksana says she is happy. She wanted to try herself out in Hollywood, but that didn’t turn out so far. By the way you’re right, now she’s not Pasha but Oksana. As before. She thought up Pasha for Hollywood.”

Q: They said you sued her for money. What happened? Did she pay you?

A: “According to our contract, a portion of the prize money for Grishuk and Platov was to go to us as payment. IN America you don’t have to stamp it – just signatures of both parites is enough. When Grishuk and Platov went to Tarasova, they forgot us.”

Q: And after that you still associate with them!

A: “Of course, it’s unpleasant to sue your students, but… I know Oksana since she was 12, Zhenya a bit less. There is so much connected with them. They left me for Dubova, then returned. I made them the best pair in the world. You never forget the best. Recently Platov decided to be a coach – he works with the Israelis Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhonovski. Zhenya came up to me, asked for advice. I see that he was listening to my recommendations.” (x)

Bourne/Kraatz win the 2003 World Championships with Morozov as their sole coach, since Morozov had left TAT to coach and choreograph on his own. Shae-Lynn Bourne was dating Nikolai Morozov and they got married in 2005 and divorced in 2007. Shae-Lynn and Victor fell out because Shae-Lynn wanted to do show skating, but Victor still wanted to be a competitive skater. Shae-Lynn started doing ice shows by herself. They didn’t reconnect until 2008.

In the fall of 2005, Platov joined Zhulin as a coach at Floyd Hall in New Jersey. They coached Navka/Kostomarov to the 2006 Olympic gold medal:

“‘This is why we have teamed up,’ Platov said of his professional relationship with Zhulin. ‘We want to start an ice-dancing school here that will bring attention all over the world. We are very well known and among the most decorated people in the world because of our winnings in the Olympics and in the World Championships. We will organize a school, one of the greatest dance schools in the world.’” (x)

Zhulin said of the coaching partnership:

“‘I work alone,’ said Zhulin, ‘and I never collaborate because I like to feel responsible for everything.’ At least until Platov came calling.

‘When Evgeni first approached, I was hesitant. I said, ‘Okay, we'll give it a few weeks and see how it goes. Amazingly, we worked perfectly together. Such good work, and no arguments. He is, after all, one of the best technical skaters in the world - that's why I lost the Olympics to him.’

Zhulin says he believes if the situation had been reversed, ‘Evgeni would have done the same for me. It's about respect, and we have that respect for each other.’” (x)

After 2006, Platov coached on his own in New Jersey and Zhulin moved back to Russia to coach.

[momontheice]

30 for 30 -- My Favorite Skating Programs of the Last 30 Years

#5 Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, 1992 Winter Olympics free dance

Before their uber-talented son Anthony was ice dancing on the Grand Prix circuit for the United States, Soviet skaters Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko were slowly working their way up the ice dance ladder in the 1980s and early 1990s.  After winning the bronze at the 1984 Olympics behind Torvill and Dean, they moved up to second at the Calgary Olympics and were the heirs apparent to the next Olympic gold.  A team of formerly-French-Canadian-but-now-just-French skaters, a brother and sister named Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay, nipped at their heels throughout the entire quadrennial, even snatching the 1991 World title away from them.  The Duchesnays were innovative and sometimes a bit confusingly eccentric (read: they were not my cup of tea), so Marina and Sergei knew they had to make their Olympic year free dance something truly unforgettable in order to win.

And they did.

In front of the Duchesnay’s home crowd, they delivered a hauntingly beautiful free dance skated to near-perfection, and captured the gold medal.  In contrast, the Duchesnay’s skated a comparatively dull and rather pedestrian version of West Side Story to win the silver. One can wonder if the end result might have been closer had the Duchesnays stuck to their usual unsual-ness, but there it is.

This is STILL my favorite gold-medal-winning Olympic free dance (sorry Tessa and Scott and Meryl and Charlie!)

P.S. Watch for Young TAT in the kiss and cry.

[lazaruspithottub]

Olympic Ice Dancing Champions Marriage Facts

Time to spill some more tea!

Let's start from the beginning...

Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov - 1976 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

MARRIED

Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov - 1980 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

MARRIED

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean - 1984 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

Torvill — married to non-skater

Dean — formerly married to ice dancer Isabelle Duchesnay, formerly married to skater Jill Trenary

Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin - 1988 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

Bestemianova — married to skater Igor Bobrin

Bukin — formerly married to former ice dancing partner Olga Abankina, current partner is former ice dancer Elena Vasiuk (I'm considering this a de facto marriage in my statistics, okay)

Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko - 1992 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

MARRIED

Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov - 1994 and 1998 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

Grishuk — no records of marriage or de facto relationships

Platov — formerly married to skater Maria Anikova

Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat - 2002 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

Anissina — married to non-skater

Peizerat — married to non-skater (possibly? Unclear.)

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov - 2006 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

Navka — formerly married to ice dancer Alexander Zhulin, married to non-skater

Kostomarov — formerly married to skater Julia Lautowa, married to ice dancer Oksana Domnina

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir - 2010 and 2018 Olympic Ice Dance Champions

Who TF knows?

Meryl Davis and Charlie White - 2014 Olympic Ice Dance ‘Champions’

Davis — currently engaged to skater and ice dancer Fedor Andreev (I'm considering this as a de facto marriage in my statistics)

White — married to ice dancer Tanith Belbin

Statistical analysis time!

Note: Tessa and Scott will not be included in this statistical analysis as they are technically the only ones not married or in a de facto relationship (apart from one other) and because the whole point of this  statistical analysis is that it can eventually be applied to their situation.

Olympic Ice Dance Champion teams married to partners: 3/9, 33.33%

Olympic Ice Dance Champions married to other ice dancers (including partners): 10/18, 55.56%

And with former marriages included: 12/18, 66.67%

Olympic Ice Dance Champions married to other ice dancers or skaters (including partners): 11/18, 61.1%

With former marriages included: 14/18, 77.78%

Summary

1/3 of other (non-V/M) Olympic Ice Dance champions have married their partners

77.78% of other Olympic Ice Dance Champions went on to marry their partners, or other skaters or ice dancers 

This means that other Ice Dance Olympic Champions were over 1.5 times more likely marry a fellow skater than marry a non-skater or not marry at all

Take with this what you will and please share! I spent a long time (over 2 hours) on this!

[theicedancekingdom]

TBT ~ Olympic Ice Dance medalists 1988-2014

2014  1. Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA)           2. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (Canada)           3. Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (Russia)

2010  1. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (Canada)           2. Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA)           3. Oksana Domnina & Maksim Shabalin (Russia)

2006  1. Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov (Russia)           2. Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto (USA)           3. Elena Grushina & Ruslan Goncharov (Ukraine)

2002  1. Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat (France)           2. Irina Lobacheva & Ilia Averbukh (Russia)           3. Barbara Fusar-Poli & Maurizio Margaglio (Italy)

1998  1. Oksana Grishuk & Evgeny Platov (Russia)           2. Anjelika Krylova & Oleg Ovsyannikov (Russia)           3. Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat (France)

1994  1. Oksana Grishuk & Evgeny Platov (Russia)           2. Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin (Russia)           3. Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (Great Britain)

1992  1. Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko (UnitedTeam)           2. Isabelle Duchesnay & Paul Duchesnay (France)           3. Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin (United Team)

1988  1. Natalia Bestemianova & Andrei Bukin (USSR)           2. Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko (USSR)           3. Tracy Wilson & Robert McCall (Canada)

[mysticseasons]

Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir break short dance world record

Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were on their game in Pyeongchang, eclipsing their own world-record in the short dance at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The 2010 Olympic gold medallists are in first place after they earned 83.67 points for their samba, rhumba and cha cha routine set to Sympathy For The Devil by The Rolling Stones, Hotel California by The Eagles and Oye Como Va by Carlos Santana.

"We knew we wanted to peak right now and we had a vision for this program, and we're thrilled with the way we executed today," Virtue, originally from London, Ont., told Paul Martini of CBC Sports.

Virtue and Moir received Level 4 marks on all five elements in their program. That included a dazzling midline step sequence to open the program and a rhumba sequence on which they were graded harshly during the team event.

"We've worked really hard, we really believe in our plan, we want to win but we just got to get in our own little moment out there and connect with each other," said Moir, of Ilderton, Ont.

"We've been doing this a long time [and] we've come to realize how special these moments are to share together."

'Costume malfunction'

​Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron are in second place for France with an 81.93 in their samba, rhumba and samba dance. Papadakis experienced a "costume malfunction" according to CBC Sports broadcaster Kurt Browning, after the clasp in her halter broke and exposed her nipple.

"It's hard," said Papadakis. "You don't train to lose a few points because of a costume."

The French skaters are thought to be Virtue and Moir's most serious competition for a gold.

"The costume issue happened and it took away our focus a little bit," Cizeron said. "It's a little bit frustrating to know that it's not because of something that we did, it's just a costume issue, something as stupid as that so it's a little bit disappointing."

American skaters Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue are in third, 2-100ths of a point ahead of siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani.

American-born Canadian Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., earned 74.33 points for their bolero and mambo routine and are in eighth ahead of the free dance.

Piper Gilles, who was also born in the U.S., and Paul Poirier of Unionville,Ont., sit ninth after earning 69.60 while dancing to bossa nova and mambo. Gilles and Poirier are skating in their first Olympics.

"They came to play today," said CBC Sports commentator Carol Lane, who also coaches Gilles and Poirier.

Olympic history on the line

If Virtue and Moir are successful in Monday's 8 p.m. ET free dance, they would become the second pair to win two ice dance golds, joining Russia's Pasha Grishuk and Evgeniy Platov who earned back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1998. The Canadians won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games in the competition, and silver four years later in Sochi.

A third ice dance medal of any colour for the Canadian stars would equal the record held by Marina Klimova and Sergey Ponomarenko. Klimova and Ponomarenko won bronze in 1984 and silver in 1988 for the Soviet Union, and gold as part of the Unified team in 1992.

Virtue and Moir already own gold from the team event earlier at these Games and have a chance to match Sweden's Gillis Grafstrom, Soviet skater Irina Rodnina and Norway's Sonja Henie — who won individual titles — with a third gold medal in the sport.

Papadakis and Cizeron are looking to become the first French ice dancers to win gold since Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat tool home top prize at the 2002 Games. ​

The Shibutanis have a shot at becoming the first siblings to win an ice dance medal at the Games since France's Isabelle Duchesnay-Dean and Paul Duchesnay earned silver in 1992.

- CBC (Feb 19th 2018)

[nimzv]

Douglas Webster: Artist. Choreographer. Director.

Posted by Team IDC | Sep 26, 2019

by Anne Calder | Photos by Daphne Backman

Douglas Webster created Ice Dance International in 2014 and is the Executive Artistic Director. IDI showcases and promotes ice dancing as an internationally recognized performing art untethered by the technical rules of competitive ice dance.

Douglas Webster has choreographed for many major skating companies including Disney on Ice, Holiday on Ice, Stars on Ice, and the Sun Valley Ice Show. His choreography has been in television shows all over the world including Disson Skating, Winter Solstice on Ice, Skating with the Stars for ABC TV, and Sterren Dansen of Het Ijs [Dancing on Ice] in the Netherlands.

He recently shared his thoughts about ice dance and skating in general with IDC.

Growing up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, what was it like skating outdoors on ponds? My family would go skating together on lakes and ponds around North Conway, New Hampshire. Though not a pond per se, I did skate on an outdoor rink in front of the old train station. It was a makeshift type rink with a hose and scraper for an ice cleaner. My time at that early rink has become a key to building our Get Out and Skate programs with the New Hampshire and Maine public schools with the hope to inspire everyone to enjoy skating outdoors in the winter.

It’s a gift to skate outdoors breathing fresh air with the natural world flying by. It’s a feeling that still resonates with me today. There’s a little pond down the street from where I live now in Kittery, ME that I like to skate on in winter. It’s so nice to walk down the street and hop on the ice for a spin.

Tell us how your early skating experiences eventually led to becoming a professional? I began skating in the 70’s. When I became a more devoted skater at the “old” age of 12-13, every couple of weeks my dad would take me to the Skating Club of Boston for one lesson. [A five-hour round trip drive]. In the summer we went to Lake Placid, New York, and Augusta, Maine, where John Millier & Amy Webster introduced me to ice dancing.

When my family moved to Fairfax, Virginia I met Audrey Weisiger and a wonderful team who guided me through my tests at a rapid rate. I competed in Novice at the 1985 US Nationals and in Junior Men at Easterns the following year. After that, I quit skating and went to college. At the end of my sophomore year, I got a soloist job at a Willy Bietak ice show at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, which introduced me to the awesome world of professional skating.

Who were some of your fellow performers in your early days of show skating? My best friends in the ice shows remain my best friends today. Cindy Stuart and Jamie Isley were my closest friends in the early days, and we share a unique bond today. In 1988/89 we performed together in Willy Bietak’s Festival on Ice and the first rendition of Broadway on Ice in Miami with John Curry and then at Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe with Scott Hamilton. Judy Blumberg & Michael Seibert, Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner also performed. [He also did Carmen on Ice in Spain before returning to college.]

Share some of your memories of John Curry. It was a gift to not only know John and work with him in the 80’s, but I saw his John Curry Skating Company in 1985 at the Kennedy Center when I was a senior in high school. I was lucky that my family took me to the theatre and ballet; John’s company added wonderful skating to the combination. Seeing John’s company has inspired every bit of my life and career…and Ice Dance International.

Tell us about working with the Ice Theatre of New York. (ITNY) Share some memories. I arrived in New York City in January 1991 just after graduating from William and Mary College. Valerie Levine, who had also done Carmen on Ice, encouraged me to skate with the Ice Theatre of New York. I stayed on with ITNY until October 2014 as a performer, choreographer, ensemble director, associate artistic director and finally as artistic director.

I have many fond memories of my time with Ice Theatre of New York.

Skating and performing with Judy Blumberg in Appalachia Waltz.

Choreographing Departures for ITNY as a tribute to those lost at the World Trade Center.

Choreographing Unforgettable, a repertory piece created for Richard Dwyer as an homage to the classic era of ice show.

What were your greatest challenges when you began choreographing? Back in the day with no Facebook, Instagram or even personal computers, things were just a little different. There were so few opportunities for choreographers in production skating – and there aren’t that many today, which is why social media is such a wonderful gift to not only young choreographers, but for anyone who wants to share their passion for movement on ice.

Getting paid is another thing – and outside having your work seen – is the next major obstacle for a new choreographer or videographer like Jordan Cowan / On Ice Perspectives. For years, getting paid was secondary to creating…and then understanding ownership of your work.

I basically did everything and anything I could for experience. I asked Brian Wright, one of skating’s great choreographers, who passed from AIDS in 2003, how to become a working choreographer. He said, “Just show up to everything.” And I did.

I think my whole life as a skating choreographer has been a struggle between the creation of the work, getting it seen, and then feeling confident to find value in the work.

What has been the most memorable choreography you created and for whom? It’s difficult to imagine one that is most memorable as there have been so many different types of choreographic opportunities between productions, competitive skating and the decades throughout.

Competitive skaters: Choreographing Lucinda Ruh’s Chopin piece for the World Pro and Keegan Messing’s “Always Look at the Bright Side of Life”; Elena Leonova & Andrei Khvalko’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”

Production: I’m so glad I got to choreograph and direct the Wizard of Oz at the Autostadt in Germany, work on High School Musical for Disney, and, of course, Shall We Dance on Ice with Disson Skating.

ITNY: Dare Greatly, Departures, and Roots

IDI: After the Rain and Into the Light!

I can fall into a video hole watching opening numbers I created from Sterrne Dansen op Het Ijs. Each one brings a memory and a smile.

If you were asked to choreograph a competitive ice-dance program for a current couple, whom would you choose and why? I would ask to choreograph the entire Montreal School in one ice ballet. The Montreal School should have a professional company for the skaters to mature into.

Every ice dance school should have its company school…like SAB [School of American Ballet]…and they should be creating work together. These pieces would be non-competitive, but company pieces of repertory building to the professional company. These companies could co-exist and help build all the current competitive programming and help provide alternatives to one competitive path that ice dancers thrive on. This would be an hour a day, along with a company edge class.

Is there any retired ice dance team that you didn’t choreograph, but wish you did? What kind of program would you give them? The Duchesnays! They were so unique and interesting. I would love to collaborate with them at their prime. Also, Rahkamo and Kokko. All are influencers in our art.

Again, I would love for these folks to take part in an ice dance company – one that takes these couples out of the traditional partnership and places them in an ensemble dance that utilizes their individual skills to full effect to create company works.

Your Shall We Dance on Ice in 2014 brought Anissina & Peizerat and Dubreuil & Lauzon out of retirement plus added other Olympic ice dancers and Dancing with the Stars cast members. Tell us how you chose that format and how it all blended together so successfully. I had already been thinking of creating a dance company with a trained company of ice dancers as its core. Meryl and Charlie had just won the Olympics and were on Dancing with the Stars at the time we thought about doing the show. Finding a vehicle for them was key to Steve Disson (the producer) and me.

I was working with Edward Villella, the founder of the Miami City Ballet [MCB]. He had just created The Three Smokers men’s trio. He and I were discussing a piece that was a segment from an MCB dance called Neighborhood Ballroom, and how it went through different eras of dance. I think all these swirling conversations got us to Shall We Dance on Ice. Then I created the idea of the ballroom segments and genres [danced by couples in small groups].

Regarding the dancers coming out of retirement…I think everyone saw the rise of ice dance at the time. To be part of a large-scale production that celebrated the joy of it all was exciting. It was an incredible cast…wow! [Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, Naomi Lang & Peter Tchernyshev, Kim Navarro & Brent Bommente, Isabelle Tobias & Ilya Tkachenko, Sinead & John Kerr, Meryl Davis & Charlie White + Dancing with the Stars cast members + TV Hosts Ryan Bradley and Kristi Yamaguchi.]

What could our current competitors learn from skaters you worked with in the past? Sustained edges and a commitment to glide.

Is Ice dance a sport or should it be dropped from the Olympic? Ice dance is an extreme athletic endeavor, but fares poorly in criteria alongside any sport where getting a goal or going the distance is the base for a win. My personal feeling is ice dance is the best thing to watch in the Olympics, so I’d hate for it to be stripped from the world stage, but I also see it as glorious entertainment.

IDI strives to build a bridge from sport to art and develop the awareness of ice dancing as a performing art form.

Tell us about your two specials and cast that are currently showing on PBS. I created The World of Ice Dance International and Flight: The Art of Ice Dance International to showcase the company and document some of the history of dance on ice as an art form. The specials provide a platform to promote a unique way of creating dance on ice with the top ice dance talent in the world.

I’ve been developing the cast for eight years. Pasquale Camerlengo has been important in the belief of IDI and encouraging some of his skaters to take part if possible along with top choreographers with ice dance backgrounds like Benoit Richard whose work is featured in Flight, the second special.

We’ve been fortunate to have top ice dancers like Naomi Lang, Kim Navarro, Brent Bommente, Todd Gilles, Joel Dear, Beata Handra, Anastasia Olson, Ian Lorello, Jordan Cowan, Carly Donowick, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker along with other terrific skaters like Ryan Bradley, Erin Reed, Adam Kaplan, Mauro Bruni, Lauren Farr, Natalia Zaitseva, Jonathan Hunt and Neill Shelton.

You have seen many changes in ice dancing over the years. What do you like the best and the least? Twizzles…the worst…not so much for competitive skating, but how they’ve found their way into performance skating – like watching the ice dancers in Stars on Ice…I think the fear of screwing up a side-by-side twizzle is more difficult than the feat itself. Then the theatrical full face and shazam moment when they’re done always makes me laugh. Side-by-side twizzles are completely uninteresting to me. The same as how competitive skaters do leveled footwork in their exhibition programs. Break free people!! Think outside of the box!

The best is the seamless interaction and use of the full body. I teach a class for US Dance Camp and our own IDI clinics called Skate 360. The class is about how to use (and discover) the full body while skating in a 360 sphere of energy…using all different levels and planes of motion. This is currently happening, and I see it in all parts of figure skating, singles, pairs, etc. To me, the dance of skating is the full use of the body while staying in the push. Gabriella [Papadakis] & Guillaume [Cizeron], the French World Champions, totally get it.

The other thing they get is the loss of the self in their skating. Their expression is inherent in the skating and the dance…not forced. Expression comes through the whole body…not just the face. This is a big step away from ballroom and pushes skating into a deep artful place…the loss of ego in the dance. Doing that in competitive skating gets big bonus points.

What lessons did you learn from the many famous people you have collaborated with over the years? I think I learned the most from my partnership with [choreographer] Cindy Stuart. She is so thorough in her preparations and understanding of how to build a large-scale production, which led to saving time and lots of money – to great effect.

The most important lesson I have learned is life doesn’t get any easier when you’re famous. Often, it’s just more complicated. Otherwise, I’ve learned to trust my instincts and follow my heart. The best creative energies come from your core and not by trying to imitate others.

https://www.ice-dance.com/site/douglas-webster-artist-choreographer-director/

[leschums-blog]

A vos patins!

Pour la dernière journée de vacances, nous sommes allés faire du patin sur la patinoire extérieure (à 2 min de la maison). Les enfants se sont vraiment améliorés! Encore quelques fois et nous aurons Paul et Isabelle DUCHESNAY à Warwick!

[dozydawn]

[illyria-and-her-pet]

I was watching the 1992 Olympics compulsory dance and there was a fluff about Isabelle Duchesnay and Christopher Dean since the Duchesnays were competing for Olympic gold (they ended up winning silver behind Klimova/Ponomarenko) in their home country of France, Chris was their choreographer, and Isabelle and Chris were married. Then I came across a video from a Torvill/Dean shipper called “I DO NOT LOVE YOU ISABELLE” (see here if you want lmao) and the comments said Chris only marred Isabelle because he was in love with Jayne and heartbroken after Jayne got married and that Jayne was the only one who could handle Chris since she was so laid back. I was like what, but someone on twitter told me this is actually true and he admitted it in their Life Stories special and “he admitted he felt empty because Jayne "wasn’t his" so he rushed into it. Jayne also admitted she always loved him too, but they decided to put it behind them.” So I decided to look up old articles for the drama!

BTW for some background info Jayne married Phil Christensen in 1990 and they’re still married to this day and have two adopted children.

Chris Dean and Isabelle Duchesnay were married from 1991 to 1993 and then divorced because Chris cheated on her with tons of other women (that didn’t include Jayne). Isabelle also said Jayne hated her, was probably in love with Chris, and the only time she ever smiled at her was when she announced she was divorcing Chris:

“Jayne hated me. I think perhaps she was in love with Chris before and never accepted me. The only time she ever smiled at me was when I announced I was divorcing him.” -Isabelle Duchesnay, whose marriage to Dean lasted less than three years (x)

Duchesnay had gone public with complaints that Dean cheated on her with a succession of women and that his on-ice intimacy with Torvill left her feeling excluded. Of Trenary, then dating the legally separated Dean, Duchesnay said, “I feel sorry for her.” (x)

Chris and Jill Trenary (American singles skater who was world champion in 1990) were married from 1994 to 2010 and have two kids. Jill said she didn’t care that Chris cheated on Isabelle because she was madly in love, Jayne’s husband Phil was the best man at their wedding, and Chris said that he was sure that he will spend the rest of his life with Jill:

Dean denied Duchesnay’s accusations, and Trenary didn’t care: she was, she said, “madly in love.” Dean, divorced in December, formally proposed two months later in Norway, moments after he and Torvill won a bronze medal in their Olympic reunion. In a room below the ice rink, he knelt and popped the question. “It was kinda cute,” said Trenary.

And so was she, at the wedding, in her white lace, off-the-shoulder gown. When she walked down the aisle with her father, Robert, a steel-mill owner, Torvill sat in a nearby pew. Her husband, Phil Christensen, a sound engineer, served as best man. And yes, there was ice—at the reception, chilling the champagne Dean raised in toast to his new wife. “There are not many things in life you can be sure of,” he said. “One thing I’m sure about: this is the girl I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. (x)

It didn’t last for the rest of his life and Chris and Jill ended up separating in 2010 due to various reasons, one being that Chris no longer lived full time in Colorado and had to go back to the UK for 6 months when Dancing on Ice started. Chris and Jill were still on good terms though. 

Chris started dating Karen Barber (she was an ice dancer who’s partner was Nicky Slater the B.ESP uncle) who was also a Dancing on Ice judge in 2011. They’re still together in 2019. They started dating after Chris separated from Jill and Karen separated from her husband of 21 years, Stephen Pickavance: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1347560/amp/Dancing-On-Ices-Karen-Barber-leaves-husband-caught-kissing-Christopher-Dean.html

At first Chris denied the relationship and said they were just sleepovers as friends since they knew each other since they were 16 and competing together. I also found out that Chris, Jayne, and Karen all hate B.ESP uncle Nicky Slater even though he was Karen’s partner:

‘People think if you’re doing that ­[having ­sleepovers]: “Well, there must be more to it than that.” But there doesn’t have to be. We [he, Karen and Jayne] have skated together since we were all 16. I’ve known her as long as I’ve known Jayne. When we competed in the British ­Championships, it was her and Nicky…’

He’s referring to Nicky Slater, the judge who has just been dropped from Dancing On Ice and whose relationship with Karen is, well… let’s say frosty. ‘He was an acquired taste,’ says Chris. ‘People were divided. You like or you don’t like his style.’ Do you? ‘We’ve known him a long time,’ he says diplomatically. So … back to this sleepover.

‘There can be friendships as well,’ 52-year-old Chris insists. ‘Karen will stay with Jayne, too.’ (x)

I also found some things about how Jayne and Chris described their relationship over the years. They didn’t skate together between 1998 (when they stopped competing professionally) and 2006 (the first time they skated together again because of Dancing on Ice) and Chris was depressed when they first stopped skating together, but his relationship with Jayne “lasted longer than any of his marriages”:

He pauses, trying hard to find the right words to explain this thing with Jayne. ‘It’s unique,’ he says. ‘We’re not brother and sister. We’re not husband and wife. But we formed our own friendship that required much more trust than any ­relationship. We’ve been together longer than both my marriages lasted.’

In the early Nineties, Chris was married briefly to French-Canadian skater ­Isabelle Duchesnay, who was famously jealous of Jayne, referring to her as the ‘other woman’ in their marriage. Patting Jayne on the leg, Chris says now: ‘This is the one marriage that lasted.’

So, how did he cope with the eight-year separation following their retirement from professional skating in 1998?

Chris says: ‘It was huge. We did our last performance together in Vancouver, but didn’t tell anyone it was our last performance. Only we knew. I came back to England, packed up and went to the U.S. with my then wife, Jill, because we both thought there would be more opportunities for us there.

‘So, I left the country, our partnership had finished and dissolved. I’d moved into a new house and I hadn’t got a job. All of that was in the space of two weeks. I went through a big withdrawal.

‘I had a lot of depression for six months. It’s weird. I thought I was ready for it. I’d psyched myself up and suddenly everything you knew, everything you were, was gone — changed. For six months, I was scratching my head wondering: “What’s life about?” Suddenly there was no routine. No time you had to get up in the morning.’

Jayne sits nodding as she listens to Chris. ‘I remember looking forward to it,’ she says. ‘I didn’t have to get up early. I didn’t have to get up at a certain time. But the loss of routine was tough. We chatted on the phone pretty much every day. Then Dancing On Ice came up. For me, the first performance we did on the first series was frightening. (x)

There’s also this quote from 1995 about how they were upset they kept being asked about a documentary clip filmed between 1994 Euros and 1994 Olympics where Chris “gleefully” makes Jayne cry in practice, but at least people stopped asking if they were in love because of it:

Their aura of invincibility had therefore been shattered, and within a few weeks their much-written-about "love affair on ice" was also dented by a television documentary which gleefully showed Dean reducing his partner to tears during practice.

"At least it stopped people asking us if we have been in love for the past 10 years," Torvill said. "It was a bit mean of the director to do this. We had this nice image, and he clearly wanted to ruin it by making out we were at each other's throats every day."

The "nasty and ruthless" Dean cuts in. "Most of the aggressiveness shown in the film took place in between the Europeans and the Olympics, when the pressure was on, and our moods, because we had seen the writing on the wall, were not good. The truth is that we've been doing this for 20 years, and there's no way either Jayne or I could have stood it for so long if I'd always carried on like that. People still approach me and say that I was mean to Jayne, but it's normally tongue in cheek. At least it showed the reality of what we do to the public." (x)

[beautiful-shapes]

[icesiblings]

The Groundbreaking Duchesnays

Submitted by: Thea Fitzpatrick

My favorite sibling ice dancing team of ALL TIME were the Canadians Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay. This brother and sister were the most exciting, out of this world team that ever took the ice. The Duchesnays were trend setters and were champions with millions of fans. Their routines were sultry, smoking hot but never appeared incestuous. I still watch their routines today. They are my all time favorites.

[jaynewinsthewars-blog]

"Jayne hated me. I think perhaps she was in love with Chris before and never accepted me. The only time she ever smiled at me was when I announced I was divorcing him."

Isabelle Duchesnay, on Jayne Torvill

[save999things]

# 26. Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay - Missing

When Christopher Dean coreographed his overwhelming homage to the desaparecidos with one of the most intense routines ever performed, he changed in one night the world of ice dance.

The Missing Routine

[dozydawn]