{"id":6016,"date":"2016-02-02T02:43:05","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T07:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=6016"},"modified":"2017-09-17T21:08:03","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T01:08:03","slug":"french-dancers-create-golden-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/french-dancers-create-golden-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"French dancers create golden memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photo by Robin Ritoss<\/em><\/p>\n

The 2016 Ice Dance Podium had a familiar look. The medalists were the last three former European champions. The French defended their title, followed by the Italians and Russians.<\/p>\n

Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) propelled their bodies seamlessly across the ice and with effortless beauty performed a contemporary dance to the music of \u201cRain, in Your Black Eyes\u201d by Ezio Bosso and \u201cBuild a Home\u201d by The Cinematic Orchestra. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe relate it to many experiences we have had together on the ice,\u201d Cizeron explained.\u00a0 \u201cWe are using impressions and images that are a little bit more abstract than last year, but it\u2019s still talking about feelings and a connection and our life, so it\u2019s very concrete for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six of seven elements earned level 4. The component marks were mostly all above 9.00, including two 10\u2019s. The reigning World and European Champions scored 111.97 and totaled 187.71.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it feels even more amazing than last year because we proved that we can do it again,\u201d Cizeron added.\u00a0 \u201cWe managed to have a really great moment during the performance, and the audience shared this program with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Papadakis spoke of not watching or hearing the scores of others. \u201cWe managed to stay in our own bubble and deliver the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte (ITA) skated first in the final group and performed a snappy, energetic dance to the Fellini Italian film, La Dolce Vita. The twizzles, spin, and two lifts received level 4, while the footwork and the opening straight-line lift were level 3. <\/p>\n

Cappellini evaluated their performance.\u00a0 \u2028\u2028\u201cWe had a tough skate today. It didn\u2019t flow as much. We certainly left a few technical points on the table like on our first lift. We want to finish the program like we can\u2019t get up anymore, and that\u2019s something we\u2019re not achieving yet.\u201d
\u00a0
\u201cBeing first in the free dance is definitely not our favorite,\u201d Cappellini added. \u201cIf you skate last, it\u2019s a long wait, and you can get very nervous like we did last year when we skated after Guillaume (Cizeron) and Gabrielle (Papadakis).\u00a0 It\u2019s mentally challenging. I would say skating second, third, or fourth is best. Skating first or last is the hardest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2014 World and European champions were ranked third in the free program with 105.70 points. They won the silver medal with a 178.07 total.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur next goal is the World Championships in Boston, and hopefully we can fight for the gold medal. We tried our best; we respect our competitors very much,\u201d Lanotte concluded.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev (RUS) scored 107.91 points and were second in the free program. Their circular step sequence was level 3, but the remaining six elements earned level 4. <\/p>\n

Soloviev explained his emotional mindset during the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkating today was extremely difficult.\u00a0 We were nervous and worried.\u00a0 I felt every single movement of Katia\u2019s and mine.\u00a0 I was so concentrated on everything, and that helped to keep me together.\u201d <\/p>\n

The 2013 European champions dramatically danced a personal best performance to the film soundtrack of Tolstoy\u2019s classic tragic novel, Anna Karenina. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of friends, family and fans come here,\u201d Bobrova said.\u00a0 \u201cAt the end of the free dance, we looked up and saw that they were crying, but they were tears of joy. Yes, there are dramatic themes, but they did not cry because of the drama, but out of joy for the performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe can say that we really are back, and we proved that we are competitive,\u201d Bobrova continued.\u00a0 \u201cThere are no regrets, except for the twizzles in the short dance, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bronze medalists totaled a personal best 176.50 score. <\/p>\n

Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalpov (RUS) danced to the Andrea Bocelli vocal \u201cIo Ci Saro\u201d and scored 104.32 points for a fourth place finish. The Skate America silver medalists earned level 4 for five of seven elements. Both step sequences were level 3. A 1.00 deduction was incurred for an extended lift. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur free program today was good,\u201d Katsalapov said. \u201cWe could have showed more energy and maybe improved a couple of technical moments like the first lift. It is a very complicated program and to bring together the music, the emotions, and the technical content is very difficult.\u00a0 It is important for us to get feedback from here.\u00a0 We learn something from every competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinitsina & Katsalpov formed a new partnership after the 2014 Sochi Olympics and moved to Canton, Michigan to train with Marina Zouva. They scored a personal best total 172.75 at their first European Championships as a team. <\/p>\n

Alexandra Stepanova & Ivan Bukin (RUS) danced to Rachmaninov\u2019s Revenge by Freddy Mercury and scored 98.90. They earned level 4 for the lifts and spin; the twizzles and footwork received level 3. A 1.00 deduction was given for an extended lift. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was harder both physically and emotionally to skate today,\u201d Bukin said.\u00a0 \u201cProbably the day off in between the completion led to this feeling. We were nervous more before the free skate. Also, I made a mistake on the twizzles. We got a deduction.\u00a0 What a pity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2015 European bronze medalists placed fifth.<\/p>\n

Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland (GBR) withdrew from the 2015 World Championships due to illness, so opted to repeat last season\u2019s program \u201cExogenesis Symphony Part 1\u201d and \u201cButterflies and Hurricanes\u201d by Muse. Five elements earned level 4 marks; the footwork garnered level 3.<\/p>\n

Coomes assessed the performance. \u201cYou can\u2019t beat the feeling when you finish (your program), and you know you\u2019ve done a good job. We wanted to make a statement that we\u2019re back, and we\u2019re on our way to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team switched coaches after the 2015 season and moved to Novi, Michigan to train with Igor Shpilband. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked very hard coming into this competition, Buckland said.\u00a0 \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what to expect, but we just wanted two good performances no matter what the marks or placements.\u00a0 We did that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2014 European bronze medalists finished in sixth place with a personal best 162.75 total score.<\/p>\n

Notes & Quotes \u2013 A compilation of a few notable quotes from competitors who finished outside the top six.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Charlene Guignard (ITA), who finished seventh with partner Marco Fabbri, on their free dance performance:
\u00a0\u201cIt is without a doubt the best free dance of the season.\u00a0 Today we achieved a very important goal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federica Testa & Lukas Csolley (SVK), who finished eighth, on skating at home and the crowd response:\u00a0
(Testa) \u201cThis will be the best reception we ever get (at a competition).\u201d
(Csolley) \u201cWe really concentrated on using all of the positivity and energy from the audience to push us forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikolai Sorensen (DEN), who finished ninth with partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry, on not competing their free dance since Skate Canada in October:\u00a0
\u00a0\u201cWe had a chance to rework our program, and we cannot wait to analyze the feedback from the judges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isabella Tobias (ISR), who finished 10th with partner Ilia Tkachenko, on mistakes in their free dance performance:
\u00a0\u201cWe didn\u2019t skate our best. I think the results are fair; they reflect our skate. We are capable of doing it (free skate) much better. It was one of our worst performances of the season. We are a new couple, so we are trying to work out the kinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Anne Calder | Photo by Robin Ritoss The 2016 Ice Dance Podium had a familiar look. The medalists were the last three former European champions. The French defended their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_gspb_post_css":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recap-archive"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=300%2C177&ssl=1",300,177,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=768%2C454&ssl=1",768,454,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-post-main-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1",400,250,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?resize=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?resize=400%2C284&ssl=1",400,284,true],"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?resize=510%2C382&ssl=1",510,382,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?resize=400%2C516&ssl=1",400,516,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/FI-Papadakis-Cizeron.jpg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1",45,45,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Team IDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/author\/idcadmin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"by Anne Calder | Photo by Robin Ritoss The 2016 Ice Dance Podium had a familiar look. The medalists were the last three former European champions. The French defended their […]","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7GOSM-1z2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6018,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6016\/revisions\/6018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}