For eight years, Brian Orser and Yuzuru Hanyu have danced a merry pas de deux as they fashioned the teacher-student relationship, spanning cultures, continents, and time zones. After guiding Hanyu to two Olympic and world championship gold medals, Orser thinks he has finally figured it out: less is sometimes more. Whatever they have already done […]
Brian Orser
Medvedeva’s Journey
Evgenia Medvedeva knew it would be tough, moving away from everything she had known in Russia to come to Canada to train with Brian Orser. Perhaps she didn’t know how tough. It was tough enough, finishing second at the Olympics after appearing unbeatable in previous seasons. But at Skate Canada last month, she faced things […]
Jason Brown: His Light Falls on Toronto
Everyone needs a little dose of Jason Brown now and again. Feeling the blues? Brown will wrap you up in the little tornado of his personality and make you forget it all. Feeling lonely and alone? Brown will bounce off to the airport and pick you up, just because that’s what he does. Loving […]
Jun-Hwan Cha Comes of Age
OAKVILLE, Ont. This weekend Jun-Hwan Cha, he a dreamy child not so long ago, grew into something else. A dreamy-eyed young man with a presence. The 16-year-old South Korean skater has been around, for sure, the dark locks of his bob flying out in all directions on a spin. At first sight of a […]
Hanyu: Not Perfect. But Calm.
OAKVILLE, Ont. There’s so much to drink in when you watch two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu steam about the ice on well-oiled springs. Perhaps that’s what inspires so many fans to make the long trip from Japan and snap up tickets. Some camped out all night outside the front doors of the Sixteen Mile Sports […]
Daleman, pressing onwards to the free
Today, Gabby Daleman will find her rhythm. It’s what she does in times of peril. The national championship proved to be one of those times, when she endured strep throat, that was replaced by pneumonia by the time she whizzed through her free skate to the rapturous “Rhapsody in Blue.” Even so, she took her […]
Brian Orser: dance coach to the stars
REGINA Brian Orser added a new dimension to his career persona Thursday at Skate Canada International: ice dancing coach. People took a double-take at the sight of the coach of Olympic and world singles champions leaning against the rink boards, overseeing the first practice of the day for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. So how […]
Run boy, run
Yes, Stephen Gogolev is still only 12 years old, a ghost-like little form who expresses his intent on the ice. Photo by Danielle Earl He’ll be 13 in December, too young yet for the Junior Grand Prix circuit, but nationally, he’s making the huge leap from junior to senior. “It was kind of an easy […]
Tracy Wilson: the wind beneath wings
This is a story I wrote that appeared on the Skate Canada website: By Beverley Smith Tracy Wilson figures she learns as much as she teaches. Yes, we all know she’s a crack skating analyst for various television networks, having won Gemini Awards for her work. But the former Olympic ice dancing medalist has […]
What Javier Fernandez has become
There was a time when Javier Fernandez was all about the high-flying, sharply rotated, stunning jump. Quads in particular. Well, maybe he had a bit of charisma, too, in those brown Spanish eyes. But since he took up residence in Toronto, to train with Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson, he’s gradually learned that skating is […]