"The U.S. tradition of excellence in ice dance is not going anywhere."
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the veterans of U.S. ice dance, aren't going anywhere.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates are in the news this week because of their recent engagement. Beyond their love story, the depth of their skating experience is something that should earn them just as much press.
Both have been a presence on the international ice dance scene for over fifteen years, both achieving success with prior partners before teaming up in 2011. Chock and Bates just finished a season that included their making their third Olympic team (which was Bates’ record fourth Olympics, the most for a U.S. figure skater), capturing their third U.S. championship and winning the World bronze medal. As many other teams hang up their skates, Chock and Bates intend on continuing their competitive careers, and now enter next season as the most decorated returners.
I spoke to Chock and Bates for my Boston Globe story in advance of April 30’s sold-out Stars on Ice show at Agganis Arena. Sadly, a lot of that interview got left on the cutting room floor, so I thought I would share parts of it here. I found the couple a wonderful interview, and I found Bates’ thoughts on the future of the sport particularly interesting and worth sharing.
Here is my edited Q and A with Chock and Bates from April:
Kat: I know many people are eager to see your free dance (a space romance set to Daft Punk music) on the Stars on Ice tour. It was one of the most talked-about programs of the season. What was your favorite competitive performance of that free dance this season?
Evan Bates: I think the team event in the Olympics personally was the best feeling, because we won the free dance segment, and we did so for the team. Our result affected so many of our teammates. That was our first time skating on Olympic ice in Beijing, and we felt like we skated really well. And then that whole moment in the kiss and cry when the scores came up and we had all of our friends there behind us, celebrating with us. That's such a rare thing for our sport to the shared success of one performance. So that was the best feeling for me, and that is something I'm gonna cherish.
Madison Chock: I agree. That was probably the most memorable moment of our Olympic experience for me as well. But I also will have to say that one of my favorite performances of it was at the world championships in France. The audience had so much to do with it. The audience in France was fantastic. They were so loud and so supportive of all the skaters. I especially felt that in our free dance. So to be able to close on our season in France with a sold-out live audience and our best performance of the season was very, very memorable.
Kat: You and your ice dance teammates have had a fair amount of success throughout the past decade, and now a U.S. team has again captured the U.S. junior title. What do you think about the future of ice dance in the U.S.?
Evan Bates: I think it's very exciting, especially because I've seen the transition for some of our peers who are becoming coaches or have become coaches, like Tanith (White) and Charlie (White) and Greg's Zuerlein (Chock’s former partner), who have opened their school in Michigan. And seeing the kind of success of the junior skaters signifies that the U.S. tradition of excellence in ice dance is not going anywhere. It makes me really proud to be a part of that. I’m also proud to know that in our own country now, the coaching is very strong. On a personal note, that's something that I'm very proud of because we picked up and moved to Canada and to have a new chapter. It has been really successful for us, but we had to leave our home country in order to pursue that kind of success. I think it's gonna be really wonderful for future American ice dancers to be able to thrive at home.
Kat: There is a lot of a buzz in Boston not just about Stars on Ice, but about Skate America coming here in the fall. You both have competed in Skate America many times, so if you had to explain to a non-skating fan the importance of this event, what would you tell them?1
Madison Chock: It's always a highlight to be selected for a Grand Prix in your home country, because there are six different countries and you can be sent to any one of them. You don't always get the one that you're hoping for. For us, we always love to do Skate America because we love performing in front of the home crowd. We also love skating in Boston, so the fact that Skate America is going to be held in Boston, which I don't know if it has before, at least not in my memory, is really exciting.
Evan Bates: I don’t know that it has ever been in Boston before, but I do know it hasn’t been held in this new venue (the new Skating Club of Boston.) I'm really excited to check it out. We haven't been before because we weren't at the U.S. International Classic last year, but, everything that I've heard about it is that the facility is beautiful. I’m really looking forward to being there in the fall.
Madison Chock: We have incredible memories from the last time we performed in Boston, which was at the 2016 World Championships. It was completely sold out at the TD Garden. We know Boston brings a good crowd and we're really excited to perform for them.
Looking for interviews!
Are you a skater, coach or choreographer and wouldn’t mind answering questions via email or phone? You could be in the next edition of this newsletter! Contact me at katcornetta@gmail.com.
Before any skating fans get angry with me about this question and start yelling, “There’s no real journalism in skating and this is an example", you have to understand that this material was originally gathered for a story aimed for readers who don’t regularly follow figure skating. I was looking for Chock and Bates to explain in their own words why Mr. Non-Skating Fan, reading the Globe sports section, might want to check Skate America out in the fall.