Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) compete in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France. @ISU
Olympic Champions Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron of France won Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier (FRA) on Friday, setting a new record score en route. Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) came second ahead of their teammates Madison Chock/Evan Bates. All three teams achieved a personal best score.
Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) delivered once more an outstanding performance of their entertaining “Whacking” style Rhythm Dance to “Made To Love” and “U Move, I Move” by John Legend. The four-time World Champions picked up a level four for the twizzles, Blues pattern and stationary lift while the Pattern Dance Step Sequence was rated a level three for her and a level four for him. The French Champions earned 92.73 points and got a perfect 10.00 for the component Interpretation/Timing.
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Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) compete in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France. @ISU
“I think in this program we’ve worked on many details since the very beginning,” Cizeron said. “We have learned Whacking from A to Z and we wanted to incorporate it as much as possible. It came as a surprise that Whacking and skating go very well together,” he continued. “We were hoping for the kind of performance we did today. We couldn’t wait to come here and to skate for our audience. It was a beautiful moment, it carried us through until the end. All the training we’ve had since the Olympic Games and this little magic thing, the audience, helped us to have a good performance that was even better technically than at the Olympic Games,” Papadakis shared.
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Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) compete in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France. @ISU
Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue’s performance to Janet Jackon’s “Nasty”, “Rope Burn” and “Rhythm Nation” featured a level-four stationary lift, twizzles and Blues pattern. The Olympic bronze medalists scored 89.72 points. “Zach and I were very pleased - it’s an arena with a lot of energy and it was really fun to perform,” Hubbell noted. “We had the goal of staying focused but really letting the moment sink in a little bit more than at the Olympics… really living the joy of it and especially for myself at the very end - I had quite a fun moment, I was really just celebrating,” she added. “I think knowing that this (Free Dance) will be our last competitive performance we’re just staying in the moment because we want to take everything in. We’re going to enjoy every second and make the most of it,” Donohue said.
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Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) compete in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France. @ISU
Dancing to “MyBoi”, “Therefore I Am” and “Bad Guy”, Madison Chock/Evan Bates produced intricate footwork and a curve lift to net 87.51 points. The two-time ISU Four Continents Champions collected a level four for the curve lift and the twizzles. “We had a ton of fun out there performing. We really performed every second of this program and the crowd was so enthusiastic, so it made it even more fun and easier to let loose and just the program shine. It feels great to have sent this program off with a wonderful performance,” Chock commented. “We want to be on the podium at Worlds, and it's definitely a big goal of ours and we want to close this season with a really strong performance, and you know these days we don't always have an audience,” Bates observed.
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Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) compete in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France. @ISU
Two-time ISU European bronze medalists Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) placed fourth with an upbeat Michael Jackson medley on 84.22 points.
Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) compete in the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France. @ISU
2021 ISU World bronze medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) came fourth with their dance to songs by Elton John (80.79), followed by Olivia Smart/Adrian Diaz (ESP).
The schedule of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 is as follows:
Wednesday, March 23: Women and Pairs Short Programs, Opening Ceremony
Thursday, March 24: Men’s Short Program, Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March 25: Ice Dance/Rhythm Dance, Women Free Skating
Saturday, March 26: Men’s Free Skating, Ice Dance/Free Dance
Sunday, March 27: Exhibition Gala
* Following the IOC recommendation, in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q) i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in international ice skating Competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events (Full Statement to be read on ISU website).
