Viktor 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, Victor Kraatz grew up in Switzerland. At age 15, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Kraatz married Finnish ice dancer Maikki Uotila on June 19, 2004, in Helsinki, Finland. They have two sons – Oliver, born September 14, 2006, in North Vancouver, British Columbia; and Henry, born on July 10, 2010.

Career

Kraatz began to skate in 1980. In Switzerland, former pair skaters Mona and Peter Szabo taught him basic skills. His first ice dancing partner was Analisa Beltrami of Switzerland.

After his move to Canada, Kraatz was coached by Joanne Sloman in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the early 1990s, he switched to Eric Gillies and Josee Picard in Montreal, Quebec. He had a partnership with Taryn O'Neill.

Partnership with Bourne

On April 20, 1991, Kraatz began skating with Shae-Lynn Bourne, who had been a pair skater until that time. Bourne tried out with him in Boucherville, Quebec, on the suggestion of a coach, Paul Wirtz.

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.

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.

For the 1996—1997 season, "in response to suggestions that they increase the complexity and danciness of their free skate", 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". 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". 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". 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.

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. The program included a great amount of up-and-down hops in place on their toes and side-by-side footwork. They won the Grand Prix Finals in 1997. At the 1998 Winter Olympics, they came in fourth place.

In 1999, they won the gold medal at Four Continents. 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.Kestnbaum, pp. 247—248 They missed the 2000 Four Continents and 2000 World Championships due to Bourne's knee surgery. In spring 2000, they changed coaches, moving to Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov in Newington, Connecticut. They returned to competition in 2001, and came in first place at Four Continents and fourth place at Worlds.

Bourne and 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. 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. 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.

Kraatz represented CPA Boucherville in Boucherville, Quebec.

Later career

After retiring from skating, Kraatz studied marketing and began working at a marketing agency in Yaletown, British Columbia.

In 2005, Kraatz joined the B.C. Centre of Excellence. He went on to coach Allie Hann-McCurdy / Michael Coreno, Carolina Hermann / Daniel Hermann, and Danielle O'Brien / Gregory Merriman. In the winter of 2012–13 season, he switched to coaching hockey players.

Programs

(with Bourne)

Results

(with Bourne)

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

References

External links

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1997 World Figure Skating Championships, Free Dance

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraatz, Victor
1971 births
Living people
Canadian male ice dancers
Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters from Berlin
Figure skaters from Vancouver
German emigrants to Canada
Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration
Olympic figure skaters for Canada
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
20th-century Canadian sportsmen
21st-century Canadian sportsmen