Papadakis/Cizeron #10 - Waacking All The Way To Beijing

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Oh my, what a weekend. I'd love to write something meaningful, but I'm lost for words. Both programs are great already and to think that it's only the beginning of the long Olympic season...
That pause really did them well... they look so confident, seem to be even more mature (not that they weren't before but sometimes I feel like I'm watching a bit different version of them this year if that makes any sense :D)
Anyway, I'm so happy for them, best of luck in Finland, the first international competition this season!
 
Frau Muller said:
Masterpierce! Love the last spin...the broken-arms port de bras (statues come to life?)...”THE Lift”!!! So many breathtaking highlights, all to ravishing music. Imagine what this will be like in four months’ time?! Definitely not a tango.
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Adding to the above-

Interesting that two top skating teams, in different disciplines, have decided on the “statues come to life” concept this year: P/C in Dance and Tarasova/Morozov in Pairs with their “Pygmalion and Galatea” SP. Different types of moves but similar themes. At least that’s how I see it.
 
Frau Muller said:
Adding to the above-

Interesting that two top skating teams, in different disciplines, have decided on the “statues come to life” concept this year: P/C in Dance and Tarasova/Morozov in Pairs with their “Pygmalion and Galatea” SP. Different types of moves but similar themes. At least that’s how I see it.
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T/M just want to get to the end of any program without suffering a nervous breakdown.

Edit: Gala performance? Video?
 
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These programs grow on me more and more every time I watch them. Gabriella has improved so much. Knowing how tough her year has been, it’s a wonder to see. I thought I wouldn’t love the FD. But it goes by in an instant and I can’t take my eyes off of them. The elements just flow from one to the next. There’s no big “wow looks at us”. Just edges, and beauty, and difficulty all wrapped into one masterpiece. I worry it’s not “flashy” enough. But any judge that doesn’t reward the mastery they have over their craft is blind.
 
i've watched the fd now on my laptop screen rather than my phone screen (after multiple viewings on my phone last night!) and then read the interview posted by @synian above. the rearrangement of the elements is probably why he caught her skate before the entry into the combo spin and maybe even the general subdued quality of their performance this time around.

parts i'm obsessed with so far:

this backwards glide in a soft lunge position

all of (especially's guillaume's) the edges in the one-foot step seq (why did they both only get level 3 for this?)

the return to the one-foot exit from the straight line lift for both of them

their astounding synchronicity of line, angles, response to the music, body undulations in the side by side fw :smokin:

when she suddenly clutches his fingertips on the last note of music
 
P/C's programmes, especially the really deep ones like Moonlight Sonata always matured as the season goes by. I'm sure this FD will look very different in February. For the moment, I see the greatness, the softness, the potential, but I'm missing the spark, the fluidity and the connection. It's not enough to know the steps and interpret them. The programme needs to become a part of them and I have no doubt it will in time. I loved the first lift, it's very unusual for them. I'm not fond of the flailing arms yet, but as I said, that too will 'melt' in the programme. The second, major of the programme needs to become much lighter and different to the start and finish.

I do find some of the music cuts annoying though. I find it really disturbing when skaters taking classical music pieces and butcher them to suit the 4min mark. I totally understand, but it bothers me a lot. I found myself losing concentration for at least 15 seconds every time I realised that the music wasn't the same as the original piece.
 
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deegee said:
i've watched the fd now on my laptop screen rather than my phone screen (after multiple viewings on my phone last night!) and then read the interview posted by @synian above. the rearrangement of the elements is probably why he caught her skate before the entry into the combo spin and maybe even the general subdued quality of their performance this time around.

parts i'm obsessed with so far:

this backwards glide in a soft lunge position

all of (especially's guillaume's) the edges in the one-foot step seq (why did they both only get level 3 for this?)

the return to the one-foot exit from the straight line lift for both of them

their astounding synchronicity of line, angles, response to the music, body undulations in the side by side fw :smokin:

when she suddenly clutches his fingertips on the last note of music
Click to expand...

Ok, please don't hate me, I'll be Debbie Downer for a bit:

It's the first time I'm not enthralled from the get-go and one of my gripes is the music choice: "Élégie" is of course a magnificent piece of music but for me the energy and rhythms of the music don't carry them. I feel sluggishness where I used to feel languor and I'm at a loss to explain it. (Bear with me, this is my first reaction to the piece...)
Then, there is this "acrobatic" porté that feels totally out of place (???). I was hoping for something new and poetic. What is the meaning of this position?
The beginning is promising: I see a lot of MS in this Free Dance but without the harmony and energy of it.
We are, of course, at the very beginning of the season, so there is that but to me, this feels a bit like a garment that doesn't fit.

I have not watched the FD more than a couple of times and I expect that it will grow on me but for now ... :slinkaway
I'm hoping, you will open my eyes to what I do not see yet! :)
 
Peepsquick said:
Ok, please don't hate me, I'll be Debbie Downer for a bit:

It's the first time I'm not enthralled from the get-go and one of my gripes is the music choice: "Élégie" is of course a magnificent piece of music but for me the energy and rhythms of the music don't carry them. I feel sluggishness where I used to feel languor and I'm at a loss to explain it. (Bear with me, this is my first reaction to the piece...)
Then, there is this "acrobatic" porté that feels totally out of place (???). I was hoping for something new and poetic. What is the meaning of this position?
The beginning is promising: I see a lot of MS in this Free Dance but without the harmony and energy of it.
We are, of course, at the very beginning of the season, so there is that but to me, this feels a bit like a garment that doesn't fit.

I have not watched the FD more than a couple of times and I expect that it will grow on me but for now ... :slinkaway
I'm hoping, you will open my eyes to what I do not see yet! :)
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I think we need to see how it develops. We'll have a better view at Findlandia Trophy. It's difficult to really see it here.
 
Peepsquick said:
Then, there is this "acrobatic" porté that feels totally out of place (???). I was hoping for something new and poetic. What is the meaning of this position?
Click to expand...

To show... some athleticism? I mean, it's a sport anyway.

I also don't think that lift fits the music very well (yet) but it probably has more to do with addressing the "easy lifts" "Gabriella has no core strength" criticism than interpreting the music.

(I think Gadbois is well aware of such criticism and is trying to prove the doubters wrong this season. See H/D's overhead lift as another example)
 
Gris said:
To show... some athleticism? I mean, it's a sport anyway.

I also don't think that lift fits the music very well (yet) but it probably has more to do with addressing the "easy lifts" "Gabriella has no core strength" criticism than interpreting the music.

(I think Gadbois is well aware of such criticism and is trying to prove the doubters wrong this season. See H/D's overhead lift as another example)
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I think you are right, but also disappointed if they listened to the "haters" haha. Still, ID is all politics... might want to show as few weaknesses as possible.
 
Where is the lovely lift they posted on Instagram a while back, where Guillaume was spinning Gabriella who was only anchored to him with one arm? (photoshoot from a while back - can't find it anymore)
I would love to see that on the ice! :love:
 
Peepsquick said:
Where is the lovely lift they posted on Instagram a while back, where Guillaume was spinning Gabriella who was only anchored to him with one arm? (photoshoot from a while back - can't find it anymore)
I would love to see that on the ice! :love:
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Maybe it doesn't fit the level four requirements for entries and exits? Maybe it wouldn't fit the timing requirement? Or they could be just trolling Zhulin, by performing that version of the programme. LOL. There will be a whole lot more interesting programs for these two long after their professional careers end.
 
I'm very confused about why people think they were doing a tango (on reddit - but I guess lmk if I'm not supposed to bring nonsense from elsewhere to this forum). Granted, they said "they dance their last tango" on their Instagram post, but they never said they'd choreographed a tango, nor is the music in any way related to a tango. So strange.

Also, how is this style "lyrical"? It's some sort of a take on contemporary ballet, isn't it? Again, they said they'd show off their lyrical quality, but that doesn't mean they're doing the "lyrical style".
 
Dai's Blues for Klook said:
I'm very confused about why people think they were doing a tango (on reddit - but I guess lmk if I'm not supposed to bring nonsense from elsewhere to this forum). Granted, they said "they dance their last tango" on their Instagram post, but they never said they'd choreographed a tango, nor is the music in any way related to a tango. So strange.
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the interview that @synian posted upthread they say they are mixing a tango with a lyrical style.

if google translate can at all be trusted, which i have severe doubts about:

"Guillaume Cizeron:“There are several things. It's a start to the season. It's been 20 months since we competed. It is normal that we do not yet have 100% of our energy until the end. But it is built over the course of the season and we are already very, very good for the month of October, because we are able to keep all the elements clean until the end. We are really satisfied. Now we are not going to stop there. We must continue to work, because it will have to perform 100% at the Games. It may be particularly difficult for this program, because the elements are complex. The transitions are more complex too. There are also variations of energy which are difficult to create, because it is not easy to switch to totally different energies: from tango, to lyric, from joy to melancholy. All these contrasts take on energy. It's a challenge! ""
 
deegee said:
"Guillaume Cizeron:“There are several things. It's a start to the season. It's been 20 months since we competed. It is normal that we do not yet have 100% of our energy until the end. But it is built over the course of the season and we are already very, very good for the month of October, because we are able to keep all the elements clean until the end. We are really satisfied. Now we are not going to stop there. We must continue to work, because it will have to perform 100% at the Games. It may be particularly difficult for this program, because the elements are complex. The transitions are more complex too. There are also variations of energy which are difficult to create, because it is not easy to switch to totally different energies: from tango, to lyric, from joy to melancholy. All these contrasts take on energy. It's a challenge! ""
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I don't think I'd interpret this as meaning they were doing a "tango mixed with lyrical". Rather that they were going for the kind of moods you might find in a tango (internal, voyeuristic, directed towards each other) vs lyrical dance (outwards, emotional). But if it's really supposed to be a blend, then I don't see it yet.
 
Dai's Blues for Klook said:
I don't think I'd interpret this as meaning they were doing a "tango mixed with lyrical". Rather that they were going for the kind of moods you might find in a tango (internal, voyeuristic, directed towards each other) vs lyrical dance (outwards, emotional). But if it's really supposed to be a blend, then I don't see it yet.
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yeah, i don't either, but you were asking why everyone was expecting a tango so i just posted the part in the interview where they confirm that they at least wanted some feeling of tango in their fd, if not actual tango choreography
 
Peepsquick said:
Ok, please don't hate me, I'll be Debbie Downer for a bit:

It's the first time I'm not enthralled from the get-go and one of my gripes is the music choice: "Élégie" is of course a magnificent piece of music but for me the energy and rhythms of the music don't carry them. I feel sluggishness where I used to feel languor and I'm at a loss to explain it. (Bear with me, this is my first reaction to the piece...)
Then, there is this "acrobatic" porté that feels totally out of place (???). I was hoping for something new and poetic. What is the meaning of this position?
The beginning is promising: I see a lot of MS in this Free Dance but without the harmony and energy of it.
We are, of course, at the very beginning of the season, so there is that but to me, this feels a bit like a garment that doesn't fit.

I have not watched the FD more than a couple of times and I expect that it will grow on me but for now ... :slinkaway
I'm hoping, you will open my eyes to what I do not see yet! :)
Click to expand...
Agree, have to say there're parts which I love already but the program as a whole, as great as it already is, didn't affect me as much as their previous dances. This is probably the first time I'm more impressed by their rhythm dance than the free dance.
Totally agree about that lift. I've never been a fan of those lifts (a personal preference, I guess) and would love to see a different one, which would give the dance more spark? (probably a bad word, sorry). A change of costumes would work for me too. I like Gabi's dress, but somehow it doesn't fit well with the dance for me... but again, a personal preference and what do I know, right :D
This was the first performance and we'll know more after Finlandia... I guess it just needs a bit more time and as the season goes on, it will come to its true potential as it happened before :)
 
I was shocked by the audacity, fierceness and just downright mastery of the RD, but having watched the FD it is a gem. It has the potential to be a classic. I think we're just a little greedy to expect them both to have the same impact at the start of the season. It was never that way for even V/M in the two seasons that we saw them win OG. Genius just needs quiet and some time.

On another note is it just me or has their ice coverage and smoothness improved, I mean it's like butta?
 
Bigbird said:
It has the potential to be a classic. I think we're just a little greedy to expect them both to have the same impact at the start of the season.
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Remember how it took a little while for the Yamagata program to grow into something absolutely breath-stealing? I think this one will be similar: it will grow over time.

And I agree, the time away from competition has let them really hone their smoothness and ice coverage into something that borders on the inhuman. :)
 
I was just thinking of the last Olympic season and the mixed reactions after the first outing of Moonlight Sonata and then the massive shift of events after their breathtaking performance at Cup of China...

I also thought of their Waltz short dance and the change of hairstyle and costumes from the Europeans to the Worlds... maybe a similar change would work here a bit more too? A dress similar to MS/tango rhythm dance... but ok, I'll stop already with this. :D

Anyway, I'm really excited we get to see their dances in Finland in a couple of days again. Hopefully, the camera work and the lighting in the arena will be good, and then of course what November brings! :)
 
I think this is a much stronger programme than Moonlight Sonata (which I still feel is one of their weakest).
The quality of the filming does do a great deal for how a programme is perceived. I'm disappointed they haven't pushed the boat out with a new dance spin for their final season but aside from that I do love it.
 
I’ve always thought they were wonderful dancers but their program selection didn’t wow me. It took two tries this time on the FD but I think it’s gorgeous and expresses the music perfectly. I’d vote for a costume change - I hate orange - but that’s truly my only complaint. I can’t see how in a rational world anyone can beat this unless Torvill/Dean return with their 1980s capacity.
 
PRlady said:
I’ve always thought they were wonderful dancers but their program selection didn’t wow me. It took two tries this time on the FD but I think it’s gorgeous and expresses the music perfectly. I’d vote for a costume change - I hate orange - but that’s truly my only complaint. I can’t see how in a rational world anyone can beat this unless Torvill/Dean return with their 1980s capacity.
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I really like her costume but a color change would be good, it is a bit too dull, shade of golds, not shiny but still vibrant could be well in keeping with the period of the piece. I would also love a change of color for their RD costume, something flashier like electric blue. Anyway, very exciting start of the season.
 
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