"Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz"
By
Anik Filion
"Patinage"
magazine,
#49 ~ pg. 33
She is determined and gracious. He is considerate and talented. Together they create a fairy tale on ice. They skate with a soundless glide making the transition from edge to the other with lightness and ease. And then suddenly they gracefully caress the ice with their bodies while the edge of their skates remains on the ice. Their story began only four years ago and they have already become the world's fourth best dance team. But what is the magic that drives them?
Both dancers are totally in love with skating and they have total respect for each other. These two qualities form the basis of their success. According to their coach, Uschi Keszler, they are both extremely sensitive and strong people. The first time they met, they knew that they were made for each other (as dance partners). For Shae-Lynn, it was instinct. "When I first skated with him, it felt perfect. I knew that I wanted him to be my partner." Victor was looking for "somebody that had the guts to do things." "Shae is untamable, you don't know what to expect. She is a free-spirit."
The two skaters appreciate each other. According to Shae-Lynn, "You have to respect one another and their talent and almost thank the person for being there because you wouldn't be there if he wasn't." They compare their relationship to that of a married couple where each partner has to learn to compromise and forgive. In their case, the relationship evolves on the ice. They work together to attain their goal.
Until recently, Olympic champions Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko were their technical coaches. But the schedule of the two Russian professionals was too overloaded and Bourne and Kraatz decided to turn to Natalia Dubova, the former coach of…Klimova and Ponomarenko! Originally from the Soviet Union, Mrs. Dubova now lives in Lake Placid (USA) where she also supervises the work of Maia Usova and Alexander Zhulin. Shae-Lynn says that "they met at the right time in life" for all three of them. According to Mrs. Dubova, "Shae-Lynn and Victor are very professional. It's very interesting to work with them. They are very creative and technical people." While Natalia Dubova helps the couple technically, Uschi Kezsler, the team's choreographer from the beginning, is now their head coach.
This small group is very close and all four of its members work toward the same end. "Everybody works together for one thing in purpose, to make the team better, to do what it takes to make us the best" says Victor. The couple will be remembered by their fans as "people who made change in the ice-dancing world, made it more exciting and brought the athletic into it." In contrast to the other skating disciplines where level changes go from vertical to horizontal (from high jumps to death spirals), ice dancing is limited by rules regarding lifts. It is a very conservative mostly vertical form of skating. By using deep-edge skating and by using the different levels available to them, the triple Canadian champions have been able to incorporate unbelievable movements -called hydro-blading- into their style.
Before she began working with the team, Uschi did not understand the real physical difficulties of ice dancing. But, she explains, "with what they do, it is definitely physically taxing". And moreover, by going to the limit of their skates' edge, they wander in the realm of risk, and risk is what adds spice to all sports.
But athleticism is not the only strength of these dancers. The effortless glide, the flow, and the way their movements meld into one another are also strengths. Uschi works with them on expression. Uschi feels that "In figure skating, there hasn't been enough research on how to really express yourself. We must let the young skaters discover their own way of expression. Everyone has something to say". For Shae-Lynn and Victor, choreography must reflect happiness because they love the sport and because they believe that fans do not come to see problems. "They come here to get away from their problems."
Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz bring their life stories onto the ice and this helps create the characters they are playing on the ice. Uschi says that "Shae and Victor skate from their souls and the soul is always experiencing, always discovering new things. The best gift I would like to give them is freedom and strength to be themselves and to defend that right." And her students are now at the point where they will defend what they believe in.
Even though they climbed up through the international ranks at incredible speed, the couple always lives for the present moment and they have remained very down-to-earth. According to Victor, "skating shouldn't become a must. You do it because you want to. Then, whatever comes out of it doesn't really matter as long as we just try our best."
If they are asked if they have ever done a perfect program, they answer that a perfect program does not exist. It always depends on what happened during the day, how they are feeling, how the synergy is working. Every performance they do might look the same to an outsider but it's a one-of-a-kind for them. Victor thinks that perfection is something he still has to learn. "I usually don't like to take time and do things over and over. If they work, they work. I like to do new things and not to be on a certain subject forever." For Shae-Lynn, "Perfection…is that you have an understanding of what you're doing. It's not just thoughtlessly going through a hundred times, because that doesn't make perfection."
When one sees them perform one can really believe that for this couple perfection lies in the pleasure of their skating. During competitions they try to create a relaxing atmosphere, to stay positive and to have fun on the ice. "Throughout the program your eyes are encouraging like Oh! That was great! You did it!" Shae-Lynn says. If you see her winking to the audience during a program it is probably because she has seen one of her friends and is sending them a big hello. We can guess that she will have a lot of smiles to send off during the next World Championships which will take place in her own country.
"We'll give better than our best because of (the World Championships) being in Edmonton. It's having that extra. There are just so many Canadians there with you. It's going to be exciting."