By Veronique Bury FIG Editor.

Beijing (CHN) NIS FIG Office, August 12, 2008: Romanian Adriana Pop, 42 years old, travels the world to animate the routines of international gymnasts everywhere. Romanian Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior champion in 1979, Adriana has lived in France ever since with her husband Nellu, who coaches a number of gymnasts on the French Team. In the intimate world of gymnastics, she is fondly known as Adi. In Beijing, she is the choreographer who has crafted the routines of the French, the Australian, even the Chinese, save the floor exercise of Cheng Fei.

How did you come to choreograph floor exercises for China?
The Chinese approached me in 1995 at the World Championships in Sabae. They had seen my work with the French, notably the choreography I did for Ludivine Furnon (world floor Bronze medallist in 1995 and European floor champion in 2000) and other gymnasts of that generation. They contacted Shi Mao and Lin Xuan, who were training in Marseille (FRA) where I was working at that time. When they asked me to work with them, I thought to myself, 'why not?' It was clear they liked my style and thought I had something to offer them in terms of choreography. I accepted, and as early as 2002 was choreographing floor exercises for gymnasts participating in the Anaheim world championships, such as Zhang Nan who ranked 3rd in the Athens all-around competition.

Do you find it difficult to work with gymnasts you can't communicate with?
It was a bit challenging at first. While I had an interpreter, I often found that if I simply put on the music and started moving about the mat, we could communicate easily. What I found the most challenging was getting to know each individual gymnast and pinpointing her natural style. It’s impossible to create the same type of choreography for the Chinese that I do for the French or the Australians. The French are more dynamic, more feminine, while the Chinese are extremely flexible. They are much more like the RG gymnasts I’m used to.

You've been working with the Chinese for six years now. Have you seen much progression?
Oh yes, a lot! At the beginning, I couldn't do everything I wanted to do. They were expressively very rigid. With time, though, they opened up beautifully and I find it much easier now that I know them better. As with all my gymnasts, it is important to me to help them express their emotion. Floor is really the only apparatus where they can express their femininity. It's too bad that the new code of points offers less and less opportunity for artistic expression and emotion. It's coming to resemble a string of acrobatic elements.

How long does it take you to choreograph a routine?
That depends on the gymnasts, but usually three days is enough for me to lay the foundation. Then, it takes me a week to fine-tune the routine. But if I don’t see it working immediately, it usually means I've given it the wrong style and it’s my job to make the changes, and swiftly.

How much time do you spend in each country?
In the case of China, I go once or twice a year for a period of three to four weeks. In between my visits, other choreographers work with the gymnasts to maintain the choreography I've created.