Renee Roca (born 1963) is
an American
figure skater and choreographer. She competed in ice dance. With
partner Donald
Adair, she won the gold medal at the 1986 United States Figure Skating
Championships. She later paired with former Russian skater Gorsha Sur
and
captured two more national titles. She and Sur toured with Stars on Ice
after
leaving eligible competition.
Roca has also worked as a skating choreographer.
She choreographed the
free skate Jill Trenary used to win her World Championship in 1990, the
free
dance Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow used to win their first
national
title in 1991, and the short program that Nicole Bobek used in 1995,
when she
placed first at the World Figure Skating Championships in that segment.
More
recently, Roca has been a choreographer on the television
show Skating with
Celebrities.
Georgi
"Gorsha" Sur (born January 1, 1967 in Moscow, Soviet Union (now Russia)) is an ex-Soviet American ice dancer. He
previously competed for
the Soviet
Union
with Svetlana Liapina and won two medals with her at the World
Junior Figure Skating Championships.
Sur
defected to the United States on January
24, 1990.
Once in the
States, he paired up with Renée Roca with the intention of
skating
professionally with her. When the International Skating Union allowed
pros to
reinstate, Roca and Sur did and they won two U.S. National
titles. Roca and Sur attempted to
accelerate Sur's citizenship so they could compete in the Olympics, but
it was
successfully blocked. After retiring from competitive skating, Roca and Sur toured with Stars
on Ice.
Although
Sur has been credited as being the
indirect cause of the Rent-A-Russian phenomenon in American skating,[1]
it is
important to note that he came to the United States and settled there legitimately, with no
intention of ever competing
again.
Sur
currently works as a coach and
choreographer and is based out of OaklandIceCenter.
A profile
Renée
Roca
Birthdate: May 18, 1963
Birthplace: Rochester, NY
Residence: Colorado Springs, CO
Hobbies: Ballet, reading, movies, art, choreography,
and anything cultural
Gorsha Sur
Birthdate: January 1,
1967
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Residence: Colorado Springs, CO
Hobbies: Russian literature, ballet, art, driving
fast, and skiing
Renee Roca (born 1963) is
an American
figure skater and choreographer. She competed in ice dance. With
partner Donald
Adair, she won the gold medal at the 1986 United States Figure Skating
Championships. She later paired with former Russian skater Gorsha Sur
and
captured two more national titles. She and Sur toured with Stars on Ice
after
leaving eligible competition.
