The two couples skate side by side, gracefully performing a series of difficult pairs maneuvers. Lifts, spins, jumps — everything comes off flawlessly.
Their routine over, the Russian couple and the Canadian duo smile, bow and soak in the applause. Is this any way to behave for the centerpieces of the biggest figure skating scandal to rock the Olympics?
Well, sure. And they've been doing it for years now on the Stars on Ice tour.
While the competitive side of the sport has undergone serious changes since Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze — and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier — won gold medals at the Salt Lake City Games, the four skaters have become fast friends and co-stars on tour. They hold no animosity toward each other, and the passage of four successful years as professionals has somewhat blunted the impact of the unfair judging.
But not erased it entirely. That likely won't ever happen.
"Initially people remember the judging thing, especially people who do not know or follow much of the skating," Sale says. "Typically, when they mention Salt Lake, it is usually the controversy. It was such a hype and it made us household names. It is very interesting."
Sikharulidze agrees.
"People remember the Olympics, they remember everything: the skating, they remember the scandal, of course. People worried about us."
Some worried about the sport itself and whether it would survive the improprieties of a French judge and the head of her federation who, in essence, sought to fix the outcome of the pairs and ice dance events in Utah.
The judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, broke down in front of her fellow judges in a routine post-competition meeting, saying she was pressured to "vote a certain way" in a deal that would benefit the Russian pair. Le Gougne blamed French federation president Didier Gailhaguet for pressuring her to mark Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze ahead of Sale-Pelletier in the free skate.
Both couples skated superbly in the event, with only Sikharulidze's step-out on a double axel marring their performances. The Russians won by the barest of margins, causing an uproar on television and in the stands. When hints of more back-room dealings further tarnished the competition, the International Olympic Committee awarded duplicate gold medals to Sale and Pelletier.
Though Le Gougne later recanted her accusation, the International Skating Union suspended her and Gailhaguet for three years and barred them from the 2006 Olympics.
None of which soothes the memories for Sale and Pelletier, who recently were married.
"Obviously we would rather have won it that night," she says, "because of the pride and the joy of standing on the podium. Since I was a youngster, I had visualized myself being on top of the podium and seeing the flag come down and hearing the national anthem. Ask any athlete and that is what they dream of.
"The controversy made us a little bigger than perhaps we were."
And made the Russian pair smaller, in a twisted way. They became almost-forgotten co-champions — or at least afterthoughts as the Olympics continued. While they had nothing to do with the judging shenanigans, as beneficiaries of it they were often unfairly portrayed as interlopers.
"It was a very difficult situation for them," says Tamara Moskvina, the world's pre-eminent pairs coach who has guided three duos — including Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze — to gold medals since 1992. "We achieved the goal we dreamed of, and then there was this scandal. We discussed handling it and we made the proper attitude toward the situation and understood the proper way to behave. They would show their pride, defend their position with dignity and modesty. They respected the Canadian skaters, didn't accuse the judges nor the officials.
"They reacted with proper diplomatic and human behavior."
The ISU reacted by junking the traditional 6.0 scoring system for a new one based on points. The new code of points will make its Olympic debut in Torino. The judging panel will have 12 members, but only nine of the votes will count. And who scores in what way will be totally anonymous.
Pelletier, by far the most consistently outspoken critic of the judging among the four gold medalists, has called the ISU's new format "laughable. Where's the accountability?"
Sale goes further.
"David and I both feel there is no perfect system; this one still isn't perfect," she says. "When something like that happened, the people that were the leadership of the ISU remained the same as when the corruption happened. That is still a little mind-boggling thing for us, and frustrating. Because of this, there were so many good people who left the sport, people who contributed so much to the sport and didn't agree with the way things were handled.
"There's no accountability in this system; now you won't even know who did what in the voting. There's even more opportunity for some sort of cheating, it seems.
"Yuck."
Neither Sale-Pelletier nor Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze have skated under the new system they helped spur, however indirectly. Both couples immediately left the eligible ranks after Salt Lake City and now are entertainers, not competitors.
They tend to chuckle at how the furor of Salt Lake City made them celebrities outside of the skating world.
"I remember being on every TV station, show and channel," Berezhnaya says. "We were on 'Good Morning America,' hockey games, other talk shows. Every single second was full of interviews. And we met some very famous people. It was a great experience. It was the Olympic Games.
"It's like an exam, and when you pass it, it's just great because you've been working on it, studying, and you pass it. So, for yourself, it's a great accomplishment. You can't see or hear something like that ever again."
How often do the Canadians and Russians discuss the scandal?
"We never have talked about it," Sale says. "I don't think any of us want to bring it up. Why rehash that? It is not even worth it.
"We are both in a great place now, having fun together."