Dancing Toward A Dream

They had to earn their way to Le Colisee.
But there were Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno on Friday afternoon, basking in the glow of home country support in the senior ice dance compulsories at HomeSense Skate Canada. No wonder the Vancouver-based couple had smiles on their faces as bright as the yellow skirt Hann-McCurdy wore for their rendition of the Yankee Polka.
And that was before they saw the final results sheet. Hann-McCurdy and Coreno stand seventh with 25.51 points. More importantly, it was a hair in front of Kaitlyn Weaver of Houston, Tex., and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont. (25.07).
Hann-McCurdy and Coreno were eighth in their first Canadian championships as senior ice dancers last January in Halifax. That was five spots behind Weaver and Poje, who shocked just about everyone by landing a world team berth.
That's exactly where Hann-McCurdy and Coreno, the national junior champions in 2006, want to be next March, when the 2008 world championships are held in Gothenburg, Sweden. And given the events of the off-season, they've got reason to dream that big.
Five of the top seven finishers in that senior dance event last season in Halifax won't be part of the 2008 Canadian championships in Vancouver. Topping that list are two-time world silver medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, who've taken the season off from the eligible skating circuit. Retirements and dissolved partnerships claimed the rest.
Look beyond all of that, and you'll see Hann-McCurdy and Coreno rank third among the returning contenders. And guess how many world team berths there are for Sweden?
"There is a door open," admitted Coreno, 23, of Toronto.
"We're aware of it, and we're totally shooting for that third worlds spot," said Hann-McCurdy, 20, who represents the Gloucester Skating Club in Ottawa. "That's our goal for the season.
"That's what's motivating us, and it's just incredibly special to be here."
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who finished a stunning sixth at the 2007 worlds in Tokyo and are the future of this discipline in Canada, should grab their first national crown in January. After that, though, it's wide open.
"It's an opportunity and we want to take advantage of it," said Hann-McCurdy.
Just like being here this week. While Virtue and Moir, who lead after the compulsories, can clearly shoot for gold, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno are here just to soak up the experience. They weren't assigned to this event until after a fourth-place finish at the Nebelhorn Trophy senior international event in Oberstdorf, Germany.
They know what's needed most to take the next step up in class, and have spent plenty of time working on it under the guidance of their coaches, former world champion Victor Kraatz and his wife, Maikki Uotila Kraatz.
"We've really, really focused on speed," said Hann-McCurdy. "That was the easiest difference to see between us and all the teams we competed against last year. That was a big focus. Other than that, just more character and energy and personality."
Added Coreno: "That's the big step, learning to do things at high speed and still make it look easy."
Hann-McCurdy, a natural brunette, had a brief fling with going blonde a few years back. Given that blue-eyed blondes are all the rage in Sweden, might Hann-McCurdy go back that way if she and her partner realize that worlds dream?
"I might have to," she said with a laugh. "But there's still a long way to go yet. I don't know ... I'll consider it."