Nikolaj Sørensen
Nikolaj Sørensen is a Danish ice dancer, who currently competes for Canada with his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry. Together they are the 2019 Canadian national bronze medalists.
Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen previously competed for Denmark, winning six ISU Challenger Series medals and representing Denmark at the World and European championships. In March 2018, Denmark released them to compete for Canada.
Early career
Sørensen began learning to skate in 1996, at his father's instigation. He competed internationally with Anne Thomsen beginning in 2003. They placed twenty-fourth at the 2006 World Junior Championships.In 2007, Sørensen teamed up with Czech skater Barbora Heroldová to compete for Denmark. They competed one season together, placing twenty-first at the 2008 World Junior Championships.
In 2009, Sørensen began competing with Canadian skater Katelyn Good for Denmark. In their first season together, they won the Danish senior national title, placed seventeenth at 2010 World Junior Championships, twenty-first at the 2010 European Championships, and twenty-fourth at the 2010 World Championships. The following season, they decided to move from training in the United States under Mathew Gates to Montreal in order to be near Good's mother. On Gates' recommendation they began training under Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, whose just-opened ice dance academy had only four teams at the time. Shortly after the move, Good's mother died. Sørensen and Good placed twenty-ninth at the 2011 World Championships, in what was their final performance together, as Good chose to retire due to injury.
In 2012, Sørensen began skating with Canadian skater Vanessa Crone, but she decided not to compete with him.
Partnership with Fournier Beaudry
Sørensen had a tryout with another Canadian, Laurence Fournier Beaudry of Quebec, in February 2012. He decided to team up with Crone, but called Fournier Beaudry five months later, shortly after Crone's decision not to compete with him. Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen decided to represent Denmark while continuing to train in Canada under Dubreuil and Lauzon.2013–2014 season
Making their international competition debut in the fall of 2013, they won gold at the 2013 Pavel Roman Memorial, silver at the 2013 Ice Challenge, and bronze at the Toruń Cup. At the 2014 Danish Championships, they were the only competitors in ice dance.In their ISU Championship debut, they placed thirteenth at the 2014 European Championships, and concluded the season placing twenty-ninth at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama.
2014–2015 season
The duo competed in three ISU Challenger Series events at the beginning of the season, placing fourth at the Volvo Open Cup, repeating as silver medalists at the Ice Challenge, and earning a bronze medal at the 2014 Autumn Classic. They were again the only competitors at the Danish Championships' ice dance event.At their second European Championships, they placed ninth. At the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, they placed eleventh.
2015–2016 season
Beginning the season again on the Challenger Series, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen won the silver medal at the 2015 U.S. International Classic and the bronze medal at the Finlandia Trophy. Making their Grand Prix debut, they placed seventh at the 2015 Skate Canada International.Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen placed ninth at Europeans for the second consecutive year, and finished with a thirteenth-place finish at the 2016 World Championships in Boston.
2016–2017 season
On the Challenger Series, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen won their second bronze medal at the Autumn Classic International, and placed fourth at the Finlandia Trophy. Given two Grand Prix assignments, they placed seventh at both Skate Canada International and the Rostelecom Cup.The duo placed seventh at Europeans. They went on to place thirteenth at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Due to their result, Denmark qualified a spot in the ice dancing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
2017–2018 season
They took part in three Challenger Series events, placing fourth at the 2015 U.S. International Classic, seventh at the Autumn Classic International, and winning a second bronze medal at the Finlandia Trophy. At their sole Grand Prix event for the season, the 2017 NHK Trophy, Fournier Beaudry and Sørensen placed fifth. Appearing at their third and final Danish Championships, they were again the only competitors in senior ice dance.For much of the preceding years, Fournier Beaudry's citizenship status had dogged the team, as Danish law required seven years' residency for naturalization, and ultimately no allowance could be made. As a result, they were unable to take part in the Olympics despite having qualified a spot there. Following the 2018 European Championships, where they placed ninth, the two reassessed their options, and decided to switch countries and compete for Canada. In March 2018, Denmark released them for that purpose. Speaking of the challenges later, Sørensen remarked that they had been welcomed by the Canadian federation, and that the Danish federation had always been supportive his years of training in Canada had already made him as much Canadian as Danish, and stated that he hoped to acquire Canadian citizenship by 2020.
2018–2019 season
For the rhythm dance, Fournier Beaudry chose Adiós Nonino, creating a cut of different instrumental and lyrical versions. She and Sørensen opted to retain their free program from the previous season, revised for the ISU's new rules. Sørensen remarked that it "is a transitional year with a lot of new feelings and a lot of new challenges, so it was natural to keep something familiar around." ISU rules required that a team switching countries sit out international competition for a year from their last international appearance, meaning they were ineligible for the Challenger and Grand Prix series.In their first competition of the season, the 2019 Skate Canada Challenge, the duo placed first in both programs, qualifying for the 2019 Canadian Championships. At the Canadian Championships, they placed third and were named to the team for the 2019 Four Continents Championships and 2019 World Championships. They placed sixth at Four Continents, and tenth at the World Championships.
2019–2020 season
For their first event of the season, Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen won the silver medal at the Lombardia Trophy. They followed this with a gold medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy, their first Challenger title, increasing their personal best score by over ten points. Returning to the Grand Prix after a season away, the placed third in the rhythm dance at the 2019 Skate America, becoming one of the first teams to earn a perfect Level 4 on the Finnstep pattern dance. They placed third in the free dance as well, winning the bronze medal. Sørensen called their first Grand Prix medal "something that we've dreamed about since we started skating together." At their second event, the 2019 Cup of China, they were again third in the rhythm dance, and the only team at the event to earn a Level 4 on the Finnstep. Third as well in the free dance, despite some minor issues resulting in a lower score than at previous events, they won their second Grand Prix bronze. Sørensen explained afterward that a knee injury had caused him to miss a week of training in between events.Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen did not compete at the 2020 Canadian Championships, due to the latter undergoing a cartilage graft and a meniscotomy to repair his knee. On February 13, 2020, Skate Canada announced that they had been assigned to compete at the 2020 World Championships.
Programs
With Fournier Beaudry
| Season | Short dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
| 2019–2020 |
by Frank Wildhorn, Don Black performed by Jeremy Jordan, Laura Osnes choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Samuel Chouinard | by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, Ira Gershwin performed by Chris Botti, David Foster by Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell performed by Michael Bublé by Arthur Hamilton performed by Michael Bublé choreo. by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Samuel Chouinard | |
| 2018–2019 |
|
| by Calum Scott, Ilse DeLange |
| 2017–2018 |
by John Barry
|
| |
| 2016–2017 | performed by Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret performed by Elvis Presley | by Édith Piaf |
|
| 2015–2016 | by INXS |
| |
| 2014–2015 |
| by Frank Sinatra by Karl Hugo van Kerckhove
| |
| 2013–2014 |
|
by Peter Gabriel |