Patrick Chan

Here's the direct link to Patrick's fitness magazine cover:



Underneath his name it says "Approach competition with confidence and calmness in your mind...Rely on training"

The magazine is published by a company located in Toronto, so it probably caters to a mostly Canadian audience.

Does anyone know about the necklace he's wearing?

And Patrick's wrapping up his wine as a last minute gift. Nice holiday photo!

https://twitter.com/Pchiddy/status/679744509488443393

vivley said:

And Patrick's wrapping up his wine as a last minute gift. Nice holiday photo!

https://twitter.com/Pchiddy/status/679744509488443393

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Do I understand his ice wine is available for sale only in Ontario?

m0001 said:

Do I understand his ice wine is available for sale only in Ontario?

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It's also available online in Canada and Japan. Unfortunately, not in the U.S.

With Christmas Eve upon us, I wanted to share a Patrick-themed holiday greeting card that I made:

http://i.imgur.com/z56QaCq.jpg

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year!

Thanks guys for all the updates. Wishing all a Merry Xmas and happy holidays.

vivley said:

With Christmas Eve upon us, I wanted to share a Patrick-themed holiday greeting card that I made:

http://i.imgur.com/z56QaCq.jpg

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year!

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Thanks vivley for making the card! It's so beautiful!

To all Patrick's supporters and fans,

Wishing you all a Joyous Christmas, a wonderful year of 2016 and a happy life. .

Special thanks to VB, Skatingfanever, Vivley 4everchan, Blueberryhill and Qwertyskates for all the beautiful, thoughtful and positive postings. I enjoyed reading them so much.

Vivley, Patrick's theme Christmas card is the most beautiful card I ever seen, thanks.

Love, peace and joy to Patrick and his fans.

Eat well, rest up, play with loved ones, and just be happy and grateful.

Love and peace...
From VK
https://pp.vk.me/c627223/v627223046/42423/sanDTZWWZw8.jpg

and drink ice wine merry xmas to you all

Violet Bliss said:

Love, peace and joy to Patrick and his fans.

Eat well, rest up, play with loved ones, and just be happy and grateful.

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Merry Christmas everyone! I shall be rewatching to enjoy some of Patrick's best performances Rachmaninov, 4 Seasons, Chopin, etc., when I have the time this holiday, cheers!!:agree:

calica said:

Love and peace...
From VK
https://pp.vk.me/c627223/v627223046/42423/sanDTZWWZw8.jpg

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Thanks, Calica! Who is Patrick with?

No idea, I guess friends

the one on the ground looks like a skater... maybe former skater?

vivley said:

Thanks, Calica! Who is Patrick with?

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calica said:

No idea, I guess friends

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calica said:

Love and peace...
From VK
https://pp.vk.me/c627223/v627223046/42423/sanDTZWWZw8.jpg

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At floor level next to Patrick is Matt (Matthew) Blackmer, who is a current Team USA ice dancer.

Tweeted version of the same photo:

More Christmas photos of Patrick and Matt:

Matt's ice dance partner is Alexandra Aldridge (she is the former partner of Daniel Eaton).
Aldridge/Beamer train at DSC, iirc.

Matt originally is from Ohio, IIRC.

Matt used to train in Colorado Springs -- when he was a pair skater for Team USA before switching to ice dance.
So I'm guessing that Patrick's friendship with Matt dates back to when they both were based in C Springs.

ohhh thank you!!

he is in Detroit on Christmas?
I thought he was in Canada with his family.

calica said:

ohhh thank you!!

he is in Detroit on Christmas?
I thought he was in Canada with his family.

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Or ... perhaps Patrick is in Matt's hometown of Findlay, Ohio (driving distance from Detroit)?? Just a guess -- I do not know for sure.

What I do recall is that for years (when training elsewhere), Matt faithfully has returned to Findlay as the driving force of an annual ice show there -- and has enticed elite skater friends to travel there to perform in the show with him.

So I am guessing that some of the Blackmer family still lives in Ohio.

Can't wait to see Patrick next - Canadian nationals right?

Happy Holidays! I am back and enjoy reading insightful posts here while I was away.
Yes, I am ready to join the discussion on his SP this season. (sorry for being late! I was quite obsessed with his LP all along.)

I find there are a lot to admire in his SP. My favorite was his SP at the TEB where he got the spirit and mood right and perfected his timing on steps, spins, and jumps (except the combo). He was on point and he showed the flawless master's skating. (He seemed slightly rough at the SC; nerves from the mistakes had gotten to him at the Final despite the masterful SS.)

vivley said:

The other day when I was shopping, "Mack the Knife" kept playing over and over in my head and wouldn't leave. Then it hit me that due to the nature of the music in that song, maybe it's difficult for Patrick to mentally prepare for his first jump in that program.

Just my layman's observations: Although in both the SP and FS, he jumps his first quad around 20 seconds into the programs, the intro to Mack the Knife feels shorter when I listen to it. Its jazzy rhythm probably also makes Patrick want to focus on his dance sequences instead of his upcoming jump. When I watched both programs, in the SP he had around 5 seconds leading into his first quad. In the FS he had 7-8 seconds leading into his quad, and before that he wasn't doing much, so he was probably able to be more focused on the upcoming jump.

It would be quite a feat if he could do this SP the way it is now perfectly, because he would be battling distractions from the music itself and his external focus on the audience, in addition to all the other things he deals with during a performance. But I think his choreographer could switch things up a bit to help him mentally focus better on his jumps. Just my humble opinion.

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I agree it is clearly very challenging program and music. I got a feeling that he was performing a tap-dance on the ice. Jumps and spins are just parts of the entire dance/footwork sequence. The beginning, the joyful steps and hops to the rhythm of the music leads to 4T-3T. Well, that to me is a transition he is working on. It is hard to isolate the transition from rest of his footworks, or the programs. His programs are FULL of dance moves and footworks to every beat and note, and he is skating to it with style and polish. It is ambitious, yet this is something only he can do. It will be a stepping stone for him later on regardless he goes clean or not this season.

Violet Bliss said:

Good observation.

I've always appreciated how Lori Nichols custom choreographs for each of her clients, tailored to their skills and bringing out their best. She would adjust the program when the skater has actually acquired a skill but not before. There are reasons why she has had the most winning programs and why the champions keep coming to her. For Patrick, she fully understood and integrated his rhythm and breathing pattern for his jumps in the program. I've felt bad that she and Patrick are no more working together, considering how nurturing she was and was an on ice mother for him. Patrick has always acknowledged that. Sigh.

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:thumbsup:Good Observation @Vivley!!!

Lori is genius in creating the tailored masterpiece for a skater. I admire her works for Denis especially for the last two seasons. For Patrick, I love Take Five; it fits him like a glove.
As my mere guess, Patrick wants to have his own voice, instead of accepting works by someone who knows his weakness and strength too well. He wants to challenge himself and bring unusual beats and moves to his skating from outside of box, which he started with Jeffrey Buttle and Kathy Johnson. As a result, I think he became versatile and original at the same time. He does not rely on a choreographer to search his style. He has his own vision and does not sacrifice dance moves and ideas for the elements, and it shows extremely well in the SP.

qwertyskates said:

In fact, this is a piece that reminds me so much of the current Patrick. He isn't that young, brash, happy feet Patrick, but soulful and pensive, and at times, he skated with an expansiveness that felt completely free, a soaring joy, skybound, at ease with oneself, it is a rare feeling of joy and philosophical liberation expressed by this exquisite work of Nina Simone.

I never heard another song that soars with heart and soul quite like this.

I believe some other skater would pick this piece soon. I'd hope that Patrick, his whole body skating with intricate abandon, would be the only skater to do this song justice.

With his comeback, I get a sense that Patrick has matured further, but Mack is Back is too literal, not BIG and EXPANSIVE like "Feeling Good" and Patrick is mentally at another level.

Listen for yourself Nina Simone's "Feeling Good":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHs98TEYecM

Anyway, it's just a wish...sure Patrick has his own trajectory mapped out, but why not as a gala piece? I'd die if someone else with lesser talent skates to this first.:sad21:

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I love MTK as his SP to show his upbeat tap/jazzy side, along with Chopin as the LP to show the contemporary/lyrical side. It is a good balance.

Nonetheless, I do like the idea of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good". I think he is saving this kinds of deep, soulful music for his olympic year just like D/W did Scheherazade for Sochi? No idea, but I want to see him skate to this kind of music. Also, love your description of his "current" self and skating @qwertyskates!! He did it successfully with the abstract Chopin in his LP, I cannot imagine what he is going to show with this rich lyrics.

blueberryhill said:

I was deeply surprised by the choice of Mack the Knife. I met Patrick this spring and I asked him specifically about his choice of a sp. I was under the impression from what he said to me that he was going to use "Stepping Out", his exhibition from 2014. He either changed him mind or I misunderstood him.

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Oh, thank you @blueberryhill for your tip! I kinda see the similarities in tone and style between MTK and Steppin' Out.
I guess it is his MO; test the music in the gala of the previous season and attack it as competitive programs of an upcoming season! (i.e. Elegie, Stepping Out (->MTK)) Maybe we are seeing him skate to Beatles next season? We shall see. In that sense, I want to see him skate to VB's pick : Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" as a gala piece next season.