2024 Skate America | Ice Dance
Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson claimed the 2024 Skate America title in ice dance on Sunday afternoon in Allen, Texas. USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who took a fall in the rhythm dance, settled for silver. Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain moved up two spots to snatch the bronze—their first Grand Prix medal.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson
Fear and Gibson buttered the crowd with a high-energy rhythm dance to “Le Freak” and “Superstition.” The level-four rotational lift was a highlight, earning very high grades of execution (GOE) as did the choreo rhythm sequence. The twizzles were rated a level three and two, while the pattern steps were graded a level three. The two-time European silver medalists earned 83.56 for first place in this segment.
“We wanted to go out there and just kind of improve on what we had done in our previous two competitions, and I think we did that,” said Gibson. “We also had a lot of fun, and the crowd was very engaged.”
“We are really pleased with our performance, and we always like to make as much improvement as we can in-between events,” Fear added. “We worked a lot on our transitions since our last event.”
The team didn’t hear the marks for Chock and Bates, nor knew about the fall. They were in their “own zone” at the moment so were not influenced.
“We knew that we had a lot to execute to perform to the standard that we set for ourselves,” said Fear. “So, we really tried to stay present. We were really pleased with our score and the improvement that we made to have a season’s best. Also, there is still a lot of room to improve, as usual. We’re keeping our focus on tomorrow and letting that be its own day and really honoring it in that way.”
Skating to music by Beyoncé, the six-time grand prix medalists produced level-four twizzles, dance spin, and stationary lift. The combination straightline-rotational lift was graded a level three, but the team engaged the audience with their usual flare. They scored 122.82 points for second place in this segment, and first overall with 206.38 points.
“It was a huge honor to stand on the podium today,” said Fear. “It makes it even more meaningful to be here together with all of our teammates.”
Comparing the feeling with their first Grand Prix win last year at NHK Trophy, Gibson said: “Winning a Grand Prix is very special and feels amazing. The first one at NHK being the first one was of course, extra special. Also, as there we were waiting behind the scenes for the results to come up. This time we saw the scores right away in the Kiss&Cry. It for sure felt great both times.”
However, their faces in the Kiss&Cry did not reflect the usual exuberance at this event. In fact, there were just subdued smiles. They might have felt they had won only due to Chock’s fall in the rhythm dance, and not completely on their own merit. The total margin was 0.75 points. Had Chock not fallen, the Americans would have had at least five more points in the rhythm dance.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, and Fear and Gibson will take 15 points with them going into Finlandia Trophy.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Chock and Bates were off to a good start in their rhythm dance, earning very high GOEs for their level-four twizzles. Unfortunately, Chock took a fall during the choreo rhythm sequence which was very costly. The two-time World Champions quickly recovered, executing level-four midline steps and rotational lift, but the damage was done. They scored 77.88 points for second place.
“We are so proud to be here, excited to be at Skate America starting another season,” Bates said. “We’re honestly proud of the performance today. Obviously, we had an unfortunate mistake, but I think considering that it happened quite early in the program, I feel like we really used our experience to recover well and do the rest of the program very well. So, I think there’s a lot of positives to take. It’s another experience under the belt and we’ll just look towards tomorrow to give you our free dance, which we’re very excited about!”
Chock explained the reason for the eleven pieces of music used in their routine.
“When we were listening to music from all the decades, there were so many great options that we found it hard to narrow down,” Chock explained of their concept. “We had a bunch of different ideas, and then we finally said, ‘well, we like all of the eras, so let’s skate to all of the eras and just make it kind of a dance through the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s and show all the different styles of dance and just have the evolution of dance from the ’50s through the ’70s.’
The three time-Four Continents champions put out a complex, yet seamless free dance to “Take Five,” earning the highest component marks in the field. The twizzles, dance spin, and two lifts were graded a level four. They scored 127.75 for first place in the free dance and finished second overall with 205.63 points.
“We really enjoyed being here at Skate America with our teammates,” said Bates. “We have six teams in this event, and we have a great camaraderie with all of our teammates.”
When asked about their ideas for each season, Chock said: “We want to re-invent ourselves every season. Also being surrounded by this super creative team around us in Montreal, that keeps inspiring us.”
“What we love about the sport is that it is so unpredictable,” she added. “Yesterday we were on our toes, and yesterday I was on Evan’s toes. The difficulties here inspire us to go back to work and to learn. We are still proud of what we did here, it was our first outing of the season. We love our programs and our costumes. The only way is upwards and forward.”
They will compete next at NHK Trophy.
Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck
Smart and Dieck put out an entertaining rhythm dance to music by Janis Joplin, Big Brother and The Doors, setting the mood for that era down to the costumes. The team earned a level three and four on the twizzles, but the pattern steps only received a level one. The curve lift garnered a level four, and they finished fifth with 70.99 points.
“We felt good out there today!” said Smart. “We are a bit bummed with the score; there were some level issues, I guess, but we were certainly hoping for more than a 70 score.”
“We worked a lot on our consistency,” added Dieck. “This is what we are missing, maybe a bit more compared to some of the couples that have skated already for a long time.”
Olivia commented on the reactions she received on her video about social media hate: “I am glad I did it and maybe raised a bit of awareness. Some reached out and apologized. I know I won’t stop or change the entire situation, but I am happy I could give my voice also for younger skaters.”
Smart and Dieck delivered a mesmerizing free dance to music from the Dune soundtrack. All three lifts, the dance spin and twizzles were graded a level four in their convincing performance. They scored a new personal best of 118.45 for third place in the free dance and moved up to third overall (189.44).
“I feel like, ‘finally!'” said Smart. “We needed this. After not even getting 100 points in the free at Worlds and taking the fall at Nebelhorn, this feels very important. When I saw the 118 points, I really felt that finally all our hard work had paid off. Of course there were plenty of doubts.”
“Last season as a new team we didn’t really know what to expect,” added Dieck. “Obviously, we had many little mistakes at many competitions here and there, so we needed this one and we still need more consistency throughout.”
Smart’s dress for the free dance was designed by Madison Chock.
“I should have gone to her in the first place,” said Smart, who wore a different dress at Nebelhorn. “We sat down together, and she drew this. She also designed my Olympic dress. I really think whenever she is done skating, she should do this as a career. She is just so talented!”
The national champions will compete next at Cup of China.
Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin
In their first event of the season, Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Georgia found themselves in third place (73.16) after their rhythm dance to “Lady Marmalade.” The team was energetic throughout and displayed solid level-three midline steps and level-four twizzles. The rotational lift was also graded a level four.
“We have to start somewhere,” said Smolkin. “I got a muscle injury one day before the Denis Ten Memorial and unfortunately we had to withdraw. I had to stop skating for a week so the preparation for this event weren’t ideal.”
Last spring, the team changed training locations to the Ice Academy of Montreal.
“Settling into Montreal was pretty easy, we really love it there,” said Smolkin. “Our teammates are amazing and supportive. The coaches are much more communicative and it’s also a much more competitive environment compared to where we trained before. Maybe it will take a while, but we are sure the results will come and show soon.”
Davis and Smolkin displayed lots of energy in their free dance to music by Led Zeppelin and Beth Hart. The team earned a level four on two lifts and the dance spin and scored 113.89 points.
“I am happy with what we showed,” said Smolkin. “It was a good start into the season, and we felt good on the ice today. After yesterday, I know Diana wanted a medal, so that is of course a bit disappointing, but we are still a young team. We still have plenty of opportunities and this was just the beginning of the season. I am happy.”
Smolkin shared that Led Zeppelin had originally been their idea for the rhythm Dance.
“But Marie-France (Dubreuil), who created this program, said that Led Zeppelin is too strong and powerful to squeeze it into 2:50 minutes,” he pointed out. “So, we turned it into the free dance.”
They will skate at Cup of China next.
USA’s Leah Neset and Artem Markelov placed fifth (179.38), followed closely by Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek of the Czech Republic (179.34).
Related Info:
