'Snake Charmer' Ice Skating Routine Earns Duo First Place - Inspirational Videos

Watch and be wowed by this gifted skating couple as the duo earns first place with their performance of their routine titled “Egyptian Snake Charmer!” You may have a whole new appreciation for the repellent reptiles afterward!

Evan Bates, 32, and Madison Chock, 29, play the charmer and the snake, respectively, in this free dance that is both visually stunning and athletically impeccable. From the first moments of guarded interaction between charmer and snake until the final friendly pose, the skaters’ every expression, gesture, and move is on point!

Madison wears a gold, green, and brown costume that shimmers and mimics scales; long, transparent pieces with a texture not unlike snakeskin dangle down her legs. Her black hair is fixed in an intricate braid, and she uses her dark eyes to warn and welcome her charmer partner. While Evan’s attire isn’t as glitzy as Madison’s, he plays his part well. We see him dodge the snake’s bite (a la skate blade) before winning over the slithering serpent. 

The precision with which the two skaters execute every single motion and maneuver is astounding! And, each one serves a purpose in the story being shared. Check out what happens just short of 4 minutes into the video. The music speeds up, the mood changes, and the couple picks up the pace through the end of the routine. It is mesmerizing! 

Madison and Evan have been skating together since 2011, and they’ve won a slew of medals in their years together. In this video, they are competing for the 2020 U.S. Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum. In the end, they capture the title for the second time, having won the same contest for the first time in 2015.

The couple became more than mere partners on the ice in 2017 when they became a couple in the romantic sense. Madison and Evan work and live together, and, during COVID, they spent a lot of time together. When folks started noticing how well they got along even with all that togetherness, they started asking the couple for couples’ counseling. “It’s pretty funny that people are turning to ice dancers for relationship advice. We’ve heard that ice dance is really like a marriage. I guess that must be true since we’ve got married couples asking for advice,” said Evan. 

As the performance ends, and the two take their bows and collect the stuffed snake that’s been tossed onto the ice, we hear commentators share that all of the top contenders in the competition are trained by the same training team and at the same Canadian facility. They add that the skaters all get along well and co-exist in a friendly, fun training environment. So, maybe, Madison and Evan relate well to everyone! 

Whatever the case and however it all works, we are just glad it does!  

“Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5