Shae-Lynn Bourne (born January 24, 1976) is a Canadian

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. In 2003, she and partner

Victor Kraatz Victor Kraatz, (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian former ice dancer. In 2003, he and his partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. Personal life Born on April 7, 1971 in West Berlin, V ...

became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

, placing 10th at the 1994 Winter Olympics, 4th at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in th ...

, and 4th at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...

. Since retiring from competitive skating, she has become a renowned choreographer, choreographing programs for Olympic champions

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 Wor ...

and

Nathan Chen Nathan Chen (born May 5, 1999) is an American figure skater. He is the 2022 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion (2018, 2019, 2021), the 2017 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), a ten ...

, and

World Champions A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

including

Evgenia Medvedeva Evgenia Armanovna Medvedeva (alt. spelling: Yevgenia Medvedeva; rus, Евгения Армановна Медведева, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪjə mʲɪˈdvʲedʲɪvə; born 19 November 1999), is a competitive Russian figure skater. She is a tw ...

. During the 2020 ISU Skating Awards, Shae-Lynn was named Best Choreographer.

Personal life

Bourne was born on January 24, 1976, in Chatham, Ontario. She has an older brother, Chris, a younger sister, Calea and younger brother Sean. She married her skating coach Nikolai Morozov on August 12, 2005, but the marriage was short-lived, and they divorced in July 2007. She is currently married to Bohdan Turok with whom she has a son, Kai, born in June 2012. She worked as a coach and a choreographer at the Granite Club in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, then moved to the Carolina Ice Palace in Charleston, South Carolina in 2019.

Career

Bourne began skating in 1983. Early in her career, she competed in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

with partner Andrew Bertleff. She stated that she enjoyed pairs "but I was dropped a lot, there were a lot of head injuries, and I finally said, 'No more, I'm not going to last much longer if I kept doing this.'"

Partnership with Kraatz

Interested in switching to ice dancing, Bourne traveled to Boucherville,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

in 1991 after a coach, Paul Wirtz, suggested that she try out with

. 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. During their career, Bourne/Kraatz were coached at various times by

Tatiana Tarasova Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova (; born 13 February 1947) is a Russian figure skating coach and national figure skating team adviser. Tarasova has been coach to more world and Olympic champions than any other coach in skating history. Her students h ...

, Natalia Dubova, Uschi Keszler, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, and Nikolai Morozov. For the 1997–98 season, their free dance was modeled after ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions ...

'', with footwork instruction provided by Riverdance lead dancer

Colin Dunne Colin Dunne (born 8 May 1968) is an English-Irish dancer and choreographer who is a leading figure in the world of traditional Irish dance, as well as a theatre actor and contemporary dancer. Best known internationally for his performances and ...

. Bourne/Kraatz became known for their deep edges and soft knees. They were credited with perfecting and popularizing the

hydroblading A hydroblade is a figure skating edge move or connecting step in which a skater glides on a deep edge with the body stretched in a very low position, almost touching the ice. Several variations in position are possible, but one commonly perfo ...

technique. Bourne/Kraatz missed the 2000 Four Continents and 2000 World Championships due to Bourne's knee surgery. In spring 2000, they changed coaches, moving to

and Nikolai Morozov in

Newington, Connecticut Newington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Located south of downtown Hartford, Newington is an older, mainly residential suburb located in Greater Hartford. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,536. The Connectic ...

. Bourne/Kraatz withdrew from their 2002 Grand Prix events due to Bourne's injury. They won their tenth Canadian national title and their third Four Continents title. Bourne/Kraatz went on to become the first World champions in ice dancing from North America, winning gold at the 2003 World Championships in Washington, D.C. 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". In January 2007, they were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame.

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 Ice All Stars is a figure skating show produced by IB sports and sponsored by Samsung Electronics. The show was headlined by former IB client Kim Yuna. ''Ice All Stars 2009'' was held in the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea from Augus ...

'' and the 2010 '' Festa On Ice'', held in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. She has also competed on figure skating reality shows like '' Battle of the Blades'' (paired with former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

star player Claude Lemieux, finished second overall) on CBC and ''Thin Ice'' on ABC (paired with American pair skater John Zimmerman, finished 2nd overall).

Coach and choreographer

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

Jeremy Abbott Jeremy Abbott (born June 5, 1985) is a former American figure skater. He is the 2008 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time (2007, 2011) Four Continents bronze medalist, and a four-time (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014) U.S. national champion. He repr ...

* Jun-hwan Cha * Kate Charbonneau * Alaine Chartrand *

* Vaughn Chipeur *

Michaela Du Toit Michaela du Toit (born January 10, 2000) is a figure skater representing South Africa and an actress. She is the 2015 and 2017 South African National Champion. She starred in the Family Channel’s 2016 film Ice Girls alongside two-time Olympic ...

* Wakaba Higuchi *

Rika Hongo Rika Hongo ( ja, 本郷理華; born September 6, 1996) is a Japanese retired competitive figure skater who is a two-time (2015–16) Four Continents bronze medalist, 2014 Rostelecom Cup champion, 2015 Finlandia Trophy champion and 2014–15 Jap ...

Rika Kihira Rika Kihira ( ja, 紀平梨花; born 21 July 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents champion (2019, 2020), the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, a four-time Grand Prix series medalist (2018 NHK Trophy gold, 2018 Inter ...

* Kiira Korpi * Alena Kostornaia * Mariah Bell * Annabelle Langlois / Cody Hay *

Nicolas Nadeau Nicolas Nadeau (born September 30, 1997) is a Canadian competitive figure skater. As a singles skater, he is the 2016 World Junior silver medallist and the 2015 Canadian national junior champion. Personal life Nadeau was born on September 30 ...

Yuka Nagai is a Japanese former figure skater. She is the 2015 Skate Canada International bronze medalist and 2016 Bavarian Open champion. She has finished in the top ten at two ISU Championships. Career Early career Nagai finished 18th at the 2011� ...

Alexandra Najarro Alexandra Najarro (born June 3, 1993) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater and Actress. She placed 13th at the 2012 Four Continents Championships. Shes known foVought On Ice - "Let's Put The Christ Back In Christmas" she physically ...

* Pang Qing / Tong Jian * Elena Radionova * Kevin Reynolds * Joannie Rochette * Andrei Rogozine * Kaori Sakamoto *

Julianne Séguin Julianne Séguin (born November 7, 1996) is a Canadian pair skater. With Charlie Bilodeau, she is the 2016 Skate America champion, the 2015 World Junior silver medallist, the 2014 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a three-time Canadian n ...

/ Charlie Bilodeau * Akiko Suzuki *

Daisuke Takahashi is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Daisuke can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *大輔, "big, assist" *大介, "big, mediate" *大祐, "big, bless" *大助, "big, help" *大典, "big, law/rule ...

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Elizaveta Sergeyevna Tuktamysheva ( ; rus, Елизавета Серге́евна Туктамышева, , jɪlʲɪzɐˈvʲetə tʊktɐˈmɨʂɨvə; born 17 December 1996) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2015 World champion, the 202 ...

Shoma Uno is a Japanese figure skater. He is a three-time Olympic medalist ( 2018 silver, 2022 bronze, 2022 team bronze), the 2022 World champion and a two-time World silver medalist ( 2018, 2017), the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2019 ...

Ashley Wagner Ashley Elisabeth Wagner (born May 16, 1991) is an American former figure skater. She is the 2016 World silver medalist, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2012 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalis ...

* Yun Yea-ji *

You Young You Young ( Hangul: 유영; born May 27, 2004) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2020 Four Continents silver medalist, a four-time Grand Prix bronze medalist, a four-time Challenger series medalist, and a five-time South Korean n ...

* Rion Sumiyoshi Show choreography * Shizuka Arakawa: Bourne has choreographed for Arakawa's show ''Friends on Ice'' in 2009.Shizuka Arakawa's Friends on Ice
accessed August 31, 2010 *

Kurt Browning Kurt Browning, (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion. Career ...

Sasha Cohen Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion. S ...

* Ekaterina Gordeeva

Advocacy

Bourne has used her celebrity to speak out against child abuse. She and Kraatz skated in numerous charity shows such as "Dreams On Ice". Bourne was the honorary chairperson for the "Every Life Counts" campaign for Chatham-Kent. Bourne and Kraatz received the

Canadian Governor General The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

's Meritorious Service Crosses for speaking out about unfair judging practices.

Programs

(with Kraatz)

Results

(with Kraatz) ''GP: Part of Champions Series from 1995–96 season, renamed Grand Prix series in 1998–99''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourne, Shae-Lynn Canadian female ice dancers Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Canadian figure skating coaches Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration Olympic figure skaters of Canada People from Chatham-Kent 1976 births Living people Battle of the Blades participants World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists Female sports coaches