The artistic part of a program?

[Aussie Willy]

Most skaters who come into skating later in life have the same problem. It is a matter of finding a way to work around it. As a non-dancer person myself I understand. However my main advantage with skating is that I understand music (and I even had a judge tell me once it gave me an unfair advantage).

There are two ways to view artistry. One is the lovely balletic type of artistry with graceful arms and smooth fluid motions, but it may not necessarily reflect the music.

The other is to really interpret the music by showing that you are listening to it. Putting in steps and placing elements that fit the music is really important. And listening to the phrasing and tailoring a program around that.

When judging I do give credit to a skater who may not necessarily be the most graceful but definately shows they are listening to the music. And if they can come up with a concept that works with the music then all the better for them.

From my own skating, I have always tried to pick music that reflects my personality and that people can see why I have picked it and what I am trying to do with it. And very rarely have I used music that others have used (even top skaters). So it does help you stand out.

Can I suggest get onto the ISU website and look for the communications and information that relate to the program component aspects of the judging system. There might be some useful information in there that will help guide you in relation to what the judges want to see. I think many skaters forget that information is freely available for anyone to look at.

[Doubletoe]

I think learning to skate as an adult is like learning a new language as an adult-- it's definitely possible, it's just not going to come as naturally and you may always have a bit of an accent. ;)

Some people just aren't used to expressing with their bodies so they don't have the "vocabulary" to do it. If someone told me to just go out and express whatever music I was hearing, I might be able to do it OK in bare feet on the floor, but even then, I would not have a lot of interesting expressive moves in my repertoire because I don't have a dance background and I'm not used to expressing with my body. Add the balance factor into the equation and it's even harder to do on ice.

What has worked the best for me is to have my coach/choreographer give me a specific expressive movement and break it down one body part at a time in slow motion until I get it into muscle memory. Then I do it at real speed while standing still, then while actually moving on the ice. Doing it in the mirror (or the plexiglass at the rink) felt weird to me at first, but then I realized everyone else on the ice understood exactly what I was doing and probably had to do it themselves, so I stopped being self-conscious about it. It also helps to look at my skating on video and take note of awkward looking hand and arm positions, then watch videos of my favorite skaters doing the same things and try to imitate their positions exactly (especially that look of "soft hands").

[LLOS]

Some people just aren't used to expressing with their bodies so they don't have the "vocabulary" to do it. If someone told me to just go out and express whatever music I was hearing, I might be able to do it OK in bare feet on the floor, but even then, I would not have a lot of interesting expressive moves in my repertoire because I don't have a dance background and I'm not used to expressing with my body.
Thats it! I was not used at all to express the msuic with my body, not at all and I felt weird to do arm movements to it so I couldn't express it at all. I'm working on it now but it is as hard as learning to skate, while 2nd one is more fun :P it seems that some low level skater can do it very good but then again their skating is not good. With me its the other way around, I skate good but expressing BAD :lol:

[Hedwig]

It is funny. For me it is the other way around. I am not good technically (yet?) but I did an interpretation course in skating a few weeks ago and it came really naturally to me. I just let the music take me and noticed even a lot of improvements in my skating because I wasn't concentrating on the elements that much.

I have never done ballet or dance in my life but I have always loved just to move to music. Even when I was a toddler I always just danced in the living room when my father was playing the piano.

So maybe just dancing on your own at home and getting lost in the music might help you?

What we learned at the interpretation course was also to concentrate on one part of the body and do something with it (be it the shoulder or the buttocks or a hand) and then finish the movement with a defined pause before going to the next part of body.
I think the tiny pauses are very important.

[Doubletoe]

Thats it! I was not used at all to express the msuic with my body, not at all and I felt weird to do arm movements to it so I couldn't express it at all. I'm working on it now but it is as hard as learning to skate, while 2nd one is more fun :P it seems that some low level skater can do it very good but then again their skating is not good. With me its the other way around, I skate good but expressing BAD :lol:

I think every person's brain just works differently. Some people can't move if they're thinking too much, and others can't move unless they can think through it first, or have every movement broken down for them. The point is, you can figure out which type you are and have your coach work with you in the learning style that suits you best. But either way, these expressive movements CAN be mastered as long as you are willing to put the effort in. :)