French Nationals Annecy 2024 - Interview with Natacha Lagouge and Arnaud Caffa : Happy people !

With a second place at the Bavarian Open and the Santa Claus Cup, and an 8th place at the Grand Prix de France where they had the luxury of beating the Villardiens Dupayage/Nabais by almost 9 points, Natacha and Arnaud have started the season with a bang. I meet them as they have just finished their first training session for the French Championships at the Jean Régis ice rink in Annecy.

Patinage Magazine: You have already participated in several international competitions this season, what is your take on this?

Natacha Lagouge: We are very happy! We have been very consistent, both in competition and during training. It is something that we feed off and which reinforces our idea that our direction of work is the right one.

P.M.: Do you train full-time in Finland?

Arnaud Caffa: Mainly during the high part of the season, from around July to February depending when the season ends. Then in the spring, we travel and discover!

P.M.: You have two coaches, Maurizio Margaglio and Neil Brown, who have both been international dancers. Have you ever watched their past programs?

Arnaud: Yes, of course. I'm thinking of the iconic video of Maurizio and Barbara [Fusar-Poli] at the Turin Olympics in 2006! (laughs). I watched Neil's programs first, because we started working with him before working with Maurizio.

Natacha: We also get direct feedback from training, we can easily project ourselves into what they ask us to do.

P.M.: How did you choose your musics this year? [Abba for rhythm dance and for the free: How Are You No Really by Jack Isaac / The Ball by Asaf Avidan / Si C’était le Dernier by Diam’s]

Arnaud: The choice was very quick for the rhythm dance. We wanted something that looked like us as much as possible, and with which we could have fun. Based on our own tastes, we immediately went for music from the 70s. And we also very quickly moved towards Abba. It’s festive, and it brings everyone together even after fifty years.

Natacha: For the free dance, the field was broader. It was complicated to go in a single direction, because we had several ideas, very different from each other. Every April, we organize our Breton “escape” with Laurie May, our choreographer. With her, we don’t just work on skating, we explore multiple artistic directions.

Arnaud: It’s the spring discovery period, a rebirth!

Natacha: This year, we told her that we weren’t sure of anything, except that we had to put the program together in one week. We tried choreographic creations on the floor to various and varied music (laughs). At the end of the week, our choice was made, three pieces of music that go very well together to create a program that we like.

Arnaud: When we worked with Laurie, we realized that we had no particular expectations in terms of score and result. The closer the program was to who we are, the better it would be. That’s why this season, our programs look some much like us. We like to enjoy the creative process. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but we wanted to love what we were doing, to have fun and to explore. At the end of said week, as Natacha said, the pieces fell into place all by themselves.

P.M.: Since you've been skating together, I've noticed something special about you: your smile, your joy of skating. It's almost your trademark. Is it in your nature to be happy? (laughs)

Arnaud: Yes, I think there's a part of nature, we're basically smiling and happy people. To be honest, there's also a real need to go through that, to find a balance in moments that aren't necessarily joyful. Working for our own happiness through situations that aren't always optimal has really given us tools and even weapons to search inside ourselves for what really makes us happy, especially on the ice and during competitions. Now we always smile, naturally, without forcing ourselves, because what we experience is our personal choice. We have more pleasure in living in the present moment than in the search for success.

Natacha: We have been able to acquire many different means to know ourselves, individually, sportingly, artistically, which now allows us to make the choices that suit us best. We see this as a form of freedom.

Arnaud: We decided to be happy before the scores, not after!

P.M.: I have watched you a lot in the past and it seemed to me that you amental preparation is of great importance for you. Do you have a miracle cure? (laughs)

Arnaud: No, there is no miracle cure. But there is work, openings, encounters. We started working with Laurie May in 2020 [Laurie May (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) is an artistic coach, choreographer and movement specialist]. She opened the doors to self-knowledge for us. We started with personal development, each on our own. Then we included this approach in our work as ice dancers. This work has become our “mental preparation”, without necessarily using those words. The concept is broader than that. We see things through a spirit of deep liberation. We are in an extremely codified system, based on watching and judgment by others. Regardless of the result, we prefer to free ourselves from the validation provided by a jury or the public. We prefer to prioritize our freedom. It has been pretty successful for us so far, including beyond the sport.

P.M.: We are at the French championships, so we will have to talk a little about competition anyway. (laughs) Do you have specific objectives or, true to your approach, will you take what comes?

Natacha: We did not have any points or ranking objectives at the beginning of the season. That has not really changed. Our goal is really to show programs that suit us, that show our different sides, that convey a message, but also consistent programs.

Arnaud: Today, for us, competition is a platform on which to put who we are, as well as our work.

Natacha: Many competitors need objectives to move forward. We need to take another path. This season confirms to us that, without being focused on the scores, we have managed to move forward.

Arnaud: We are aware that skating will only be a part of our life. In ten years, we might be doing something completely different.

Natacha: We always think about what we can learn from our experiences, and how we can pass them on later, in whatever field we decide to choose.

Arnaud: Good scores, good results, we're take them of course! (laughs) But it's a bonus gleaned along the way, not the final destination.

Interview by Kate Royan