Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron | Page 335 | Golden Skate

Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron

Gotlev

Driving the Zamboni home
On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Glad to see Charlène got a deduction for not wearing black! The nerve...
 

Gotlev

Driving the Zamboni home
On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
I suppose Gaby will continue to find different end poses that she will continue to find ridiculous in slo-mo. Something to look forward to!
 

Harriet

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Country
Australia
The FD is really starting to hit its stride now. I can't wait to see what it's going to be like by the time we get to Worlds. (Though what I'm most looking forward to is seeing it live at Europeans!)
 

Gotlev

Driving the Zamboni home
On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
I totally disagree with the Flutzels’ opinion. This program is made to be fun, to bring positive energy, dynamism but I don’t remember the story as ridiculous. Fashion then might look ridiculous now, as today fashion might look ridiculous in 30 years. But the story was just about young adults full of dreams giving all their heart and vital energy to find their place in the world as artists. There is absolutely no reason to make fool of the protagonists or the musical itself.

Of course you need to paint the period of the show with costumes which remember this time and this show. But you don’t need to be literal.

Why should this musical be more ridiculous than Grease, Saturday night fever, Singing in the rain or any other one ( except west side story maybe). It is not a question of serious content or profound feelings. Fame was as full of hope, happiness and broken dreams and hearts as any other musical. I don’t see why it should be treated as a ridiculous piece of musical. You can have fun, respect the characters of the musical, enjoy the music of that time and try to communicate enthusiasm and energy, like they do, without overplaying the ridiculous look of the costumes.imo.

We love the program because it brings us good memories of easier times or because we were much youngers than, or because we liked pink fluo or for all these reasons together. The main challenge of this program is to bring a smile on our faces and I guess, they do it.

This said, I still expect more from the slow section and the final. But the pattern step sequence is really great.
Somehow you hit the nail on its head: ALL of these programs are ridiculous and the more second-degree the skaters do it, the better their programs. Fame may be youth sentiment for many, but just listen to the lyrics: "People will see me and cry; I'm gonna make it to heaven; light up the sky like a flame; I'm gonna live forever; baby remember my name". Sure. Maybe Jupiter will be a possible venue to host that ego-trip, I'm sure Earth is too small to be considered.

I know I'm now being the despised taste-police myself here, so don't take me too seriously either, but having a SERIOUS program with Singing in the Rain etc in 2020? In that case I urgently need to find a way to get back to my time: a very distant future.
 

floatingworld

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
OMG ... I am actually able to follow the live stream on my phone! :yahoo:
Thank you @ floatingworld for mentioning that the FD was about to start! :hap57:

Most welcome! Glad you were able to watch live! I did on the NBC Sports app which I then projected onto my TV.
 

Gotlev

Driving the Zamboni home
On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
The FD is really starting to hit its stride now. I can't wait to see what it's going to be like by the time we get to Worlds. (Though what I'm most looking forward to is seeing it live at Europeans!)
I don't envy you for being in Europe in January, but wow, seeing them live at Europeans! That's worth a shiver!
 

Gotlev

Driving the Zamboni home
On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
I am a fan of their new outfit in the Free Dance ... those metallic grey inserts are brilliant imo ... just the flash of light needed to break the black. :yes2:
Fully agree, these are really fitting and still 'something'.
 

Harriet

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Country
Australia
I don't envy you for being in Europe in January, but wow, seeing them live at Europeans! That's worth a shiver!

I am absolutely looking forward to European weather in January. It'll be beyond preferable to 47C and weeks of catastrophic fire danger here in Australia. Best December I ever spent was the one in New York City. :)

Plus, skating! All good.
 

Bcash

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Again the camera work was bit of a bummer.

I prefer Gabi’s hair and the shorter skirt at IdF. Her beautiful leg lines added to the expression, esp in the lifts. And the bigger looser hair added an air of vulnerability and abandon.

There were some nice additions here (like the double twizzle that ended the circular steps, which still could be more complex; or Gabi’s extended left arm during the sliding move, forming a soft S with the arm touching the ice). And some omissions, like the hands-coming-together-and-reaching-into-the-air move as a further emphasis of emotional link, after the stationary lift and before the one-foot-sequence. Overall the omissions outweighed the additions and it’s following the trend of me liking the first iterations of their programs better than the later ones.

Score was a bit too much. I actually would have been fine with this score for the IdF performance. But then, I didn’t see either live so I don’t know.
 

Spot

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2015
I am absolutely looking forward to European weather in January. It'll be beyond preferable to 47C and weeks of catastrophic fire danger here in Australia. Best December I ever spent was the one in New York City. :)

Plus, skating! All good.

Haha, exactly what I felt being in Norway where it was around 3C to 8C in late May, while it was about 47C the day before I left Cairo (where I live). Btw. best wishes for your whole country regarding the fires (and anywhere else facing the same danger)!

Have a great time! I really want to see them live again, but it is difficult to organize for me at the moment.
 

mercybuckets

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
I love the silver brushstrokes to break up the black. I feel like it fits the program perfectly.

I know this free dance isn't everyone's cup of tea but I love love love it. I sent a clip of their IdF FD to my mum I liked it so much and I think it was even better at NHK!
 

Gotlev

Driving the Zamboni home
On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
I need to get something off my chest.

I love the FD. I adore it. I find it a fabulous program. I watch it over and over and over and over and over again.

And by now, there's one thing that bothers me, and the more I watch it, the more it bothers me.
Don't get me wrong: I am fully aware of the level of detail I talk about. I don't know if they'll ever be able to work on this or if there's even a remote willingness to acknowledge this or accept it as something meaningful to work on. The scores they get surely don't push them to do anything else. So why bother?

The reason to bother is that they are so extraordinary, and that they owe it to themselves to keep pushing and growing. I strongly believe that they have more than enough talent and inspiration to go on until their bodies literally collapse. If they keep getting such high scores, I don't know if they will not get bored of the success: where's the challenge?
So to keep stuff interesting, to keep it worth continuing, they need to go pick the tiniest detail, strive towards perfection on all levels.

What bothers me here is Gaby's kiss-and-cry reaction to her slow-motion end-pose. I don't like the way she makes fun of herself. Not because she's not funny, she's super funny and I laughed many times with this moment of self-parody.
The point is that what she makes fun of is a flaw of the program, and it should be taken seriously if there is a serious attempt to perfection.

Most if not all of their programs so far have tremendously benefited from Gaby's facial expressions. Her acting talent that makes her so easily and beautifully convey emotions with her face has been a huge asset in former programs. Their RD this year would be nothing without her superb facial expressions. They're spot-on, and she simply can't overdo it in that program: the more the better. Last year, both programs and specifically the Tango were so much more dramatic and spectacular due to her acting. In fact, I cannot think of any former program in which it was not a really great addition.

But this year's FD is such a program. It's abstract, dance, body performance. Look at Guillaume. He's perfect. Because he expresses with his whole body, and not with his face. Almost for the whole routine, his face is neutral, concentrated, not the focus. His whole body is where the focus is, it's the total posture. His body is filled with energy and expression, he is aware of the full extent of each movement and every position. It's as if his body is his face: speaking, emoting.
He's fabulous.

I feel that Gaby should try to match that. It's not natural for her, but the program demands her to make this effort. Force herself not to move her face. Keep the focus on her toes, her fingers, her legs, arms, torso, make THOSE body parts do what she does with her face. Feel them totally, be totally aware of how they convey the message, how they talk. Don't draw our attention to her face, but force us to see the message in the total body posture. Be a dancer, not an actress.

Obviously, she's an athlete, an ice dancer, and I'm not claiming that she isn't aware of her body or not able to dance. She moves divinely, she does the elements in a superb way.
That's not what this is about.
Also, it's something that in many of the elements is not very heavily present, even though it's her nature and will be there almost constantly.

What I mean is how she is different from Guillaume in the choreo elements. Less precise in her body, more stuff going on in her face.
There should not be a weird expression on her face in the end pose to make fun of every time. The body posture, the arms movement should be all there is to look at.
No matter how appropriate this emotion is in other programs, this one can't have it. Here it's disturbing, distracting and diminishing. Its not needed, it can be different. She surely can do this. But it means wanting it and working on it, because she won't do it naturally. It will have to be acquired.

No idea if I'm out of my league to make such statements. It's what I notice right now, that's all. Just my two cents of this moment.
 

Bcash

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
I actually found her face at the end of the IdF performance a bit unexpected—not in the best way. The feeling was: no that performance of that program didn’t “earn” that expression. The logic of interpretation (if there is one) shouldn’t have led to it.

But for the most of the program I found that Gabi already achieved what you are emphasizing. I found her expression to be just about right (I quite liked the look in her eyes during the character steps). Suggestive but not overly emotive.
 

Eleanor

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 23, 2018
I am not sure they are going in the right direction with this program. There may be a gap between what they want to express and how it translates in the ice. I personally find the most interesting and mesmerizing parts of the program to be when they don't try to overthink the whole thing. It's where they just let go. From their older programs and performances, I feel that Gabby and Guillaume are very musical and they let the music go through them and captures them. They listen and let their bodies respond to it, quite naturally. And what happens when there is this poem and no music ? They stop, they dance, they don't skate nymore. They lose fluidity and rythm. They have to think instead of letting go. And that's when a facial expression can look out of place or awkward. Perhaps it's just no something for them or just for him/her.
Besides, Chouinard's choreo is nothing groundbreaking or extraordinary. I really hope they are not going to keep working with him. I really think Dean or MF are much better suited to them and really made programs that looked perfectly fitted.
 

Bcash

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
I am not sure they are going in the right direction with this program. There may be a gap between what they want to express and how it translates in the ice. I personally find the most interesting and mesmerizing parts of the program to be when they don't try to overthink the whole thing. It's where they just let go. From their older programs and performances, I feel that Gabby and Guillaume are very musical and they let the music go through them and captures them. They listen and let their bodies respond to it, quite naturally. And what happens when there is this poem and no music ? They stop, they dance, they don't skate nymore. They lose fluidity and rythm. They have to think instead of letting go. And that's when a facial expression can look out of place or awkward. Perhaps it's just no something for them or just for him/her.
Besides, Chouinard's choreo is nothing groundbreaking or extraordinary. I really hope they are not going to keep working with him. I really think Dean or MF are much better suited to them and really made programs that looked perfectly fitted.

I’m still reserving full judgement on this program. I think last year’s program was the most forgettable. This one at least has a bit more edge (in theory).

A big part of the problem is the changing rules. Less skating, more posing. Also, the scores they get certainly do not give them any incentive to rethink their approach. Also I think maybe they can afford to do something that doesn’t “land” the this season, before the more intense jockeying starts next season.
 
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