the reason television was invented tbh...
The Swiss documentary about Stephane has been uploaded! You can watch here
Its in French obviously, and the lovely pourtant is working on a translation, but for now enjoy watching Stephane working on his new programme, going to ballet lessons, and generally being the preshest thing ever.
EDIT: Everyone shower pourtant with love and affection...
Could you focus the spotlight only when I come back? At the end, to focus only on my hand. So it goes from the entire body to the hand.
(00:44)
- Is that all the sugar there is left?
- Yes
Right now we're getting ready for tonight's show. Eisgala Basel is only one night. We all know each other very well, we've all done galas together - it's not necessarily the same cast, but you more or less always find the same skaters in various galas all over the world.
There are great champions like Alexei Yagudin, the 2002 Olympic champion, and the Canadian Jeffrey Buttle. Unlike competitions where it's every man for himself, shows are a team effort - still with a little bit of rivalry, a competitive spirit that pushes us to be better.
(6 TICKETS FOR HIS FAMILY, ETC)
(02:32)
- At the end of it, I felt like "Crap, why couldn’t I just fall right from the start? It would have freed me and then I would have had nothing to lose, you know? I was in this situation where, the slightest mistake was fatal. You've got the sword pressing right there (touches between his eyes) and you can't move.
- You felt that more than usual?
- Yeah.
- And then?
- And then it was... 5 days locked up in my room, almost. Yeah, it was hard. I've still got the two suitcases from the Olympic Games in my basement, barely unpacked. I just took out the dirty laundry and all the rest is still in there. Maybe there's a medal hiding in there.
And I know what's causing the pain, it's a spin where I completely this way, and back.
- Okay. So when do you leave for Japan?
- I'm leaving for Russia on Monday. After Russia I'm going to Sweden. Then from Sweden I'm going to Japan. All of this within a week.
(04:10)
Steph: Sliding there.
Salome: Yeah. Something unexpected, with a break maybe.
- The sound is very subtle, so--
- Yes!
(Stéphane voice off) It’s hard to determine how I get the desire to start a new program. it tends to come after doing many shows where I've performed the same program.
Salome: Ah, missed it again!
Steph: It was just there (rewinds)
Salome and I make a really good combination. We meet each other halfway to create a new character, a new atmosphere. Each time we've found a choreography that's different than the previous one.
Stephane: I think during the last part with the chorus, it's a circular step and the final spin
Salome: (talks at the same time) --final spin, yes.
Steph: I think that’s it.
Salome: I've been choreographing for him since he was 11. That's nearly 14 years. Now we create the choreography together, before I used to do it, because when he was younger maybe he didn't have this vision yet, this ability to find his own moves. Now he's the one who sets the tone, and I follow. I try to accentuate what he wants to express, expand it.
(LET'S GO ON ZE ICE~)
(06:18)
- My old skates! They've been through a lot.
- But they're still brand new compared to mine!
(they talk about moves)
I absolutely wanted something jazzy, a little funky, so I listened to that Ray Charles CD on repeat and we ended up choosing "Let the good times rolls" because we wanted something that swings, that moves.
(some more choreo talk)
(07:52)
There's no story to follow, it's just about having 3 minutes of joy and good mood and saying 'Well here I am, I just want to dance'.
- Thanks for taking over! (lol little scream/gasp)
- Do we have enough time to do two axels then come to the side and go back for the spin? I'm not seeing it yet.
- Me neither.
- Between the two of us we can! If you do the axel and I - (laughs)
(more choreography talk)
(08:54)
I think we share the same feel for the music, which makes working together a pleasure because often we don't even have to explain anything.
(ring the bell ring the nothing, lol)
- Quality counts more, but it's good if it goes high too.
I've just entered this professional phase of skating, without the pressure of competitions. When you're building a competition program, there's very little freedom because you have to do your jumps, your spins, your footwork, and it takes up all the time.
(EPIC FALL)
- I LOVE IT WHEN I BUST MY ASS LIKE THAT
(11:40)
I've got stage fright when I'm waiting for my music to start, always. From the moment I'm backstage to the moment the music starts, there’s this feeling in my stomach which, actually, is quite necessary. It'd be weird to step onto the ice without feeling nervous. I always wonder if it's going to go well, if I have the strength to do it. But then, when the music starts, I completely forget I was nervous.
During shows, people just expect to be entertained. During competitions, they expect results, they hope for a medal. You go to the opera because it's a feast for the eyes and the ears - it's the same for a show.
You can tell people want to feel this moment, they want to get carried away -- I think to capture the audience's energy you shouldn't force anything, you should just be yourself and bare yourself to them - no put-ons, because that won't necessarily grab their attention.
Sometimes it's difficult to keep up with me, I'm a bit all over the world and I like every day to be different. I can't get used to having a daily routine. Being in the same place, doing exactly the same preparation and having the same schedule 360 days a year - that's unthinkable for me. I'd go completely insane.
(BALLET CLASS!)
Ballet is awful - you've got all these mirrors and you can see yourself, you want your lines to be smooth and your knee's not completely straight and your foot isn't pointing - it's depressing.
It's hard - I'd never taken any dance class before the age of 16, be it ballet or contemporary, so I started becoming aware of certain things very late - my feet, obviously with skating you can't really work on feet movement, so I've only had the opportunity to learn all of this very late.
I walked out of my first class with Leslie with more energy than I had going in. The way she pushes us to the limits makes me want to work even harder.
On the one hand, I think it would have been beautiful to have started dancing earlier and maybe have the choice between dance and skating. Obviously I didn't have that choice because I started dancing way too late, but I have to say that I really feel at home on the ice. It really is my stage, I grew up on the ice, I started when I was 7 and I've spent 17 years living on the ice every day, and that's where I can express myself.
- So what are we doing about Monday?
- I could take the train Monday morning, will you still be in Lausanne--
We're used to this, with Salome. Since she has her family and I'm always traveling, we try to find a way, a compromise between our schedules.
Steph - That's a bit crazy, no?
Salome - But I like crazy!
- The rink seems rather empty.
- There are a few people, but not many.
We're used to getting right into the mood as soon as we get to the ice rink - it's become automatic.
(hello everybody, ray charles' in town~)
- Then I remove the jacket, and I could play with it
- Yeah, mayb--
- Then I keep the jacket and I go...~
Salome and I have been working together for about 14 years. I think we've done 3 programs per season, so that's 52. That's a lot of work, and I think we never had a fight. It's crazy! Whereas with my coach -- we both have very strong personalities -- and with him it blew up quite a few times. We're really fond of each other and he's extremely important to me, but we've been in conflict a few times. There's always been positive relationship between Salome and me, and I'm really lucky to have her.
Salome: For the final I was thinking -- it would be nice to have the hat and the piano, but we won't have the hat, I think. Even with the jacket, we could (dances).
At one point he mention rainy days, I was thinking we could pull the jacket over the head (I LOVE THAT THEY ALWAYS SAY "WE" INSTEAD OF "I").
CURLY HAIRED GUY GOES CRAZY
Stephane: How to get distracted! FREE INTERPRETATION~ (LMAO)
(20:10)
I think some types of music aren't suited to an ice rink or the audience in it. It's very big and unlike a regular stage it isn't just from one side, it's 360 degrees so you have to take that into account, see if the impression of speed you have on the ice goes well with the music.
Salome: We still have to create the ending
Stephane: Yeah, the end is "too much whiskey". (twirls around like he's drunk, lol)
(22:09)
Salome: I think that's it.
Stephane: Yeah, I will see... because the axel -- I'll only have time for one anyway-
We work quite quickly with Salome. In two days we built the foundation of the program. Now there's still a lot of repeating to do to learn the routine. We might have to simplify or add a few things. A choreography needs air to develop. You have to let your body absorb all these new things so I won't go on tour with this program right now, it would be too soon. I need to work on it until it becomes automatic and you can just enjoy this moment when it's just you and the music in front of an audience that wants to see what you're sharing.
(23:18)
As soon as I think "I'm done with this program" I forget it quickly, so to do it again I have to watch a video, watch the choreography a few times and practice it. So doing an old program again does take a little while.
In Ne Me Quitte Pas Jacques Brel's lyrical intent is so obvious that every time I've skated on it there was no way I could make a mistake and I really love performing it. The idea of this program came to me after this period of my life when I was suffering a lot, when I felt like my body couldn't do it anymore. I didn't want to leave the ice, my stage, not for anything in the world. When I listened to Jacques Brel, that's the first thing that came to my mind.
What's driving me nowadays is a passion for skating without the pressure of competition and without limits. In a few years it'll have matured, and I will be able to let loose on all sorts of styles. I feel ready to take up the challenge to be innovative, and why not, cultivate this aspect in other skaters. I would love to see an evolution in skating and for young skaters, with the potential they have, to be able to grow and develop the way I did thanks to the people around me. And maybe it’s a new page for my own skating, too. .