While Stars on Ice has had a presence in Canada since 1990, with the full tour beginning a year later, individual program footage prior to the twenty-first century is tricky to come by. A few gems from some of the nation’s leading duos, however, are still on offer.
Five-time national champions and two-time World silver medalists Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon only toured from 2007 through 2010 (including the U.S. tour in 2007-08 and 2008-09) before mostly retiring from show skating together as they embarked on parenthood and new ventures in coaching and choreography. This bluesy number to Nina Simone’s “Do I Move You,” then, marks a great high note on which the couple concluded that touring career:
Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz, ten-time Canadian dance victors, headlined the tour from 1997 through 2002, last appearing prior to their world title in 2003 — though Bourne would skate solo in 2005’s tour. The 2000 tour included a group tribute to Simon & Garfunkel, including the dancers taking on “To Emily, Whenever I May Find Her” with a lyrical skate:
After retiring from competition post their 2002 Olympic gold medal, Jamie Sale & David Pelletier tackled an impressive 17 SOI tours between 2002-03 and 2011-12, appearing in both Canadian and U.S. tours in full for several years or making significant guest appearances on the U.S. leg. For the 2005 tour, the pair opted for a piece unusually popular among pairs teams, Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever?” to dramatic effect…albeit marred here by one or two video effects on the broadcasting network’s part: