8 IFSMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER 2019
—Romain Haguenauer
“We just try to keep being ourselves
and do things that really inspire us,” said
Cizeron. “It’s not hard to be inspired, but
it’s hard to make it fit the requirements of
the competition. We try to do things that
feel natural but are a little outside the box
— like something that hasn’t been done
before. It’s not just trying to be different
just to be different.
“It’s more being inspired to do something
that hasn’t been done before, because it’s
more exciting. It doesn’t make sense to
do something that’s already been done by
somebody else. It’s just about our vision.”
That vision has been given a unique test
for the 2019-2020 season with the theme
of musicals that has been mandated for the
rhythm dance. “We probably would not
have chosen to skate to that,” said Cizeron,
adding “but you don’t really have a choice.”
Haguenauer, who crafted their rhythm
dance, saw it as an opportunity to show
audiences a side of Papadakis and Cizeron
that they haven’t seen before — at least in
a competitive program.
“For Gabriella and Guillaume, we
decided to pick the musical ‘Same’ (a
1980s American production set in a dance
school),” he said. “It’s a choice for them that
is very, very different and we wanted it to
be something that’s a little more fun than
usual to show people that they can show a
different type of self-expression and rhythm
... I wanted, for them, something not very
serious, so this musical I liked a lot.”
As it turns out, the skaters themselves had
their share of fun with it, too. Papadakis said
they are “pretty excited to do it.”
“It’s the first time we picked something
because we think it’s funny — not funny
in a clown way, but just fun. Usually for us
it’s something that is moving, it’s touching,
it’s poetic. But for this one, it’s more like it’s
funny, let’s do it, we’ll see how it turns out.”
The free dance was still a work in progress
at press time, but Haguenauer promises
it will be “something very different, very
artistic and very contemporary. It’s what
they wanted to express, and we wanted to
explore this type of program. I don’t think
it has ever been done before this way ... It’s
going to be very difficult to perform and
express, but they can do it. If there is one
team that can do it, it is them.”
RIDING THE WAVE
Their margin of victory in Saitama was
nearly 11 points and, to an outside observer,
it would seem inevitable they will ride one
long victory parade all the way to Olympic
gold in Beijing in 2022. Just don’t suggest
that to Papadakis and Cizeron, though,
who are quick to note it will hardly be an
easy path.
“People always say, ‘Oh my God, you’re
so much ahead of everyone else.’ I don’t
think that’s true,” said Papadakis. “A lot of
couples are amazing. I watch them and go
‘oh crap, they’re good.’”
It is fair to suggest, however — and
in a way that is not disrespectful to their
competition — that Papadakis and Cizeron
have reached a point where they do compete,
for the most part, against themselves. It is
what the best in any sport do. Their standard
is set almost impossibly high, yet they savor
the opportunity to try to surpass it.
“In the end, there’s scores and a result,
but we’re not fighting against anyone. It’s
really getting through the performance and
leaving that moment,” Cizeron explained.
“It’s pretty intense, and it’s also something
we share between us two and the coaches.
It’s a performance, and it takes a lot of
commitment and trust.
“So, focusing on the others ... that’s
never really worked for me. I suppose it’s a
source of energy for other skaters. People
react differently during competitions. But
I don’t really do well with competition. I’m
tentative, but it makes me want to pushmyself more. When the competition comes,
it’s about being grounded and focused and
doing what you have to do.”
That is an ability that figures to get
a test next March, when the World
Championships come to their adopted
home in Montréal. For Papadakis, the Bell
Centre, the venue for the event in the city’s
downtown core, is literally a 10-minute walk
from her apartment. But it presents more of
a challenge than one might think.
“It could not have been closer,” she said.
“Not only is it in the same city, but it’s in
the same area. It’s crazy. It’s so weird. At this
competition, it’s going to be hard not to feel
like we’re at home. I don’t want to have this
too relaxed feeling like when you’re at home.
I want to feel like I’m away at a competition,
and that’s going to be hard.
“We’re going to have to work on
boundaries. I’m going to tell my friends to
act like I’m in a different part of the world.
I’m going to act as if I was somewhere else
... not go to my regular cafés or stuff like
that. Not do anything that makes me feel
like I’m at home.”
Cizeron echoed that sentiment, saying
“it’s kind of hard when it’s home because
there’s a little bit of competition energy
that’s not there.”
But the duo will be staying in a hotel with
their French teammates, and Cizeron said
they would not be seeing their friends and
family “at least not more than usual. It’s just
going to be a very nice party when it’s over.”
While he did not use the phrase “victory
party,” the figure skating world expects that
is exactly what it will be. Not only in March,
but every step of the way to Beijing, where
the biggest prize of them all awaits — the
only one they have yet to capture. But there
are goals to achieve along the way, and
Haguenauer has found one in particular
that interests him — something that is most
worthy of he and his skaters’ attention.
“For them, the Olympics is the only title
they don’t have. It’s the goal in two and a
half years and they are working for that. But
I don’t think it’s the only thing,” he said.
“There are some World Championships
before that to win and, if everything goes
well, they can win the most ice dance golds
ever. It is one of my goals for them to beat
the record for gold medals at Europeans
and Worlds.”
Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander
Gorshkov, who represented the Soviet
Union in the 1970s and were Olympic
champions in Innsbruck in 1976, hold theIt is one of my
goals to have
them beat
the record for
gold medals
at Europeans
and Worlds.