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tutuandscoot · 11 months

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One question is I’d like to ask Scott and Tessa is how they define leadership, in general, but mostly how they defined leadership within their partnership and what their roles in their partnership meant to them. I know they were once asked who was the leader of the Davis/White partnership and Scott answered that Meryl and Charlie led in very different ways. The way the question was asked struck me because I had mostly to that point only been interested in Tessa and Scott and the idea that just one would take on the “leadership role” was funny to me because they are so equal in my eyes and seemed to have such an equal partnership. But I suppose the dynamic of many partnerships, on and off ice and including theirs, has elements of one person taking on certain roles and responsibilities and the other person taking on different roles and responsibilities. And I suppose we could call that leadership in one area versus another, but I’m just curious how they would answer that since I would consider both of them to be role models and leaders. Do you have any thoughts?

Ok first off anon, I’m incredibly sorry for how atrociously late I’m answering this.

Secondly I love how you had a whole discussion on this topic yourself I enjoyed reading it and made me more curious! 😄

I agree I would love to hear them talk more about this. I can’t imagine the number of hours they spent discussing these things with councillors/ psychologists/JF in Montreal.. I find the whole psychological aspect of their partnership super fascinating.

I guess I’ll break some of my thoughts down into two main sections:

1. Leadership on the ice

So my view of this on the surface and from an occupational/dancer’s perspective is he is the leader on the ice. That is the rule in basically any traditional/classical form of dance (and it is a truely masterful skill for a team to perfect) so in compulsory dances/ballroom based programs that is the dynamic in terms of initiating movement. It should never look as though she is moving before he moves her. Ie if they were to start improvising he is the one leading and she goes where he takes her, or if you watch both Tango Romantica and/or Golden Waltz, the bit of chore both times in the top right corner (from the judges view) there is a ballroomish step where they are turning and stepping around each other (in TR it’s just once in GW there’s 3 of them) and he is very clearly taking her around each of those turns- so initiating her movements. This lead-follow dynamic is an area VM EXCEL in. I have always felt a strong responsibility of leadership from Scott and I love that bc as the girl in the partnership there is nothing worse than feeling your partner isn’t protecting you, doesn’t have your back, isn’t making you look your best- and T never had to worry about that. It’s also something that comes off to me as a very emotional part of their partnership- watching them skate and legitimately being able to feel that sense of protection, commitment, safety from him. This male partner-leadership extends into their more modern programs as well that aren’t as traditional in style/execution such as Carmen/latch/MR, you still feel him in charge despite in some of those T being the dominant presence. He manages to lead the movement/structure of the program without stepping in the way of T’s character intentions, he doesn’t out-shine her character but instead plays perfectly complementary to her.

Him being such a strong male partner and leader within this on-ice partnership is one of the things I find most attractive about Scott/ one of the many reasons I respect him so much.. this coming from me as a dancer. Tessa is one hell of a woman to have to lead and (I’ve said this before) for him to have found and settled into that role-as he has said he was always intimidated by her 😭, I’d say very early on- like the first few years of the partnership (AT LIKE 11/12 YEARS OLD) is remarkable. There are ice dance teams I watch who are in their 30’s and the men still haven’t figured that out. For me as a female it is unnerving to watch a team and feel like the man isn’t leading. In a dance of two people and especially being the non-lifting (while it is still a male/female team sport, so- the female) partner, if it looks like the girl is doing more work, having to make herself shine, feels like she’s one beat ahead of the man, it feels uncomfortable to watch, and while from the audience pov/knowledge there may be strong male leadership, if it doesn’t look like there is from the audience it makes harder to watch* (*feel secure watching them skate). In VM’s case its not to say Scott didn’t work incredibly hard at it (they as a team) but as he is so clearly a naturally gifted skater/mover/artist this too seems to be a quality he was capable of perfecting.

In this discussion of on ice leadership though, it’s important to say that it is not all on Scott to be solely *the leader*. For this to work it is just as necessary for Tessa to be responsible for her role in this. I like how when they were doing an interview after a performance of Carmen that Scott pushed back on the idea that he is ‘taking a back seat to Tessa in the program’, this is a great example of their roles in their partnership in remaining -him leading, despite the flip in typical character dominance.

The (one of many) reason they are the best team ever is the way they approach their respective roles, this is where I would want/need to hear far more from them on this topic, but the way in which S leads T is made possible by the way T let’s him lead her. And the reason he makes her look as good as she does is because she is not waiting for him to make her look good- she does everything to be prepared for him to then put her on a pedestal and shine. While their roles may be slightly different, what is crucial is that they work in complete harmony- it’s like Yin and Yang..

I was watching one of their comps recently- I can’t remember which, but comparing them to other teams- in this instance I’m comparing them to WeaPo, the difference (at least to me) is: you are drawn to watching Tessa bc Scott makes Tessa look good and makes you watch her bc it is all he is watching and thinking about, WeaPo I watch her-not bc he is making her look good, but bc she is out-performing him/the performances they are each giving do not feel compatible-there is always something a bit off about it. Now, without knowing much about that team (in the way I understand VM) I wouldn’t go into more detail/assumptions. I’m sure they had what they felt between them was chemistry, but it didn’t come off anywhere close to as natural as VM’s did. As I said, VM work in perfect harmony- the ebbing and flowing of their role’s in their partnership, characters in any given program, who is having an off day/a bit injured, setting their literal rhythm as breathing humans to the exact same timing several times before every performance/practice using the hug… there is so much nuance there and as much as they worked for it I would say a huge amount is written in the stars chemistry ✨

2. Leadership in general

This is where I want to push back- not on something you said, but the way people in these team situations are asked by others/the media etc, who is the leader.. as if there is some definitive black and white answer.

[and not that I feel this is always the intention, but when you think deeper about it there is an element of sexism there- like the man SHOULD be the leader but if the team says the women is the leader in their partnership there are then negative assumptions made about her.. I DON’T think about it this way but it is inevitably an element of it].

Having said that, as I said above, in an ice dance partnership (a heterosexual, man/woman) the man SHOULD be the leader- but in that fact I don’t think the media/ most people probing this question understand the nuance of that and how much equality there is (In VM’s case their is, idk about others) in a dance partnership.

I think equality is a huge thing for VM and I don’t think they think of themselves as one being the leader over the other. I think it is predominantly the media that tried to put that label on them. Off the ice I also see them as equals, though it’s clear T has always had that stronger interest in the business side of their business partnership- though I (personally) wouldn’t label it as a leadership role.

Without them giving more detail on the topic of leadership I think it is hard to speculate/come to our own conclusions. The closest thing I can remember them saying in the topic was when asked who is the team captain and they insisted they are both the team captain and they are incredibly proud of that fact- that they share everything (water bottles, medals, heartbeats, etc), and while they each have their strengths and “weaknesses” they work incredible hard as a team to embrace everything about each other that makes their partnership the best ever. They respect each other IMMENSELY and if they were asked point black, imo I really think they would say neither of them is the leader/they are both the leaders- and when they would change every cringey/rude/none of anyones business question about their private lives into talking about how much they respect each other and how proud they are of the work they had put in for literally 25+ straight years at this point (they.will.always.be.partners.) it really is bc it’s the truth- and I think in the fact that it is hard for us on our own to determine who of them was the ‘leader’ in various aspects of their partnership- just goes to show all the work they put in and how they truly are equals who could not have achieved everything they did without anyone else by their side but each other 💖

#ask:leadership

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naevery · 5 years

Text

Some thoughts about the Downton Abbey movie reviews so far

This post doesn’t contain any storyline spoilers for the DA movie.

A bunch of reviews for the movie are out, if you're interested, as of right now Rotten Tomatoes lists (and links to) 26. Now, as a disclaimer, I haven't read all the reviews, and so my following impression(s) might be completely and utterly wrong (and as what I’m about to say is only based on the reviews and not the actual movie, it's of course pretty much just a shot in the dark anyways).

I think one theme/point hat I keep noticing in the reviews is that the movie appears to be overall quite light-hearted and fluffy-ish, which I think some reviewers (understandably) criticize. Personally, I think I can see why the filmmakers/JF opted for this. The movie is much shorter than a tv-show season and there are a lot of main characters in DA to begin with, and we'll see some new ones introduced in the film. I can see how it would have been incredibly difficult to create a „deep“ (for the lack of a better word), dramatic and more severe storyline, which will do everyone justice and still be gratifyingly and happily resolved at the end. Particularly if you don't have a lot of time, I think this is something that can be accomplished more easily when the overall storyline is a bit more light-hearted and less intense to begin with. So I can totally see and understand why they might have chosen this approach.

I think the big danger and my own biggest worry with this approach is that this might prevent the movie/storylines/characters from having enough gravitas to feel as moving and impactful as they could, because the potential for each character is definitely there (I think). That's a bit of an issue I had with season six. I think JF tried to tie up loose ends and give most characters a happy ending, which is an intent that, being the big sob that I am, I personally actually really appreciate(d). However, I think that at the same time this desire also (maybe kind of ironically) led to the final season feeling less heartfelt and meaningful (to me) at times than the early ones. (I'm leaving Thomas out of this equation here because he was imo treated very differently from everyone else) Oftentimes, it felt like there just weren't (high) enough stakes to really get that emotionally invested, every problem and conflict seemed a little too easily, quickly and conveniently resolved to really engross you. Reading the reviews for the movie, I get the impression that it could have the same, or a very similar, issue.

So, based on that, my currently biggest fear is that the movie will feel (like season six) a little too light-hearted and that the characters might suffer for it, that they might therefore remain feeling too superficial and underdeveloped and that the storylines will perhaps (again) be too easily and fluffily resolved, and for that reason appear too unrealistic/too unauthentic to feel as meaningful, as sincere and emotionally touching as they could. And I think that might end up feeling like a missed opportunity and a bit of a loss, because I think what’s always appealed so much to me about DA is that there just is so much potential with these characters. We have seen them all go through so much and what I’ve always loved about the show is that they never felt like stereotypes or clichés, there was always something so incredibly human and authentic about (almost) every single one of them. And I guess given that the movie is comparably short, there’s maybe no way to not have a bit of a loss there. I just hope that the filmmakers’ decision to make the story possibly rather fluffy and escapist won’t come too much at the cost of those amazing characters.

All that being said, when it comes to Thomas, I'm not sure if I mind a more fluffier/light-hearted storyline that terribly much. For one, I think I have to admit that’d I’d love some fluffiness for him. And at the same time, throughout the show, I've always found that RJC's performance managed to keep Thomas incredibly interesting, complex and intriguing as a character, even when (and that sadly was not too seldom the case) the script and screentime didn't offer that much for him, so for better or worse, I think I'm relying a bit on RJC doing his magic with the character.

Finally, this article shared by @rosalyn51 points out that everyone involved in the movie seems to be more than aware of its overall escapist nature and the fact that they don't deny that/seem rather self-aware for some reason makes me feel much better about it.

If anyone has actually read until here, thank you very much! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

#Downton Abbey #Downton Abbey movie #Thomas Barrow

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madridcampeon · 7 years

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José Fonte’s exclusive interview for SIC’s Tribuna VIP

Transcripts and translations of the parts where Cristiano was mentioned under the cut!

Minute 7:40 - Fonte talks about the NT’s musical preferences.

PT:

Ent: Homem da música quem foi?

JF: Fui eu, fui eu, fui eu... Difícil agradar a todos. Levo com muita crítica, levo com muita crítica injusta, porque não é fácil agradar a todos.

Umas espanholas que a malta gostava, não é... O Cris estava sempre a pedir o reaggaetonzinho dele e o Pepe. Outros gostam mais de kizomba, outros gostam mais de house. Eles têm que respeitar o velhinho.

Ent: Metiam-te cunhas, não?

JF: O Cris estava sempre a chatear: “Oh mete aí, mete aí reggaeton! Já chega da tua música da Inglaterra!”.

ENG:

Int: Who was the music man?

JF: It was me, it was me, it was me... Hard to please everyone. I was very criticized, I was very unfairly criticized, because it’s not easy to please everyone.

Some spanish ones that the guys liked, right... Cris was always asking for his little reaggeaton, and Pepe. Others liked kizomba more, others liked house more. They had to respect the old man.

Int: Did they ask for favours?

JF: Cris was always nagging me: “Put some, put some reggaeton on! Enough with your music from England!”

Minute 9:30 - Fonte talks about Cristiano’s role in the NT.

PT:

Ent: José Fonte já conhecia Cristiano Ronaldo dos tempos da formação no Sporting. Muitos anos depois, Fonte veio encontrar um verdadeiro líder na seleção. E neste Euro, Cristiano Ronaldo fez coisas que marcaram todos os companheiros de equipa.

JF: Profissional incrível. É preciso só seguir o rapaz... Ele às tantas da noite vai fazer a natação dele, vai fazer a recuperação dele, vai ao ginásio... Vai às 11 e meia da noite, à meia noite... Ir à sauna. E ele tem o sucesso que tem, e é por alguma razão, é porque trabalha.

Tem uma grande relação com o Mister e em conjunto com o Mister consegue motivar-nos e levar-nos para a frente. É o nosso líder. Teve um papel importantíssimo em tudo. A conseguir as nossas folguinhas que nós tanto precisávamos e queríamos. Para ires até Paris, para ires estar com a tua família, para ires a um jantarzinho com os companheiros de equipa ou com a tua família.

Tem muita experiência. Ele já ganhou tudo. Ele é o melhor jogador do mundo. É a maior influencia ali. Ele e o Mister, como é óbvio.

Ent: Mas ele dá muitos concelhos aos mais novos?

JF: Ajuda... Antes dos jogos, depois dos jogos. Se não houver comunicação e não houver pequenas indicações, pequenas coisas... Temos de estar sempre a falar, sempre a falar. Isso ajuda muito. E ele é um dos que faz isso bem.

ENG:

Int: José Fonte already knew Cristiano Ronaldo from the times at the Sporting academy. A lot of years later, Fonte has found a true leader in the National Team. And in this Euro, Cristiano Ronaldo did things that marked all the teammates.

JF: Incredible professional. You only have to follow the boy... Late at night, he goes do his swimming, his recovering, he goes to the gym.. At 11pm, at midnight... Going to the sauna. He has the success he has, and it’s for a reason, it’s because he works.

He has a great relationship with Mister and, together with Mister, he’s able to motivate us, to bring us forward. He’s our leader. He had a super important role in everything. In getting us those days off that we all needed and wanted so much - to go to Paris, to be with your family, to go to dinner dates with your teammates or with your family.

He has a lot of experience. He’s won it all. He’s the best player in the world. He’s the biggest influence there. Him and Mister, obviously.

Ent: But does he give a lot of advice to the youngsters?

JF: He helps... Before the matches, after the matches. If there isn’t communication, if there isn’t little indications, little things... We have to always be speaking, always be speaking. That helps a lot. And he’s one of the ones that do that well.

He also mentions Cris around minute 12:45 regarding his injury in the final. He says that he didn’t think it was intentional from Payet, that, as a defender, if it was the other way around, he probably would have done the same thing. He also says that after Cris’ injury he looked at his teammates and felt that it was them against the world, they were going to have to be even more united, and run even more. Around 14:05 they talk about halftime. He says Cris said a few words to motivate and give strength to the team.

#jose fonte #cristiano ronaldo #portugal nt #tr*#*#here you goo!!!!#i said i'd do it yesterday but i totally forgot #so here it its!#if you want any other particular part translated just tell me the minutes and i'll happily do it :)

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