From a five-minute skate at GrandWest to making international history, Courtney Kuhn rebuilt her career through solo dance and put South Africa on the global stage.
Cape Town, South Africa (13 February 2026) – When Courtney Kuhn saw “South Africa” next to her name on an international start list, the weight of the moment hit her all at once.
“When I saw South Africa next to my name on the international start list, I got emotional. I realised I was not just skating for myself anymore. I was showing that African skaters belong on these stages too.”
By then, she had already made history, becoming the first South African, the first African skater, and the first skater from the southern hemisphere selected to compete in an ISU Solo Dance event. But the journey to that moment began in far simpler circumstances.
Growing up in Cape Town, Courtney’s family often escaped the midday heat at GrandWest. While her brothers took to the ice, she watched from the sidelines. This was until a brief opportunity changed her life.
“That five minutes changed everything. I begged my parents for lessons for three months straight.”
At just four and a half, she began private coaching. What started as a fascination slowly evolved into an ambition.
Years later, visiting American coaches David and Carole Schulman recognised her potential during training camps in Cape Town and encouraged her family to consider overseas development. That advice led to Colorado Springs and exposed Courtney to the elite-level skating that few South Africans had ever experienced.
“I suddenly realised how big the skating world really was. Olympic-level coaches and international athletes surrounded me. It opened my mind to what was possible.”
During the COVID pandemic, her passport expired while she was in the United States. Embassy closures prevented her return home for 18 months.
During the COVID lockdown, Courtney’s coaches urged her to use the unexpected time in the United States to grow rather than stall, prompting her to focus seriously on ice dance. Although relearning core techniques was initially frustrating, the discipline soon played to her strengths in skating skills and musicality. With encouragement from leading figures in the sport, the shift evolved from a temporary solution into the path that ultimately reshaped her career.
“I believe in building strong basics. Edges, turns, posture, control. If your foundation is solid, everything else becomes possible.”
Courtney’s training philosophy is reflected in a demanding routine that blends precise on-ice technical work with ballet, conditioning and structured recovery off the ice.
In 2024, that discipline paid off when she won gold at the first Solo Dance event held at South African Nationals, a milestone she believes signalled real growth for the discipline locally. Building that path required self-advocacy, guidance from mentors including Logan Giulietti-Schmitt and Sir Christopher Dean, and strong family support that keeps her grounded.
As she puts it,
“I did not take the easy route, but I found the right one.”
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