SOUTHEAST - The kids at Figure Skating Camp at the Brewster Ice Arena learned to skate like pros yesterday afternoon, when they got some lessons from world champion ice dancer Shae-Lynn Bourne.

Bourne, 31, who grew up in Chatham, Ontario, but now lives near Hartford, Conn., seemed to be skating circles around everyone as she helped both beginner and advanced young skaters hone their abilities.

"I've never seen anyone who can skate like that before," said Sarah Seger, 10, of Yorktown, who has been skating herself for seven years.

Bourne, who began skating at age 7, has the credentials to go with her talent. She and her longtime ice dance partner, Victor Kraatz, skated to a gold medal at the World Championships in 2003, becoming the first North American team to win the title. Ice dancing is a type of pairs figure skating that draws heavily from ballroom dancing tradition and emphasizes rhythms more than spins and jumps.

She and Kraatz twice placed fourth at the Olympics, and they won 10 Canadian championships. Bourne, who now skates solo, has been lauded internationally and recently was inducted with Kraatz into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame.

"It's cool for the kids because they get to meet someone who has competed at such a high level," said Tara Caley, 23, of North Salem, assistant director of skating at the Brewster Ice Arena. In June, the skating campers got to meet and learn from another distinguished figure skater, 1994 Olympic gold medalist Oksana Baiul.

After Bourne finished traversing the rink, trying to impart her knowledge to the roughly 20 campers, she sat in the penalty box for an autograph session.

"I've done a lot of seminars in Canada and the U.S.," Bourne said. "I really enjoy working with the kids and giving them the tools they need to be better skaters."

The young skaters gathered around her, vying for both her signature and her attention. Some even asked her to sign their white figure skates in Sharpie marker.

"Today, I gave them a lot of exercises to help them learn to skate in circles and lean into their edges," she said. "Some of them are still walking on their skates at their age, and I want them to feel the fun of gliding and using their edges."

No stranger to the teaching side of skating, Bourne coaches beginner and elite ice dancers in Connecticut.

"I've learned a lot of new things today," said Joanna Portizsky, 9, of Yorktown. "Shae-Lynn taught us to go from a 'shoot-the-duck' (where the skater bends down, extending her free leg straight out) to a spiral."

Michelle Seger, 8, of Yorktown also was very impressed.

"Shae-Lynn was really good and did everything I can't do," she said, giggling.