Figure skating World champions lead after obligatory dance

   The fifth stage of the Grand Prix Series - the Cup of Russia tournament - was opened today by dancers performing the Ravensburg walse, one of the obligatory dances this season. Though the performance wasn't very thrilling, a lot of spectators attended - about a thousand, SE Internet correspondent Andrei SIMONENKO reports. As expected, the italians Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio took the lead.

   In the absence of the best russian ice dancers Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh the rest of our pairs didn't yet make it into the leading three. And a really weak duet Gvozdkova - Alaskhanov would never have made it into the first ten. Even if the lady dancer hadn't fallen a few seconds before the end of the dance.

   Cup of Russia. St.Petersburg

   Grand Prix series. Fifth stage

   Ice dances

   After the obligatory dance

   1. Barbara Fusar Poli/Maurizio Margaglio (Italy) - 0,4

   2. Galit Hait/Serguei Sakhnovski (Israel) - 0,8

   3. Elena Grushina/Ruslan Goncharov (Ukraine) - 1,2

   4. Tatiana NAVKA/Roman KOSTOMAROV (Russia) - 1,6

   5. Natalia ROMANIUTA/Daniil BARANTSEV (Russia) - 2,0…

   11. Ekaterina GVOZDKOVA/Timur ALASKHANOV (Russia) - 4,4