Reigning ISU World Champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) found the perfect rhythm to dance to a strong lead ahead of two-time ISU European Champions Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) and two-time ISU European silver medalists Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR).

The theme of the season is “social dances of the 50s, 60s and 70s” and Chock/Bates found their own concept with their “journey through the decades” featuring different music from these eras. Their dance included Rock ’n’ Roll and Disco and the defending ISU Grand Prix Final Champions collected level fours and threes for their twizzles, steps and the rotational lift. Chock/Bates set a new season’s best of 87.73 points.

“We had so much fun, the crowd was amazing, good energy, good vibes, the whole program,” Chock said. “There was so many great songs to choose from, in the end we decided we wanted to show the evolution of dance from the 50s, 60s and 70s, so we used them all.

“We are really happy with how we skated. We had great energy and great chemistry between us, as we always do, but we really wanted to showcase all of these fun dances that bring so much life out of people because they are social dances. This is a great competition to get a season’s best so far, marking the end of the first half of the season and the beginning of the second half, so it’s great to have this strong rhythm dance skate.” 

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) have established a strong lead at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Grenoble © ISU

Bates especially enjoyed the arena, saying: “The venue is amazing, I feel like the vibe is really cool, with the boards and walkouts of the athletes they are doing now, I really liked it.”

Guignard/Fabbri’s fun dance to “Land of 1000 Dances”, “For Once In My Life” and “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real” got the crowd going as well. Their sliding move on the ice in the midline steps drew extra cheers. The Italian Champions received level threes and fours as well from the panel, only the pattern dance-type step sequence was rated a level two. The two-time ISU World medalists earned 83.12 points. 

“We enjoyed performing a lot. The crowd is so nice and the ice is very good so we feel very good. We are not tired today but we still have tomorrow,” Guignard commented.

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (ITA) put on a fun Rhythm Dance performance in Grenoble © ISU

“We are happy but we are not thinking about the scores or placements, we just want to skate our best to overcome the disappointment of the Grand Prix in France, that’s it,” Fabbri noted. “Of course we are happy about it but it was not our main focus for that competition. We want to rest a bit and tomorrow we will wake up and think about the free dance.”

Fear/Gibson brought the vibes of the 70s with “Le Freak” on to the ice. The Skate America Champions picked up a level four for the rotational lift and his twizzles, while the midline steps merited a level three. The British Champions scored 82.31 points. 

“It was electric. That was a word that we felt even in practice with the crowd and then it was another level out there tonight and such a joy to perform in front of such an encouraging crowd,” Fear said.

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (GBR) are in bronze-medal position but looking to push even higher on the podium © ISU

Fear is excited about placing in the top three in the Rhythm Dance, saying: “We were aiming for that so we’re happy to have achieved that and then also just to be in the second warmup group again because last year that was not the case, so it feels like an improvement. We’ve skated first in all practices this week so we’re ready to go, we’re ready to start the party and super-excited to have a happy fight tomorrow.” 

Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) placed fourth with their funny “Austin Powers” program (77.73 points). Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA) entertained their enthusiastic home crowd with their dance to songs by Boney M. (76.98 points). The 2024 ISU World silver medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) lost precious points when he fell in the pattern dance step sequence and are currently ranked sixth on 72.15 points. 

For full entries, results and further information visit the ISU Grand Prix Final event site.

What and when 

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is as follows:

Thursday, December 5: Junior Pairs, Junior Women’s Short Programs, Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance, Pairs & Women’s Short Programs
Friday, December 6: Junior Men’s Short Program, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Men’s Short Program    
Saturday, December 7: Women’s & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance, Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala

How did Skaters qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final? 

Skaters/Couples competed in two events and collected points towards the qualification for the Final. Check out the complete ISU Grand Prix Standings:

Women             Men     Pair Skating     Ice Dance

For further information see the General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. Please visit the ISU Grand Prix page for full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

• 18 - 20 Oct 2024                       Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
• 25 - 27 Oct 2024                       Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
• 01 - 03 Nov 2024                      Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
• 08 - 10 Nov 2024                      NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
• 15- 17 Nov 2024                       Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)  
• 22 - 24 Nov 2024                      Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

• 05 - 08 Dec 2024                        Grenoble (FRA)

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.