New Free Dance Requirements - ISU Comm. 1610

[HisWeirness]

Moving the discussion of ISU Communication 1610, which deals with the requirements and levels for the 2010-11 Free Dance, to this thread.

Relevant posts from the ISU Proposals thread, Communication 1609 that I've copied below:

And there is an ice dance communication (#1610) that outlines the Free Dance requirements for 2010-11 as well as level descriptions. It also contains this important piece of information:

1. GUIDELINES FOR SHORT DANCE SEASON 2010/2011
Detailed guidelines will be published in June after the Congress decision.

So we need to wait until June to find out what the Short Dance is really going to entail.

And here's the dreaded music clarification:

MUSIC: Clarifications to Rule 610, paragraph c)
The music for Free Dance must be suitable for Ice Dance as a sport discipline and must have the following characteristics:

v) The music must be selected so that if there is any story or theme in the routine it has to be clearly understandable to the audience.

vi) The music must have an uplifting effect.

Please continue checking out this new communication and discussing your opinions.

[genevieve]

I've been doing my best to ignore the rumors of this rule change (basically sticking my fingers in my ears and going "lalalalalala!!". This just sucks. And WTH is up with v? Are audiences that stupid that they need captions on their skating programs?

[caseyedwards]

That made me think of Pechalat and Bourzat and an explanation I heard of their free dance. He is time and she is sleeping and in the dream she is fighting with time so she doesn't have to wake up. Or something.

[Wyliefan]

It reminds me of the famous SOI parody where the two dancers (I forget who) danced in honor of the rain forest while Paul Wylie boogied on the sidelines.

[~tapdancer~]

Note: No part of the costume may be used as any support in a Lift. If it happens, the deduction of 1.0 will be applied by the
Technical Panel and the lift will block a box but will not count for a value.

Okay, I guess this is the "Dom/Shabs" rule?

[caseyedwards]

Sad! I like that opening lift in Domshabs Free dance.

[pani]

And V-M rule

Ice Dance must be kept separate from Pair Skating and moves such as throw jumps, or jumps where the takeoff is from the body of
the Lifting Partner or jump towards the Lifting Partner as an entry to the lift or jump as an exit from Dance Spin, where the Lifted
Partner does more than 1 rotation in the air, are illegal and the appropriate deduction will be applied by the Technical Panel.

[~tapdancer~]

Yeah, I read that one, too, pani. Still don't get why that should have been called "illegal" when Tessa didn't do more than 1 rotation in the air.

[pani]

Yeah, I read that one, too, pani. Still don't get why that should have been called "illegal" when Tessa didn't do more than 1 rotation in the air.

When we discuss this during the season, someone notice, that she did 1,5 rotation during that dismount

[MR-FAN]

So is the axel-like throw that D/W did at the end of their POTO FD now illegal?

[Garden Kitty]

Oh good, I can't wait for a free dance competition with most of the music provided by Up With People!

[Sassafras]

It reminds me of the famous SOI parody where the two dancers (I forget who) danced in honor of the rain forest while Paul Wylie boogied on the sidelines.

It was Roca and Sur and I think they were skating to highlight the plight of the red ant in Brazil or some such thing It was pretty funny considering all the "angst" ice dancing going on at the time.

[LuckyCharm]

I've been doing my best to ignore the rumors of this rule change (basically sticking my fingers in my ears and going "lalalalalala!!". This just sucks. And WTH is up with v? Are audiences that stupid that they need captions on their skating programs?

That's exactly what I've been doing--complete denial. I won't accept any of this until I actually see a competition using the new rules, that is, if I even bother to keep watching.

[Asli]

Originally Posted by Tammi
MUSIC: Clarifications to Rule 610, paragraph c)
(snip)

v) The music must be selected so that if there is any story or theme in the routine it has to be clearly understandable to the audience.

I wonder how this is going to be evaluated?! How are the judges supposed to know if the audience understood the story or whether they understood it correctly? Are they going to hand out questionnaires to the audience at the end of each free dance?

What does it matter anyway? The panel should judge the technical and presentation aspects of the dance, not the complexity of the theme. The definition of "clearly understandable" is not universal. Everybody understands art according to his/her cultural background, knowledge, personal life experience and feelings. So the complexity of the theme should not be a judging criterion.

vi) The music must have an uplifting effect.

I don't even want to imagine the perky "boy loves girl" free dances we will have to endure!

Is this rule intended to please the audience?

Hello! Is anybody in the ISU actually listening to the audience reaction? Most audiences LOVE dramatic! The most internationally beloved ice dance team in the last decades was Anissina/Peizerat, and they were known for their dramatic, intense and often angsty free dances. Take any dance team, their best-loved free dances are the ones excluded by this rule. Most audiences love soulful, dramatic, downright tragic! These dances are the ones that move the audience, capture their attention throughout and are remembered for years afterwards. Who remembers the happy-clappy ones?

Free the free dance!

[Pratfall]

In SOI Canada, Brasseur and Eisler skated the 'Fire Ants' , both in red uni's..needless to say, Lloyd looked ridiculous. The whole bit also poked fun at nightmare Skating Moms and questionable Judges... Have we gotten too PC? I miss that stuff...

I've been a audience member for decades and ,mostly , what I remember is good skating. I agree the uplifting rule is kind of ridiculous ...but it probably won't last , or be enforced. ( e.g. What happened to the "The lady will not ride on the gentleman's foot rule? Was it officially reversed, or just allowed to fade into obscurity ?) ..But I'm very tired of years and years of OTT agonizing . As with anything , if an extreme becomes the norm , there's bound to be a severe reaction.

[Asli]

In SOI Canada, Brasseur and Eisler skated the 'Fire Ants' , both in red uni's..needless to say, Lloyd looked ridiculous. The whole bit also poked fun at nightmare Skating Moms and questionable Judges... Have we gotten too PC? I miss that stuff...

You see , that sounds like one program that would not be "clearly understandable", because the majority of the audience is blissfully ignorant of the existence of "skating moms". So making fun of skating moms is an insider joke.

[gkelly]

Probably a good route for many teams to take would be to say that their program is an abstract expression of the musical structure. And then use a secret storyline known only to themselves if that helps them relate to the music better.

[MR-FAN]

v) The music must be selected so that if there is any story or theme in the routine it has to be clearly understandable to the audience.

Oh dear... wonder how long before skaters start carrying signs explaining what's happening. It's the silent-movie era all over again!

[Pratfall]

ITA, gkelly..we don't need a story..obviously ,if they're skating to music written for a story we know ( Carmen, Romeo & Juliet etc.etc.)...fine. If they have some private story , it's not in my need to know...but, If there's obviously some convoluted story, such as with B/A's FD this year.... what with the cross, the wing like bits, and so on - coupled with all the drama , yet it didn't seem related to any story anyone ever heard of...I'd just rather see something else.

[bookworm]

"Uplifting"... *shudders*