Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier | Page 19 | Golden Skate

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier

Skatie said:
another article in the Toronto Star https://www.thestar.com/sports/2018...ational-with-her-mom-bonnie-in-her-heart.html
And a TSN report with Piper and Paul. Lots of great photos and old videos talking about her Mom. https://www.tsn.ca/figure-skating/v...s-lasting-impact-on-skating-community~1523574
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Thank you Skatie so much about the article link!:thank:

This piece really teared me up:

“I feel like now I can connect with Paul a little bit more, there is just this raw vulnerability to my skating that I feel that I didn’t have before,” Gilles said. “I don’t take any day on the ice for granted anymore. I feel like there’s a little bit more passion, there’s a little bit more fire . . . I feel like every day until the next Olympics I can’t take for granted, I have to keep finding a better version of myself.”

And this showed at Nebelhorn and I saw it at yesterday's SC practice - there is more raw emotion added to Piper's skating, more passion and hunger to experience and feel more while skating and performing. The program fits perfectly within this state, it's kind of reflective journey, but with emphasis on present experience, how things happening in their lives shaped them as performers in present time. It takes a lot of courage I think to display this kind of open vulnerability, openness and honesty in terms of creation and expression in it.

Also, reading how Piper's mom was a mother to so many skater from different countries, cultures, it totally justifies Piper's creative mind, this adventurous approach towards material, music, presentation - I think this experience really enriched her and Paul's partnership and shaped them in the way they are as for now, gave them that signature, originality and quirk, making them constantly search for new challenges aesthetic-wise, but infused with personal features.

Whatever will happen in terms of results - I hope they will put their best on both programs and make big impression, being satisfied with their work!
 
That FD was absolutely stunning, I couldn't take my eyes off them at all and they were making me emotional inside
 
So worth it to fly to Montreal to see the FD live. Sublime in every way and I even got choked up at the end. And nice that they wound up on the podium despite being down so many points.
 
They are so inovative with their elements and transitions. I love them so much, and teared up by the end of the FD. I really need those judges to realize they are amazing and constantly improving and stop giving them the same scores over and over again when they are getting better.

One judge did go all in.. the spanish judge #8 gave them 9,25/9,50/9,75/10,00/9,75 components :biggrin: Maaaybe the SS 9,25 is a bit high, but honestly why not go for it with the rest? :agree:

P.S. Those twizzles :love: :drama: That sliding move :drama: :love: :clap:
 
So thrilled that the GPF dream is still alive! Glad that the audience showed them lots of love :luv17:
 
I wasn't so sure about the FD song choice initially, but wow, I loved their performance yesterday.The music felt so lovely and soft, without being boring. I think they have a lot of interesting moves and they have my favorite choreographic knee slide thus far.

Link for those who haven't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcbZBuZpVk)

Hope they continue rising steadily and qualify for the GPF. I want them on podiums all the time!
 
In case anyone was interested, here's my 1080p fancam of their SCI FD Thursday afternoon practice (sorry for the wait, but the competition and the crazy-long commute left me exhausted each night)---I sat in the second row from the boards: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wdo7w
 
I feel so privileged to have been able to see Piper and Paul’s FD live at SC. For me they created one of those special moments emotionally that I will always remember and cherish. I think I could watch this FD a hundred times over and not tire of it. All of their movements flow seamlessly and beautifully with their music. Everything, from their most difficult elements to their facial expressions, is done so naturally that nothing seems rehearsed or forced. And they maintain softness and fluidity throughout while at the same time building intensity and emotion with such subtley and finesse that they swept me along without my realizing it. In a word — brilliant. I can honestly say it is my favorite FD ever, as well as my favorite program so far this season across disciplines.
 
Heleng said:
I feel so privileged to have been able to see Piper and Paul’s FD live at SC. For me they created one of those special moments emotionally that I will always remember and cherish. I think I could watch this FD a hundred times over and not tire of it. All of their movements flow seamlessly and beautifully with their music. Everything, from their most difficult elements to their facial expressions, is done so naturally that nothing seems rehearsed or forced. And they maintain softness and fluidity throughout while at the same time building intensity and emotion with such subtley and finesse that they swept me along without my realizing it. In a word — brilliant. I can honestly say it is my favorite FD ever, as well as my favorite program so far this season across disciplines.
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:ghug:, thanks a lot for providing some live insights!:thank:

As for bolded part - some users in SC FD thread expressed similar sentiment, like after watching this FD they did not want to watch the rest or that they were so impressed, became emotionally invested in this performance they were shocked about it. It really builds a testament of how special the program is, how impactful the performance of it is/was - I already overwrote myself (again) in SC threads and Edge thread on SC thoughts, but I do think that this performance and program in general have this 'staying power' and will be in people's minds long after the season will be gone. This team may not be super consistent and mistake-free when it comes to competition, but they have a rare ability to produce a performance for years to come in my opinion - I still come back regularly to their SC 2016 FD Tango performance AND still can find something new and valuable in it. For me, it is really not about the perfection in execution of performances like this one and recent FD in Laval - it is more about having a memorable substance, true to themselves, true to the music, authentic in presentation/movement and making it bigger, meaningful beyond just skating it, competing with it.

And adding to the last thought above - although I said already a lot about this FD (here, in competition threads, in Edge threads), as I re-watch FD performance from Saturday new perspectives come through and inspire/challenge me to think and process it into words. I mentioned this 'bigger than just skate/presentation/competing with a program' effect generated by this performance/program - I think that the immense power, pull of that program is partly about making you travel out of where you are watching, either TV/computer stream or being live in the arena. The performance, movement and story told through it transferred me (and probably a lot of people judging from reactions) to another place, made me feel, connect with them, the picture created on stronger, more intimate level than just pleasant visual of moves to the music. It is a bit 'out-of-body' experience I'd say, to being so taken with performance like Piper and Paul created, this nostalgic aura that was so 'approachable' familiar, had that warmth, tenderness to it, not being cold and distant. You could FEEL it, EXPERIENCE it almost physically, this amount of emotion flowing though even move and connection - it was not a static piece to just look at it, the looing generated emotion and emotion was felt deep; another thing for me was that that the flow of emotion was so dynamic - the story unveiled through movement and expression step by step, adding emotions gradually, not putting everything at once.

Another thing that came yesterday to my mind was how customized the dance is - while watching some other teams I can easily picture their program(s) skated to different music, the Vincent-themed FD of Piper and Paul is truly one of a kind and cannot be put into another 'environment' of music/movement and emotional attachment/engagement. Yes, it is an original idea per se, the musical arrangement is not an obvious choice (as for using Govardo's cover), but looking at Nebelhorn and SC performances, there is such strong feeling of independence, uniqueness and ownership in terms of revoking the program idea into reality; the subtlety in reference to 'Starry Night' by Piper's costume, swirling-styled movement, using the exact song are for me signs of an incredible thoughtfulness going into creative process of making that FD, that Piper, Paul and their team truly wanted to make it a stand-out, something that won't be mistaken with anything in the field. and yes, the originality and quirk, accommodating it into competitive work were always their kind of signature, but this year I feel it was taken on another level - in the past seasons, there were complaints that their programs were too much of 'quirk' and for particular tastes which added to the feel of exposing more their execution errors than appreciating them as a whole I feel, last season with that FD change showed that they are willing to adapt and adjust their material to more 'streamlined' audience, but still being themselves; this season I think has it all: perfectly tailored material, appealing universally that really comes alive in motion.

Last thing is me thinking today about complexity of their material, FD in particular, this season. It is never for me about the effectiveness, 'wow' factor of separate elements - this FD represents a wholesome, one move/gesture initiates another one, nothing is 'detached'. It is about the unity of the level of storytelling through movement, constant free-flow of energy and keeping the emotion unravelling - then next level is about intricacy of little details, musicality, small gestures (like for example this brief hands' touch in transition after spin)...It was meant to be taken as a whole, and making that strong impression.
 
The week came - my sunflowers gift is not coming as well as I planned, but I won't let it down without a fight!:laugh:

Some sneak-peek later :):):). I also plan to do a card with sunflowers' frame to it and 'Starry Night' motive in the centre, will post a photo after finishing:)

Cannot wait, only 3 days to go!
 
A new interview about IdF with Pj Kwong here.

I have everything crossed for them for this weekend! So looking forward to seeing them perform, especially because Skate Canada was so long ago (or so it feels like anyway) :hap10:
 
I posted photos already in reports thread of IdF, but here are my gifts: a bouquet of 10 hand-made sunflowers from paper and a hand-made card:) :IMG_20181121_232533.jpg
 
LaArdilla said:
I would give you +5 GOE for that!!! ��
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:laugh:, I mean it is crafty and some may find it juvenile/silly to give, but I did the best I could and poured my heart, time into that. I am a bit afraid though if sunflowers will pass security check at the airport, they have some wiring in them... But I count on luck:)
 
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