Bosley and Corona Take Easterns Junior Dance Gold

Pilar Bosley and John Corona

December 18, 2006
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan 

Pilar Bosley and John Corona are on the fast track towards a possible podium finish after winning the junior dance title at the Eastern Sectionals in November but their main focus isn't on placements this year. "Our goal for this season was to work on our performance, improve our power, and have fun," Bosley said. "They're well known for their skating skills. But it's been a challenge for them to use the music and interpret it," Kaine explained. "I want them to understand how to relate to the music."

Last season, the couple finished seventh in junior dance at Nationals after earning the pewter medal in novice dance in 2005. The dancers competed internationally in the Junior Grand Prix series for the first time this year, placing fifth in Courchevel, France and eighth in Oslo, Norway. "They were both great places to go," Corona said. "The sport is changing so fast and there's so much to be exposed to that helps you go."

Bosley started skating when she was seven. "My Mom took me to a new rink that was built near my house," she said. "I'd done lots of other sports before but none really took. I was in ballet, gymnastics, softball and soccer but except for softball I didn't stay interested very long. I played softball for three years from when I was seven. I played shortstop and second base."

"I got up to novice at Regionals," she continued. "I had all my jumps up to my double axel but I hadn't started on triples. When I was ten, I started doing dance because my coaches thought it would help my freestyle skating. It was hard to be competitive in freestyle and dancing was more natural for me so I switched to competing in dance."

Corona began skating when he was eight. "My sister was skating and I tagged along to take group lessons with my sister," he said. "I played lacrosse starting when I was four and soccer from when I was six. I played midfield in soccer and even made it to a traveling team before I started skating. I only skated freestyle for a year because I couldn't jump very well. My coach told me I should try dance and that took off. Dance gives you an opportunity to present yourself and do your own interpretation."

Bosley competed with Peter Cook at Junior Nationals three times finishing as high as 12th in intermediate dance. "It was a learning experience," Bosley said. "We did well together, but he wanted to go to school and I wanted to skate." Corona competed with three previous partners, reaching Sectionals in novice with Ashton Blount.

The dancers got together in 2003. "I went to the partner search in Colorado but I didn't find any firm prospects," Corona said. Afterwards, Bosley's coach, Christine Fowler contacted Corona's coach, Robbie Kaine, and they had several tryouts in the Philadelphia area before deciding to skate together.

"We're like brother and sister," Bosley said, "but we have different personalities. I'm nervous and tend to over think things and he calms me down." "Pilar's our leader," Corona said. "She's the driving force. She's always motivating me."
Robbie Kaine and Christine Fowler-Binder coach the dancers, who train at the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society for two and a half hours a day, five days a week with another 3-4 hours a week off ice. Pasquale Camerlengo choreographs the team's dances. "He's wonderful to work with," said Kaine. "He's so caring and he has a genuine interest in the kids."

For this year's original dance, the couple is using "Libertango" by Astor Piazzola and the title song from the Bajofondo Tango Club CD. "We did an extensive search for tangos," Corona said, "and it just rang a bell when we heard it." "The first part is more traditional and the second part is more modern," Bosley added.

For the free dance, Bosley and Corona are using a medley of Stray Cats songs, including "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Dreamsville", and "Rock This Town". "We did dramatic pieces the last two years," Bosley said," so we wanted to do something lighter and more high energy this year. The programs are very much our personalities. We're not heavy dramatic type of people." "It's refreshing to have two people having fun and entertaining without heavy drama," Kaine added.

Off ice, Bosley enjoys shopping, reading, cooking, travel and listening to all kinds of music except rap. Corona prefers classic rock from the 50s and 60s and likes reading, especially modern fiction. He also has a big movie theatre in his house, where he mainly watches older movies. Among his more unusual hobbies are rock climbing and scuba diving.

Corona is a senior honor student at Westchester East High School. His favorite subject is history, a subject he plans to study in college on the way to a career as a teacher. Bosley is a freshman studying international marketing at St. Joseph's University. "I definitely want to be in business," she said. "I'm a bottom line, numbers person. I'm not too creative."

The 18-year-old dancers are looking forward to a long career and will compete as juniors again in 2007-08. "We're hoping to ride the wave until it breaks," Corona said. "There's nothing to hold them back," Kaine said. "They're the perfect complement to each other and we have a mutual respect for one another. They take a lot of responsibility for upholding a high level of quality in their skating. It's a two way conversation all the time we're on the ice."