Bradie Tennell left Everett, Washington with mixed feelings about her fourth-place finish at Skate America: disappointed she missed her combination jump in the short program, but thrilled with the overall look of her routines, including her free skate to a
Romeo and Juliet medley.
"I'm very happy with the way it turned out," Tennell said. "I love the program, I love training it and I want to be able to have the audience captivated by it and really feel the story."
She was also looking forward to competing again at Internationaux de France in Grenoble Nov. 23-25. Having made her mark last season as a consistent competitor and fine jumper, the U.S. champion now seeks to add flair, drama and maturity to her on-ice persona, the better to challenge Russian and Japanese skaters currently ruling the Grand Prix circuit.
"I'm more than a jumper," she told SKATING magazine in September. "I'm more than I was last year."
Tennell has a partner in her efforts: Benoit Richaud, the young French choreographer who also created
Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim's competitive programs this season, as well as programs for Skate America silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, returning Japanese star Daisuke Takahashi and others. He worked with the skater at her home rink in the Chicago area this June and again prior to Skate America.
"Bradie, for me, has all of the ability," the 30-year-old Richaud said in Everett. "She is the perfect example of a person who wants very much to improve. I work with many top skaters, and I can tell you, there are not many that have that passion to be better every day."
"Most important – and this is something I really like – Bradie wants to be unique," he added. "Her
Romeo and Juliet is not the normal (program) you would see from other skaters. We are trying to make her personality come out. When you see some skaters, you can say, 'This is Plushenko's style, this is Michelle Kwan's style.' In the next years, I want people to say, 'Oh, this is
Bradie Tennell's style.'"
A former ice dance competitor, Richaud created Tennell's
Romeo and Juliet free skate in three parts. The first section, to Prokofiev's ballet, uses angular, powerful movements to show Juliet's willfulness and determination, while the middle section features the romantic Nino Rota score of the 1968 movie and is highlighted by a more fluid step sequence. The final portion to the dramatic "O Verona" from the 1996 film shows a Juliet swept up events, but victorious (and alive) at the end.
"I try to show Bradie's quality – that she is strong, she is fast, she is tough, she can play with emotion," Richaud said. "We decided to mix all of the
Romeo and Juliet music, instead of just using Prokofiev or Rota, to give it a more modern way. The main thing is it builds drama and emotion, which is the key thing with Bradie."
Rosalynn Sumners, the three-time U.S. champion and 1984 Olympic silver medalist, watched the ladies free skate event live in Everett and was impressed with the changes in Tennell's skating.
"Bradie still looked young last year. She had the strength more of a junior lady, and now she absolutely looks like a senior lady," Sumners said. "To me, it was a 100 percent jump in maturity and strength…My whole row, we were all ex-skaters, said, 'Now this looks like an absolutely professional, polished program.' It was really fun to watch."
For Tennell's short program, Richaud chose "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse featuring Egyptian-British singer Natacha Atlas, from the 2014 thriller
Lucy.
"Many times when I work with skaters, I make them perform to music other than (what) they will skate to, to make them feel different aspects of movement," Richaud said. "Last year, I put this on, and Bradie said, 'This is good, I like it.' I said, 'OK, we will keep it for next year.'"
"When we went on to the ice and starting working on (the short program), it was an organic process," he added. "We did it naturally, we had the music and we didn't need anything else."
The result is a fiercely driving program that requires Tennell to skate full-throttle for most of the routine.
"At the beginning, when we first choreographed it, (the choreography) felt very different, but I like to challenge myself," Tennell, who practiced the movements in front of a mirror, said. "That's the best way to grow."
"Why does it look so modern? Because I am French," Richaud laughed. "It was really funny last year; everyone was saying, 'Oh, she is doing
Cinderella.' And Bradie is really very far from that. She has a lot of personality, she has a lot of power, and she works hard."
Although Richaud choreographed Tennell's
Cinderella free skate last season, in many ways he considers this season their first as true collaborators. He's looking at it as the first step in a four-year process, leading to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
"Last season, to me, it was clear this girl could be the U.S. champion because I saw how she practiced," Richaud said. "I didn't have time to build something (radical), it was the Olympic season, and I had to design a smart program that would help her win."
"Now, I think our relationship is quite strong and Bradie trusts my work," he added. "I know her quality, I know her weaknesses, and I know where she needs to go if she wants to be on top. That's where I think she should be, with her personality and the way she works on everything. I think she has something special."
Tennell has set herself a goal of improving the programs, each time she competes.
"I never want to plateau," Tennell said. "Just like with this year, upping the technical aspect of my programs as well as the artistry. I think that always striving to be better is a really big part of sportsmanship, and something I pride myself on."
