Isabelle Duchesnay

The Duchesnays started skating at an early age in Canada in pairs. Their first major success came at the 1982 Canadian Nationals, where they placed second in the junior competition. After a serious accident where Isabelle hit her head, they switched to ice dancing. Over time, the Duchesnays’ skating became more innovative and revolutionary with help from 1984 Olympic champion Christopher Dean. After Skate Canada criticized their skating, they decided to leave the Canadian team. Writer Ellyn Kestnbaum states, about Dean's choreography of the Duchesnays' programs: "Once Dean began to choreograph their programs in 1988, they introduced a whole new range of meanings to the issue of a man and woman skating together on the ice". In 1985, they began skating for their mother's homeland, France. They were coached by Martin Skotnicky, based out of Oberstdorf, Germany. They also switched teams because they felt they were not progressing as quickly as they thought they should in Canada.

The Duchesnays' 1988 Winter Olympics programs were considered unusual. Their free dance, a jungle-inspired dance set to drums, was not well received by judges and they finished eighth overall. Kestnbaum states that although the Duchesnays were not expected to win a gold medal at the Olympics so early in their career, their "novelty and the originality of their style made an impression". It was reported that the spectators in Calgary enjoyed their free skating program, which was described as a "comedic, melodramic tango", as well as "percussive" and "tribal", the judges' disparate scores, however, demonstrated that they did not know what to make of the program. Despite the judges’ reactions, the Duchesnays continued skating in their unusual and innovative style. They placed third and second in the 1989 and 1990 World Championships, respectively. ...

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