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Joe O'Connor: The French sizzle and anglos fizzle on Battle of the Blades
| Source: |
National Post |
| Date: |
October 28, 2009 |
| Author: |
Joe O'Connor |
It is The Look: a riveting look between two lovers that could melt
icebergs and move mountains. It is enchanting, and full of lust. And
it is entirely an act.
It may well be an innate French-Canadian act that Stephane Richer, a
French-Canadian hockey player, and Marie-France Dubreuil -- his
French-Canadian skating partner -- have successfully employed on CBC
network television to put themselves among the final four pairings on
Battle of the Blades.
"Maybe it is a little bit with the Latin roots, and also with the
French," says Ms. Dubreuil, explaining the couple's ability to
simulate passion in front of a panel of judges, and a live audience,
when both she and Mr. Richer are married to other people. "I mean, the
European French are known to be so dramatic, so over the top with
their emotions.
"And I lived in France for six years, so I know what I am talking
about. We have a little bit of that in us. Just look at the Quebec
singers, like Celine Dion and others. It is all about
passion."
Mr. Richer is a two-time Stanley Cup winner with puppy dog eyes and
the heart of a poet. He likes country music, for its tales of
heartbreak and woe. He also cries in movies, and is not afraid to say
so.
"Some guys, they say they never cry, but I like everything about
sadness," Mr. Richer says. "[The French] have the passion."
And the English, it appears, do not. At least not when it comes to
being a former NHL player who is trying his luck at figure skating on
a reality show. Eight couples were in the running when Battle of the
Blades premiered in September. The female half of each pair was an
accomplished skater. Ms. Dubreuil, for example, is a two-time world
champion silver medalist in ice dancing. The men, meanwhile, were
retired NHL players.
Four couples have been eliminated so far, and the male component in
each failed partnership -- Glenn Anderson, Bob Probert, Ken Daneyko
and Ron Duguay -- was an English Canadian.
Mr. Richer, however, remains. As does Claude Lemieux, another
Quebecer, who has been exchanging melting looks with his Ontario-born
partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne.
(The surviving anglophone men are Craig Simpson, with Jamie Sale, and
Tie Domi with Christine Hough-Sweeney.)
Is it just a coincidence that two of the four men left standing are
French, when four anglophones have already fallen? Or could it be
something more? Something cultural? And could passion, real or faked,
be rooted in a province and an innate part of every red-blooded hockey
player who hails from Quebec and later attempts to become a figure
skater?
Sandra Bezec is one of the show's judges and a legend in the world of
figure skating choreography. Her list of past clients includes
four-time world champion Kurt Browning. Ms. Bezec is not convinced
that a sample consisting of eight former hockey players could lead to
some greater truths about French and English culture.
"There are lots of anglo guys who wear their hearts on their sleeves,
and Kurt Browning is one of them," she says. "Kurt is a good Alberta
boy. You always know what he is thinking and feeling. But, having said
that, there is something to French romanticism, isn't there? In art,
in literature, it is part of their culture. It is in their
blood."
Mr. Lemieux might not get all weepy when watching movies, like
Mr. Richer does, but he loves to sing. He sang to his bride on their
wedding day and he used to sing with his sister, Carole, a teen pop
sensation in Quebec, back when they were kids.
"I grew up in a musical environment," he says. "I love to sing. I sang
with my sister, and whenever there is a microphone at a party I jump
up and sing. But I think it helps in this competition to be with the
right partner. And we both have partners who make us look
good."
Mr. Richer is already getting nervous about his next performance on
Sunday night. The music he and Ms. Dubreuil will skate to demands a
jazzier, jumpier, more playful routine than their previous efforts,
the ones featuring the lustful looks that could melt an
iceberg.
Mr. Richer is a big man, and says his body is not built for fancy
footwork. But then, he is also from Quebec. And he does have puppy dog
eyes and he will cry in movies and in figure skating, the judges do
award marks for artistic impression.
"I can't hide anything," Mr. Richer says, tugging on his face. "Even
my wife, she can't believe how sensual I can be."
Will French sensuality carry the day? Could The Look, and the romantic
culture that lies behind it, be enough to propel Mr. Richer and the
raven-haired Ms. Dubreuil through to the end?
Ms. Bezec cannot say, although she does concede that, for a figure
skater, grasping the emotional component of a performance is a
monumental task. And Mr. Richer and Mr. Lemieux, from the province of
Quebec, have made it look easy.
"The French are the French," says Ms. Bezec. "They are lovers."
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