Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron

[peepsquick]

Thanks, Bcash, for the German commentary and Buchjager for the translation!:thumbsup:

And yes, I meant Guillaume's outfit in the Tango: I quite like it as it gives him a long line and the shirt is original but elegant. The see-through and pattern of the fabric makes the overall black outfit stand out a bit. On top of it, it is extremely well tailored. Overall understated, yet not bland.

 

[lupina015]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91_vXzwa8sc

German commentary. My German is not as good as before so native speakers please help us out. I think he used "Gesamtkunstwerk" to describe their performance!

Thank you! This is a different Announcer (compared to last year) isn't it?

( the german word he used is schwungvoll i don´t have a good translation for that: peppy perhaps)

I'd translate it as energetic, but in an elegant way.

they don´t understand other couples especially sinitsina katsalapov copying p/c cause the french are head and shoulder above them clearly seen when skating back to back as in grenoble) at the end he said, that both are technically brilliant " a better duo is hardly seen on that level"

This is a thing I also do not understand. I mean - I do - on a "I want to win, so I look what other winners do and try to include this in my style" way, but it is not PC's "Style" (soft, romantic, eriee) thats so succesful. It's the way they move. That's why they can dance Latin, Tango, Classic, Blues, etc. It will always look exceptionally beautiful and special.

 

[buchjager]

Thank you! This is a different Announcer (compared to last year) isn't it?



no he is the same: sigi heinrich his name - usually they are 2 announcers commenting: him and hendryk schamberger. it was not the live footage comment, it was a summery of the whole event´s footage. it wasn´t shown live on german eurosport.

 

[buchjager]

Thank you! This is a different Announcer (compared to last year) isn't it?



I'd translate it as energetic, but in an elegant way.



This is a thing I also do not understand. I mean - I do - on a "I want to win, so I look what other winners do and try to include this in my style" way, but it is not PC's "Style" (soft, romantic, eriee) thats so succesful. It's the way they move. That's why they can dance Latin, Tango, Classic, Blues, etc. It will always look exceptionally beautiful and special.

agreed. you always reed about that their style is key and that lyrical programs are always successful and better judged than upbeat programs blabla. it is the quality of their movements and unmatched musicality that make them extra special. if you are able to translate nearly every note and beat into movements, at least for me, you belong to the masterclass.

 

[cocotaffy]

Reading reactions here and there about their new FD, I've decided not to engage anymore with 2 type of discussions concerning P/C :
- they keep doing the same thing, they need to challenge themselves, at that rate they'll start loosing the judges' favor, they are one trick pony .... to this my only reaction is, I don't want them to do this or that I'm just thrilled to see them skate as long as possible because they'll be gone way too soon anyway. As long as they pick music and theme to explore which really speaks to them then we'll get authentic and raw performances. The RD are enough of a character dance for me. I trust they want to improve and evolve in their own terms and that's enough for me. We've had enough hopping style ice dance to last many generations anyway. Basically, it has always been the norm and still is across the board. I'd say they are actually pretty original in their approach especially considering how many seem to get bored/annoyed about it.
- the tiresome P/C style well Lupina15 just summarized it perfectly. There are no style there is just P/C, two individuals who have one of the most distinctive and personal way of skating and relate with one another we've seen in ice dance history (and I said one, not the only one,before anyone freaks out).

 

[Bcash]

On a less serious note. Guillaume keeps showing us his dog on Instagram but I just say I don’t find the pup cute at all lol. We have very different taste in dogs.

 

[Charis]

Congratulations one more time to our Gabriella and Guillaume!!They were pure perfection!!! Bravo!!!
I just want only to comment Guillaume's appreciation to Marie-France at the kiss and cry (both programs)...I was thinking he wanted something to tell to everyone who blame her for what happened at Pyeongchang ... i dont know but his behaviour and hugs...made me feel a little strange...He absolutely wanted to tell something out there!!!!

 

[Whiteboredom]

I honnestly don't like the music of their FD. I wish it would grow on me, but I really don't think it eventually will Especially "Duet", it is boring me to death...
The sad part is that I actually love the program in itself, now that I've watched it a dozen of times ! I can see where they're going with it, and I love the fact that Guillaume was much more intense than usual ! I don't mind the romantic theme, but why didn't they pick a more sensual piece of music then ? Something true to their style, but a bit more daring.

For exemple, I love this edit of their program:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=boW5hccapfc

"La ceinture" is such a beautiful french song ! The lyrics are remarquable. It's about a woman who's begging her lover not "to kiss her on the lips" = not to let her fall in love with him, because "nothing last above the belt". The song is using the poetic tradition of the blason to spread sensuality/sexuality, and yet the more she goes on in the song, the more she's urging him to abandon himself in pleasure and yet to never commit to anything more than a physical relationship (despite his insistence) because love is "already lost". There's so much distress in this song, and the singer is expressing it so well through her voice.

I wish they had chosen a "love song" with an atmosphere simular to this one...(very cinematographic, not just an other folky-guitar piece...)
And I wish they had pick a french song (but not Edith Piaf or Celine Dion, hum ) ; that would have been cool and unexpected!

 

[peepsquick]

I do think there is true affection and respect between all of them. Romain and Gabriella's interaction always crack me up! These two think alike!

 

[peepsquick]

I am not a big fan of their music choice for the FD either but a French song which meaningful lyrics is going to be lost on most people and so might not be the best choice either. I also think that there are too many French songs used in Figure skating (probably because it is always the same ones hwell.
I wouldn't mind something unusual like African music for example or something with a rhythmic drumming or clapping ... Don't kill me ... just an idea!

 

[AliAle]

On a less serious note. Guillaume keeps showing us his dog on Instagram but I just say I don’t find the pup cute at all lol. We have very different taste in dogs.

Looks like a Papillon, which is actually a very good choice for a small dog breed. They're super smart, affectionate and adapt well to apartment living. Now, I get your point about taste in dogs as I'm not really a fan of toy breeds, but as far as toy breed choices go, he's probably made the best one.

 

[Bcash]

Ha. I didn’t know that. A French breed?

By the way did anyone find transcripts of the press conference or any interview that came out after the competition?

 

[Harriet]

By the way did anyone find transcripts of the press conference or any interview that came out after the competition?

I haven't, but I did come across this twitter thread about Jayne Torvill at Internationaux de France: https://twitter.com/Huriye/status/1067441137319854080 I'd have loved to hear that conversation!

 

[Roast Toast]

re: press conference, see this twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/InTheLoPodcast/status/1066391793254715392

 

[Bcash]

I haven't, but I did come across this twitter thread about Jayne Torvill at Internationaux de France: https://twitter.com/Huriye/status/1067441137319854080 I'd have loved to hear that conversation!

That's a sweet story! I actually know next to nothing about Guillaume's family. Curious what his early influences are.

re: press conference, see this twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/InTheLoPodcast/status/1066391793254715392

Thanks! Sounds like they really enjoyed working with Lambiel. Interesting to know there will probably more iterations of the costumes. It's already chic and casual, the mood they are aiming for.

The Olympic Channel is showing the ID competition, and I just caught the end of RD, the slow-mo replay of G/G's program, Ben Agosto and Tanith White were all praises but didn't say anything particularly new during the segment that I caught. Ben was saying the sharpness and attack feel refreshing and Tanith pointed out how challenging the pattern seems to be for dancers this season, that even P/C is getting a level 1, and joked that if she was a competitor she would feel less bad because even the top team can get a level 1 pattern.

ETA: Just watched the FD broadcast. Again all praises. "Transfixed" and "transported" by their performance. Ben pointed out their uncanny ability to always take the audience away to a beautiful place. The curve lift was a hightlight for them. Ben was like "look how much he is leaning over his center of weight" and Tanith said she literally clutched her heart and just "loved it". Funnily, echoing some of the posters here, she also said she would love to watch them skate to the "Duet" music for another ten minutes.

 

[Bcash]

Really interesting video, thanks. As you say, the DiSt looks much better here - they did it very cleanly in the actual competition, but it was more on the music here. Looking forward to seeing it grow like last year's midline step sequence that kept getting faster and faster. A couple of the awkward moments were not choreographed that way which also makes me happy; for example, the transition out of the slide. In the event, she ended up a bit farther away from him and had to scramble to get to him. No such thing here, it flows much more beautifully.

Yes I noticed the extra step too. And the Diagonal Step Sequence, in the practice video they seemed to hit every pronounced beat with an extension or a turn. It's less obvious in the competition skate.

 

[Bcash]

Another thought: the famous twizzle! For all the couples of ice dancing, it’s a difficult and feared technical moment ... and it shows! Twizzle successful? Stop time skaters, small - or big - gestures of contentment: arms outstretched, triumphant pointing finger, winner stopping time to take up the feat, smile ... I always found it ridiculous enough. And Gabriella and Guillaume? We don’t see the twizzles. They are included, cast, melted into the choreography, they emphasize and accompany the music, and are never pointed as climax of the technical difficulty.

Since the 2015-16 season I've always thought they have the best twizzles. From the long, extented vertical axis, to subtle, elegant arm positions and placement of free feet, to the buttery feel of their turning blades on the ice. (Another couple I think have great twizzles is Hubble/Donohue, for their power and sweep) I fully agree that their twizzles melt into the program.

 

[Bcash]

Another point about their movement quality is that they truly understand what it means to initiate your arm and leg movements from the ideal spot---center-lower spine. A lot of skaters you see them move only from the shoulders and the hips and I'm sure their dance teachers tell them this principle but it's another thing to feel it and apply it while you are skating full speed and doing technical elements. For G/G this seems natural and combined with their height and length of limbs, it affords them this amplitude and expressive power in movement that no one else has.

 

[Gotlev]

On a less serious note. Guillaume keeps showing us his dog on Instagram but I just say I don’t find the pup cute at all lol. We have very different taste in dogs.

I wish we got more pictures of his boyfriend. From that one picture, he seems supercute. :luv17:

 

[Gotlev]

Congratulations one more time to our Gabriella and Guillaume!!They were pure perfection!!! Bravo!!!
I just want only to comment Guillaume's appreciation to Marie-France at the kiss and cry (both programs)...I was thinking he wanted something to tell to everyone who blame her for what happened at Pyeongchang ... i dont know but his behaviour and hugs...made me feel a little strange...He absolutely wanted to tell something out there!!!!

I totally felt the same. I may have said things that made MF look suspicious, but I absolutely want and always wanted to give her, Patch and Romain a huge shout-out for what they have meant (and clearly still mean) to GG.
I also noticed how cuddly and affectionate Guillaume is with her, so yea, that really puts all the suspicions of them not really getting along or changing coaches to rest! :agree: