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Standing 'O' for two
Bourne and Kraatz still in lead, but Lefebvre and Brunet strong second
The Minto Skating Club-based team is halfway home after a wonderfully-elegant skate last night at the Civic Centre, one that kept them second in the senior ice dance competition at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships.
With the original dance now in the books, Lefebvre and Brunet only need to hold their edge through tomorrow's free dance to book themselves a fourth-straight ticket to the world championships in Helsinki in March. That edge widened slightly last night when they were favoured on six of nine judges' cards over third-place Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon of Boisbriand, Que.
Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe of Vancouver were sorely disappointed after being held to fourth spot after a unique original dance of their own.
For Brunet and Lefebvre, the pressure has lifted slightly, but only for a day.
"One more," said a relieved Brunet, 28, of Gatineau, after last night's performance. "We just keep proving ourselves, and going out there and doing our job over and over.
"But it's not over. The free dance is worth 50% and we've only finished 50% (of the competition)."
The Civic Centre crowd of 7,500 would find it hard to believe Lefebvre and Brunet could possibly perform their original dance, skated to It's A Most Unusual Day, better than last night. Brunet led his partner, clad in a flouncy long purple gown, through a near-flawless effort that inspired a resounding standing ovation.
"It's always fun to skate in Canada," said Lefebvre, 21, of LaSalle, Que. "It's the first time we've skated in Canada this year and the crowd was so amazing."
Added Brunet: "This was a good night and special night to us. We actually feel like we belong here again. We were missing the Canadian crowd and we wanted to get them going ... that's what we were after tonight."
The crowd also loved Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, who drew a standing ovation of their own for their delightful Celtic-themed original dance, to the musical strains of Clannad. The judges agreed too, showering Bourne and Kraatz with marks of 5.7-5.9 for composition and 5.8-5.9 for presentation.
"It was really good for us," said Kraatz, 27, of Vancouver. "We are just pacing ourselves because we have three more events to go (this season) and we are not finished with this one."
Bourne, 23, of Chatham, said she thought the performance was a good practice.
"The crowd was very motivating and brought the level up," Bourne said. "This is an ongoing process ... we hope to peak and make that perfect performance at worlds."
Certainly, the pressure in this event is below Bourne and Kraatz. And Lefebvre and Brunet, so strong last night, need to weather it just one more time.
"We've been having a rough time with the pressure but if we're going to be champions someday, we have to deal with it," said Brunet. "I'm sure Shae and Vic go through this at the international level, and we have to be able to handle it the way any champions do."
Lefebvre said the couple is finding strength they didn't know they had.
"Even with all the pressure, we're skating much better," she said. "I'm suprised with how well we've been dealing with all this stuff that's going on. I surprise myself every day."
Their coach, Eric Loucks, listened to the skaters talk and needed only eight words to sum it all up.
"The tougher it is," he said, "the stronger you get."