VANCOUVER — Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the original dance Sunday with a sultry, fiery flamenco number that reduced the uproar over the Russians’ Aboriginal routine to background noise and bumped the reigning world champions out of first place.
With 111.15 points, Virtue and Moir lead Americans and training partners Meryl Davis and Charlie White by 2.6 points going into tonight’s free dance.
Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin dropped to third, a hefty 4.55 points behind the leaders. Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are fourth.
“We do like our chances,” Moir said. “Meryl and Charlie and us, we’re part of the new ice dance system, and that’s the way it should be.”
Virtue and Moir’s flamenco was so hot the ice could have melted beneath their blades. It had all the crisp, staccato movements of classic flamenco, including stomps of his feet.
The Associated Press
