Red and Gold
Great hair...
Amazing lifts...
and passion on ice...
Must be Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat!
Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat were a French ice dance team that together won the 2002 Olympic gold medal, the 1998 Olympic bronze medal, the 2000 World Championsips, the 2000 and 2002 European Championships, and the French national championships six times.
Their signature moves were several lifts in which SHE lifted HIM off the ice!
Marina was originally from Russia but she became a French citizen after pairing up with Gwendal in 1993. Her original partner had fallen in love with another skater and left to skate with her. Marina wrote letters to two ice dancers, Gwendal Peizerat of France and Victor Kraatz of Canada, hoping to partner with them. Her letter to Kraatz was lost in the mail, but Gwendal agreed to become her partner.
It was difficult at first - Marina spoke no French and Gwendal spoke no Russian, so they initially had to communicate in somewhat broken English. Marina moved in with Gwendal's parents for several years to help her learn French more quickly, and received expedited citizenship so the two could compete together. They also had to overcome differences in skating styles. Different countries have different emphases and even different techniques in skating in some cases, so it took a few years for them to develop a complementary style that blended both their talents.
They finally burst into ice dancing stardom during the 1997-1998 season, with their amazing free dance set to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. The passion and artistry of that program brought me back to ice dancing after several years of boycottng it due to being sick of Grishuk and Platov winning every single competition they entered (literally). Ice dance is my favorite discipline, so I kind of owe Marina and Gwendal an eternal debt of gratitude for that. :)
1997-1998 Season
Original Dance - Snatch and Grab It
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEiQmRoouSk
Free Dance - Romeo and Juliet
The '98 Olympics had one of the best ice dance competitions ever, but there ended up being some judging controversy over Anissina and Peizerat's bronze medal. Canadians Shae Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz received fourth place (also with an amazing program - check out their awesome hydroblading!) amid accusations of vote fixing by some of the European judges. After a similar scandal erupted four years later (this time between Russians Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze and Canadians Sale and Pelletier in pairs), the ISU switched to the new judging system.
Exhibition - Time To Say Goodbye:
Grishuk and Platov retired after the '98 Olympics, but their countrymen Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov (the silver medalists) stuck around for a few more years. Marina and Gwendal came second to them at the '98 and '99 World Championships.
1998-1999 Season
Original Dance - My Sweet and Tender Beast
1998-1999 Free Dance - The Man in the Iron Mask
1999-2000 Season
In 2000, they finally won the European and World Championships with their great Carmina Burana free dance, which was choreographed by Christopher Dean of the legendary ice dance team Torvill & Dean.
Original Dance - Black Machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEX7h_3fQ0Y
Free Dance - Carmina Burana
Exhibition - Danse Mon Esmeralda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQO-od6NcYI
2000-2001 Season
They lost their titles in 2001 to Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio.
Free Dance - Beethoven's Last Night
2001-2002 Season
But in 2002, they gained back not only their European title but also an Olympic gold medal with their brilliant flamenco original dance and passionate free dance.
Original Dance - Flamenco
To prepare for this original dance, they worked with dancers and choreographers from the National Ballet of Spain to develop authentic choreography. IMNSHO, it is one of the greatest original dances ever performed.
Olympic performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPxWm31rApQ
Free Dance - Libertas
Their free dance incorporated clips from Martin Luther King Jr's speeches.
Exhibition - Suzanna (cute!)
Other Programs
Star Wars!
Yellow Submarine!
Personal Lives
They retired after the Olympics and both have since worked as choreographers. Marina appeared in an episode of Be Good Johnny Weir when he went to her for help with "Child of Nazareth" and "King of Chess."
Marina married a Russian actor named Nikita Djigurda after they met on a celebrity ice dancing show. They have two children and live in Moscow.
Gwendal, who was studying at the École de management de Lyon during many of their competitive years, was elected regional councillor on the list of the Socialist Party in the Rhone Alpes region in 2010 and was appointed Councillor Delegate in charge of sports.
Amazing lifts...
and passion on ice...
Must be Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat!
Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat were a French ice dance team that together won the 2002 Olympic gold medal, the 1998 Olympic bronze medal, the 2000 World Championsips, the 2000 and 2002 European Championships, and the French national championships six times.
Their signature moves were several lifts in which SHE lifted HIM off the ice!
Marina was originally from Russia but she became a French citizen after pairing up with Gwendal in 1993. Her original partner had fallen in love with another skater and left to skate with her. Marina wrote letters to two ice dancers, Gwendal Peizerat of France and Victor Kraatz of Canada, hoping to partner with them. Her letter to Kraatz was lost in the mail, but Gwendal agreed to become her partner.
It was difficult at first - Marina spoke no French and Gwendal spoke no Russian, so they initially had to communicate in somewhat broken English. Marina moved in with Gwendal's parents for several years to help her learn French more quickly, and received expedited citizenship so the two could compete together. They also had to overcome differences in skating styles. Different countries have different emphases and even different techniques in skating in some cases, so it took a few years for them to develop a complementary style that blended both their talents.
They finally burst into ice dancing stardom during the 1997-1998 season, with their amazing free dance set to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. The passion and artistry of that program brought me back to ice dancing after several years of boycottng it due to being sick of Grishuk and Platov winning every single competition they entered (literally). Ice dance is my favorite discipline, so I kind of owe Marina and Gwendal an eternal debt of gratitude for that. :)
1997-1998 Season
Original Dance - Snatch and Grab It
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEiQmRoouSk
Free Dance - Romeo and Juliet
Click to viewThe '98 Olympics had one of the best ice dance competitions ever, but there ended up being some judging controversy over Anissina and Peizerat's bronze medal. Canadians Shae Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz received fourth place (also with an amazing program - check out their awesome hydroblading!) amid accusations of vote fixing by some of the European judges. After a similar scandal erupted four years later (this time between Russians Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze and Canadians Sale and Pelletier in pairs), the ISU switched to the new judging system.
Exhibition - Time To Say Goodbye:
Grishuk and Platov retired after the '98 Olympics, but their countrymen Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov (the silver medalists) stuck around for a few more years. Marina and Gwendal came second to them at the '98 and '99 World Championships.
1998-1999 Season
Original Dance - My Sweet and Tender Beast
1998-1999 Free Dance - The Man in the Iron Mask
1999-2000 Season
In 2000, they finally won the European and World Championships with their great Carmina Burana free dance, which was choreographed by Christopher Dean of the legendary ice dance team Torvill & Dean.
Original Dance - Black Machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEX7h_3fQ0Y
Free Dance - Carmina Burana
Exhibition - Danse Mon Esmeralda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQO-od6NcYI
2000-2001 Season
They lost their titles in 2001 to Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio.
Free Dance - Beethoven's Last Night
2001-2002 Season
But in 2002, they gained back not only their European title but also an Olympic gold medal with their brilliant flamenco original dance and passionate free dance.
Original Dance - Flamenco
To prepare for this original dance, they worked with dancers and choreographers from the National Ballet of Spain to develop authentic choreography. IMNSHO, it is one of the greatest original dances ever performed.
Olympic performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPxWm31rApQ
Free Dance - Libertas
Their free dance incorporated clips from Martin Luther King Jr's speeches.
Exhibition - Suzanna (cute!)
Other Programs
Star Wars!
Yellow Submarine!
Personal Lives
They retired after the Olympics and both have since worked as choreographers. Marina appeared in an episode of Be Good Johnny Weir when he went to her for help with "Child of Nazareth" and "King of Chess."
Marina married a Russian actor named Nikita Djigurda after they met on a celebrity ice dancing show. They have two children and live in Moscow.
Gwendal, who was studying at the École de management de Lyon during many of their competitive years, was elected regional councillor on the list of the Socialist Party in the Rhone Alpes region in 2010 and was appointed Councillor Delegate in charge of sports.