Marie-France Dubreuil (; born August 11, 1974) is a Canadian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With her husband Patrice Lauzon, she is a two-time (2006–2007) World silver medallist.
Personal life Marie-France Dubreuil was born on August 11, 1974, in Montreal, Quebec. She married her Canadian partner and skater Patrice Lauzon in August 2008. On December 24, 2010, she gave birth to their daughter, Billie-Rose.
Competitive career
When Dubreuil was five, she asked for skating lessons for her birthday and her grandmother gave her skates as a present. She took up ice dancing at the age of ten. The pair of Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov was one of her influences. Competing with Bruno Yvars, she won the bronze medal at 1990 World Junior Championships.
Dubreuil teamed up with Patrice Lauzon in 1995 and they placed 6th at their first Canadian Championships. They took the silver medal in their first appearance at Four Continents in 2000. Their coaches were Sylvie Fullum and François Vallee, who retired after the 2001–02 season. Dubreuil/Lauzon decided to move permanently to Lyon, France, to train under Muriel Boucher-Zazoui.
Dubreuil/Lauzon captured the gold medal at the Canadian National Championships five times and competed at the Winter Olympics twice. They had to withdraw from the 2006 Winter Olympics after Dubreuil suffered an injury from a fall during a lift attempt at the end of a program. Lauzon had to carry her off the ice. They recovered to win the silver medal at the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, Alberta.
Dubreuil/Lauzon began the 2006–07 season with gold medals at 2006 Skate Canada International and 2006 NHK Trophy, which qualified them for the Grand Prix Final. At the World Championships in Tokyo, they took their second consecutive World silver medal.
Dubreuil/Lauzon skated in ice shows in the 2007–08 season. They confirmed their retirement from competitive skating on May 20, 2008.
Dubreuil appeared on the CBC Television series Battle of the Blades, in which figure skaters are paired with ice hockey players in a figure skating competition. She and her season 1 partner Stéphane Richer finished in third place. She took season 2 off because she was pregnant. During the show's third season, she was paired with Bryan Berard.
Post-competitive career
Dubreuil and Lauzon coach and choreograph ice dancing at Ice Academy of Montreal with Romain Haguenauer. Their current students include: Madison Chock / Evan Bates (Olympic gold medalists (team event), Three-Time World Champions, Three-time Four Continents Champions) Diana Davis / Gleb Smolkin Alicia Fabbri / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson (European silver medalists, Five-time British National Champions) Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Guillaume Cizeron Jamie Fournier / Everest Zhu Sandrine Gauthier / Paul Ayer Holly Harris / Jason Chan Rika Kihira / Shingo Nishiyama Marjorie Lajoie / Jean-Luc Baker Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le Gac Hannah Lim / Zachary Lagha Evgeniia Lopareva / Geoffrey Brissaud Vanessa Pham / Anton Spiridonov Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevičius Olivia Smart / Tim Dieck Shiyue Wang / Xinyu Liu
Their former students include: Emmy Bronsard / Aissa Bouaraguia Alicia Fabbri / Paul Ayer Ellie Fisher / Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen Rikako Fukase / Aru Tateno Rikako Fukase / Oliver Zhang Tina Garabedian / Simon Proulx-Sénécal Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker (Four Continents Champions) Mariia Holubtsova / Kyryl Bielobrov Chen Hong / Sun Zhuoming Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue (2022 Olympic champions (team event), 2022 Olympic bronze medalists, Four Continents Champions, Grand Prix Final Champions, U.S. National Champions) Sara Hurtado / Adrián Díaz Sara Kishimoto / Atsuhito Tamura Misato Komatsubara / Tim Koleto (2022 Olympic silver medalists (team event)) Lee Ho-jung / Richard Kang-in Kam Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha (World Junior Champions) Hannah Lim / Ye Quan Teodora Markova / Simon Daze Melinda Meng / Andrew Meng Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron (2022 Olympic gold medalists, 2018 Olympic silver medalists, Five-time European champions, Five-time World Champions, Three-time French National Champions) Élisabeth Paradis / François-Xavier Ouellette Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam Justyna Plutowska / Jérémie Flemin Celia Robledo / Luis Fenero Olivia Smart / Adrián Díaz Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus Azusa Tanaka / Shingo Nishiyama Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir (Three-time Olympic gold medalists, Two-time Olympic silver medalists, Three-time World Champions, Grand Prix Final Champions, Three-time Four Continents Champions, World Junior Champions, Junior Grand Prix Final Champions, Eight-time Canadian National Champions, Only ice dancers to achieve career grand slam)
Other skaters Dubreuil has choreographed for include: Pernelle Carron / Matthieu Jost Nathan Chen Sandrine Gauthier / Quentin Thieren Lubov Iliushechkina / Charlie Bilodeau Lubov Iliushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch Ellie Kam / Daniel O'Shea Solène Mazingue / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara Camden Pulkinen Joannie Rochette Kaori Sakamoto Roman Sadovsky Shawn Sawyer Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau Mao Shimada
Controversies The coaches of the Ice Academy of Montreal (IAM), including Dubreuil and her husband, have received criticism from skating fans online regarding the treatment of some of their students.
In a 2022 French documentary about French Olympic champion ice dancers and IAM pupils, Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron, titled Le couple de feu, Papadakis shared that she had gotten pregnant only weeks before the 2019 World Championships. She further opened up about feeling intense feelings of guilt over this as an elite athlete, alleging that after informing her coaching team at the Ice Academy of Montreal about her situation, they were unsympathetic and told her to "deal with it and come back," making her feel as though she had no other choice but to get an abortion.
In fall 2023, Danish-Canadian ice dancer, Nikolaj Sørensen, a long-time student of the IAM, was investigated by Canada's Sport Integrity Commissioner for the alleged sexual assault of an American figure skating coach and former skater in 2012. American journalist Christine Brennan would report this in USA Today days before the 2024 Canadian Championships. As a result, Sørensen and his partner, Laurence Fournier Beaudry, would withdraw from those national championships, however, they were still assigned to compete at the 2024 Four Continents Championships and the 2024 World Championships, attracting outrage and media attention. Despite this, Fournier Beaudry/Sørensen's coaching team continued to stand by them with Dubreuil even giving an interview shortly before the World Championships, saying, "These are allegations that have left no one indifferent. It has turned a lot of lives upside down. Nik continues to follow the investigation process and respects to the letter [what is asked of him]. It is not up to us to judge and discriminate. For him, for Laurence, for everyone, it was a big shock." In October 2024, Sørensen would be found guilty by Canada's Sport Integrity Commissioner of sexual maltreatment and six-year suspension was ultimately issued by Skate Canada. In her 2026 memoir, Pour ne pas disparaître, Gabriella Papadakis shared that IAM's decision to continue supporting Sørensen despite the allegations against him was the reason she decided to cut ties with her former coaches.
In November 2024, French-Estonian ice dancer and IAM trainee, Solène Mazingue gave an interview, alleging that she had been sexually assaulted by Russian-American ice dancer, Ivan Desyatov, while in Zagreb, Croatia for the annual Golden Spin of Zagreb competition in December 2023. She would accuse the IAM coaches of not taking her claims seriously, alleging that she had confided in Dubreuil and detailed what had happened to her. Mazingue further alleged that Dubreuil promised to report the incident to SkateSafe and the leaders of Team USA. However, this was not followed through for the U.S. Center for SafeSport did not receive any report about the alleged incident until September 2024, which Mazingue filed herself. This would result in Desyatov being suspended from competing indefinitely one month later.
Programs (with Lauzon)
Season Original dance Free dance Exhibition 2006–07 Paya d'Ora At Last Ne Me Quitte Pas
Whole Lotta Love 2005–06 Salsa and rhumba: Ne Me Quitte Pas (remix) Somewhere in Time Ne Me Quitte Pas
Singing in the Rain 2004–05 Singin' in the Rain Winter Vision Taboo Singing in the Rain 2003–04 Americano Why Don't You Do Right Des Tours De Vies (Nu Tango) Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre) Vuelvo Al Sur Tango Inna Babylone (Nu Tango) L'Oiseau Glory Box 2002–03 At the Ball Furioso Polka Dance with my Heart Tango medley 2001–02 Yo Soy Maria Balada Renga Para Un Organito Loco Yo Soy Maria Madame Butterfly 2000–01 L-O-V-E My Melancholy Baby Victorious Titus The Ninth Gate 1999–2000 Relax and Mambo (Machito) Magalenha Dance with Me Life Is Beautiful The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face The Feeling Begins 1998–99 La Grimas Y Sonisas Argentine Waltz The Feeling Begins
Results GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix
With Lauzon International Event 96–97 97–98 98–99 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07 Olympics 12th WD Worlds 10th 11th 10th 10th 8th 7th 2nd 2nd Four Continents 2nd 3rd 4th 2nd 1st Final 6th 6th 6th 6th 5th 3rd 2nd Cup of China 3rd Cup of Russia 6th 5th 6th Lalique 6th 2nd NHK Trophy 4th 1st 1st Skate Canada 4th 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st Spark./Bofrost 8th 2nd 4th Bofrost Cup 1st Czech Skate 1st Golden Spin 2nd Lysiane Lauret 11th Schäfer Memorial 6th National Canadian Champ. 6th 4th 4th 4th 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st WD = Withdrew
With Morbacher Event 1993-94 1994-95 Skate America 8th Trophée de France 8th Canadian Championships 4th 4th
With Yvars Event 1988-89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 World Junior Championships 5th 3rd 5th International St. Gervais 1st Canadian Championships 2nd J 1st J
References
External links