ne waltz. One samba.
And one plotz.
The US Figure Skating Championships brought the country's best dancers to Causeway Street last night, and what ended up as an impressive night for a couple of local skaters - Charles Sinek and Brandon Forsyth - also was an evening of true disappointment for Oleg Fediukov.
The Russian-born Fediukov stumbled during the Westminster Waltz, his first dance of the night with partner Deborah Koegel, and badly bruised his left inner quadricep, forcing the highly-touted couple to withdraw from the competition, which was held before a crowd estimated at less than 1,000.
''The knee wasn't responding,'' said the couple's coach, Robbie Kaine, who realized during Fediukov's warmup for the samba that the couple would have to call it quits. ''I figured he was about 50 percent, and when he came over, I said, `Is that all you can do?' And he said he was about 50 percent. He was in a lot of discomfort ... under the circumstances, it was giving out.''
When the 90-minute performance was over, top-rated Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev finished first, followed by Sinek and partner/wife Beata Handra. Sinek is originally from Lexington, as is Forsyth, who finished third with partner Jessica Joseph. Forsyth graduated from Acton-Boxboro High School.
But the surprise of the night came early in the first discipline, when Fediukov stumbled and fell, taking the force of the fall on his left knee.
Falls in ice dancing are unusual. There are no tricky tosses or daring jumps that often lead to errors. It's a sport of timing, elegant moves, symbiotic rhythm. Falling is tantamount to dropping cup, saucer, and butter knife at high tea.
After the couple's scores were posted, and they made their way toward the dressing room, Fediukov was noticeably limping as he slipped down the runway and out of sight.
The fall was all the more unlikely because Koegel and Fediukov are among America's most accomplished dancers. They won the bronze medal in the 1999 and 2000 US Championships and have figured prominently in the US's aspiration for upcoming World and Olympic events.
The eight couples all danced the two mandatory disciplines in the compulsory dance - the Westminster Waltz and the Silver Samba.
The night's work was worth 20 percent of the dancers's total score, each of the two twirls worth 10 percent apiece. Today's original dance will be worth 30 percent of their total score, and tomorrow's free dance accounts for 50 percent of the final mark.
