Compulsory Dance – 22nd of January


By Helga Dobor, Titanilla Bőd
Photos © Helga Dobor

Kamila Hájková – David Vincour (CZE)

What did it feel like to open the competition?

David Vincour: We are used to skating first but of course, we were a bit nervous, because we were the very first competitors on the ice. But we are satisfied - we had a good compulsory dance.

What do you expect from this competition?

Kamila Hájková : We want to gain new experiences. We are having fun here; we are looking forward to hearing the crowd and how they will react to our original program, which will be a traditional Czech folk song.

Haven‘t you thought about something else?

David Vincour : No, we were sure that none of the skaters from other countries would skate to a Czech song, and we were right.

Kamila Hájková : And we wanted to show the Czech folk songs to the people, because in our country this music is very popular. We wanted to show something typical for the Czech Republic.

This year’s original dance (folk dance) offers a much wider possibility than the Tango last year...

David Vincour : Yes, it is much better for the spectators, but also for us, because we don’t have to listen to all those tangos at the practices.

And what about the compulsory dance – the Yankee polka?

Kamila Hájková : It has one disadvantage – it’s fast. On the other hand it is very cheerful, so we like it.

What are your goals at this Europeans?

David Vincour : To skate well. The rest depends on the judges...

 

Christina Beier – William Beier (GER)

How do you like this dance? Are you satisfied with your points?

William Beier: The Yankee Polka is not exactly our favourite dance, but the dances are drawn and we of course have to take what we get. Our goal was to skate well and present ourselves well. Our points weren’t so high.

 

Natalie Pechalat – Fabian Bourzat (FRA)

 

How did you like your first dance, the compulsory?

Fabian Bourzat: We didn’t do so badly today, we had good edges, good flow, we are in good shape - everything was all right.

You have just recovered from an injury.

Fabian Bourzat: Yes, I had knee surgery in December and was back on the ice in January. I still feel a little pain, but it’s not like it was in September or October, so it’s not a problem. We are here to compete, everything is fine.

So you have recovered from the injury?

Fabian Bourzat: I had the surgery right after the GP Final, and it was successful. I’m not in pain anymore. We feel ready to compete.

Was there enough time to get ready for Europeans?

Fabian Bourzat: Yes. It was only one week, but we did huge work at the beginning of the season in August.

What are your goals here?

Fabian Bourzat: To get on the podium – why not? This would be the best for us!

 

Federica Faiella – Massimo Scali (ITA)

What do you expect from the competition?

Massimo Scali: Of course, at these Europeans we would like to get a medal. We will fight! Now we are satisfied because we saw that we will be close to the podium. We are one of the four couples who will be on or next to the podium. We had a good start today and we skated well, and everything will be ok.

 

Sinead Kerr - John Kerr (GBR)

What do you think of your compulsory dance?

John Kerr : We actually did it last week at our National Championships for the first time this season. This was done to give us some practice. So it was good to do that and I think it felt pretty comfortable tonight. It went ok. We would have liked a higher placement obviously. There are two more dances to go, and we just have to keep fighting and hope that we can pull up a few spots. If we can keep the top five from last year that would be great.

 

Isabelle Delobel – Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA)

What do you think of your actual placement?

Isabelle Delobel: We know very well that the competition is not over yet, but it was a very good start for us today.

 

Krisztina Barta – Ádám Tóth (HUN)

It’s your first senior world competition, how do you feel about it?

Krisztina Barta : It’s a very good feeling… (long silence) I can’t find the words, I’m just so happy that I can be here.

Are you satisfied with this result?

Krisztina Barta : In the morning practice we skated better. During the performance I was a bit nervous and we didn’t move so well together. But I’m happy to be here and we hope the original dance will be better.

What is your goal here?

Krisztina Barta: I hope very much that we’ll be in the top 24, or perhaps even higher. But of course to reach that we have to skate very well.

 

 


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