French champion dances to Hardiman tune

In a new form of rapprochement, it has emerged that the French 2007 world ice-skating champion Brian Joubert will dance at the forthcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, to 'Ancient Lands', a track written by the Irish composer Ronan Hardiman.

"I hope I'm not treading on thin ice with the FAI," Hardiman jokes. "There seems to be a lot of interest in the story in France, as France TV are sending a crew over to Dublin to do an interview."

The interest is hardly surprising. Ranked third in the world and a major celebrity in France, Joubert is among the favourites to take the gold medal in Vancouver. He will dance to 'Ancient Lands' in the free skating event, in which he has previously danced to another Hardiman composition, 'Lord of the Dance'.

Joubert has also danced in exhibition to Rufus Wainwright's version of 'Hallelujah', Coldplay's 'Clocks' and a Daft Punk medley, among others.