What is Ice Dancing...
Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976.
Dancers compete as a couple consisting of a man and a woman. Typically, partners are not supposed to separate by more than two arm lengths. In ice dancing, dancers must always skate to music that has a definite beat or rhythm. Additionally, ice dancing is currently the only form of figure skating to allow vocal music in official competitions.
The real truth about ice dancing....
It is a combination of a sport and dancing. As young skaters we have to develop technical skill, strength and confidence. When you watch us at a competition we want to make it look easy and graceful. For us to do that it takes many hours of work and practice. We must skate very close to each other using various holds and footwork and are not allowed to separate from each other for more than 5 seconds. This makes it very easy to get spiked or sliced or to trip each other up. Then there are the twizzles, which is a traveling one foot turn moving at a very fast speed. The lifts are real hard too. Lifts require the guy to be really strong and have steady balance as he has to lift the girl and hold her while moving at great speeds. The girl has to be strong and flexible so she can help balance herself and hold some graceful position.
In our opinion ice dancing is the most difficult form of ice skating. Believe us when we say ice dancing is not for whimps!
Ice Dance is Evolving....
Ice Dance is evolving for better or worse. At the ISU Congress 2008, held in Monaco, the delegates passed the following Resolution:
The Figure Skating section at the 2008 ISU Congress proposes to the ISU Congress to accept the principle that the Ice Dance discipline will be composed of TWO parts commencing in the 2010-2011 competitive season.
For more information and to participate in the converstion visit the International Skating Union website's bulletin board.
What makes up an ice dance competition?
There are three parts in an ice dance competition. (Juvenile teams only compete Compulsory dances and Free Dance.)
Compulsory dances, have fixed patterns and steps. They draw most strongly from the ballroom tradition. These dances are divided into skill-levels such as pre-gold, gold, and international. Each compulsory dance is skated to standard music that is played at a specific tempo for each dance; each couple performs exactly the same routine. Strong unison and technical ability is important for compulsories. The dances are skated in standard dance holds such as Kilian position in which both partners skate side by side; waltz position in which the skaters skate facing each other, and foxtrot position where the skaters skate side-by-side but are slightly angled towards each other with their upper bodies. Examples of compulsory dances include the Rhumba, Yankee Polka, Golden Waltz, and the recently introduced, Midnight Blues.
For the Original Dance, the International Skating Union designates a rhythm or set of rhythms each year that all dancers must perform to, but unlike the compulsory dances, the competitors choose their own music (within a specified tempo range) and choreography. The original dance could be compared to the short-program in freestyle. The length of the program is shorter than the free dance, and the skaters have more rules they must adhere to. The dance must be choreographed so that the steps do not cross the midline of the rink. There are certain exceptions for this rule that take into account required step sequences such as the diagonal footwork sequence. Closed partnering positions and close skating is also important for the original dance.
In the Free Dance, teams are free to choose their own rhythms, program themes, and therefore music. Creativity is also strongly encouraged. Since 1998, dancers have been required to include certain elements in their free dances, including step sequences, lifts, dance spins, and multi-rotation turns called twizzles. Senior level free dances are four minutes long (plus or minus 10 seconds) and usually, but not always, contain a slow section that helps bring variety to the routine and allows the dancers to catch their breath. The hand holds and positions are much more open and free than in the compulsory and original dance categories. Often teams strive to skate in difficult or unusual positions to gain difficulty points. There are more lifts in the free dance than in the original dance.
Lifts in ice dancing differ from those in pair skating because the man may not extend his hands above his head, and acrobatic lifts are generally frowned upon. The more change of direction, flexibility, and height in the lift, the greater amount of points a team can earn from the judges under the new Code of Points scale.
