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Alice
Graham and Andrew Poje teamed up in late Spring
2004. They are coached by Paul Macintosh, Rebecca
Babb, and Susie MacGregor and are currently training
at RIM park in Kitchner-Waterloo.
When
did you start skating, and how long have you been
ice dancing?
Alice: I started skating relatively late around 8 or 9. Although
I competed singles my coach at the time Susan Dell,
a really wonderful coach, thought I might like to
try Dance. I was never a real serious skater but I
liked to compete and had a lot of fun in singles and
synchro I was asked to tryout with a boy in Montreal.
My parents and I never imagined I would be picked
for the partnership but to our surprise I was. That
was around four years ago when I was 13 years old.
Andrew: I started when I was 5 and have been ice dancing since
I was about 7.
In
your own words, tell us how you started skating together?
Alice: I had skated previously with two talented guys but
for my own personal reasons those partnerships didn't
work out. I thought it may be the end of dance for
me and thought I would head back home to North Bay.
However it just happened that some other partnerships
around this time ended and I had a few tryouts with
some really great guys. I have to thank Mr. Bernie
Ford for all his help and encouragement during this
time. I was without a coach and on my own and Mr.
Ford was kind enough to help me. He never directed
me to any one partner but he inspired me and gave
me confidence to know I could dance with the best
of them. After a couple of tryouts with Andrew he
gave me a call and we decided we would make a great
team and go for it!
Andrew: I started with Alice when my previous partner had
decided to pursue other things besides skating. So
when I was sure that I wanted to continue skating
I had my first tryout with Alice and pretty much had
decided right off the bat that I wanted to skate with
her. I went through some other tryouts to make sure
I was making the right decision and then gave her
the call and asked if she would like to skate with
me. We've have been partners ever since
Who
are your coaches and where are you training?
Alice: Paul
Macintosh, Rebecca Babb, and Susie MacGregor.
Andrew: We are coached by Paul Macintosh, Rebecca Babb, and
Susie MacGregor. We are currently training at RIM
park in Kitchner-Waterloo.
Which
events are you planning to compete in this season?
Alice and Andrew: We are planning to compete in Minto Summer Skate,
Lake Placid, Sectionals, Divisionals and Nationals,
with high hopes for a couple grand prix events along
the way.
What
are your goals for this season?
Alice
& Andrew: We
are hoping for good placements if we are assigned
Junior Grand Prix events, and at least top three at
Nationals in January.
Which
compulsory dance is your favorite?
Alice: Starlight—I like the flow Andrew and I have
in this dance.
Andrew: My favorite compulsory dance would have to be the
Argentine Tango due to the high difficulty in the
dance and the high demand for perfection. Plus, I
have always enjoyed the tango rhythm.
What
do you think makes ice dancing a fun sport? What would
you say to encourage other young skaters to try it?
Alice: I like the idea and hope I can leave someone with
a feeling or memory from just watching us dance. It's
not so much that I hope they remember me as much as
they remember that once they saw this couple skating
and it left them with a good memory, that they felt
something from watching us. I also love when little
skaters watch us. I hope the little ones like us.
Don't be fooled by the fancy lace and beauty of the
sport. It is darn hard work and takes discipline.
However if you love to express yourself and you like
to compete it is a great sport.
Andrew: It's unlike any other sport around and demands talent
and hard work in order to succeed. plus the wide range
of people and things you experience along the way
is truly unique to any other sport around. I know
from the experiences that I have had so far I could
never be the person I am today without the experiences
that skating has gave me.
When
you are not skating, how do you like to spend your
time?
Alice: I like to get back home to North Bay. We live on a
lake and I enjoy, relaxing, boating, all water sports
are fun. I also like to see my brothers and my many
aunts, uncles and cousins. I 'd like to develop some
other interest, I like watching movies, I hope to
start painting, I like to just dance for fun but finding
spare time is difficult between school and skating.
Andrew: When I am not skating I am usually in school, eating
or sleeping resting for the next day of training with
odd time that I hang out with my friends and try to
have a normal life.
Which
skaters or dancers do you look up to?
Alice: I find it difficult to pick one particular skater
or team. I have been influenced by many of the skaters
I have trained with and competed against over the
past couple of years. They are a nice group of people.
I appreciate and am inspired by all those skaters
and teams that reach the top in the world. They must
all be extremely dedicated and determined athletes.
I once had the good fortune to share the ice with
the pairs team of, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze
and found them to be a particularly inspiring team.
They skated with grace and power with excellent technique,
all qualities I hope to develop and of course Shae-Lynn
Bourne and Victor Kraatz.
Andrew: I know when I was growing up there was probably two
dancers that I truly looked up to and that was Victor
Kraatz because of his raw talent and the way he just
moved across the ice with such amazing knees. The
second skater was Danny Moir a retired skater now,
but one that I trained with everyday when I was young
trying everyday to match his work ethic and determination
that he showed on the ice everyday while still making
sure to still have fun doing it. |