When ice dancers were faced with the challenge of creating a country or folk
original dance for the 2007-08 season, many scratched their heads in confusion
about what to perform. The opposite was the case for British ice dance champions
Sinead Kerr and John Kerr, who knew they would perform a traditional Scottish
dance in tribute to their homeland. They even breathed a sigh of relief when
updated rules allowed John to wear a kilt.
"If you're going to do your national folk dance, then your
national country outfit is kind of essential," says Sinead. "What we were
wearing was totally authentic. We were happy with the outfits and happy with the
reaction." The dance can be found on YouTube, and regardless of the language of
the commentary, it's impossible to miss the enthusiasm in the commentators'
voices.
Sinead, 29, and John, 28, appeared on the international scene
during the 2003-04 season and immediately received recognition for their
innovative approach. After the 2006 Winter Olympics, they decided they needed to
make a change in their training in order to make further progress. They moved to
the U.S. to train with two-time Olympic gold medalist Evgeny Platov. Currently
based at the Princeton Sports Center in Monmouth Junction, N.J., the Kerrs are
happy to be Platov's only team.
"We're very much used to training by ourselves all our career,"
says Sinead. For several years, they mostly worked without a coach in Scotland
and traveled to Manchester, England to work with Joan Slater.
They enjoy having the virtually undivided attention of their
coach, especially now that they've forged such a close bond with Platov. "It's
an understanding of one another, what each other needs and how each other acts,"
Sinead notes. "The little nuances. Now we've got a great, great connection with
him."
Last season was a major glide forward for the Kerrs, who
finished sixth at Europeans and eighth at worlds. They took two weeks vacation
after worlds and then returned to New Jersey for hard training. When Platov
headed to Ukraine to visit his family in June, the Kerrs went to Scotland, where
they took a family vacation and then trained alone in Edinburgh. Since returning
to U.S. about two weeks ago, they've completed choreography on their original
dance and free dance for the 2008-09 season. Always known for their cool
programs, this year their focus is on upping their technical proficiency.
"That has been a difficult process for us, because I suppose
mentally we've always had a bit of an artistic mindset," Sinead explains. "We
liked to be a bit free to do what we want to do. It's kind of hard being tied
down by restrictions sometimes.
"This year, we're trying to focus on being more competitive,"
she continues. "You can only get yourselves so far with innovation. To get that
bit farther, to beat the ones at the top, if you're really serious about getting
to the top in the world, then you've got to really start thinking on a more
technical way. More, 'How can we actually beat these people?' rather than, 'How
can we entertain the audience?' which is what we normally think about. Getting
those two things together is sometimes pretty tough, but I think we can do that
this year. We're going to focus on having a bit more competitive mindset to go
alongside our innovative side this year."
For this year's original dance, teams can choose music of the
1920s, 30s or 40s. The Kerrs have chosen the 40s, and will perform a lindy
hop-style program to music by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. They've been working both on
and off-ice with world swing champion Robert Royston.
They will not reveal the music for the free dance, but will say
it's influenced by contemporary dance. "We wanted to come up with something this
year that is going to showcase the fact that we've been working on what the
judges perceive to be our weaknesses, which was a bit more depth to our
skating," says Sinead. "We've picked a slightly slower piece, something that can
hopefully show off edges and really free flowing skating, because that's what
we've been working on a lot."
Their Grand Prix events are Skate America and Trophée Eric
Bompard. The goal is to medal at one or both and carry that upward momentum into
Europeans and worlds. Their parents will definitely be at worlds in Los Angeles
(they went there once on vacation and are dying to go back), and Sinead and John
are looking forward to sticking around the West Coast for a week after the
competition. "Have a chill out there," she says.
In between the Grand Prix circuit and Europeans, the Kerrs have
another very important competition -- the British Championships. "One of our
secret aims is to beat Torvill and Dean's record as to how many times we can win
it," Sinead says. The legendary British ice dancers won six consecutive titles
1978-83 and then a seventh title when they reinstated in 1994. This season, the
Kerrs will go for their sixth consecutive title.
"We will never beat their international record," Sinead says,
"but maybe we can beat them nationally."
