Getting to Know: Emily Bratti & Mathieu Couyras

IDC is highlighting some of the new partnerships that are debuting in the 2019-20 competitive season. France’s Emily Bratti & Mathieu Couyras are the next team we are featuring in this season’s series.  On ice photo by Daphne Backman; Off-ice photo by Jordan Cowan.

Tell us about your individual skating journeys.
EB: I first started skating in the Washington Figure Skating Club when I was 5 and immediately loved it. I competed in freestyle, synchronized skating, and solo dance before I realized that ice dance was my passion. Last spring, I started training at the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy where I love the environment of training with other high-level ice dance teams.

MC: I started skating when I was 4 years old because of my sister. I have had 2 partners in my life before I skated with Emily. I have trained in France my whole life until this April when I moved to the United States to train at the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy with Emily.

Tell us about how your partnership started.
We were both training by ourselves after splitting up with our previous partners when Emily’s coaches found out about Mathieu. Our first try out was in France. We really enjoyed skating together and our skating matched very well. A few weeks later Mathieu came to the US and we decided to start our partnership. We are excited to represent Team France. 

What do you like most about skating with your partner?
EB: We both care a lot about improving every day and work hard toward same goals. Mathieu is really strong which lets us be able to do more interesting and unique lifts. He is also very expressive when we skate, which brings a lot of energy to our programs and makes them fun to perform. On top of that, he really loves dancing and has a lot of passion for everything we do. And he is really funny!

MC: We have nicely matched bodies and long lines so our movements go well together. Emily also uses a lot of presentation which draws people to watch her. She has good technique and can do a lot of unique twizzles. She also works really hard at every practice. 

If you could have a lesson from any ice dancer past/present, who would it be? 
We are really grateful for our dedicated coaches Alexei [Kiliakov], Elena [Novak], and Dmytri [Ilin]. We both look up to a lot of ice dancers and we agree having a lesson with Scott Moir would be amazing. We admire the chemistry and connection he and Tessa have and how precise they are technically. 

Can you give us some background on your programs this season?
For our rhythm dance we are skating to Cinderella, and our free dance is composed of two beautiful pieces of classical music. Both programs are very different styles, which makes practice more fun and helps us show our ability to perform to a variety of music. 

Is there anything you would like our readers to know about you as a team?
Even though we have only been skating together for four months, we have developed a good friendship and enjoy spending our free time together along with other skaters from our Academy. We have big goals and are working hard every day. We hope you will follow us on our journey together and watch us live when we compete!