![\"crone-poirier\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/crone-poirier.jpg?resize=217%2C293&ssl=1\")
Article By Melanie Hoyt<\/strong><\/p>\nWith teams flourishing on both the senior and junior levels, Canada boasts significant depth in its dance program. At the senior level, Canadian dance teams have medaled at the past three World Figure Skating Championships and the junior teams have gone one better, medaling at every World Junior Figure Skating Championships since 2005. The latest junior team to add the medal count is Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier, who train under Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in the Ice Dance Elite program at the Scarboro Figure Skating Club.<\/p>\n
At the 2008 World Junior Championships, Crone & Poirier delivered strong performances in all three segments of the competition. Finishing only 3.57 points behind the champions, Americans Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates, Crone & Poirier won the silver medal, proving that they belong at the top of the rankings.<\/p>\n
For Crone, the achievement of their goal was the best surprise she could have imagined. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve worked really hard over the years to get that kind of confidence,\u201d she said. \u201cTo get what we\u2019ve tried for, for so many years, is kind of a shock.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a gratifying experience,\u201d Poirier agreed. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked hard for so long. It was the ultimate goal. To finally get here, it\u2019s an amazing feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n
Their season had a strong beginning–they won both of their events in the Junior Grand Prix Series\u2013-and a thrilling ending, but that does not mean that this season passed without its challenges. Despite being the first qualifiers for the Junior Grand Prix Final, Crone & Poirier placed a somewhat disappointing fourth in their first trip to the Final, almost twelve points off the podium. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think when we went to the JGPF, we were more focused on what the other teams were doing instead of focusing on our own skating,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cI think we really learned from our mistakes there.\u201d <\/p>\n
With only a month between the JGPF and their senior d\u00e9but at the Canadian Championships, the young team had to bounce back quickly. In addition to addressing the issues of their competitive approach, they had to train their first senior compulsory dance–the Yankee Polka–and add material to their free dance to meet senior time and element requirements. <\/p>\n
An extremely close range of scores between second and fifth resulted in Crone & Poirier finishing their first senior national championship in a respectable fourth place. However, they made a statement with their free dance that they cannot be discounted as contenders for the Canadian team for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. The dance, a dramatic tango to \u201cA Los Amigos,\u201d was ranked second in the event and brought them within a point of the podium. After their disappointment at the JGPF, this achievement gave them the confidence and the momentum that they needed to prepare to fight back at the World Junior Championships. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was definitely not what we planned at the beginning of the year,\u201d Crone said with a laugh. \u201cOur main goal was to come top five at Nationals, so to have our free dance come second was amazing.\u201d <\/p>\n
Though they are young, Crone, 17, & Poirier, 16, have definite opinions about their training. The trend in dance, particularly at the lower levels, is to switch partners if success is elusive in the first few years, but this team\u2019s seven-year partnership is going strong. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think since we\u2019ve been skating together for so long, it\u2019s really helped our partnership,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cIt\u2019s helped us learn how to react to each other\u2019s moods, so we know how the other is feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n
A typical day for teenagers includes two dance sessions between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m., school, and then freestyle training in the evening. Both partners also skate singles on the national level. In fact, Poirier won the junior men\u2019s silver medal at the 2008 Canadian Championships. While the duo is certainly focused on their dance partnership, they believe that their experiences in singles enhance their dance training, rather than detract from it. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think both disciplines correlate with each other,\u201d Poirier said. \u201cThey both have different things to bring to one another. [Competing singles teaches] us to skate as individuals and not always have to rely on the other partner.\u201d <\/p>\n
In fact, Poirier draws inspiration from one of Canada\u2019s greatest singles skaters\u2014Kurt Browning. \u201cHe brought originality to the sport,\u201d Poirier said. \u201c[He] not only covered the technical aspect, but the show aspect as well. It\u2019s important in ice dance to have presentation and projection to the audience.\u201d <\/p>\n
Despite hectic days with skating, they do find time for themselves and try to lead balanced lives. Poirier reads to relax, while Crone enjoys staying active however she can. <\/p>\n
\u201cI like to play sports other than skating,\u201d she said. \u201cLike soccer and track & field.\u201d <\/p>\n
Perhaps it is this fresh perspective that has encouraged them to develop the creativity and musicality that has set them apart from their competitors. Crone & Poirier were the only team in the world, on either the junior or senior level, to include a level-four stationary lift in their free dance. At the opening of the dance, Poirier picks up his partner from the ice, rotating quickly in a crouched position while she is extended parallel to the ice, holding her blade to her head. His part of the lift looks almost like a two-footed spin and the movement requires a great deal of strength and control. Crone isn\u2019t even sure how they came up with the element. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to do a stationary lift,\u201d she said, taking a moment to ask her partner if he remembered how it happened. \u201cIt was kind of by accident,\u201d she finally concluded. <\/p>\n
Accident or not, it was a spectacular opening to their program, and it earned them +2 GOE from six of the twelve judges at the World Junior Championships. <\/p>\n
Crone & Poirier\u2019s creativity will only help them as they make the transition to the full-time senior dance level in the coming season, and they shrug off the idea that being a junior world medalist adds additional pressure. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t really know exactly where we\u2019re going to fit in the field,\u201d Crone said. \u201cWe\u2019re just going to try to show ourselves in the senior ranks, see what we can do, and hope for the best.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll take it one step at a time,\u201d Poirier agreed. <\/p>\n
After beginning their season once again at the Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships, Crone & Poirier will skate in their first senior-level Grand Prix Series at Skate Canada and Troph\u00e9e Eric Bompard. They may only be hoping for the best, but if last season was an indication of what their best is, then they can be considered favorites to challenge for the podium at next year\u2019s Canadian Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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