Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier lead after Saturday’s rhythm dance at Skate Canada’s figure skating event in Halifax.

Gilles, of Toronto, and Poirier, of Unionville, Ont., scored 86.44 points for their Surfaris “Wipeout” routine.

Her compatriots Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., finished second with 77.34 points, followed by Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France with 76.76.

Alicia Fabbri of Laval, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary are ninth with 70.10 points.

WATCH | Gilles and Poirier are in the front row after the rhythm dance at Skate Canada:

Gilles and Poirier are in the front row after the rhythm dance at Skate Canada

Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier earned a score of 86.44 in the rhythm dance competition to take first place Saturday at Skate Canada.

The free dance is scheduled for Sunday.

Later Saturday, Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were scheduled to compete in the pairs free skate after dominating Friday’s short program with a score of 73.23.

Live coverage of the event continues now on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, and resumes Sunday at 10:45 a.m. ET.

You can also watch more figure skating coverage at CBC Sports presentsour weekly show featuring the best high-performance athletes from Canada and around the world. Hosted by Brenda Irving, accompanied by Kurt Browning and Carol Lane, the show can be broadcast Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.