Chong and Gfeller Look Towards Vancouver

Andrea Chong and Guillaume Gfeller

Dec. 26, 2007
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan 

Andrea Chong, 20, and Guillaume Gfeller, 24, have teamed up to represent Quebec at Canadian Nationals. They finished second at Quebec Sectionals, but won the original and free dance. "We're hoping to make the National team," Chong said. "That's what we're going for at Nationals. It's wide open."

Gfeller began to skate when he was six. "My mom was going to get my sister into figure skating and the lady at the rink said that they took boys too," he recalled, "but I couldn't get in. So I played hockey until I was eleven, then I moved to Montreal to go to boarding school and I couldn't keep up with hockey anymore. Skating wasn't a priority for me then because I was in school."

"I was almost done with skating, then I did the Quebec Games with a girl from my club, Vickie Daudelin, when I was 16 and we won in dance," he continued. "A year later, a friend of mine who was working with Julie told me I should come and meet her because I had a good look for a dancer. So I came and Julie set me up with Jordan Mackenzie. She had just moved to Montreal from the U. S. We competed for four or five years and were seventh in junior dance at Nationals in 2006. After Jordan finished,

Chong started when she was five because her friends were skating. She skated recreationally until a coach suggested she try dancing when she was 12. Chong then competed with Spencer Barnes for five years, winning the novice dance title in 2004, taking the bronze medal in juniors in 2006, and placing tenth in seniors in 2007.

Barnes then retired from skating after Nationals. "During Junior Nationals, my coach heard that Guillaume was available so we arranged for a tryout in Scarborough," Chong stated. "It took us about four tryouts before we meshed, but our skating styles are similar." "We're at the same place in our careers," Gfeller noted, "just beginning at the senior level. And we have the same strong work ethic."

They began skating together in May 2007. The dancers train at Saint Julie, Quebec with Julie Marcotte. World silver dance medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon also assist in coaching the team. Chong and Gfeller usually work for four to six hours a day on ice, five days a week.

Marcotte, together with Dubreuil and Lauzon, choreograph the couple's programs. For the folk-country original dance, the couple is skating to "Love Me" by Norah Jones and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" by the White Willies. "Marie-France thought it would be a different look for us," said Gfeller, who sports a cowboy hat in the country dance.

Their free dance is skated to Etta James' "It's a Man's World" with a flamenco introduction. "Marie-France and Patrice found the Etta James music and we found the flamenco piece," Chong said. "It turned out really well, just perfect for us." Chong has gone blonde for the bluesy number.

When not skating, Chong said she listens to everything, with Maroon Five being a favorite. "I accept all sorts of music," Gfeller noted. "My family is big in opera. My brother is an opera singer, studying music at university." Both skaters play the saxophone, an unusual choice for skaters.

Chong is in her first year at Concordia University where she is studying science. Gfeller is in his fifth year of university studies in computer engineering and will finish next year.

To relax, she likes to hang out with friends and go to the movies. Gfeller is interested in politics and likes to read about economics and politics, as well as hanging out with friends.