91Èȱ¬

For starters, don't assume the rule is: the crazier, the better. The final group on Monday, which included comfortable victors of Canada, stuck to the kind of music you might normally associate with figure skating - to great effect. Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White chose Phantom of the Opera, while Virtue and Moir selected music from the film .

"The music is a very big deal," Britain's , who finished 20th with partner Penny Coomes, told me.

"You definitely can pick the wrong music if you're rushed into it or you don't have enough choices. Everything has to be right, down to the costumes, the music and the choreography. Everything has to work for the audience at the competition and more importantly, it has to click for you. If it clicks for you, then it should work for the audience and the judges.

"That's the most important thing," added Coomes. "You're the one who has to listen to it and skate to it every day. You do need to pick something universal because of the age range, not just of the audience but also the judges, your coach and yourselves, but you personally need to feel that music and portray something through it."

The pair, both 20, performed their free dance to a Myleene Klass version of , which you may remember as the theme to the 91Èȱ¬'s World Cup '98 coverage, having gone for a Riverdance-inspired routine earlier in the competition. But, they explained, picking their music took time, effort, and hundreds of CDs littered around the house.

"It's surprising how long it can take to make the decision," said Buckland. "You've got to get it absolutely right and you get into a panic if it isn't. You have two or three months to choose, but it's surprising how quickly that time goes, when you go from one week to the next and you still haven't chosen the music yet."

"We picked our music at the beginning of the year and started our programmes, but then we sat some judges down for their opinion and they didn't like either piece," said Coomes. "We had picked Hungarian folk music, but they recommended we skate to something from our own country. In the end we went for an Irish dance - we didn't quite fancy Morris dancing or My Old Man's a Dustman.

"Then for the free dance, we decided on Myleene Klass because she does things that are very classical, but with a modern take. The tunes are familiar but it's not something that everybody has heard before, it's more up-to-date and modern.

"It's important you don't have a nondescript piece of music that nobody's ever heard of. You want a tune that everybody knows. If the audience know the music they can feel it with you and go along with you: they know the rises and falls the same way you do."

Not everybody picks their music the Coomes and Buckland way, though. , the leading British ice dance performers, finished eighth in Vancouver having treated the crowd to Linkin Park's Krwlng, a remix of the band's debut album track Crawling. Their choice of music is well-documented, and they are not the only British competitors with a taste for Linkin Park (pairs skaters David King and Stacey Kemp used Numb for one routine here), but I asked them whether they felt it had worked on the night.

Britain's Kerrs give Linkin Park another Olympic outing in the free dance. Photo: Getty Images

"It's hard to tell if the judges are ready for a Linkin Park-themed free dance but it's something we wanted to do," Sinead told me, moments after they had left the ice.

"It depends what kind of team you are," added John. "Some teams suit the more modern style, some suit the more traditional style; and that's fine because you're going to get more variety that way. If everyone did modern music that'd be boring, but a few teams trying it makes it more fun."

The Kerrs differ from Coomes and Buckland in that they had no intention of letting any judges near their music choice until the entire routine was ready. Nobody had the chance to veto their selection. It was presented as a fait accompli.

"For better or for worse we've always stuck with what we've chosen," said Sinead. "You have to listen to what people say, but we steer clear of sending music to judges because we know whatever we choose, they'll probably say no. Once they see us skating to it, though, it's a different story. They have to see what you do to it.

"Sticking to your guns is the main thing. I don't think we would feel right doing the same things we've done before. We pride ourselves on pushing the sport forward and trying to introduce new ways of dancing to different pieces of music. Maybe in a few years' time everyone will be doing it and we'll be seen as the founders."

Coomes and Buckland are here at the Winter Olympics by virtue of the Kerrs' impressive performances in the months and years leading up to the Games. The latter duo's success unlocked an extra berth for British ice dance competitors in Vancouver, for which the Olympic debutants are profoundly grateful.

Coomes and Buckland - 'medal contenders one day'. Photo: PA

"They've done so much for the sport in Britain," said Coomes. "They've been the most successful duo our country has had in a long time - they've really brought everybody in ice dance along, and now we're all fighting for those second spots, so the whole team has progressed because of what they've opened up for us. As a result, you'll see some really good ice dance teams coming up in the future."

"We want to be medal contenders one day, absolutely," said Buckland with an eager nod when I asked if they saw themselves as the successors to the Kerrs, while Coomes spoke of her desire to appear in at least three more Olympic competitions. "You only get better with maturity and experience and we're looking towards , that's a real goal for us," she said.

Scottish siblings Sinead and John, now 31 and 29 respectively, are far from committed to appearing in Sochi and say they will take their careers one year at a time. But they believe their young team-mates can deliver.

"For us it's great to be in the position of mentors, because we see a lot of potential in them. We would definitely be willing to help them into the future, to get to where we are and beyond," said Sinead.

"We will only have left a legacy if we're the start of a bunch of British teams doing well internationally," concluded John. "If it's just us now, and then nothing again for another 10 or 15 years, then obviously we haven't been able to do that. Hopefully we've shown them that you can have some success as a British team."