"Performing has become our new motto," Evan Bates had said at the end of their first Grand Prix Series event in Grenoble, France, six weeks ago. "At the point we are in our careers, it's more about the performance than about the technicalities. Our free program is a good example of this. Now we are more focused on our story, on the energy of the program, on the connection between the two of us. It has changed our skating."
After already five international competitions under their belts for this season, Madison Chock and Bates can be assured that their "Egyptian Snake Dance" free program has become both a huge medal mining lever and a crowd pleaser everywhere in the world.
"We've had a great season thus far," Bates acknowledged. "The ISU Grand Prix Final is such a prestigious event, arguably the most prestigious of the whole season in a non-Olympic year, and it's just wonderful to be here among the best in the world," he offered in Torino. Those who wondered whether the duo would be able to medal at this Grand Prix Final, in such an incredibly strong crop of teams, got the clearest answer: not only did they medal, they also mined silver, a feat they hadn't accomplished in many years.
Chock and Bates had already medaled twice at a Grand-Prix Final (both times a silver) back in 2014 and 2015. This year they won their two Challenger Series events, U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and Finlandia Trophy, and won the silver medal at both their Grand Prix events, in France and China. "We had back to back Grand Prixes, which felt great at the time, but then we got home and oh boy! The jet lag was tough. We had weird sleeping hours and it took a little while to get readjusted. Fortunately, we had a few weeks and we were able to get some rest," Bates explained. In Torino they looked rested and on the top of their game.
Chock and Bates are quick to credit their Montréal coaching team for the turnaround of their results within just two seasons. "The team we have around us is such a strong support system for us now," Bates emphasized after their rhythm dance. They had ended in third place, right above Russia's Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, the 2019 World silver medalists. Chock and Bates amassed 81.67 points for their rhythm dance in Italy, and even beat their personal best on the occasion. "Our coaches believe in us and we feel we are at the right place, at the right moment," Bates acknowledged.
The audiences from America, Europe and Asia also noticed the change of style the duo has been through. Everywhere they have skated their Egyptian free dance, Chock and Bates have received the same enthusiastic response. "It feels incredible. We've never had a program which received such a positive crowd response. It's very exciting," Chock explained as she left the ice in Torino. "Here we were just in the moment, we were very present, we connected so much with the audience. It's the best way to end the Grand Prix season!"
"What makes this program a crowd pleaser? Madison Chock, of course!" a radiant Bates offered. Chock laughed watching him before adding, "I think it's the ingenuity and creativity of this program. To my knowledge, there's never been a program like this one before. It's fun for the audience to have something new. We take great pride in presenting this program each time we skate to it."
Their dance includes both lower and upper body movements, more dissociated they've ever been. The synchronized gestures Chock and Bates are using to depict Egyptian geometrical forms and drawings have not come without effort, however. "We worked a lot off-ice with our choreographer Sam Chouinard and our ballet instructor," Bates explained.
"I must say that our coaches are very detail-oriented. It's better to have several eyes for such things," Chock added. "At the beginning of the season, when some pictures were made, we realized that our angles were not right. We worked extensively for polishing the whole," Bates continued.
Audiences are particularly responsive to the last part of the program. "This program is physically pretty demanding," Bates continued. "When we hear the audience scream for the last 45 sec. of the program, my legs are burning, so I tell myself to push until the end. But the feeling is so great."
"It's one of those times in life, when we are in the moment, inviting the audience into that moment," Chock added.
"Fans and the reactions we get from them make us bring this program to its full potential. Fans give us the motivation to push forward. We'll try to follow that path and keep creating such programs for the future," she continued.
"Our two programs are now in good place," Bates had said in Grenoble. True: Chock and Bates' free dance appears also as one of the best controlled and mastered programs. Their competitors will deliver a different version of their own creations each time.
Unless they decide to make a change somewhere, Chock and Bates will be on the top of their game at each outing. "We just train well, I suppose!" Bates offered. "The consistency and intention we set every day at practice is something we can carry with us in competition. We also can rely on our relationship. It has grown so strong, that we feel it's the core of our skating. But training is important, too!" he added with a smile.
The next stop for the Grand Prix Final silver medalists is the 2020 TOYOTA U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tickets are available at
ncskate2020.com.
