In the just-concluded Ice Dance Free Dance Competition, China's Wang Shiyue Liu Xinyu ranked 12th in two rounds (with a total score of 184.42), and France's Papadakis/Cizeron (PC combination) won the gold medal in the event (with a total score of 226.98).
PC combination
Originating in the 1930s, this british ice project has no jumping movements compared to pair skating, does not allow the use of high lifts (positions above the shoulders), and therefore focuses more on dance steps, emphasizing the use of movements to express music.
Four years ago at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, after the first round of rhythmic dance competitions, the Chinese team ranked 22nd and did not have the opportunity to enter the next round of free dance competition. Four years later, at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese team ranked 12th in two rounds. This is China's best result in the Olympic arena, and to achieve this result, in addition to the hard training of athletes, it is also inseparable from the guidance of the coaching team.
The Montreal International Skating School, which is often mentioned in commentary during the competition, was half of the players in today's competition from this school, including the PC combination of the champion French team.
This is a holy place where ice dance masters gather, and the country calls it a "dumpling restaurant" because... There are too many people, and like dumplings, most of the world's famous ice dancers train here. In 2019, two groups of ice dance partners, Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu, Chen Hong/Sun Zhuoming, also went to the school for long-term training. Later, because of the epidemic, they could only return to China to take online classes.
These are the three head coaches of the school
Patrice Lauzon, one of the founders of "Dumpling House", who once came to China to teach ice dance for domestic coaches and athletes, emphasized: "Gliding technology is the foundation of ice dance, and everything is based on sliding. Most of the knees of Asian athletes are soft and elastic, which is very helpful for sliding. ”
The best height difference of ice dance is within 20cm, while the height difference of Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu is close to 30cm, which requires female partners to do more "stretching and rising" movements, while male partners maintain "bending and squatting". Changing the way they glide for years was painful, they always wrestled in the beginning, but after months of training, their gliding skills improved a lot.
In addition to technical improvement, dumpling house is also concerned about the physical and mental health of the trainees, Patrice Lauzon said: "We provide both psychological and physiological guidance, which is what we try to bring to our skaters to help them develop in all aspects of their lives." We can help every student become a better athlete and have a better life after sports, and they are amazing people. ”
It is this people-oriented teaching philosophy that trains students here like extended family members. And every coach is aimed at training students how to win the championship, which may be the secret of the school's students almost monopolizing the podium!
Athletes have limited careers after all, and the 27-year-old also faces the problem of retirement. The experience at school not only guides them in technique, but also teaches them how to find a life that suits them, and even if they don't train together in the future, they will accompany them in another way, even if they are not lovers.
Just as the free dance today means in its own costume: I am the mountain, and I can wrap you in my bosom; I am the water, and I will always be around you.