Interview with Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud

Angers, Grand Prix de France, November 1, 2024.

When I meet them, at the end of the press conference following the rhythm dance, no one suspects what will happen the next day. (They will win). Geoffrey looks at the stage from which he has just come down.

“Last year, we were sitting on the left, the bronze medal spot. This year, we are on the right of Charlène and Marco. Next year, we have to be in the middle!” He won’t have to wait that long!

Patinage Magazine: After your bronze medal at Skate Canada last weekend, did you come here to qualify for the Final? (I don’t think I’m right!)

Evgeniia: We’ll see. The Final is in Grenoble, that would be great.

Geoffrey: Our scores are still a bit low… And qualification doesn’t depend only on us. We got 1 point of deduction for time violation even though we didn’t change anything in the program, and we weren’t penalized last week. It’s a bit weird. The Canadian and French timers must be different…

P.M.: It’s the time difference!

Evgeniia (who bursts out laughing): Time goes by faster in France, in Canada, it’s cooler!

Geoffrey: It’s a bit infuriating though. We skated well in Halifax, we skated better here, we could have reached 80 points. And bam…

P.M.: Marco [Fabbri] just said that for Charlène and him, the choice of rhythmic dance had been complicated because of the three decades covered by the imposed theme. Did you encounter the same difficulties?

Geoffrey: Yes, it was complicated. Finding something that fits in but doesn't make us lose our personality was really not easy. We are quite versatile, we were able to do classics as well as Mylene Farmer. We had the idea for Boney M. from the start, but Romain [Haguenauer] wasn't keen. After exploring other avenues, we came back to Boney M., but in an offbeat version. We told ourselves that we could afford it. We are no longer beginners. People recognize Boney M., or not (laughs) but these are not the original versions played on the radio. The French trademark is to look for things that are a bit different from the big themes of ice dancing. And then "Rasputin" is a wink to Evgeniia's native country. Ra ra Rasputin! (laughs)

P.M.: And the free dance?

Evgeniia: Guillaume suggested it to us. He loves fashion, haute couture and he discovered BFRND while watching Balenciaga shows.

Geoffrey: After the World Championships, we told him that we didn’t want to go back to classical music. Our last exhibition program was a real hit. We said to ourselves: why not take something like that, something truly unique? Guillaume liked the idea. Our free dance follows the rules of ice dance, but it’s also very fun and it has a “party” atmosphere.

P.M.: We’re going to talk about you as individuals now. Evgeniia, in your opinion, what is Geoffrey’s greatest quality?

Evgeniia: (She doesn’t hesitate and answers immediately) He’s a workaholic. He never stops.

P.M.: Geoffrey, Evgeniia’s greatest quality?

Geoffrey: Oh but she has many, it’s hard to choose. I’ll say that she’s always hyper-attentive to details. Not only on the ice or in her professional life. She is meticulous, she strives to do things as well as possible.

P.M.: Her biggest flaw?

Geoffrey: She grumbles… (laughs) No, she is sometimes a little “locked” inside herself, too reserved. She does not express what she feels.

P.M.: Evgeniaa, Geoffrey’s biggest flaw?

Evgeniia: It is a flaw and at the same time it is positive: he is… (she searches for the word in French and switches to English) Emotional.

P.M.: Sensitive, so…

Evgeniia: Yes, that’s it. He feels things intensely. Me too, but expressing them is not in my genes.

P.M.: You are very complementary in fact!

Evgeniia: Yes, absolutely. It is better not to be too similar, things are more interesting this way.

Geoffrey: We also have common points and tastes otherwise we wouldn’t be able to skate together! But it’s true that we have different personalities and that’s generally positive.

P.M.: Generally? (laughs)

Geoffrey: I’m not going to tell you that we never argue, but it doesn’t last long and it’s never very serious.

Evgeniia: What’s serious is that I’m always right and sometimes he doesn’t agree! (laughs)

P.M.: Good luck for tomorrow anyway! And we’re keeping our fingers crossed! (Obviously, it worked!)

Interviewer: Kate Royan

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