lewisgibson4: Mastering the Golden Waltz with the Golden Guy @scottmoir14 👑
We’re so grateful to have spent time training at the @iceacademyofmontreal London Campus. Thank you to all the incredible coaches and teams for the warm welcome and inspiring few days 💪🏼
Working with Scott Moir has been particularly meaningful for the young Canadians.
“It’s very inspirational,” Brandys said. “The way he demonstrates things on the ice is very unique. Both his technical and his presentation side of showing things or demonstrating things is very fun to watch.”
For Veillon, one of Scott’s greatest strengths is his honesty.
“He pushes us every day to be better,” she said. “He knows how to keep it real. He’s not one to sugarcoat things. He will be real with you, and I think that’s also a great aspect because sometimes you need that and that makes you better. You aren’t seeing everything through rainbow-colored glasses.”
[...]
One lesson has consistently been reinforced by their coaches: success is measured by experiences and growth rather than medals alone.
Following a disappointing Rhythm Dance at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Veillon remembers Scott reminding them that results do not define their journey.
“He said, ‘I’m proud of you guys no matter what,'” she recalled. “It’s not about the medals; it’s about the experiences and what you take away. “Also, our coach Cara will say, ‘In 20 years, you’re not going to remember the silver medal at this competition. What you’re going to remember is your experiences.'”
Charlie: When I moved to the Ilderton Skating Club, my coach Carol Moir, as well as Sheri, Cara, and Scott, all encouraged me to try ice dance and synchronized skating at a junior level. They saw potential in me that I hadn’t recognized in myself yet. I honestly questioned why they believed in me, because I felt there were a lot of technical skills I was lacking, and I was even thinking about stepping away from skating altogether. But the Moirs gave me a new opportunity to grow and express myself in ways I hadn’t really imagined before.
I still remember Scott pulling my mom aside on my very first day training as an ice dancer. As bad as I thought I was, he told her that he believed I could become a world-class athlete. Those words completely reignited my motivation and shifted my mindset. Since then, I’ve grown so much as an athlete, and I’ve found an incredible partner to share these experiences with — which has been really special.
Tell us how your partnership started. Describe the tryout.
Cayden: Charlie reached out to me for a tryout at first, which worked out perfectly as I was already planning a move to London, where Charlie was training. The tryout was interesting because I was not only seeing if I was a good fit with Charlie, but also seeing if the school would be a good fit for me. Both of which turned out to be a resounding yes! The tryout went so well that Charlie ended up being the only skater I tried out with! We had so much chemistry and camaraderie that our coach Scott said “He had to resist not making us a team after the first 5 minutes”.
Tell us about your coaches and choreographers.
We have such a great coaching team here in London; Scott Moir, Cara Moir, Sheri Moir, Adrian Diaz, Madison Hubbell, Justin Trojek, and Alma Moir. We really like having the big team of coaches because it helps to get different opinions and perspectives, to create the best and most versatile versions of ourselves. It is also really nice how accomplished and experienced our coaches are, almost any situation we find ourselves in, odds are one of our coaches has lived that same situation in their career and can help guide us through it. As for choreographers, the team consists of most of our coaches as well as Sam Chouinard and Sarah Steben, who always help bring our programs to life. Same as with coaching, it really helps to get everyone’s input and ideas for choreo to end up with the best programs possible. All of our choreographers contribute to both programs but this past season Cara was the main choreographer for the Free Dance, and Sheri for the Rhythm.
Tell us about your programs this season. Who/what inspired your music choices and overall themes?
This year for the 90’s themed Rhythm Dance we really wanted listening to the program to feel like you were listening to a DJ in the 90’s – which inspired the music cuts and structure of the program. With the choreography we aimed to design the program to be very high energy to the point where it was ironic and a little comical, which we found very challenging, but, Sheri really helped make sure we had the aspects of irony we were looking for without falling off the deep end. The Vanilla Ice piece was one that we all loved as we wanted a hip hop flavour that would blend nicely into other songs, and the song by Right Said Fred we picked because of how ridiculous and fun it is, which fit our theme perfectly. Finally, the song by The Offspring was one that honestly we weren’t too crazy about, but Scott insisted we use it, and we’re glad we took his advice because we really grew to like that piece and the energy it added to the program!
Figure skater Tessa Virtue to make off-ice dance debut at Fall for Dance North
June 16, 2026
Retired Canadian ice dancer Tessa Virtue seen in this undated photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout- Nikki Ross (Mandatory Credit)
Before Tessa Virtue ever put on a pair of skates, she was a dancer.
Virtue trained in ballet and contemporary before deciding instead to pursue figure skating at age seven, she said. The decision would set her on a path to becoming one half of the world's most decorated Olympic ice dancing duo.
This October, she's returning to her first love with an off-ice performance at Fall for Dance North, one of Canada's largest dance festivals.
"I've always been curious about what's possible beyond the boundaries that we set for ourselves and ultimately, this project challenged me to ask whether I could still be an artist without the very thing that defined my career," Virtue said by phone from Toronto.
"You know, the skates."
Virtue began her longtime skating partnership with Scott Moir in 1997, and they became household names after capturing Olympic gold in mixed ice dance at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The pair went on to win two more Olympic gold medals in Pyeongchang in 2018, as well as two silvers at the Sochi Games in 2014.
Though she never performed as a dancer on a stage, it remained part of her life, she said.
"In ice dance every year we thought about how to reinvent ourselves and our mission was to show versatility and different styles of expression, and in doing so we needed to enlist the help of experts off-ice," Virtue said.
They worked with Latin ballroom dancers, flamenco dancers, contemporary and hip-hop dancers and more, she recalled.
"Those sessions where Scott and I were dancing together off the ice really were the things that captivated my heart and soul in meaningful ways."
After Virtue and Moir retired from ice dance in 2019, Virtue moved into the world of business. She now works as an executive adviser at Deloitte, where she helps senior leaders and their clients learn how to perform in high-pressure environments.
And during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she said she took dance classes as a way to keep active.
"I've missed the physicality of expressing myself through movement," Virtue said.
"For so long, it was tied to achievement and results and this sense of identity as a figure skater. The movement was just so wrapped up in this pressure cooker that was performing on the world stage. And what a gift it is now to really adopt a beginner mindset, which is something I talk about all the time right now with skaters, with CEOs and executives.
Virtue is in the early stages of planning for the performance, which is scheduled for Oct. 15 as part of the festival's first signature program, called Legends.
It's being choreographed by Alyssa Martin, Fall for Dance North's artist in residence for 2026, who is curating the program along with artistic director Robert Binet.
"I'm always asking, who are your heroes? If you could commune with anyone on stage, who would they be? And (Martin) landed on Bob Fosse and Tessa Virtue. And we kind of laughed and I thought it was impossible," Binet said on a video call. "And then I got very determined."
Binet said he and Virtue shared a mutual friend — Heather Ogden, a principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada — who put the pair in touch.
"I was really trying to not pressure Tessa," Binet said.
But in the end, she was in.
As for Fosse, the late American choreographer, Binet and Martin are bringing in Hubbard Street Dance from Chicago to present the Canadian premiere of Fosse and Gwen Verdon’s "Sweet Gwen Suite"
Other signature programs in the festival include Heartbeats — an ode to street dance, co-curated by Brampton, Ont.-based dancer and choreographer Kwasi Obeng-Adjei — and Hear the Dance, which features the North American premiere of Binet's own work "Newborn Giants."
The work features immersive descriptive audio by Devon Healey, a blind artist who created the practice that Binet said uses "the wisdom and artistry of blindness to bring the audience into the dancers' bodies."
Also featured is the world premiere of "Landslide," a new work by Martin inspired by the Fleetwood Mac song of the same name.
All of the signature programs will be staged at the Bluma Appel Theatre, while other Fall for Dance North performances will take place at the Betty Oliphant Theatre and Jane Mallet Theatre.
Ilderton Skating Club: What a great day at the Ilderton Skating Club Bursary Golf Tournament on Sunday at Echo Valley! ⛳️☀️
The weather was wonderful, and fun was had by all.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, donated silent auction items, and sponsored the event. Your generosity helps support our top athletes in ice dance, individual skating, and synchronized skating. It also provides opportunities for our up-and-coming athletes and those who may require financial assistance to pursue their skating goals.
Congratulations to Team Epic for taking home the championship for the second year in a row! 🏆
Thank you for helping make this event such a success. We are already looking forward to next year!
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