By Matteo Morelli

Finlandia Trophy was the last Grand Prix event of the season. The competition, which featured a mix of interesting moments and controversies, saw all ice dance medallists at the Helsinki Ice Hall qualify for the Grand Prix Final.

France’s Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won their second Grand Prix title, followed by Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in the silver-medal position, and the USA’s Emilia Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik in bronze.

Event Recap

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron won Finlandia Trophy, securing the access to their first Grand Prix Final together, a competition they both experienced in the past with their previous partners.

Their rhythm dance to music by Madonna featured costumes changes to enhance their performance on the ice, while their free dance to music from the movie “The Whale” continues to grow in intensity and depth.

“There was a lot to of inspiration to draw from the piece itself, because it has a lot of special textures that I think really tell a story, and it is up to everyone to understand it in their own way”, Cizeron said about their free dance.

“We discovered ourselves building that programme together, it was really a discovery, and it was unique to grasp that so early in our partnership”, Fournier-Beaudry added. “We brought a lot of each other in that programme, a lot of strengths and vulnerabilities at the same time, so it is something that is extremely special to share”.

The team voiced their concerns about the scoring throughout the competition, something that was widely acknowledged and discussed at length. In their rhythm dance, they had their opening choreography wrongly called as their choreographic step sequence, which was planned to be in the second half of their programme.

“We were kind of surprised about all the levels throughout the competition”, Cizeron said. “It makes me a bit sad, not just for us but for all of the other teams who showed up at this event, prepared and working so hard, and I see everybody so discouraged and sad after the results”.

After winning Skate Canada International, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished in silver medal position, just a couple of points away from gold. This result qualified them for the Grand Prix Final, which will be the sixth of their career.

They were particularly pleased with how their free dance on a reimagined version of their 2018/19 programme “Vincent” is evolving.

“I think the song Vincent really allows us to depict the lightness and the shade of the story”, Poirier shared. “We wanted to depict Vincent Van Gogh’s love of his own work and his art and how that brought him joy and inspiration. We can bring our own life experience too, as we have spent our entire lives essentially creating art as well and going through the ebbs and flows and the disappointments and the blesses that comes with making art”.

Like the French team, they couldn’t hide their disappointment with the scoring at the event, which also included a base value for Gilles’ twizzles in the rhythm dance.

“I think it is unfortunate that the top athletes in the world are getting level ones, it looks like we are almost junior skaters, no one should be getting bases and level ones at this calibre of skating”, Gilles said. “We put our souls and our hearts into this and to get a level one at this point is a little bit of a shame”.

“We love this sport, but I think our system is at a crossroads, and I think the viewership is also understanding that we are in that situation”, Gilles remarked. “We have lost that connection to who is watching and also the connection between who is controlling our fate, and I think that is where things need to change”.

“I hope that there is a way that we can move forward and truly be creative, because I think that is what the fans are wanting”, she added.

Emilia Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were visibly happy for being back on the podium after earning a silver medal at Cup of China. With this bronze, they secured their first qualification for the Grand Prix Final, which carries significant weight given the internal competition in the United States for the Olympic spots.

“There are only two teams who made it to the Finals from the USA, so that is something to be proud of”, Kolesnik said.

“There are many talented teams in the USA, we have a very deep ice dance field, with many deserving teams”, Zingas added. “At the beginning of the season, we decided that if we want to state our claim for a spot on the Olympic team, we need to work as hard as we ever worked, and we need to perform as best as we ever performed, and I am happy to say that we have had a good competitive season so far, and we are hoping to continue the momentum“.

Throughout this event, they showed focus and determination, focusing on the execution of their programmes to secure the results they wanted to achieve.

Their take on Romeo and Juliet in their free dance was recommended by their choreographer, Benoît Richaud.

“I think Prokofiev’s is a really special version of Romeo and Juliet, and it became clear to us that we wanted to portray more of the tragic side of Romeo and Juliet”, Zingas said. “There are a lot of couples who portray love and happiness and joy, which is part of the story, but ultimately it is a tragic story, and that is the direction we went in and I think it is a great vehicle for us”.

Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck finished just outside of the podium. After their skates at Cup of China, where they lost some precious points due to mistakes, they shared that they refined both of their routines to improve the overall flow, most notably by introducing one of their signature lifts in the rhythm dance and making slight music changes to their mesmerising free dance, which continues to enchant the audiences.

USA’s Maia and Alex Shibutani improved on their results from NHK Trophy, moving from sixth place there to fifth in Finland. They put a lot of work in after their first Grand Prix, showing improvements that suggest they took the feedback in from Japan. They shared that they were both pleased with the adjustments they made and felt more present on the ice.

Georgia’s Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin, who finished in sixth place, shared that they were expecting different results from this competition. Their added that their rhythm dance costumes were slightly changed to get their looks even closer to a 90s rock style.

Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen finished seventh, receiving a very warm reception from their local crowd. They felt particularly happy with how relaxed they were during their rhythm dance, which almost felt like a practice run-through.

Natálie Taschlerová and Filip Taschler, who finished in eighth place, saw their rhythm dance affected by a wrong version of their music being played, which made it difficult for them to align their elements to the music.

The last two teams competed at back-to-back Grand Prix events. Oona Brown and Gage Brown finished ninth, performing once again on their original free dance to music from “The Godfather”. Great Britain’s Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez closed the standings, completing the first Grand Prix events of their senior career, an opportunity their coach said they deserved. They felt they had a quick turnaround after finding out last minute that they would be competing in Finland but really enjoyed having this chance to showcase their programmes.

Grand Prix Final Qualifications

With all six Grand Prix events now completed, we have the confirmed list of teams that qualified for the Grand Prix Final that will take place in Nagoya, Japan, from December 4th to 7th:

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) – 30 points
Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (France) – 30 points
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (Great Britain) – 28 points
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (Canada) – 28 points
Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius (Lithuania) – 24 points
Emilia Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (USA) – 24 points

The alternates who will be ready in case of a withdrawal from any of the qualified teams are:

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha (Canada) – 24 points
Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri (Italy) – 22 points
Eugeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud (France) – 22 points