This interview transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity by Evie (@doubleflutz)
Clara (@daejangie): I'm here with Shiyue and Xinyu - team Wang/Liu of China. This is your second season at Gadbois-
Shiyue and Xinyu: Yes.
How have you adjusted to life in Canada? Is it different? Does it feel like home yet?
Shiyue: Actually, the first year was hard for us because we needed to learn almost everything from new. So we needed to learn so many things. But this year we feel like it's almost like a home, so this year is easier for us.
When you say "everything new," is that about your skating as well?
Shiyue: The skating, life-
Xinyu: New coach, new team, new life.
Shiyue: Everything! [Laughs]
Shiyue and Xinyu in the kiss and cry with coach Romain Haguenauer after their Free Dance (Photo: Clara)
What do you miss most about home?
Shiyue: Food!
Food? [Laughs]
Shiyue: Family, food - Chinese food!
Xinyu: But basically in Montreal they have a lot of Chinese restaurants. It's good!
Yeah, there's a lot of choices! So there are so many top teams at Gadbois [Shiyue and Xinyu: Yeah] what's it like all training together?
Shiyue: When we're training together or in the same session, we skate with them and we learn so many things, like how to skate like them. We really love to watch them skate. Every time they [skate] with music, doing some whole programs, we just stay [still] and go "I don't want to skate, I want to watch!" And every time [Xinyu] will say like "Oh my god, so good!"
Xinyu: "So good!" [Laughs]
Shiyue: It's like that, yeah. And the coach says "You can do that!" and [then we go] "No, it's okay!" It's like that.
What have they made you focus on in your skating at Gadbois? Is there anything, in particular, they've said that you need to work on?
Shiyue: It's more focused on the skating. Before we always thought so many things, like "We want the levels, and we want speed" - not really step by step. So the coaches and the team they teach us step by step.
Xinyu: And really to enjoy it. Enjoy your program.
Shiyue: Yeah, enjoy your program, focus yourself and don't think about the whole program. Focus step by step.
And your TES was really high this time. It's going up so it's working?
Shiyue and Xinyu: Yeah!
Shiyue and Xinyu performing their “Chaplin” Rhythm Dance (Photo: Clara)
And it looked like you were having fun! So that was the next thing that I wanted to ask about, this was such a fun Rhythm Dance. How did you choose "Chaplin?" Were there any other options or did you know it was going to be "Chaplin" from the start?
Shiyue: This season we tried to listen to so many music options but it wasn't really-
Xinyu: It didn't feel good.
Shiyue: And after, Marie-France [Dubreuil], she listened to some music with us.
Xinyu: She had some ideas.
Shiyue: She said "Oh, I have some ideas. Maybe you can do Charlie Chaplin and you can wear exactly the same costumes. That would be fun!" But in the beginning, [Xinyu] didn't really like the funny style.
Xinyu: Yeah, I don't like the funny style. Before in these 12 years that we've skated together, we've never skated in a funny style.
Shiyue: Yeah, because he likes cool [styles].
[All laugh]
Xinyu: Yeah! But after this program, I feel like it's really good.
Shiyue: We tried something off-ice, because we have a dance teacher, and she gave us some really simple [moves] beginning with the music and [Xinyu] felt "Hmm, feels good!"
Xinyu: "It's really good!"
Shiyue: "It's not bad!" And we talked to Marie-France and she said, "Okay, let's do it!"
So now you can do cool and silly!
Shiyue and Xinyu: Yes! [All laugh]
And what about the costumes? Usually, ladies [costumes] in Ice Dance are more feminine, flowy.
Xinyu: The music, at the very beginning, you can listen to it say it's a [Charlie Chaplin] lookalike contest. So Marie-France said, "Maybe there should be two Chaplin's."
Shiyue: It's like a competition. The two Chaplin's - "You are Chaplin and you are Chaplin too."
Does it make the lifts easier because there's no dress?
Xinyu: Yeah, yeah, yeah! Much easier! [Laughs]
That's good! And your [Free Dance] is "Black Swan." How did you choose that?
Shiyue: At the very beginning, it wasn't this [program]. It was really slow and beautiful music. We already had a whole program-
Xinyu: We'd been training it for one month.
Shiyue: We practiced it for one month and still thought that it was too beautiful for us. And Marie-France said, "Yes, it's too beautiful. It's not your style. Your style is really sharp."
Xinyu: Sharp or powerful, yeah.
Shiyue: She said, "Maybe we should try the other option? [Xinyu: The black one!] Maybe more dark?" and we said "Like what? Like Black Swan?" Xinyu liked "Black Swan."
It's cool!
Xinyu: Yeah! It's really cool!
Shiyue: And I didn't answer and he said "Yes, okay! Let's do this!" [Laughs] And I said "Okay, yeah!" and we changed programs.
And now you're okay with it?
Shiyue: Yes, I really like "Black Swan" because we watched the movie and the music was really good. But you know, the other really good dancers, they've already skated to it at the Olympics. It's a really popular program, so we should do something different and more "us."
Shiyue and Xinyu performing their “Black Swan” Free Dance in practice (Photo: Clara)
Lovely. And you got three new personal bests at Nebelhorn last time?
Shiyue: Yes.
For the Short, Free and overall? That was amazing, how did that feel? Were you expecting it?
Shiyue: The last competition for us was a really good beginning because the programs felt good.
Xinyu: And everybody really liked our programs.
Shiyue: And we liked both programs. We felt that it was really good.
And next you're skating at Cup of China?
Shiyue and Xinyu: Yes.
Which we didn't have last year - are you excited for it to be back at home?
Shiyue: Yes!
Xinyu: Yeah, of course!
Shiyue: Yeah, we can go home and this year Cup of China is in a very different city. It's a very new city, Chongqing. We've never been there so it's exciting.
Thank you both so much for talking with us, and good luck!
Shiyue: Thank you!
Xinyu: Thank you so much!