So far, it's been a great season for U.S. ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates. The team earned two silver medals at their Grand Prix events in France and China this fall, and also won gold at two Challenger Series competitions. However, Chock and Bates aren't taking anything for granted. As they prepare for the Grand Prix Final in Torino, Italy, the couple continues to focus--as they have all season--on polishing and perfecting the details of their skating and programs.
Chock and Bates are determined to make the most of this season, particularly because it comes after two challenging years. The 2017-18 Olympic season was a test of the couple's endurance. "I was skating injured," said Chock. (She fractured bone fragments in her ankle in summer 2017.) "And we didn't have our best skate at the Olympics." The couple finished ninth in PyeongChang.
After the Olympic season, Chock had surgery on her foot. The couple also decided to move to the Gadbois ice dance school in Montreal, under coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Hagenauer.
"After the Olympic season, we felt that we still had more to give to ourselves, and the sport," Chock said. "We really wanted to maximize on our potential. So we talked to the coaches in Montreal and decided to make the move. It's been really invigorating for ourselves, and our career in general. We found a new side to ourselves, and to our skating. Now we feel like we're finding new expression in our skating."
The duo got a late start to last year's post-Olympic season, following Chock's recovery from surgery and their move to Montreal. The team had to forego the Grand Prix circuit, but came back to win silver at the U.S. Championships and the title at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Anaheim, California. Their success signaled that the move to Montreal was already yielding benefits.
This past off-season, the couple sought to build on and continue the growth in their skating. "It was very nice to have the whole summer to train and prepare and really develop our programs," Chock said. "We've been able to push ourselves and dive more deeply into each program."
"Having the full summer was a big advantage," Bates concurred. "We knew that we could do programs that would take time. Last year, we arrived in Montreal at the end of July and just made programs quickly. And they were really fun programs to skate. But this year, we wanted to take advantage of our good health and the time to do something a little bit more challenging."
Chock and Bates chose "Too Darn Hot" from the musical
Kiss Me, Kate for their rhythm dance, which includes the Finnstep pattern this year. The Finnstep has proven challenging this season, with many dance teams getting low Level calls on the pattern. Chock and Bates have not been immune, receiving several Level 1s.
"I think to combine a quickstep that's full of hops and skips and jumps with nice, clean edges, is the challenge," Bates commented of the Finnstep. "For the keypoints, they're really paying attention to that blade on the ice, and the edge quality. So that's what we've been focusing on since we got home from Cup of China."
The couple's "Egyptian snake" free dance, set to Middle Eastern-themed music, has proven to be a hit with audiences and judges alike. "We're very pleased that our program is relating so well to the audience, and that people are enjoying it, because we enjoy it," said Chock.
Dubreuil came up with the storyline, featuring Chock as a snake who magically turns into a dancer and captivates Bates's character. Dubreuil and choreographer Samuel Chouinard worked together to create choreography based on the storyline. Chock said the team drew on Egyptian belly dance videos and other Middle Eastern dance videos for inspiration. "But a lot of the choreography is due to Sam's creative genius and Marie-France's," Chock commented.
The impression of the program is enhanced by Chock's exotic gold-and-green "snake charmer" dress—which, Chock reveals, she designed herself. After creating the initial design and vision for the dress, she worked with Montreal-based costume designer Mathieu Caron to bring it to life.
"He and his team did a phenomenal job," Chock said of Caron's work. "They hand-painted and hand-beaded it, and it just looks so incredible. I almost didn't want to put it on, because it was like a piece of art."
Chock and Bates's performance in the free dance at Cup of China earned high marks from the judges; their free dance score (128.21) is second-highest in the world this season, behind only World champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron.
As Chock and Bates prepare for the Grand Prix Final, they are continuing to focus on the basics and the details, as they have all season. "We're making small changes to our programs," Chock said. "Nothing major; just a few enhancements, adding more detail, pushing it out more. Mid-season touch-ups. We're just looking to keep our performance on this upward trend and skate our best."
