Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) win the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) top the Rhythm Dance as the second day of competition at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final concluded Friday in Beijing (CHN) with the first segment of the Ice Dance event. The Final features the top six Skaters/Couples per discipline from the seven events of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competing against each other for the first time this season.
Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) dance to lead
ISU World Champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) danced to a comfortable lead in the Rhythm Dance with almost four points to spare ahead of Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri of Italy and Canadians Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier.
Dancing to “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Who Wants to Live Forever” and “I Want It All”, Chock/Bates put out a strong performance that was highlighted by well-synchronized twizzles, intricate steps and a rotational lift.
The ISU Four Continents Champions collected a level four for the twizzles, lift and his part of the midline steps to score a season's best of 89.15 points.
“We really enjoyed ourselves tonight. And we really skated well too. We felt we were really well prepared for this event. And it's definitely the best performance of the season so far,” Bates told the press.
“The key is not having expectations,” Chock pointed out. “We are well trained. We know what we need to do and how we need to prepare ourselves to execute our job to the best of our ability. We’re planning to just do that (in the Free Dance).”
Guignard/Fabbri put out an upbeat dance to “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Against All Odds”, completing fast steps and a straight line lift.
Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (ITA) in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
Two elements merited a level four and two elements a level three. The ISU European Champions scored 85.82 points.
“It's been a very good performance for us and we are happy because it's always unpredictable when you skate quite late at night. I think we're not used to skate that late when we are practicing at home,” Fabbri pointed out. “So you never know how your body and your mind will react to the competition, but tonight it was a very good performance.”
Gilles/Poirier performance to “No More I Love Yous” and “Addicted to Love” featured level-four twizzles and a level-four rotational lift as well as a level-three pattern dance step sequence. The ISU World bronze medalists earned 85.17 points.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (CAN) in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
“We made a lot of quite a few changes in this program since the Cup of China to try to boost the energy and we're really proud of that skate,” Poirier said. “We really gave it everything and really enjoyed the moment.
“Every competition is different and we find it's really hard to compare scores between events. What we always try to look at when we get home is where the GOEs [grade of execution] are good, where the GOEs aren't as good - and how we can improve. That's the only thing we can focus on.
“But I think we're in a really good position heading into the Free Dance tomorrow,” he continued.
There is quite a gap between the top three teams and the remaining three couples.
Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) placed fourth after an error on the twizzles (76.74 points). Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen (CAN) are currently ranked fifth (74.82 points) and Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) are in sixth place (74.74 points).
Full results are available here.
Schedule of the event
Friday, December 8: Junior Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Women’s Short Program & Rhythm Dance
Saturday, December 9: Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Women’s & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consisted of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN).
A total of 154 Skaters/Couples competed in the series: 46 Men, 43 Women, 29 Pairs and 36 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2023/24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
ISU Grand Prix Standings
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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Selection Criteria
For a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
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