Demougeot & Le Mercier Mirror and Look Forward
By Matteo Morelli
Of their second 12 months as senior opponents, Loïcia Demougeot and Théo Le Mercier are a younger French group that’s already exhibiting a novel model on the ice. We met with them on the European Championships in Espoo, Finland, the place they shared how they really feel in regards to the present season and replicate on their transition from the junior to the senior subject.
Loïcia and Théo, this was your second European championships. How do you’re feeling after skating your programmes and securing a seventh place end on the occasion?
Théo Le Mercier (TL): we really feel fairly good, we did our new season greatest within the rhythm dance and we’re pleased. We didn’t do one of the best efficiency however we’re nonetheless pleased. A seventh at Euros is a extremely good end result for us.
Loïcia Demougeot (LD): We attempt to strategy the occasion with out an excessive amount of stress, exhibiting what we did in observe.
You’re each fairly younger: what age have been you whenever you began to skate?
TL: I used to be three once I put my skates on, I used to be with my father and my brother.
LD: And I began at 5 and a half years previous. Theo and I began skating collectively once I was fourteen and Theo was fifteen, so it has been just a few years now.
2015 was the 12 months you began skating collectively, along with your coaching location in Villard de Lans, France. Have you ever all the time been ice dancers?
TL: I did numerous sports activities, however on ice I’ve all the time completed ice dance.
LD: I additionally solely did ice dance, however with out a associate first. Theo is my first associate.
TL: She is my second!
We perceive you additionally do “ballet sur la glace” or “theatre on ice”, a self-discipline that’s most likely not very well-known to the broader audiences. Might you inform us one thing about it?
TL: We do theatre on ice with a bunch of fifteen-twenty individuals. It’s virtually as if we do ice dance in a bunch, we attempt to create a extremely particular and authentic ballet. There’s a Nations Cup annually, virtually an equal of the World Championships, though there are solely few international locations participating to it. You might say we’re world champions, however I want to say that we’re Nations Cup winners. It’s a actually good occasion: this 12 months it will be in Boston, in the identical ice rink the place we did Skate America.
LD: You are able to do no matter you need on this self-discipline: for instance, you’ll be able to go on the ground, do one thing between individuals. There usually are not so many guidelines. Should you fall it’s okay, you’ll be able to go on the ice! It’s numerous enjoyable to do it with different individuals, notably as a result of we do it with the individuals we practice with.
You probably did numerous competitions throughout your junior years, together with successful two silver medals at Junior Grand Prix and qualifying for the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Last. What would you say was one of the best second for you throughout these years?
LD: Not the final 12 months!
TL: Once we certified for the finals in Turin, I feel that was one of the best second. Undoubtedly not the final 12 months, due to Covid we did nothing. However the 12 months earlier than was the second we bought found by these watching ice skating.
You then bought virtually catapulted into your senior profession, and in your second 12 months as seniors you may have already collected two fourth locations at each Grand Prix occasions (Skate America and Grand Prix de France).
LD: We had an opportunity to start out our senior profession in a short time, we’re pleased about that. We simply hope to develop increasingly more throughout massive competitions and acquire good outcomes. We’re pleased we had an opportunity to do our first two Grand Prix this 12 months.
Excited about your model, you come throughout as fairly distinctive and with programmes that all the time attempt to carry one thing revolutionary on the ice.
TL: We all the time attempt to change our programmes and magnificence yearly. This 12 months, we went with Benoît Richaud, which is sweet for us as a result of he modified what we do and allowed us to carry one thing new to the ice and to enhance on issues we couldn’t do earlier than. The programme is working very well and we’re very pleased with that.
Have you ever bought any long run aims you might be working in direction of?
TL: We wish to be in the whole lot!
LD: We wish to go to the Olympic Video games. We simply wish to take it step-by-step and see what occurs.
Lastly, are there any ice dancers you take a look at and get inspiration from?
TL: After all Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, for sure. For me personally, Scott Moir was a mannequin, and likewise Nikita Katsalapov: I feel they’ve a mode much like mine and I wish to preserve working to change into nearly as good as them.