The following story appeared in the December issue of SKATING magazine.
Beethoven had a piano. Van Gogh had oil paints. Shakespeare had quill pen and ink. For Madison Chock and Evan Bates, it's a sheet of ice. Each surface serves as a blank canvas, and each program stands as a medium for creating something magical with each and every performance. And with a decade-long career — one that includes three U.S. titles and as many Olympic berths — already to their credit, it's a medium that keeps them coming back for more.
"Evan and I enjoy pushing ourselves, and for me there's always been this feeling of wanting to fulfill potential," Chock said. "We're always curious. We want to learn. There's a constant thirst that we have for knowledge and for growth. I think that helps to set us apart, and it's one of the things that's unique about us. It helps us to keep evolving every year — every day.
Over the last 10 years, they've evolved from new team to national champions, World medalists and Olympic competitors, through peaks and valleys, through triumphs and injuries, culminating in the most recent season with their highest Olympic finish and a silver medal in the team event. But just as Rome wasn't built in a day, the most memorable works take time. In continuing to evolve, their journey together is creating a masterpiece, one brushstroke at a time.
"It's been a series of many moments that are like a puzzle," Chock said. "They piece together to become complete. It's nothing in particular but just the fact that we've been able to grow together and still have our individuality and strength in each other. We're inspiring each other, and that's something that I've always wanted in a partner. For Evan to be that on the ice and off the ice is more than I could have asked for."
A lifelong commitment
Having been through three Olympic cycles together, the skaters, who have dated for six years, are no strangers to the changes that come with a new four-year chapter. Already committed to their homebase at the Ice Academy of Montreal and at least another season on competitive ice, Chock and Bates took the next step in their commitment to each other, announcing their engagement in June 2022.
"We had obviously already talked about it, and about our future and what our plans are," Chock said. "We both knew the day would come when we'd get engaged; I just didn't know exactly when that would be. We were coming to the end of an exciting time in our lives. Many wonderful things were happening, and this was just the most wonderful of them all. It was a great way to end our last year and begin a new chapter with each other."
After the 2021–22 season, the newly minted World bronze medalists found themselves on a whirlwind jaunt around the world, heading straight from the event in Montpellier, France, to Stars on Ice tours in both the U.S. and Japan.
"When we left for France, it was three months before we came back to our actual apartment," Bates said.
During some well-earned R&R, the couple made it official — on a skating trip, of course.
"We went over to Thailand for an ISU Congress, but it was so beautiful and so lovely there," Bates recalled. "I thought, 'I've got the ring, all the pieces are together, you should do this. What am I waiting for?' It became obvious to me that it was time to propose. We've been through a lot. We've experienced a lot. As soon as the Olympic year is over, there's always this cascade among skaters of life events that have been postponed that all of a sudden happen. We've been so focused on that goal that when we had a moment to stop and just breathe, we could think and look at the bigger picture."
That picture of romance off the ice began much like their on-ice partnership. As they say, art imitates life. Both admit neither aspect of their union clicked overnight (the duo finished fifth in their U.S. Championships debut), but rather found success through an evolution of growth. Of course, every artistic process is full of highs and lows, but it's a process Chock and Bates have learned to love as they rely on their love for each other.
"The whole thing has gone by so quickly that saying [we've been dating] six years is shocking," Bates said. "I think the fact that it's gone by so quickly is an indicator that it's the right person to spend your life with. We're best friends. There have been so many moments along the way where we went through really high points and low points, intense periods and difficult periods, and we went through it all with each other. When I reflect back, it's like looking back at different eras, little chapter by little chapter, and all along, the constant is being with Madi. Through it all there's just been growth in our trust, and in knowing who we each are individually and who we are together, as skaters, as people and as a couple."
Skating their own story
On the ice, they have more than 40 years of competitive experience between them. Prior to teaming up with Bates in July 2011, Chock had reached the top of the junior ranks with Greg Zuerlein, earning the World Junior and Junior Grand Prix Final titles in 2009 before claiming the 2011 U.S. bronze medal as seniors during their seven-year partnership.
Bates, previously teamed with Emily Samuelson for 10 seasons, had earned two U.S. medals and a trip to the 2010 Olympic Games. When both partnerships ended, the pair embarked on an unconventional beginning, entering the mix as a new team starting over in their 20s after two long and successful partnerships. Their first few seasons together weren't conventional, either — at least by the history-book standard of American ice dance.
"When I think about the successful teams that have come before us, especially in the U.S., it's a team who would win nationals for five years in a row," Bates said. "It was Meryl [Davis] and Charlie [White], or Naomi [Lang] and Peter [Tchernyshev], Tanith [Belbin] and Ben [Agosto], or Liz [Punsalan] and Jerod [Swallow]. You'd have the same national champions for four or five years. And then, after Meryl and Charlie, we won nationals the next year. We were second at Worlds and we had a great season.
"But then it took us five years to win again. Even then, when we ramped back up and got back up to the top, COVID happened and we had to pause our momentum. We've had a different kind of a career than American ice dance was used to. The first year, we didn't have success. Then we found that success just in time to lose it. Then we found it again, and lost it again, and so on. We've had a lot of practice going through adversity. We've gone through tough stuff together, and learning to smile in the face of it — wanting to keep putting ourselves out there and keep competing — has brought us together and made us stronger."
"We had reached kind of a pinnacle of success," Chock added of their first U.S. title. "We had been building up and then we had a little slump. We felt passionate about what we were doing, but we weren't getting the results that we were going after. It was hard for a long period of time. Of course we also battled through injuries and coming back from them, which is something that a lot of athletes are familiar with, but that certainly doesn't make it any less difficult. For the most part, I would say that in all of those struggles, there was always something great that came out after it, or because of it. Because we were pushed through something difficult, we were able to gain a new perspective, or come out stronger. Whether it was an injury or making a big decision about our career, all of that adversity really was a friend. We learned a lot from it. It's definitely a part of our story and we embrace it."
That story, they both agree, is one of creativity, drive and exploring their sport as artistic storytellers, working to create programs that aren't seen as a string of required elements, but rather, as memorable, inspirational and unique performances.
"I certainly think there's a huge artistic side to ice dance, specifically, that we relish the process of, especially as we've matured in our career," Chock said. "We've found that it's important to honor what inspires us and to make sure that whatever we put on the ice or whatever creative direction we're going in is authentic to us in some way as people. I think the driving force behind our creativity is making sure that it's unique to us and it speaks to us. As we've matured, we definitely take the storytelling aspect with much more meaning and create a much more personal tie. We don't want anything about our skating to feel forced. That's a huge driving force in the way that we approach our choreography."
This year's selections had a lot to live up to, riding the coattails of a string of iconic performances, including a stunning interpretation of classic Lennon, an Egyptian snake charmer and an astronaut/alien love story that was out of this world. While they've certainly created some tough acts to follow, when it comes to filling their own shoes, Bates said time is on their side.
"We've been in the sport so long that we've developed this skill to be able to create programs that are unique to us," Bates said. "Now when we're making our programs, I feel like we have a good sense of whether or not something is up to par, and I think 'par' is raised each season — especially over the last few years when we've made good programs, or programs that have resonated with people.
"We approach our programs with this mindset of, 'Well, it's got to be something that can stand next to those other programs.' We don't want to stick around and keep competing just to show up at the competition and compete. We want to have programs that are meaningful and memorable, and hopefully inspiring to others. We hold ourselves to a higher standard when we're creating new stuff, but the fact that we've been doing it for so long, I think, gives us that ability to stand by it and feel good about what we're making."
"We were actually able to put our programs together so quickly because we were so inspired and so motivated, and so locked into that process," Chock added.
A new season begins
More than the usual process of choosing music, designing costumes and choreographing the elements, the hallmarks of a Chock and Bates program include an off-center twist, vibrant characters and an inspiring storyline or message. This year's programs are no exception. For their free dance, they've selected pieces of music from French-Canadian singer/cellist Jorane, chosen by their team of renowned coaches and choreographers.
"It's an ode to our love personally, and a story we were actually inspired to explore because of my engagement ring," Chock said. "It's from 1920, so sometimes we just wonder and think, 'How many lives has this ring seen?' It's about how we become tethered to one another throughout our lifetime and whether that tether lingers beyond our life. That's the inspiration for our free dance this year — that undying love that's eternal and can outlast human, physical life."
Their rhythm dance, which must embody the required Latin theme, is set to a remixed medley of songs performed by David Bowie — a callback to their 2016–17 season free dance, though the two programs have no overlaps in song selection.
"We wanted to find a fresh take on a Latin theme, which is challenging, because Latin has been done so many times in ice dance," Bates said. "We love it, but it's hard to find a new twist on it. The piece of music that Marie-France Dubreil found is so fun and so cool. She played it for us and right away I thought, 'This is my new favorite song.'"
As for the future? It's a work in progress. While a new skating season is currently underway, along with planning a 2024 wedding, the couple agrees it's a creative process considered on a season-by-season basis.
"Our desire to continue comes from our continued curiosity and drive for continued growth," Chock said. "We feel like we still have more that we can do and more that we want to share with the skating world. As long as we're still inspired, we will continue. [Milano Cortina 2026] is not a definite no and it's not a definite yes. We're going to take it season by season and see how we feel. As long as we're inspired and healthy, and still enjoying ourselves, we'll continue."
"I think if it were our time to retire we'd really feel it, because we'd be trying to create new stuff and it just wouldn't work," Bates added. "It wouldn't come to us. That's not the case. When we got to the rink this summer and started to make new programs, we were so happy. This is just it. Doing this together. This is what we love."
