Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. Dancers generally compete as a couple but can compete solo. Couples ice dance differs from pairs figure skating by limiting the allowed lifts, requiring spins to be performed as a couple in dance hold and by disallowing throws and jumps.
Another distinction between ice dance and figure skating is the use of music. Ice dancers must always skate to music which has a definite beat or rhythm whereas figure skaters more often skate to the melody and phrasing of their music. Ice dancers are also allowed to use music with lyrics, unlike figure skaters and pairs.
To understand the type of ice dance that is skated at KIDC, you need to know about the different segments to competitive ice dancing:
Pattern Dance
Formerly known as Compulsory Dances, these have set steps and patterns and until 2010, were a compulsory part of ice dance competition. At KIDC sessions, we skate a wide range of these pattern ice dances of varying difficulty.
The ISU voted to abandon the strict pattern dance element of high-level competitions from the 2010/11 season and onwards. However, pattern dances form the backbone of ice dance and are still used in regional and some national competitions.
Original Dance
Traditionally, these are variations of pattern dances with a certain number of steps being changed by each couple. At higher levels of competition, skaters are given more freedom to create a dance based on a theme and have complete control of the steps that they use. Skaters used to repeat the sequence a set number of times – Torvill and Dean’s ‘Paso Doble’ original dance where matador Chris pulled Jane along the ice as she represented a cape.
As with the Pattern Dance, Original Dance no longer forms part of high-level competition from 2010/11 onwards, and the two have been combined into the new Short Dance…
Short Dance
The short dance merges the set pattern of a pattern dance, and the previous rules of the original dance. This requires a set rhythm but allows choreographic freedom within the constraints of required elements. In addition to skating two patterns, dancers also must include a step sequence, a set of twizzles, and a lift.
Free Dance
The steps, music and theme are entirely chosen by the skaters. Since 1998, dancers have been required to include certain elements in their free dances, including step sequences, lifts, dance spins, and simultaneous multi-rotation turns called twizzles. Music with lyrics may be used for this type of dance. Torvill and Dean’s ‘Bolero’ was their Gold-medal winning free dance at the 1984 Olympics.
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