aftershocks
Banned Member
- Messages
- 17,317
New interview
James and Ciprès Find New Motivation
By Hiro Yoshida A nightmare end to a dream season means Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès have unfinished business when it comes to skating.europeonice.com
"... their setback at Worlds has given them the motivation that they needed to continue competing. 'We think it’s kind of destiny because a world medal could have led us to deciding we were done,' James said. 'This is a sign that we’re not done with figure skating. We still have a lot to prove. We’re not going to stop till we get what we want.'
'We’re going to come back,' Ciprès agreed. 'We just missed this Worlds. It’s not the end of the world.'
'It’s part of our journey,' James said. 'It’s always been like this. Last year fourth at Europeans, first this year. We didn’t make it to Grand Prix Final, we won it this year.'
With or without a world title, James and Ciprès have left their mark on the sport in more ways than one. Their costume and music selections have had a clear influence on the skating world.
'From Olympics till today I’ve never seen as many catsuits as I’ve seen this year,' James said. 'I feel everyone has turned to catsuits now and trying to be more modern in the choices of music. I think it’s an honour because other than results and things like that we’ve made a mark and are leaving something behind for future skaters. We’ve changed the sport a little bit and I think that’s more important than any results. Results are judged but changing something in the sport and people following that trend is a bigger compliment.
'I am really proud of that because you can make history with medals, but every year there is someone new,' Ciprès said. 'You don’t even remember if this guy has a gold medal, but you remember this guy because he did something. He put something in figure skating.'
'We’re all pushing the sport forwards and trying to keep it going in this direction,' James said."
Thanks Vanessa and Morgan. Thanks Hiro Yoshida of Europeonice. It's exactly what I have been saying when I point out the emulation and imitation of J/C's movement style and costumes by other teams. I don't sit down and start documenting every time I notice it either, as proof for naysayers or detractors. That's not necessary. Such emulation of the current trend epitomized by J/C and in a different way by S/M when they were competing, is not a negative. It's a positive! The emulation and imitation occurs to varying degrees and at different levels. Inspiration spawns others taking a trend further, or taking certain moves and doing them in their own unique way. That's exactly what Vanessa & Morgan have been doing, in any case. Some of J/C's recent moves have been seen and done before in pairs, but with the help of their choreographers, J/C have been blending old and new moves together in a fresh and exciting way.
What Vanessa & Morgan and their coaches and collaborators have brought to the ice over the past several seasons is part of a larger trend that evidences the cross-fertilization between pairs and ice dance. In fact, this cross-fertilization has been going on for a very long time. It culminated in a noticeably unique way with the choreography John Kerr did for Savchenko/Massot in their 2016-2017 Quickstep sp, That Man, and in the two programs Kerr choreographed for J/C in 2016-2017 with the collaboration of Silvia Fontana and Jeremy Barrett: Earned It (sp) and The Sound of Silence (fp - Disturbed rendition). At Euros 2017, J/C took their career and the pairs discipline to another level, and they haven't looked back nor rested on their laurels since. It's full speed ahead with continually challenging themselves, just as it should be.
It's no accident that contributions to pairs by former ice dancers and by Julie Marcotte, et al, have been a major impetus to the resurgent cross-fertilization we have been seeing. I'm talking about the work Shae Lynn Bourne & Shae Zukiwsky did for Kayne/O'Shea; some of the work Rohene Ward has done in pairs and ice dance; the choreography previously noted by John Kerr; and last season, the work talented and visionary Benoit Richaud did for the Knierims; the work Charlie White did for Denney/Frazier and for J/C; the lovely choreography Massimo Scali has been doing for U.S. pairs team, Timlen/ Highgate-Brutman; Pasquale Camerlengo's work with Cain-Gribble/LeDuc; Guillaume Cizeron's gift sp for J/C; and indeed, M-F Dubreuil & Patch Lauzon's collaborations on pairs choreography, in addition to the fire they have been lighting in ice dance with Romain Haguenauer for so many remarkable and reinvigorated ice dance teams!
I had planned to point out how and why this entire topic is old news.* But I have been more than a bit taken aback by the OTT reactions I have gotten here and in the Chinese thread suggesting that J/C don't deserve too much (or any) credit for some of movement aesthetic, costume and style trends we have been seeing in pairs recently.
I have to thank those insiders in the skating community who have no problem giving James/Cipres the full credit they deserve for their hard work and for their contributions to the pairs discipline. Good luck to Vanessa & Morgan on BOTB and may they have fun together this season. I know that I will enjoy seeing them compete along with all the other exciting pairs teams this season, no matter what happens. A shout out also to Vanessa for her gracious spirit and her determined approach to pursuing her dreams with her equally determined, supportive and kind pairs partner, Morgan. I am not saying any of this to spark anymore arguments in this thread. Conversations about this exciting ice dance + pairs trend are welcome (perhaps best in the general pairs thread), but not needless confrontations, please.
*Old news, as I said. The below brief article was written in February 2018 when the Pyeongchang Olympics was kicking off. I posted it earlier in this thread around July 2018, and as well in the Savchenko/Massot thread, and in the General Pairs thread in Trash Can at the same time. After the recent hullaboo here and in the Chinese thread, I was planning to point out that the skating community knows and acknowledges the inspiration J/C's breakout 2017 Euros performances provided to the pairs discipline, even if some FSU members don't agree or wish to downplay and dismiss. I'm glad Hiro Yoshida and Europeonice have further highlighted in the article linked above by kittysk8ts, what is already old news and which I previously shared here over a year ago:
Pairs glide into new era with Disturbed dance moves
Roll over Beethoven and prepare to be Disturbed.
www.reuters.com
"James said the popularity of that routine prompted imitation... and she loves it.
'I think it’s good because we’re actually evolving as a pair event, a discipline,' she said after a practice at Gangneung’s Ice Arena, the venue for figure skating at the Winter Olympics. 'Our goal is to skate like ice dancers, which is not always easy because of all the technical stuff we have to do, but it is the goal,' she added. 'I think working towards skating like them and looking at them as examples — transitions into and out of death spirals and spins — it’s evolving our sport and I think it’s great.'”
Savchenko/Massot are also quoted in the above article regarding the resurgent trend of ice dance influencing pairs, which has also occurred in the opposite direction. Emulation, imitation, and inspiration in the sport of figure skating are its lifeblood. It's how the sport evolves and grows. There's nothing negative about it. Every champion team makes a contribution, and every innovative team whether or not they become champions help push the discipline forward.
Thanks also to Charlie White for his recent thoughtful and generous words about working with J/C and their team. Charlie has given J/C credit for their strengths and their beauty, and their knowledge of what works for them on the ice. I also previously posted Charlie's complimentary comments in this thread.
Last edited:
I am going to miss them for most of the season, but glad we will get to enjoy their performances for another few years!
They should be very competitive going forward. Kaitlyn and Sheldon deserve to be leading. I also think Eric Radford stood out, as did the amazing Katia Gordeeva. This is such a fun show. I'm glad it was brought back.
