“These words don’t carry any negative connotation, but they give such a playful mood to the finale of the dance.” Lopareva and Haguenauer about brining back “Oh, those Russians…” ending for the rhythm dance
Evgenia Lopareva, Geoffrey Brissaud and Romain Haguenauer about the choice of the song “Rasputin” for a rhythm dance.
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
The French duo of Evgenia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud performs a rhythm dance to songs by the group Boney M., including the track “Rasputin.” At the Warsaw Cup, the ending phrase “Oh, those Russians…” was replaced with “Oh, those dancers…” In a conversation with Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva, Lopareva explained this decision, Romain Haguenauer also commented on the choice of songs. Here’s a translation of their comments posted on Sports.
“Evgenia Lopareva: This season turned out to be quite hectic for us; we are literally moving from one competition to another. Right after the Grand Prix in France, we went to Bordeaux to train with our French coach, Roxane Petetin. From there, we went to Tallinn and Warsaw to participate in two consecutive Challenger Series events.
After our victory at the Tallinn Trophy, Roxane shared with us that some judges in private conversations had already hinted several times that we should consider a different final phrase in our rhythm dance. We thought that since such discussions had started, maybe we should indeed experiment with the ending.
This decision was made hastily and without careful consideration, literally on the way from Tallinn to Warsaw. We didn’t even have time to discuss it with the Montreal academy. We tried a different ending to the music and realized that it disrupts the original concept of the dance and the idea we had intended for the program.
After the performance in Warsaw, we had a discussion with the coaches from Montreal, and we decided to return to the original version of the music. Therefore, next week at the Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, we will perform to the musical composition that we have been using since the beginning of the season.”
Romain Haguenauer also explained the choice of the song “Rasputin” for the dance of Lopareva and Brisso.
“Romain Haguenauer: We just couldn’t decide what music to use for their rhythm dance. By that time, many great compositions had already been taken by other pairs.
Initially, we decided to go with songs by Brigitte Bardot. It would have been something very French, yet profound and original. However, we couldn’t find a song for the final part of the dance that had bright accents and drive.
So, we continued our search. Geoffrey suggested the track “YMCA,” but I was strictly against it – I couldn’t see them in that music. But in his list were songs by Boney M. – and then it hit me: “Rasputin”! It was a brilliant idea: Zhenya is Russian, and I see no reason to hide that.
Moreover, when I re-listened to the album, it turned out that right before “Rasputin” there is the track “Nightflight to Venus,” which fits perfectly with Lopareva and Brisso. Voilà, the rhythm dance came together entirely – with no patches and long searches.
Funny, but I absolutely didn’t remember that “Rasputin” ends with the phrase, Oh, those Russians… And here I am, listening to the track to the end, hear these words and realize: this is it. We must take this phrase; it’s really cool! Think about it: these words don’t carry any negative connotation, but they give such a playful mood to the finale of the dance.
We discussed with the skaters whether it would sound offensive? But I don’t see reasons why it should be perceived that way. It’s just a song. Yes, Russia is not currently in the competitions – for understandable political reasons, but there’s no Russophobia.
We didn’t choose this phrase to offend anyone. I generally don’t understand what’s offensive about it? This song is nearly 50 years old! So, it’s a matter of perception: if one wants to be offended, they can be offended by anything. By the way, I thought the dance was very well received in Russia.
I admit, not all our coaches immediately agreed with my idea to keep this phrase. But I was confident and didn’t listen to any objections, ha-ha.
But, of course, I asked Zhenya if she – as a Russian – felt comfortable skating to this track? If anyone could say “no,” it would only be her. But Zhenya responded that she really liked the idea of taking this track – it allows you to light up the ice.”
Related topics: Evgenia Lopareva, Romaine Haguenauer
Leave a Reply