Shae-Lynn Bourne

Partnership with Kraatz

Interested in switching to ice dance, Bourne traveled to Boucherville, Quebec in 1991 after a coach, Paul Wirtz, suggested that she try out with Victor Kraatz.^[3][12] Although at first Kraatz did not see himself with Bourne, they skated together for a week and a week after she returned to Ontario he asked to form a partnership.^[12]

During their career, Bourne and Kraatz were coached at various times by Tatiana Tarasova, Natalia Dubova, Uschi Keszler, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, and Nikolai Morozov.

According to figure skating writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, their performance emphasized the athleticism of ice dance instead of the traditional ballroom style approach.^[13]

In 1993, Bourne and Kraatz came in 14th place at the World Championships. A year later, at the 1994 Winter Olympics, they came in "a respectable" 10th place. In 1995, they came in fourth place at Worlds.^[14]

For the 1996—1997 season, "in response to suggestions that they increase the complexity and danciness of their free skate",^[13] they used music from the 1956 movie High Society, in which they used a mostly athletic and non-narrative approach with mostly quickstep and swing rhythms that emphasized the soft knees they were known for. Kestnbaum also stated, "Only their costumes and the occasional reliance on traditional dance holds suggested any gendered identity for each partner".^[13] Their choice of rhythms allowed them to continue to emphasize their technique and athleticism while following the sport's rules and guidelines, but without depending upon "the erotic narratives attached to other ballroom rhythms".^[13] As a result, both partners were able to present themselves as athletes capable of executing positions and able to support each other's weight, while following the ice dance traditions of "male-female couplehood".^[13] in this way, along with their choice of dance holds, rhythms, and costumes, they were able to establish their performance within the sport's ballroom dance traditions.^[13]

For the 1997–98 season, their free dance was modeled after Riverdance, with footwork instruction provided by Riverdance lead dancer Colin Dunne. Bourne and Kraatz became known for their deep edges and soft knees. They were credited with perfecting and popularizing the hydroblading technique.^{[citation needed]} The program included a great amount of up-and-down hops in place on their toes and side-by-side footwork.^[15] They won the Grand Prix Finals in 1997. At the 1998 Winter Olympics, they came in fourth place.^[14]

In 1999, they won the gold medal at Four Continents.^[14] In 2000, Bourne and Kraatz choreographed their own free dance program; it was first season vocal music was allowed in ice dance, so their music was set to vocal selections by Harry Connick, Jr.^[16] They missed the 2000 Four Continents and 2000 World Championships due to Bourne's knee surgery.^[17] In spring 2000, they changed coaches, moving to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut.^[18] They returned to competition in 2001, and came in first place at Four Continents and fourth place at Worlds.^[14]

Bourne and Kraatz withdrew from their 2002 Grand Prix events due to Bourne's injury.^[3] They won their tenth Canadian national title and their third Four Continents title.^{[citation needed]} They competed at the Olympics for the third time in 2002 and came in fourth place. They also won the gold medal at the Grand Prix Finals and came in second place at Worlds that year. Bourne and Kraatz went on to win the gold medal at the 2003 Four Continents and become the first World champions in ice dance from North America, winning gold at the 2003 World Championships in Washington, D.C.^[14] They retired from competition at the end of the season.

On October 21, 2003, they announced the end of their partnership; while Bourne enjoyed show skating, Kraatz said he wanted "to experiment with other things and follow up on other dreams that I have".^[19] In January 2007, they were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame.^[6]

Ice shows

Bourne has skated solo in shows and tours around the world, such as Stars on Ice, Champions on Ice in North America and Japan, Art on Ice in Switzerland, the 2009 Ice All Stars and the 2010 Festa on Ice, held in Seoul, South Korea, and in Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata, a commemoration event of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami led by two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu.^[20] She has also competed on figure skating reality shows like Battle of the Blades (paired with former NHL star player Claude Lemieux, finished second overall) on CBC and Thin Ice on ABC (paired with American pair skater John Zimmerman, finished second overall).

Coach and choreographer

Bourne formerly coached Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje,^[21] and Cathy Reed / Chris Reed. She has choreographed programs for:

Show choreography

• Shizuka Arakawa^[70]
• Kurt Browning
• Sasha Cohen
• Ekaterina Gordeeva
• Yuna Kim^[22]
• Denis Ten^[22]