Papadakis/Cizeron #5 - We're In Love With The Shape Of You

[GreenGan]

Of course. I'm from the Czech Republic. I know, our country hosted the last Euros and the arena was (almost) full most of the time. But the arena is quite small and the tickets were incredibly cheap, so that explains a lot. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised by the general interest: I thought they wouldn't be many of us. (I gather you're from France as some other members here. You guys have no idea how hard it is to learn your language. )
Anyway, back to my answer. Today, the commentators talked about no one else than Gabi and Guillaume. Even before the last group took the ice. They kept praising their abilities, talked about their view on the sport or even things like what they do in their free time. And sentences such as "the rest battle for silver and bronze, the gold is already taken" or "Only the Canadians can threaten them" took me aback - they certainly had a different opinion about them last year. Back then, they were the team that could dominate the field after V/M retires for good. It's funny how it all changed within one year...
The reaction of the crowd today was awesome. It made me smile - it was great to see such interest, not to mention how it helped G&G probably.

I'm sorry for a long post. Promise, won't talk about minor G&G things anymore. Or no at least in such detail.

And if you need translation on some article/things that were said in french, please ask ! We don't necesserily have the time to translate the moment it goes in the thread but we can probably later, we just forget !

 

[Isabelle.G]

A fellow Czech here, ahoj

I had a slightly different perception of the Czech commentary, since I found them rather ignorant of certain things (that applies to their commentary of all teams) and I thought they haven't done their research properly at times (not knowing the choreographers etc.). However, the male commentator was more complimentary to them this time than he'd been in the past, and the old lady just adores them and praised them for their SS and musicality. I quite enjoy her knowledge and insights as she is a former ID judge, so when she's giving her commentary on the programmes, you see what the judges are looking for. And yes, they indeed do know many things about Gaby and Gui, I thought that was endearing .

Oh, hello there! It's great to have a fellow mate, here!
I was lucky enough as I could watch the Eurosport 2 version today. I should've mentioned it, sorry. Now I watched the version from the national television broadcast and you're right - the guy, especially, was less ignorant this time, but still pretty neutral. That's a good thing, though, but sometimes he's so neutral that he sounds more ignorant than neutral. I like the old lady commentary too, I just wish she talked less about rumours and more about what's going on on the ice as she really knows what she's talking about.

And thank you, guys, that's so nice. I love the French language, so I try to translate articles by myself as a way of learning, but it's very hard sometimes. It's great to know I can ask for help.

 

[MelDee]

Oh, hello there! It's great to have a fellow mate, here!
I was lucky enough as I could watch the Eurosport 2 version today. I should've mentioned it, sorry. Now I watched the version from the national television broadcast and you're right - the guy, especially, was less ignorant this time, but still pretty neutral. That's a good thing, though, but sometimes he's so neutral that he sounds more ignorant than neutral. I like the old lady commentary too, I just wish she talked less about rumours and more about what's going on on the ice as she really knows what she's talking about.

That clears it up then! Yeah, the guy tries so hard to be objective but he ends up missing the mark. We'll see what they have to say tomorrow about Moonlight Sonata.

 

[Anyasnake]

Little fluff piece from today : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRzCidP74EA

 

[Miloune]

Gabi says in the interview that they don't want to peak physically here, but in Korea, so they don't want to give it all just yet..
I wonder if we'll see a real difference at the games.

 

[Laney]

It was not their best SD but they´re still sooo good! They seem to have tons of fun in this dance and I enjoy watching it!
What I think is really cute is how Angelique Abachkina is always cheering for them and behaving like she´s their biggest fan She did it at CoC I think or at the Grand Prix in France? And here again. I love this

 

[cocotaffy]

It smarts of them, now they have three weeks to ramp up their energy to the max.

Gabi says in the interview that they don't want to peak physically here, but in Korea, so they don't want to give it all just yet..
I wonder if we'll see a real difference at the games.

I think we can expect something like the GPF where they were really on but hopefully even cleaner to get the levels. I see their mental coach is with them. Quite the team here from Gadbois.

 

[skatfan]

Has there been a rule change or is the starting order of the last group total coincidence?

Don’t #4 and #5 draw separately from the top 3 for the final group? If so there is a 1 in 12 chance (approx 8%) to get this result (1:2 for the 4th and 5th places, and 1:6 for the top three).

 

[EYGH]

OK. First I like this sd a lot. I love P/C and their skating. I think they are fabulous skaters. They've got incredible chemistry, speed, ice coverage (the best) and gorgeous deep edges.

Eventhough I like the changes made to the sd, I think something should be done about Gabi's arm mouvements. She should tone down the "flowery" soft precious type of mouvements because this dance is not about that. For me it is distracting from their incredible blade and body work and it participates to the perception of a certain lack of sharpness and maybe lack of rythm. If you Watch only their feet you see how sharp, clean and in rythm they are. The upper body would need more sober and/or crisp arm mouvements IMO.

I've got another remark about Gabi's arms. It seems to me that she lost some of the absolute gorgeous hand and arm mvts she had at the begining of the season in the FD.

What do you think ?

 

[mollymgr]

It is just wonderful to see a team using classical music so effectively. It is so hard to do in ice dance. All the FDs seem like clangy cacophonies compared to this one.

 

[cocotaffy]

Protocols
http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/ec2018/ec2018_IceDance_FD_Scores.pdf

 

[ChelleC]

Another sublime skate. I cannot wait to see how they skate it in Korea.

 

[EYGH]

It is just wonderful to see a team using classical music so effectively. It is so hard to do in ice dance. All the FDs seem like clangy cacophonies compared to this one.

You are right about them and classical music of course. I'm too greedy about arm mouvements but Gabi impressed me so much at the beginning of the season with the work she had done with Cirio.

What's your take on the sd ? Some critics of them are getting to me I guess and I'm quite fed up with some of the crap I'm reading about P/C's SD and their supposed lack of versatility. Even with the FD we are served with backhanded "compliments".

Bravo for their new title, their beautiful new world records and that gorgeous FD.

 

[mollymgr]

You are right about them and classical music of course. I'm too greedy about arm mouvements but Gabi impressed me so much at the beginning of the season with the work she had done with Cirio.

What's your take on the sd ? Some critics of them are getting to me I guess and I'm quite fed up with some of the crap I'm reading about P/C's SD and their supposed lack of versatility. Even with the FD we are served with backhanded "compliments".

Bravo for their new title, their beautiful new world records and that gorgeous FD.

I'm in the minority where Shape of You is one of the few songs I actually like by Ed Sheeran. I was pleasantly surprised when they decided to use it for the SD. It is a very catchy tune with a nice beat that makes you want to get up and dance or do whatever. If it doesn't, something must be wrong.
To use it for Latin is very innovative and I think it will have a universal appeal at the Olympics. Their elements have such a smooth and airy quality to them, it makes their Latin SD very fun to watch. I don't see the "heaviness" and "laborious" effect with them. I also love that they BOTH bring it in their program even though some people think that the girl should shine and the guy should be in the background. They are just a treat to watch.

 

[Anyasnake]

That was such a beautiful performance

WR, points aside, that was not the goal, the goal was to test the changes, to connect with the audience, etc. Goal chieved very much

@EYGH Jealousy is nasty. Whatever, because no one actually gives technical or performances arguments so what's the point ?

Don't worry fr the "lack of versatility" thing since all of them forget that it's their 1st Olympic cycle, that they are not stupid to go out of the box like last year and get hammered for this again. Like everyone on their 1st Olympic cycle went all crazy, sure. For everyone, it's either "oh this program is nothing special", or "they always do the same", I feel like nobody is ever happy in Ice Dance. (@ people reading this, stop being always grumpy).

I'm fine with whatever people put on the ice, I don't have to like everything, but I can surely appreciate the skating.

 

[Isabelle.G]

You are right about them and classical music of course. I'm too greedy about arm mouvements but Gabi impressed me so much at the beginning of the season with the work she had done with Cirio.

What's your take on the sd ? Some critics of them are getting to me I guess and I'm quite fed up with some of the crap I'm reading about P/C's SD and their supposed lack of versatility. Even with the FD we are served with backhanded "compliments".

Bravo for their new title, their beautiful new world records and that gorgeous FD.

Can you give us some examples, please? I looked again at the FDs from Finland and China and didn't see such a difference. But there's always a chance I'm blind.

I agree about the SD's hand movements and I'm glad somebody brought that up. As I feel I tend to be too critical, e.g. my constant wish they would change the final lift in the FD. I adore Gabi's soft and elegant hand movements, it's so precious in the ice dance field for me, but it shouldn't be as visible in this year's short dance, in my opinion. It doesn't match this year's theme like it did two years ago, for example.

Here's the FD from the Olympic Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRrbAmXnXvE I think Ben Agosto has a point when saying their energy could've been better. Overall, it was a sublime performance. I couldn't be happier for them.

 

[EYGH]

Can you give us some examples, please? I looked again at the FDs from Finland and China and didn't see such a difference. But there's always a chance I'm blind.

Or maybe it's me with the different camera works in the different events one doesn't see from the same angle... Also the choregraphy has Evolved. So it may change things. But for example at COC I thought her arms were wonderful. She had gorgeous "arrondis" and very subtil hand mouvements. Now I find her arms more "cassés" which overshadows the hand mouvement and breaks the line of the whole mouvement. But this is knitpicking. The overall dancing is so balletic and quite unique among skaters.

 

[EYGH]

I'm in the minority where Shape of You is one of the few songs I actually like by Ed Sheeran. I was pleasantly surprised when they decided to use it for the SD. It is a very catchy tune with a nice beat that makes you want to get up and dance or do whatever. If it doesn't, something must be wrong.
To use it for Latin is very innovative and I think it will have a universal appeal at the Olympics. Their elements have such a smooth and airy quality to them, it makes their Latin SD very fun to watch. I don't see the "heaviness" and "laborious" effect with them. I also love that they BOTH bring it in their program even though some people think that the girl should shine and the guy should be in the background. They are just a treat to watch.

Well, to my great surprise Ed Sheeran grew on me and I too do find their SD music to quite fit with the latin dance spirit. As far as the airy quality of their dancing I think they had to tone it a bit down. Latin dances are not airy. P/C are extremely light on their feet and fast and that is totally in tune with their latin dance.

 

[skatfan]

Today’s performance wasn’t my favorite of the season but it was very fine. In terms of momentum, they have it going into the Olympics.

 

[kittysk8ts]

Exquisite FD. Congratulations everyone!

 

[mollymgr]

Well, to my great surprise Ed Sheeran grew on me and I too do find their SD music to quite fit with the latin dance spirit. As far as the airy quality of their dancing I think they had to tone it a bit down. Latin dances are not airy. P/C are extremely light on their feet and fast and that is totally in tune with their latin dance.

I meant airy in terms of their elements, e.g. they go in and out of lifts so easily. With many teams, it looks like the girl is trying to climb a step ladder.

 

[maya1985]

Congratulations to Gabi and Guillaume . It was once again sublime. This sonata is a masterpiece, the difficulties and the elements disappear. Fourth consecutive title of European champions. Two new records...They make a great season in gold, I hope it will continue...

 

[cocotaffy]

Congratulations to their 4th consecutive European title which is an amazing achievement at their age. The last time this happened was with Klimova/Ponomarenko from 1989 to 1992. No team has ever won it five time in a row so that's another goal for them next year As for the FD, they're getting closer and closer to the ultimate score they're working on. Just keep on the work, ramp up the energy and keep your cool.

 

[cocotaffy]

Icenetwork article about their European Victory:
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2018/01/20/265063726

 

[allezfred]

Cizeron was battling with a cold all week so for them to perform as well as they did this week was remarkable.

 

[cocotaffy]

Cizeron was battling with a cold all week so for them to perform as well as they did this week was remarkable.

I understand better now why the energy was a bit subdued. Well good, they will have performed under various degrees of stress and health condition so that they should be fully prepared for what's next. Thanks for the info. Were you in Moscow ?

 

[Anyasnake]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z4SuPQznVo

The Gala performance

So I heard the French commentators said that the French team is going to Korea on the 30th of January at 300km of Pyeongchang to train behind close doors. It's common to all skaters to do that during the Olympics, I was just wondering if PapaCiz will go that early to. We will have to follow instagram closely

 

[cocotaffy]

Finally the British Eurosport coverage of FD is available. Starts with the Olympic Channel but then do switch to B ESP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts2o3LxgXwA

 

[Anyasnake]

Love me some british eurosport comment they are always so enthusiastic for everyone

So I know a lot of people said that it seemed perhaps a bit "subdued" compared to maybe GPF where they were nothing but fire... but I had pretty much the same reaction as the British commentator. I think what PapaCiz were trying to do here is make the changes works so it was all about upping the technical (gradually - good strategy), but it's so incredibely polished, it was so seamless, I got lost when I watched them. You really forget you watch a competitive program, their GOEs are very high and rightfully so, the step sequences are just insane
For me it was their best performance of the season mostly because it is more and more polished, they took it up a notch. The PCS are almost the same as GPF but the tech for was just so much better executed IMO

This was also strategic not to be 500% wild this time too. Gotta keep it for the Games I guess !

 

[Isabelle.G]

The Europeans are over but a bunch of news is now all over the Internet

A French news report about the 4th European title: https://youtu.be/q6JNtIwJdVY

The free dance press conference: https://youtu.be/kepnmzBjyWg

Pictures from the banquet:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/c5dba7c97cb9253357f2f69627529eac/tumblr_p2xh25oVXB1v91jh5o1_540.jpg
https://78.media.tumblr.com/358742bd57542a4e026e0249535bd546/tumblr_p2xgx1vPAb1v91jh5o1_540.jpg

And a funny Instagram story:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/985acfd73e1666deae92fb83582bb32b/tumblr_p2yovsWWTg1vjmvdho1_400.png
https://78.media.tumblr.com/2b535a2f4447e31bd1dd91d035a5b65c/tumblr_p2yovsWWTg1vjmvdho2_1280.png