What exciting news came out yesterday about Patrick’s long program and his Grand Prix assignments for next season! I thought this would be just another quiet news week until everything hit at once! From now on I will keep an eye out for Patrick-related news to come out on Thursdays, LOL. Here’s the roundup for this week:

New Long Program Music

Patrick unveiled a bit of his new free program to PJ Kwong and the press, right at month’s end. Choreographed by David Wilson (who said the program virtually choreographed itself), Patrick will skate to “A Journey,” composed by his friend and fellow Canadian skating champion, Eric Radford.

It all started when PJ teased us with this tweet:

Then, she posted a video clip of Patrick’s program. My first reaction when I watched it was that the music was a soundtrack or contemporary crossover piece, but I did not recognize it.

Next was this video clip that showed Patrick’s gorgeous gliding and skating skills paired perfectly with the beautiful elements of Eric’s composition. When I read that Patrick first heard the music in Japan, I wasn’t surprised. Something about this section of the music (whether Eric wrote it in Japan or not, I don’t know) evoked for me an image of a sunny morning in a tranquil Japanese garden, where a clear brook washes over smooth pebbles.

I was so happy for Patrick that he was able to find this original piece of music – and one composed by a friend who understands him well! As I said on Twitter yesterday, the music itself will be a source of strength to Patrick as he skates in competition, because he will be reminded of his friendship with Eric and the support, the trust, the good memories, and shared experiences that they have had together since childhood. How ingenious!

Actually, “A Journey” combines two of Patrick’s favorite music pieces out of the five that he received from Eric, who composed a new segment to meld them into one song. Patrick explained the piece’s title and its meaning to him here:

I was a bit surprised to hear him say, “as I… mature more as a skater…”, since I already see him as “mature”, but through this program I look forward to seeing him grow in expression and interpretation as a skater. I think this will be the program to truly touch figure skating fans’ hearts. No more being accused of leaving viewers “cold”!

ISU Grand Prix Assignments Announced

Meanwhile, on the same day, the ISU announced entries to all six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. In the mens’ events, Patrick will compete at Skate Canada in Mississauga, Ontario and at the Cup of China in Beijing.

He will face two of his biggest competitors at both events: Yuzuru Hanyu at Skate Canada and Boyang Jin at Cup of China. No doubt both of them are relishing the opportunity for a rematch with Patrick. While the thought of such a set up can be daunting, I think it will only do Patrick good to face them head on, no matter what the outcome is. Anyway, he had said that he wanted to get as much international competition experience as possible. Besides, he will have two admirers with him at both competitions: Daniel Samohin and Han Yan. Eric Radford will also be competing at Skate Canada, though not Cup of China. Fellow Canadian skater Dylan Moscovitch (who picked up and carried Pchiddy at the 2016 Nationals gala practice) will compete at Cup of China, so Patrick is in good company at both events.

That’s it for this week’s Patrick Chan news roundup! Next, I expect to hear about Patrick’s short program and his move to Vancouver. Stay tuned!