'We don't want to do the same thing'
When Canadian ice dancers Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha hit the competition ice next month, they'll give audiences a look at two very different sides of their skating
Hello darkness, my old friend …
If you’re any way familiar with the classic Paul Simon-authored hit “The Sound of Silence,” those five words that open the song should resonate with you in a somewhat haunting way. Especially if you’ve ever heard the version recorded back in 2015 by the American metal band Disturbed, you know of what I speak. If you’re like me, it can give you the chills.
And if you’re a skating fan, you might also think this … “what a powerful piece of music to accompany, say, a short program.” For those who follow Canadian skating with some level of interest (it’s why you’re reading this, right?), you might recall the talented Elladj Balde using this very piece of music for what would be his final short program at a national championships. He brought down the house at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Centre in Vancouver in 2018 with that exhilarating skate. Brought some people in the audience that night to tears. Hell, he brought himself to tears. Powerful stuff, indeed (other skaters have elicited that same emotion in the past as well).
So yeah, this guy felt a certain jolt inside when he learned that Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lajoie will be using that same musical accompaniment for their free dance this season. It’s an interesting departure for the, shall we say, softer choices the duo has made over the past few seasons. But it was done with intent, with the idea of showing another side of their skating. At least that’s how they described the program’s genesis.
“We wanted to do it, and I didn’t want to lose time for the choreography,” the 25-year-old Lagha said in explaining the reasons behind this musical choice. “Marjorie liked it, Romain (Haguenauer, their choreographer) liked it … at the beginning I was like, ‘okay, fine, but I don’t know.’ But now I really like it.”
Said Lajoie: “It’s really cool, there’s a good storyline and it’s nice that someone is singing also. Last season, we did classical music with no vocals. So we wanted to make a little change, but not too drastic. We think it’s a good mix of our style and a bit of new.”
Lagha concurred, adding “That’s true, actually. We went down in the intensity the last two years. It wasn’t really powerful type skating, it was kind of soft from the beginning to the end. We have a good power, so I feel like it’s a good mix. It starts slow and after that we can blend the softness of the movement with the powerful skating. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Surely, it is also quite the contrast with the music you’ll hear that pairs with their rhythm dance for the coming season. Mind you, that’s largely in part due to the genre selected by the International Skating Union for rhythm dances this season: “Social Dances and Styles of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.” And Lajoie and Lagha figure they’ve found a way to straddle at least two of those decades with a medley of music from the Austin Powers movie franchise. In Lagha’s mind, at least, it’s the ideal choice.
“We thought that was the perfect character,” he explains. “He lives in the ’60s but he travelled in time and went to the ’70s, too. For this theme, right away for me, it’s that.”
The music selection includes tracks such as “Soul Bossa Nova,” “Shining Star” and “Boogie Wonderland.” If you think all of this suggests something fun … well, let’s just say they see it as just the right followup to last season’s Michael Jackson-themed rhythm dance. Only this one is also a bit of a blast from their past as well.
“We did it when we were 12 years old, so it’s good memories for us to skate again to Austin Powers,” said Lajoie. “I think it’s going to be a fun program. I really enjoy doing it. To role play … (it’s) a bit like Michael Jackson, we had like clear characters. It’s the same with Austin Powers. I feel like it’s more fun, there’s a storyline also for the (program), so we can really play together.”
The two programs also offer Lajoie and Lagha the opportunity to show two different styles of skating. It’s something they consider imperative to do each and every season, and it’s been a successful formula for them.
“We just don’t want to do the same thing. At times, you see some people and they really have one style, and it’s really hard to get out of this one style,” said Lagha. “I feel like we want to be versatile and so yeah, we have this thing with a dynamic (rhythm dance) and something else for the free. At the same time, strategically I feel like the judges, they like more the dynamic stuff for the rhythm dance. Strategically, I think to do a slow, subtle rhythm dance … people can do it if you’re really good. But it’s too much of a risk (for us).”
The original plan was for Lajoie and Lagha to debut the two new programs last weekend at Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. But the duo chose to withdraw from that event a few weeks back. They are on the entry list for another Challenger Series event, Budapest Trophy in Hungary, slated for Oct. 11-13. That competition happens to fall two weeks before Skate Canada International in Halifax, which is due to be their Grand Prix Series debut (they’re also entered in Cup of China in late November). The plan, of course, is to return to the Grand Prix Final for a second straight season. Scan the entry lists for Canada and China and you can see it’s eminently doable (it’s easy to see them earning a pair of silver medals at the very least).
(UPDATE; Lajoie and Lagha have withdrawn from Budapest Trophy due to an undisclosed injury issue. They are expected to be ready to compete at Skate Canada International).
For several years now, this Canadian duo has been among the younger ones on the world scene. While they’re both still in lower end of their 20s, the World Championships podium has been filled for two straight years now with nothing but thirty-somethings. But ask Lajoie and Lagha if they still feel young in the sport, and they quickly brush that thought aside.
“We’re younger than most of the other teams, but we’re not 23 anymore,” said Lagha. “Well, I’m not (“I’m 23,” his partner interjects with a laugh). But this is over. The excuse of being young doesn’t work (anymore).”
But they also take inspiration by seeing ice dance teams such as fellow Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier — the reigning World silver medallists — still performing at a very high level. They also train alongside two-time World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States at the Ice Academy of Montreal.
“It’s good to see them being in their 30s and still healthy and competing,” said Lajoie. “It’s inspiring for us to think we can be in our 30s and still competing. We want to achieve everything we want by that time.”
In a lengthy interview with this corner back in June, Lajoie and Lagha detailed what “everything” means to them: at least two more Winter Olympics (2026 and 2030) and, somewhere along the line, a World title. But perhaps more importantly, they’d like to etch their names alongside some of the greats in ice dance, many of whom they’ve had the opportunity to share ice with at their Montreal training base. It’s highly impressive list.
“Sometime after the next Olympics … I think this is going to be our time,” Lagha said when asked about when he and Lajoie should hit their prime. “We want to go in the league of Tessa (Virtue) and Scott (Moir), Gabby (Papadakis) and Guillaume (Cizeron). And also add Zach (Donohue) and Madison (Hubbell) in there. Like, that quality of skating. That’s what we want. That’s it. Nothing more than that. Of course, it’s great to win and everything, it’s great for your ego, too. But this is really our goal.”
They also know that reaching any of those goals and dreams starts with two words: “Skate clean” (that answer has become almost automatic for them). And really, that’s the one part they can control. It is also why they are hesitant when asked about possibly winning their first World Championships medal later this season in Boston (they have previously been World Junior champions), after having moved into the top five at that event back in March in Montreal.
“We don’t think about that,” Lajoie responds quickly, with Lagha following up with “you focus on the effort and not on the results. (Focusing on titles) can create pressure that you don’t need. Also, you skate and you think about the medal, and that’s kind of the opposite of the performance and the art.
“To give a show and to share emotions, you don’t skate to win … in the moment. You train to win, but you don’t perform to win. Just skate clean and whatever happens, happens.”
Solidarity success
The Junior Grand Prix Series is in Gdansk, Poland, this weekend for the Solidarity Cup and already, it’s been a solid few days for Canadian skaters.
Not surprisingly, the red maple leaf flew over another pairs podium. Julia Quattrocchi of Laval, Quebec, and Simon Desmarais, of Carignan, Quebec, made it back-to-back bronze medals on the circuit. The duo, who are coached by Stéphanie Valois, moved up from sixth after the short program by placing third in the free to edge out American rivals Elizebeth Hansen and William Church by 2.44 points in the overall standings (the Canadians were also less than two points shy of a silver medal).
Quattrocchi, 18, and Desmarais, 20, also earned a bronze medal at the Riga Cup in Latvia in early September. The two medals qualified them for one of six spots for the Junior Grand Prix Final in December in Grenoble, France (fellow Canadians Jazmine Desrochers and Kieren Thrasher are ranked as the No. 2 qualifiers behind China’s Jiaxuan Zhang and Yihang Huang, the gold medallists in Gdansk and Riga). It’s the first discipline to declare finalists, as the last two competitions of the JGP (in Slovenia and China) don’t offer pairs events.
The second Canadian pairs entry in Gdansk, Noémie Rolland of Ste-Marthe-sur-le-lac, Quebec, and Étienne Lacasse of Quebec City, wound up seventh in their Junior Grand Prix debut.
Canada is also in position to claim more medals in Gdansk. Sandrine Gauthier of Saint-Constant, Quebec, and Quentin Thieren, of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, stand second after Friday’s rhythm dance, just 1.89 points behind Katarina Wolfkostin and Dmitry Tsarevski of the United States. Summer Homick of Tillsonburg, Ontario, and Nicholas Buelow of Barrie, Ontario, are ninth. The free dance goes Saturday.
In the men’s event, Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Quebec, sits in fourth heading into Saturday’s free skate, just 1.29 points out of a podium position. Edward Vasii of Rosemère, Quebec, currently stands seventh. Among the women, 14-year-old Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ontario, finished 12th in a field of 36, moving up one spot from her position after the short program.