Home > Marie-Pierre & Nicolas

J: Why did you choose to skate as a couple ?
Marie-Pierre: Each of us started solo. But we've both found that as a couple we're able to express ourselves more freely and can perform at different levels.

J: What different levels?
Nicolas: Well as a couple, we're able to demonstrate the interaction that happens between two people - man/woman. In each program, we play different characters and the interactions between them - their seductions, their differences, etc.

J: Is it easier to train as two?
Nicolas: Yes, of course. We learn as much from each other as we do from our trainer. We learn to anticipate the other person - their reactions, their attitudes and their manner.....
Marie-Pierre: ....And when one is tired, the other can give a little push to encourage them and keep them going.

J: How long have you worked together?
Nicolas: We had a first try in 1995 but I was only 17 and my muscles hadn't developed enough at that stage and we really couldn't do a lot of the lifts. I continued with Sabrina Lefrancois and partnered her in the Winter Olympics in Nagano.
Marie-Pierre: We tried again at the start of summer 2000 and it went really well. We train in Montpellier (with Andrei Berezintsev last year and now with Sylvain Privé).

J: And your first results?
Nicolas: Three 'podiums' for our first three competitions (Master of Lyon, Golden Spin at Zagreb and the French National Championships).
Marie-Pierre: The adventure has only just begun...