Meryl Davis and Charlie White, of the United States, perform during the ice dance short dance at the World Figure Skating Championships Thursday, March 14, 2013, in London, Ontario. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, of the United States, perform during the ice dance short dance at the World Figure Skating Championships Thursday, March 14, 2013, in London, Ontario. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, of the United States, perform during the ice dance short dance at the World Figure Skating Championships Thursday, March 14, 2013, in London, Ontario. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, of Canada, perform in the ice dance short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario, on Thursday, March 14, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)
LONDON, Ontario (AP) ? Meryl Davis and Charlie White sure know how to spoil a homecoming.
Undaunted at skating minutes away from where longtime rivals Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir grew up, the Americans won the short dance with perhaps their best performance of the season on Thursday.
Their score of 77.12 ? the highest anyone's gotten this season ? would have been tough to beat, anyway, but the Canadians didn't help themselves by getting noticeably out of unison midway through. Davis and White lead the Olympic and world champions by 3.25 points, a significant gap going into Saturday's free dance.
"It's a really good sign when, from beginning to end, you're having a good time," White said. "It was one of those dream skates."
And a bit of a nightmare for the Canadians, whose family and friends were visible all over the arena in their bright yellow T-shirts.
"We find ourselves in a bit of a hole," Moir said. "But the competition isn't over yet."
Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev are third.
Earlier Thursday, Olympic champion Kim Yu-na made a triumphant return, winning the short program in her first appearance at a major competition since the 2011 worlds.
Good friends and training partners as well as rivals, the Americans and Canadians have been trading titles since Vancouver. Virtue-Moir claimed the Olympic gold along with the world titles in 2010 and 2012. Davis and White won the 2011 world title ? the first for a U.S. dance team ? and have had a stranglehold on the Grand Prix Final title.
But the Americans have moved past the Canadians this year, and anyone watching Thursday night could see it.
The short dance is a combination of the old compulsories and original dance. Couples have to do a prescribed pattern (this year's is the Yankee polka) during the 2:50 program, and also perform their own interpretation of a specific rhythm (anything in the polka family).
It might sound easy to blend the two, but there are mash-ups of rap and opera that are more harmonious than some of the tone-deaf routines Thursday night. (Think "Sound of Music" meets hootenanny, and you get the idea.)
There was none of that awkwardness from Davis and White ? in their music or anywhere else. Every element of their program was polished and crisp, and the overall result was pure delight.
"We always have fun together," Davis said. "When that comes across to the audience, it's really rewarding."
Davis and White sprinkled special little touches throughout the program like hidden gems; the little hops they did at the beginning of the polka were pure fun. But it was their unison that made the performance something special. They were as synchronized as a Swiss watch, every moment done in perfect harmony.
Their twizzles ? traveling spins ? were so spot on, dance coaches all over will want a DVD just of that section. When they did their no-touch circular step sequence, it was like watching a shadow.
"We feel different than we felt two years ago. In a good way," White said. "Our confidence is as high as it's ever been."
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Follow Nancy Armour at http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour
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