Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron | Page 136 | Golden Skate

Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron

A very interesting interview this one, though I'm not sure I understood everything as I was trying to decipher the meaning through Google Translate. G&G explain their point of view on the competition, how they deal with pressure, they touch on their connection, and they say it's not just about the Olympics for them but also about the journey. I liked when they stressed that they're trying to make ice dance attract young people - they're such great ambassadors for the sport!

https://www.placegrenet.fr/2017/11/19/gabriella-papadakis-guillaume-cizeron-grenoble/162778
 
Short interview in French post competition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzgbbgQ3vfI Not much said, but it's always a pleasure to hear them talk. They just said this program is special to them as they've been wanted to go back to a classical piece of music for a couple of years now.
As for the interview you mentioned MelDee:
They say they hardly had time to work after CoC, just a week so they build their performance on the confidence booster that was the CoC win and the fact this competition was in France.
They do mention the judges appreciate their SD music and it is also a way to attract a younger audience.
They enjoy the path to the Olympics and try not to focus only on the results even though they have to deal with more media attention and so more pressure.
They finally say they are different yet complementary, not sharing the same life experiences off the ice but when on it, it all comes together to create this symbiosis.

I feel I basically translated the same thing as Google Translate :laugh:
 
A very interesting interview this one, though I'm not sure I understood everything as I was trying to decipher the meaning through Google Translate. G&G explain their point of view on the competition, how they deal with pressure, they touch on their connection, and they say it's not just about the Olympics for them but also about the journey. I liked when they stressed that they're trying to make ice dance attract young people - they're such great ambassadors for the sport!

https://www.placegrenet.fr/2017/11/19/gabriella-papadakis-guillaume-cizeron-grenoble/162778

I haven't read it yet, but it seems to be similar in content to the interview translated in detail here https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/s...aume-Cizeron&p=1855903&viewfull=1#post1855903 by @Gotlev :).
 
A very interesting interview this one, though I'm not sure I understood everything as I was trying to decipher the meaning through Google Translate. G&G explain their point of view on the competition, how they deal with pressure, they touch on their connection, and they say it's not just about the Olympics for them but also about the journey. I liked when they stressed that they're trying to make ice dance attract young people - they're such great ambassadors for the sport!

https://www.placegrenet.fr/2017/11/19/gabriella-papadakis-guillaume-cizeron-grenoble/162778

As if I got nothing to do, let me spend another hour translating this one. I love to be in their atmosphere, so I consider this time well spent! ;)


Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron: "We are lucky to have found each other"

INTERVIEW - Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron have confirmed that we can count on them to try and win Olympic gold, in South Korea, in three months' time.The French ice dancers have by far dominated the Internationaux de France de Patinage at the Polesud rink, beating their own world record while at it. Saturday November 18th, two hours after their performance, the Clermontois [someone from Clermont-Ferrand], whose alchemy on the ice seems perfect, acknowledged the contribution of the Grenoble audience.

Q: What does this victory in the Internationaux de France, in front of a French audience, mean to you, training in Canada?

Gaby: It's great to come back [to France - editor's note] because we don't have the chance to do so very often. Being in a competition, an event, where we have the whole audience with us makes all the difference and it's really nice!

Guigui: It's really a super-good experience. The audience supported us from start to finish. The organization was very good, the ice also. [Really no remark about those wonderful plastic star-trophies? Really not?? :laugh:] We will have really good memories of this competition.

Q: Did these positive vibes help you to transcend yourself so you could improve your world record?

Gaby: We weren't able to work much in between China [October 4th when they set their previous record - editor's note] and Grenoble: only one week. What has made the difference and let us get more points [201.88], I think, is the confidence that we got from earning a very good score in China, but also the motivation to compete in France.

Q: Why did you choose to move to Canada in 2014? [The interviewer clearly didn't do his homework...] Did you feel like having a change? Or was it not possible in France to meet all the conditions needed to get you to the highest level?

Guigui: It's true that there are better conditions in Canada because the sport is more popular, there's more money etc. But it's our coach Romain Haguenauer, with whom we trained since two years in Lyon, who decided to go there to coach with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. We decided to follow him. We liked the project.
That year, we did our choreography with Marie-France and Patrice. That really fitted well from the start. There grew a sort of chemistry. As a result, we didn't hesitate much. It happened rather easily, quickly, and for the better. Leaving has made us grow, brought us many things, protected us from certain things, allowed us to concentrate on our career.

Q: Passing from a short dance on Ed Sheeran's pop music to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in the free, is it a choice to do such splits?

Guigui: We try to live up to the expectations of the short dance. This is the one that we chose. It's true that it is a huge contrast with the free dance but we don't mind. On the contrary, we like that contrast. We have a lot of fun dancing on the short dance. The free dance is more about poetry, lyricism. They complement each other.
[...] [They really put that there in the text, as if in fact it's an abridged version of an interview published elsewhere...?] In the short dance, we have to follow the rules a lot [please correct me if I misunderstood the meaning here], it's a song that's very popular and modern today but all the judges appreciate that choice. I also think this is the direction ice dance is moving into. We try to improve the sport's popularity and to make it a pleasure to watch for young people and for people who may be newbees.

Q: Three months before the Olympics in Pyeongchang, you seem to have the green light all over. What could stop you from getting that gold medal?
[Seems they wanted to ask 'who'...:biggrin:]

Gaby: We'll try not to think of that (laughter). We concentrate mostly on what is going to GET us that gold medal. That is the work, constant improvement.

Q: You have a completely different competition schedule from your main competitors, the Canadians Virtue - Moir. ["Since you didn't take the bait in my last question, I have to bring them up myself - *sigh*" :laugh: ] Is this just a coincidence or a deliberate choice you or they made to avoid each other?

Gaby: It turned out that we didn't have any competitions together before the final [of the ISU Grand Prix, in Japan, on December 7th-10th - editor's note]. It's good, it allowed us to perform without that particular stress, to gain in self-confidence.

As regards the programmes, we each do what we want and are good at. It's different, but that's what it is.

Q: What would an Olympic title mean to you, the only one missing on your list, at your first OG?

Guigui: It would be a great pride for us. It represents a lot of work. The whole way to get there is also interesting. We don't just do this for the OG, but because we love to train and love what we do.

Sure, there is a lot more attention than in a 'normal' year [with no OG - editor's note]. A lot more people are interested now. There's a lot more media attention. It makes for a bit more pressure. But we try to deal with it as good as we can, and advance step by step.

Q: There is clearly real chemistry between the both of you on the ice. Are you very different outside the rink?

Gaby: We grew up together, it surely helps. We know each other by heart. We are different but also complementary. I think that it gives us a lot on the ice.

Guigui: We have different interests and pasts. But on the ice, we meet as a whole. The experience we live together creates a quite particular connection, and that's also what we transmit. We are lucky to have found each other and live all these experiences together.

Gaby: It's really a very special relationship, a skater relationship. We're always together, we work together. We go through a lot of stress together, and also happiness. That challenge is part of the sport in any case.

Brought to you by Laurent Genin
 
While I am on my shipping trip (please don't take me seriously;)) - It's a pity we had no Zach and Madison at the French Grand Prix this year and more photos such as these:
https://ibb.co/jvCgL6
https://ibb.co/gTp6nm
https://ibb.co/iuEHtR
https://ibb.co/ifae7m
https://ibb.co/kt8XSm
https://ibb.co/hqGK7m
https://ibb.co/jAwxtR
https://ibb.co/eJGxtR
https://ibb.co/exfe7m
https://ibb.co/e1bmnm
https://ibb.co/iXa1L6
https://ibb.co/nBZYYR
https://ibb.co/kJ90DR
https://ibb.co/iOBrL6

The original source doesn't seem to exist anymore, so I uploaded them again, but will remove if asked to of course.
 
Maybe it is just me (or maybe I am losing my mind :-)), but I've been observing that each time I watch a video recording from NBC or the Olympic Channel, I feel as if Gabby and Guigui's performance is slower than when I am watching it on recordings from other channels such as Eurosport, TDP (the Spanish channel), etc.. Has anyone experienced the same? For those who have seen them perform in person during competition, which one accurately depicts their actual speed? I've noticed this difference even in previous competitions (even in 2016).

Here are examples of their performances which I watched both on 720p on YouTube. Both are also from Internationaux:

1) From Eurosport 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEpzXXHilWY

2) From NBCSN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04JPLu_UjRA
 
Maybe it is just me (or maybe I am losing my mind :-)), but I've been observing that each time I watch a video recording from NBC or the Olympic Channel, I feel as if Gabby and Guigui's performance is slower than when I am watching it on recordings from other channels such as Eurosport, TDP (the Spanish channel), etc.. Has anyone experienced the same? For those who have seen them perform in person during competition, which one accurately depicts their actual speed? I've noticed this difference even in previous competitions (even in 2016).

Here are examples of their performances which I watched both on 720p on YouTube. Both are also from Internationaux:

1) From Eurosport 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEpzXXHilWY

2) From NBCSN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04JPLu_UjRA

It is slower in general for everyone if you wtach with 720p50 or 720p60. The higher the definition, the slower it gets ;)
 
I could describe theirs dances by:luv17::clap::love::thank:
In practice, Gabriella and Guillaume seemed very calm, repeating their "scales" until the last second to improve the smallest gesture. They were accompanied by Romain H, their physical coach and mental coach.
SD: personal record more than deserved:yay:. They are very comfortable, Gabriella brings the little extra, she shines.
FD: I miss words:bow: (and in French too). It is sublimely beautiful, exquisite. Thanks to them. The elements disappear to give way to a pure moment of delicacy, tenderness, lightness. They appropriated this sonata as if it had been composed for them. It is to see, to see and to see again ... They have such maturity when they dance that we forget that they are still very young.

They are incredibly kind and disarmingly simple... And yes, Guillaume is very beautiful:agree2:, Gabriella is also a very beautiful young woman.

The ice rink in Grenoble is very good, with the hotel next door is perfect.
Gabi and Guillaume will have to buy big Christmas trees this year (to put the star on it:laugh:)
 
Thank you Maya for the details. Now I have two shallow remarks/question. Is the back of Gaby's dress cut out so that it is actually her back we're seeing or is there a sheer colored fabric ? I ask because I notice Charlene Guignard's dress has a similar back but it's obvious there's a fabric and may I say they should do sg about because the cut stop way below the neck and the color doesn't perfectly match her skin, doesn't look good. Also, now this is a bit silly but looks like Guillaume shaved his chest, didn't he ? I remember some people commenting on chest hairs and mentioning him. I wonder if he got wind of those remarks.

Ok done with the silly. I noticed how improved and much faster the presto part was. I was blown away this time around. I liked it before but it was clearly not keeping up in terms of energy and pace with the music. Now the spins increased in speed, they also show more intensity transiting into them, it's nearly aggressive and I love it. Plus, Gaby added this fast arm movement right on an accented note during the last one, avoiding all the spinning to become to monotonous. The presto does have a sense of urgency which they both reflected much more intently here, especially Guillaume, you could see him pumping air looking all fierce and kind of angry while starting the midline step sequence. And that spin on his knees to conclude the presto, such a highlight. I don't know where it can go from there, it's already so good but I trust they'll keep cranking up the emotions and speed.
BTW, is there someone speaking Russian and Spanish willing to roughly translate the TDP and Russian Eurosport videos here and here.
 
I've read a few statements somewhere that G&G are slow skaters. I don't think so. There is a misleading perception that the music tempo has a direct influence on the speed of skating. I've tried to skate only once in my life (maybe I've lost sometthung important and need to fix it as soon as possible:) but I see that they cover a big distance within a very short period of time, they change many positions, they seem to gain speed rather effortlessly. So they seem to be rather fast skaters. I want to ask those who have seen different pairs live. Am I right?

P.S. Never watch recordings with Russian commentators. Their comments are shameful and unprofessional.:palmf: In such moments I wish I did not speak Russian. So I prefer watching without comments at all.
 
BTW, is there someone speaking Russian and Spanish willing to roughly translate the TDP and Russian Eurosport videos here and here.

I can do the Russian one if you really need it:laugh::laugh: Read my post above. This guy likes discussing skaters' apperances and other issues which have nothing to do with sport. And he is a huge fan of the Canadian team.
 
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