Waacking on the world stage: Montreal dancer choreographs Olympic gold-medal routine

Anxious and crying, Montreal dancer Axelle Munezero watched her TV intently as the French skating champions she had trained for a year competed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

To her relief, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron not only topped the Olympic podium, they also set a world record in rhythm dance with a score of 90.83 using her choreography.

"I don't think I was ready for that," she told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

"I was thinking 'Oh my God, we did it. We brought waacking to the Olympics.'"

Munezero initiated the dancers to waacking, an underground club dance popularized by Los Angeles' queer communities of colour in the 1970s.

She spent about six months teaching the skaters about the dance's history before she even started to choreograph their acclaimed performance. She made them dance in unconventional places, including hallways.

"We trained in parks, in the most strange settings, and we would freestyle and dance together and they came to see some waacking battles," Munezero said.

"I really approached it like I was training dancers that wanted to become waackers and do that as a living."

Munezero said it was important for her to relay the history of the dance to the figure skaters before creating a choreography for them.

"I told them I wouldn't be comfortable just giving them movements," she said. "It can show in the movement if you know where it's coming from."

"If they knew the history, they could transmit that information and inspire younger people and inspire the community to feel that they're part of this as well."

Waacking is notable for its striking arm poses inspired by Hollywood silent films. It is intricately linked to dancers expressing their vulnerability and strength.

"The arm movement