You have
a strong A-frame there? Yeah, there you go.
That's better. I would just keep it framed, so that it's like very solid,
not moving, and then out. The main difference
between pairs skating and ice dancing
would be the jumps, the bigger acrobatic lifts. And in ice dance, we dance. So take me to the finish line. Elegance and posture
is very important in ice dance because unlike pairs
that have big tricks, I think everything we do
must look like a nice poem that's written
in very round letters. It's just two beautiful bodies feeling an emotion
and moving as one. The great ones are able
to bring you on a journey. You feel something, and you
forget that they're skating. It just becomes an emotion
and they move you. ON EDGE -It was better.
-Yeah. -There was a few little things,
-Yeah. but overall, I feel
this time the energy is starting to really... We were born
and raised in Montreal, but we knew that in Montreal, we didn't have
the type of coaching that would lead us
to our goals, which was to be on the podium. Representing Canada, Marie-France Dubreuil
and Patrice Lauzon! So when we finished
our competitive career, it was one of Patrice's goals
to start a school that would provide
the type of environment needed to be an elite
at the sport of ice dancing. Coaching staff,
we have ballroom specialists. Yeah. Musical theater. Can you go palms facing out? Yes! Hip-hop, contemporary dance. Do the head.
Un, deux, trois, release! We are during the summer,
like facing a mountain of problems to solve, technically,
artistically, physically. You bend... And up. But all these small details,
like fingers or heads together, rotation together, direction, it takes months
to make it exceptional. Six, seven, eight! As a choreographer, we're
trying to create a masterpiece, so the biggest job
at the beginning of the year is to map out a choreo. Hip, boom, smooth! And then give as much as I can to the skating coaches
to implement in the program. Each couple will have
to prepare two programs. This year we had urban dance. Jump in, boom! And also, they have to prepare a free dance,
which is a long program. Okay. And this, we can do
whatever we want. Let her slide
in your hand for the last, the last moment. Yes, that would be better. Yes. Nice, okay, oui, oui, oui! Representing
the United States of America, Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Madison Chock and Evan Bates
of the United States. They've tasted success
at the world level with silver
and bronze medals in the past. Maddy and Evan bring that sense
of joy and love. Both of them are sweethearts. He's strong and tall,
and she's like silk. She moves like silk. We started skating together in 2011 in Canton, Michigan. The situation that summer,
we had a couple try-outs. But you were trying out with,
like, three different people. -Three guys or so?
-Something like that. So how did you decide
to skate with me? I mean, it's just something
about him, right? We didn't start dating until we
had been skating together for five years already. You know,
eventually, I was just like, "You know, I love you. You know,
I have feelings for you. I'd love to be more
than skating partners." Yeah. Please welcome now
Madison Chock and Evan Bates. There's a capacity to do things
that are very, very different and creates really cool images. Last year she was a snake. It was very charismatic,
different, original. They got a huge success
with that program and everybody loved it. What I love the most about them
is that they are not afraid of going outside
of their comfort zone. They are looking
for a challenge. This year, I'm playing an alien
and he plays an astronaut, and it's about
finding love and acceptance in someone
who is different than you. It's coming together
more and more every day. And it's so fun to work on because you find
new ways to move and just,
there's so much freedom. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Love it! That looks cool. Yeah. We had a meeting
earlier in the year where we were like,
"This is a good idea to do an outer space-themed
program for the Olympics." Raise arms. We keep smacking each other
in the hand. This program for Maddy
and Evan is very risky. It's a program
very challenging, very new. I know
that some people won't like it. -I'm ready.
-You are ready? Good. Today we have a costume fitting with our costume maker,
Mathieu Caron. And then in here,
a loop for anything? -I prefer that, for sure.
-Yeah. I designed all
of our costumes this season. I've always loved drawing, and it's so fun to get
inspiration from our music. I love looking on Pinterest
for ideas and color schemes. So this is a great way
for me to infuse skating with a different side
of creativity off the ice. I just was forming if the top
of all of these could bend towards that shape, -so it's more,
-Like a merge. -Yeah.
-Okay. More organic. I love working with Mathieu. This side should
be the short side, just because
of our first combo lift. -Yeah.
-Stand up, -so there's coverage here.
-Classy. The Classic. He's always very open
and receptive. And he's just so wonderful
at figuring it out and bringing
my designs to life. I've seen some skaters
try to resell dresses. I mean, something like this, it's made
for an alien program, like... -Yeah.
-And for an Olympic year too, it's like a memento
for the rest of your life. Can look at it
in 20 years and say, "I used to fit into that?" Or, "I still fit into this!"
The goal. We have three
very big competitions coming up
throughout the season. And it's been a very long time since we fully competed
a full season since COVID, so it's exciting
to get the season going again and we're ready
to show our new programs. There's a lot
of nerves going into it, there's a lot of pressure. Our school,
very often before competitions, we do some simulations to kind of get in the feeling
of the competition. So we're watching
some of our training mates do their program
for the first time. This is just a chance for
everybody to feel this fresh before actually being
in a competition. Because it's intense. Olivia and Adrian, a little
extra challenge this year and a little extra stress because there's less spots
available for them. So they really have
to fight for this one because it's not even sure that they're going to make it
to the Olympics. The coaches I think
are actually writing down notes and judging it like
as if they were judges so that we have
something tangible to go home with and say,
"OK, this is what we would've hypothetically,
gotten in a competition." The coaches are
a little bit more strict than actual judges, I think. Adrian and I
ended up skating together because I was looking
for a new partner. My friends
all had posts on Facebook that Adrian
and his old partner had split. My friend was pushing me
to message him. And I was like,
"He just announced it! Let me give him some time."
He's like, "No, no, no. Jump on it now." The rest is history.
Five, six years now? Five, six seasons
together, yeah. Adrian, he brings
the Spanish fire to the ice. Olivia is a really
strong character, too. They're both firecrackers. We are a team that's skated
to many different styles. -Contemporary.
-Contemporary. -Clown program, Broadway.
-Classic rock, tango. They're resilient,
very resilient. And they're very creative. And right now they want
to go to the Olympics. He's there
so you're like framed. I'm hoping the best for them, but they have to compete
against the other Spain team, which is Sara and Kirill. In order to go
to the Olympic Games, we have to be ahead
of the other Spanish team at Finlandia Trophy,
national championships, and European
Figure Skating Championships. They will take all three total
scores from the competitions, combine them up,
whoever has the highest score will go to the Olympic Games
representing Spain. And we're hoping
to take that spot. And dance it. It will be tough because
both teams are very good and very close to each other
in terms of level. -Okay.
-I don't know. They have to be at their best, with two good programs
that people like and perform it cleanly
from A to Z, or they won't go to Beijing. Yay! The skating transitions isn't
there, but all the elements... That's what
I told them yesterday when we were working together. I said, "You don't skate
between the elements... You're losing all the timing
you've been working on." Today did not go
like we expected. We made a few mistakes. I don't think
he's doing six turns. No, he missed some. I knew
that they were doing that. Before, he was doing 7 turns,
but here he did five. A little bit more
nerves there right now than I think we're wanting. They didn't do their camel
or their sit. They got up in the middle. There was
nothing good about it. No. I think now it's just trusting
the elements in the process so we can fully
perform the program rather than being
so much in our head. Otherwise, once we
show up at competition, it could be a mess. -It could be a disaster.
-Yeah.
