Yesterday, A & P won their first title. But, their program can be improved.
Céline NONY

MISSISSAUGA. - The only thing M would want to keep is the standing ovation that cheered the presentation of of her new FD and the first victory of the French couple at SC. She would be merely happy with the enthousiastic- but strangely polite- audience after seeing a quite well-skated program (as far as it is the beginning of the season).
" Everybody says that the program is better than last year's one ", she concludes. But we can have reservations.

Of course, it was normal seeing feverish( ?nervous) parts. As fa as, yesterday, the staff organisation strated with the OD music instead of the FD one. And, moreover, with the French and American Tour (after the consecration in Nice), M&G started training much later than their adversaries.
But, there are a couple of weeks before the Lalique and one month before the French Nationals, so they can work and improve their program.

And, by knowing their thirst for perfection, we won't have to worry about their capacity to improve. Actually, the restrictions will be on the conception of the variation of this opera-rock( ? rock-opera ?)that shows a night in Beethoven life : the night when the Germen geniuos wrote a breaking letter to the woman he loves because he knows he is becoming deaf and refused to see her going away. The music choice is excellent with a complete fluidity . But the end of the program, with the last lift, looks like not being in phase with the rest of the program.
Symphony n°9 ended with circular steps which volume, speed and concistance are missing when you compared it to the rest of the choregraphy.
"These sorts of critics will help us to improve", said G, who later explains that they were concentrated on technical details and that emotion would come later on. We have no doubt.

By the way, one thing is obvious, the sewer will have to make some changes. If M's costume, in white veil( ? ?), highlights her, G's one is breaking the line formed by the couple and the perception we had of the elements. Nevertheless, the idea is good : the black part reminds Beethoven classical genious, the white one-falling from the shoulder- shows the compositor ' s anxiety. But what only subsists from this noble intention is an impression of clumsiness whereas a little bit of sobriety would have been enough. Enough to reveal the subtility of the visual elements (like the reverse lift or the one in " tulip ") which have waken up the public yesterday (Was he sleepy ? ?).
Obviously, these commentaries are quibbling. But certain persons will quibble when M&G will have real adversaries, like for the World and European titles. Everybody is now looking for the least mistake of the French couple. The most attentive are the Italians, 2nd in the hierarchy and very ambitious, the Lithuanians, 3rd in the hierarchy and the skaters from Tarrassova's " stable ", B&K and Chait & Sakhnovski who, at the SC, were very close to the French couple technical notes. - C. N.

Translation courtesy of Sandra Perrier-Faucher