LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Madison Chock and Evan Bates claimed their fifth Skate America ice dance title, closing out the ice dance event at the 2025 Saatva Skate America with a commanding win and another display of why they remain the standard-bearers of U.S. ice dance.

The reigning world champions delivered a mesmerizing flamenco and paso doble-inspired free dance to Paint It Black from Westworld, earning 127.81 points in the segment and 212.58 overall to secure gold by a wide margin. The husband-and-wife team debuted new costumes — Chock still portraying the matador, and Bates as the bull — that underlined the drama and precision of their choreography. Their seamless edgework, emotional connection, and musical command drew the loudest cheers of the event, with the audience clapping along as Chock used her skirt as the matador's cape in the climactic finish. Now in their 15th season together, the Olympic team gold medalists continue to evolve, with programs they’ve called among their favorites of their careers.

"It's so special every time we get to compete on home ice, and Skate America is a very near and dear competition," Chock said. Of her costume, Chock said she has enjoyed learning to use the skirt as a cape and incorporate it into their program. "It's a part of my outfit, but it feels like another addition to the dance. You have hairography and we have skirtography," Chock added laughing. 

Behind them, Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha skated an elegant and intricately layered free dance to The White Crow, maintaining their second-place position from the rhythm dance. Their performance, which earned 119.74 points, showcased sweeping edges, intricate lifts, and an almost balletic flow across the ice — hallmarks of a team that continues to rise as one of North America’s strongest challengers heading toward the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud completed the podium with 192.61 total points, building on their Grand Prix China bronze earlier this month. Their Bjork free dance was defined by clean lines, perfectly synchronized twizzles, and quiet emotional intensity, though the team seemed to lose some momentum midway through the program. Training at Montreal’s Ice Academy of Montreal, the European silver medalists once again positioned themselves as France’s clear second Olympic dance team behind Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.

In fourth, Loicia Demougeot and Theo Le Mercier continued their campaign for that same Olympic berth, earning 113.22 points for their dynamic free dance to League of Legends music — a high-energy, modern program that showcased both power and speed.

The top U.S. duo behind Chock and Bates, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, skated one of their strongest programs of the season — a heartfelt, polished interpretation of Notre Dame de Paris that earned 113.29 points and 4th place in the free dance and 186.03 overall for fifth place. Their performance featured strong edge quality, impressive ice coverage, and emotional storytelling. 

“We’re really happy with the two performances we put out this week,” Carreira said as they awaited their scores, signaling renewed confidence after a mixed early season.

Brother-and-sister Americans Oona and Gage Brown brought the house down with their cinematic free dance to The Godfather, which featured an assisted front flip from Gage and crowd-pleasing choreography that had the Herb Brooks Arena on its feet for the longest applause of the event. They received all positive grades of execution on required elements and notched a season best 111.86 points in the free dance, finishing sixth overall with 182.11 points.

Meanwhile, Czech siblings Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek completed a fiery interpretation of Malaguena finishing 7th; and Britain’s Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez continued their breakout season with a dramatic, emotionally charged portrayal of the 1996 movie "Romeo and Juliet," highlighted by complex lifts and smooth transitions. Their 106.35 free skate kept them in 8th overall.

Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer of Canada performed with strong edges and excellent ice coverage, though a touch of tentativeness seemed to subdue an otherwise well-trained free dance; they placed ninth overall with 165.68 points. French team Celina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux opened the night and rounded out the ice dance field in 10th. 

The ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix series continues in Helsinki, Finland at the ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy Nov. 21-23, streaming on Peacock.