Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron

[noidont]

Both V/M and P/C are diva teams. D/W actually wasn't one so much (at least Charlie didn't seem that intense). I feel that the tension between V/M and D/W in '14 was mainly Meryl dating Marina's son (and Tessa's ex?). That was a big deal breaker. But even so, I doubt D/W was ever very affected. They didn't seem bothered when they were losing to V/M all the years before Vancouver. V/M are the ones who are more dramatic, not in a bad way of course, just that they have more artistic temper than D/W, who were athletes first.
I can't really see V/M and P/C all getting along great after this season. They seem to have the same brand of artistic temper. But it is what it is. There is no other place to go for either team. I just wish Marie-France could buy more CDs.

 

[cocotaffy]

I just wish Marie-France could buy more CDs.

Good one But the bigger question is, would she use them ?
And that's why I'm so happy Gaby and Guillaume brings some input like that unusual piano piece to mix it up a bit, if only they could have skated the whole thing on it. It could have been amazingly challenging. Anyhow .... still adore their FD as it is.

 

[alain06fr]

Good one But the bigger question is, would she use them ?
And that's why I'm so happy Gaby and Guillaume brings some input like that unusual piano piece to mix it up a bit, if only they could have skated the whole thing on it. It could have been amazingly challenging. Anyhow .... still adore their FD as it is.

In the end, I really love the music switch as it gives such a clear contrast in their program and it perfectly matches what P/C want to deliver (I am referring of course to this fantastic P/C interview - probably their best one and one of the best I ever read from such young ice dancers). The first FD part is definitely about misunderstanding, "fighting", bad life moments, etc and the last part ends in a serene atmosphere. The calm after the storm... I definitely love it and I really hope they will work on such a big contrast next year as well.

 

[lauravvv]

Why do they need Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon? Romain Haguenauer is a really good coach and he is French. So, I don't really understand why they need 3 coaches.

The thing is, Haguenauer is not really a technical coach as far as I understand. Lauzon is the technical coach of that coaching team. From what I read, Haguenauer mostly oversees things like gliding, lines, and also has some program ideas, so he could probably replace Dubreuil for them completely, but not Lauzon.

 

[yuna13]

i was watching DWTS ( danse avec les stars) tonight in France and something just hit me : chris marques could choregraph P/C sd next year. latin dance are his specialities, he is known for his great concept, his attention to details and technique, even the americans wants him.
i have so much respect for romain and marie France but we all see what is going on with the short dance this year. and i'm tired to hear people saying that sd is the french weakness .
obviously right now it's not the time to think of such things i know but i just had this idear on my head.

alors bonne ou mauvaise idée ?

 

[alain06fr]

I want to preface this by saying that V/m are the reason I started paying attention to figure skating, but I also really like P/C.

First of all, I honestly don't think there is a problem with the coaching situation. We've seen plenty of pics and videos of Scott joking around with Gabby and them all talking and acting like friends and they all seem to have a good vibe with MF. I honestly think she wants both teams to succeed. IIRC, someone was suggesting that she'll give her best choreo to V/M because she wants them to win or something. First of all, while she choreographed both teams' programs, Romain also worked on both P/C programs and David Wilson worked on both V/M programs, so it's not like it's all up to MF. Second of all, P/C put a huge emphasis on the artistic side and they obviously have a lot of say in music and program design and at this point in V/M's career, so do they. So you meet like one program better, but its way more complicated than MF giving one team a better one. They have different music, chose different rhythms, have different performance styles, and which one you prefer is super subjective anyways.

Also I feel like a lot of the discussion around this (not necessarily on this thread, just in general) refers to the fact that at the end, there were issues with the V/M D/W coaching situation. But just because there were issues in that case doesn't actually mean there will be here. It isn't the same two teams, it isn't the same coach. Brian Orser coaching both Hanyu and Javi and that seems to be just fine. And I think people also forget that the coaching situation in Michigan actually worked really well for a long time. As far as we know, it was only the last few months that V/M were unhappy with it. They were the top two teams for a while before anything went wrong.

But even if you think it may not be perfectly equal, there's something people used to bring up fairly often about V/M's coaching with is worth considering. People used to say, what are V/M going to do, leave? Leaving would mean giving D/W Marina's sole attention. Even if you feel your coaches time is more split than you'd like, if you feel you have the best coach (or one of the best), it may not make sense to leave. Now personally, this isn't how I'm thinking, because at the moment I don't believe there's a problem, but I did think this was an interesting point.

Yeah. Once again, you bring very interesting comments and I would like to add something.

Guillaume was the one to find the piano FD music from this cuban artist. Typically Guillaume (and Gaby as well), always thinking outside of the box and willing to be themselves. In any case, no coach on earth should expect to impose a music to Gabriella and moreover to Guillaume! No way! AFAIK, some of the coaches in Montréal were a bit doubtful to use this music for the free dance but Marie-France quickly accepted the challenge. I think she understood this music means so much for Gaby and Guillaume. As Gaby said, "this music is all about us". In Paris, I had the opportunity to talk to Marie-France, Romain and Patrice and I asked them how challenging it was to choreograph the FD. It's Marie-France who actually answered the question. She explained it was not obvious at all as there was no reference whatsoever with this special style of music. In other words, Marie-France had to completely think outside of the box ... as well! (Thanks Guillaume ahaha). She also added the music needed to be adapted a bit - as I understood - to comply with the rules. The rules... You know, this encyclopaedia of 700+ pages no one has a chance to fully understand as Gaby explained recently . In the end, she admitted it was not an easy job and it took some time but it was definitely worth to do it.

To sum up, P/C came with their music, their personal wishes, their own vision of what they wanted to perform, the message they wanted to deliver, the emotions and feelings they wanted to express and the story they wanted to portray and ... that was great as the main challenge of the coaches consisted into choreographing a program to meet P/C choices and expectations. They never were in a situation to come up with a complete package (music, theme, story, feelings, etc). In such case, no one can blame the coaches for disadvantaging P/C.

The only question mark I have is about the time and attention they give to both teams. Let me explain. You described with lots of accurate details the situation of V/M and W/D but both couples had almost the same experience hence it was meaningful to share the coach time equally. With V/M and P/C, Marie-France and Team train two highly talented couple but one of them has much more experience than the other (even though P/C is already a mature couple for their young age). Considering the gap in terms of experience, shouldn't the coach spend more time with P/C ? Or is it better to go for a 50/50? Honestly, both options have their pros and cons. I will ask Marie-France or Romain the next time I see them, probably at the Europeans.

 

[SnowWhite]

The only question mark I have is about the time and attention they give to both teams. Let me explain. You described with lots of accurate details the situation of V/M and W/D but both couples had almost the same experience hence it was meaningful to share the coach time equally. With V/M and P/C, Marie-France and Team train two highly talented couple but one of them has much more experience than the other (even though P/C is already a mature couple for their young age). Considering the gap in terms of experience, shouldn't the coach spend more time with P/C ? Or is it better to go for a 50/50? Honestly, both options have their pros and cons. I will ask Marie-France or Romain the next time I see them, probably at the Europeans.

That is an interesting point. My first reaction would be that the time should be equal, but I'm biased on that with V/M being my favourites as much as I like P/C, so I'll try to be objective(ish). I listened to a podcast where Brian Orser talked about coaching Fernandez and Hanyu and he said that some days the whole time will just be working with one for a while if they see that they need it and other days they'll each have one coach with them. His point was basically that they're different people who need different things at different times, which makes a lot of sense to me. On the other hand, if I'm an athlete and I see all my coaches over with my training partner/competitor because they're struggling with something more than me, I might think, you know, I still want to improve and I shouldn't get less because that person needs more right now. But if I'm the person getting more attention at that time, it would probably feel right because I feel like I'm the one who really needs it at that point. Now this doesn't really speak to the experience difference specifically, but as a horseback rider, whoever was struggling the most in a particular lesson usually got more attention and we were all fine with it, partly because with horses it's likely that it would be a different person next lesson, so it ended up being pretty equal. I think you ideally want a balance of responding differently to different people and trying to be equal with your time.

In an interview with TSL in September, Marie-France spoke about the scheduling she and her team do. Essentially, if the skaters want to make a dentist appointment they have to check with her because everything is very scheduled. She said that it is necessary to ensure all her skaters get their same time on the ice, so I suspect she does lean towards equal time. And you're right, there are pros and cons. As you said, one team might need more than the other and as a coach you want to do everything you can to help your students succeed. On the other hand, you don't want to being doing more to help one succeed than the other because that isn't fair either. I think that MF probably thinks a lot about making things equal and for her that seems to mean equal time, which does make a lot of sense. As does your point about the differences between the two couples.

To me, the most important thing is that the coach is doing their best to be equal and fair with their students and to help them all succeed. And I do get people being concerned about coaching, but I feel MF is doing that.

In V/M's days with Marina, I usually tried to see it like every training situation has pros and cons and just because things aren't perfect doesn't mean it isn't the best thing. Again, I acknowledge this is maybe easier for me to say because I love V/M, but I think the situation probably has pros and cons for P/C. Obviously the more students your coach has, the less focused their attention is. On the other hand, training with the best can be a great motivator and you can learn a lot from them. I think that training together pushed D/W and V/M to be better, for example. I would just hope if P/C have any concerns they address them with MF and everyone deals with it like adults (I'm not suggesting that anyone involved wouldn't) because MF and Patch have been great coaches for P/C and I love seeing V/M really happy with their coaching situation, so I want it to work out for everyone.

 

[maddiesparks]

I rewatched PC's FD again and it just keeps getting better. I heard there were rumors they might be changing it slightly to make it more "accessible"? I really hope not. By Worlds, it could be an absolute masterpiece.

And I have said it before, but I don't want PC to leave Montreal. They seem really comfortable with MF, and she seems to get their vision and allow them to have the creative freedom they crave. As MF has said, each teams success is their own making. She can give them the tools, but it's what they personally put into it that will give them the results.

 

[olayolay]

Any thoughts how P/C are going to deal with the rhumba SD next year? I think it's the worst possible pick for them to contend against V/M with.

 

[alain06fr]

The thing is, Haguenauer is not really a technical coach as far as I understand. Lauzon is the technical coach of that coaching team. From what I read, Haguenauer mostly oversees things like glideing, lines, and also has some program ideas, so he could probably replace Dubreuil for them completely, but not Lauzon.

I went a few times to Gadbois in August and I saw two different coaches supervising P/C. I saw a woman (not sure who she was, probably one of the new coaches) and Patrice Lauzon. For whatever reasons, Marie was not there. As for Romain, he was mainly supervising Laurence and Nick. In any case, I fully agree Patrice is their principal technical coach while Marie and Romain focus more closely on the artistic aspects. I may be wrong but I hardly think Romain could replace Marie 100%. As I reported earlier, Marie is the one who designed the free dance choreography. Obviously, Romain got involved as well but, to me, the main FD choreographer is definitely Marie.

 

[yuna13]

Any thoughts how P/C are going to deal with the rhumba SD next year? I think it's the worst possible pick for them to contend against V/M with.

funny i answered before you asked the question. one name came into my mind chris marques is a well known choreographer in france, he thinks outside of the box.

 

[dada16]

82,03 for their short !!! Really good for the self confidence

 

[cocotaffy]

Here is a quite good quality fancam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw49TGMmC9A
Protocols: https://ffsg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SeniorsDanse_SD_Scores.pdf

Gaby nearly lost her headband This season is gonna be a roller coaster, they seem to be back to their old goofy/airhead self a bit. Hopefully, they'll properly refocus till Euros. Still it was probably very good for them to have a good competition even if we all know those scores don't mean much on the international scene.

 

[cocotaffy]

FD Fancam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH_hq2aWPlY
Protocols: https://ffsg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SeniorsDanse_FD_Scores.pdf

 

[musicfan80]

Ok, but why Marie-France accepted to train the American couple(Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue)? I mean they have already a lot of work to do with V/M and P/C. Maybe they should kick them out.

No way. I love the progress that Madison and Zach have made. I think the move was an excellent choice for them - both the change in environment and the ability to train alongside all the superb teams everyday - especially Gabriella and Guillaume.

Because is a job, they need money.

Yep. And probably the desire to have a top U.S. team. Especially if Madison and Zach place above Chock & Bates at U.S. Nationals next month. That would be epic.

Any thoughts how P/C are going to deal with the rhumba SD next year? I think it's the worst possible pick for them to contend against V/M with.

I'm not convinced that the zumba will be that strong of a dance for V/M. Besides, with Gabriella and Guillaume's abilities and hard work, I think they will be fine. :agree:

 

[Catlau]

Please can you stop being absurd. Do you really think the Montreal team will kick H/D out like "Sorry you're not Olympic champions enough for us"? Moreover they were in here before V/M.

I do agree with you, Pika : "kicking off" or "getting rid of" Madison and Zack would be completely unrespectfull of these 2 skaters and would sent a very bad signal to the others, equal to saying something like "we like your money but if suddenly we don't like you anymore or if we have something better to do than to train you, then we will let you down without notice". So not really good when you want to create or to comfort your school.
Let's wait and see how the coaches team will be able to manage their ice danse pairs

 

[alain06fr]

Hi everyone!

Gaby and Guillaume gave an interview to France3 Auvergne

http://france3-regions.francetvinfo...apadakis-cizeron-font-bilan-2016-1162069.html

 

[alain06fr]

Gabriella and Guillaume gave a big Christmas gift to the kids learning skating in the rink of Clermont-Ferrand (where they both started skating at the age of 4 (Gaby) and 8 (Guillaume)).

Nothing was said to the kids of course to surprise them!
In the afternoon of December 25th, Gaby and Guillaume came to the rink and joined a skating lesson. The kids were just so surprised and so happy to be trained by lovely teachers, i.e. the young European and World champions from Clermont.

Big thanks to Gaby and Guillaume! Both are really nice and humble people.

https://www.francebleu.fr/sports/to...x-enfants-la-patinoire-de-clermont-1482406920

 

[turquoiseblue]

Gabriella and Guillaume gave a big Christmas gift to the kids learning skating in the rink of Clermont-Ferrand (where they both started skating at the age of 4 (Gaby) and 8 (Guillaume)).

Nothing was said to the kids of course to surprise them!
In the afternoon of December 25th, Gaby and Guillaume came to the rink and joined a skating lesson. The kids were just so surprised and so happy to be trained by lovely teachers, i.e. the young European and World champions from Clermont.

Big thanks to Gaby and Guillaume! Both are really nice and humble people.

https://www.francebleu.fr/sports/to...x-enfants-la-patinoire-de-clermont-1482406920

How sweet of them :luv17: What a surprise gift for the kids They must have been so thrilled!

 

[alain06fr]

How sweet of them :luv17: What a surprise gift for the kids They must have been so thrilled!

Indeed!
BTW, they always spend a lot of time with the kids during the French Nat'l Team Tour in April/May. It's obvious they really enjoy teaching kids. And, as you said, how sweet of them