Should the ISU start incorporating Sole Ice Dance into its Competitions?

[Maofan7]

One measure that might help to rebuild the popularity of figure skating could be for the ISU to incorporate Solo Ice Dance into its competitions, including the World Championships. That would of course turn its competitions from 4 event competitions, into 6 event ones (with the inclusion of Ladies Solo Ice Dance and Men's Solo Ice Dance events). Moreover, once Solo Ice Dance had been in the World Championships for several years, the IOC could then consider it for inclusion in the Olympics

The United States Figure Skating Association has been holding its own National Solo Dance Championships for several years now. The 2012 event recently took place in Colorado Springs in September. This is the Examiner's article on the championships. As Jo Ann Schneider-Farris points out in the article:-

A new event that premiered at the 2012 National Solo Dance Championship was solo free dance. Ice dancers performed step sequences, twizzles, edge moves, and spins in very creative solo free dance programs that looked a bit like beautifully skated free skating programs without jumps.

In terms of traditional free skating, I think what has been lost under IJS/COP is the artistry, musicality, interpretation, and choreography that audiences used to enjoy. They have become too much of a jumping competition, with elements added often at random just to score points. After all, the objective is to score points, and not necessarily to choreograph and skate the most impressive program from an artistic perspective. That is where Solo Ice Dance can potentially plug the gap.

Hence, should the ISU add Solo Ice Dance to its competitions?

[gkelly]

It would probably take a few years before there would be enough senior-level competitors from enough countries to hold a world championship, but I'd love to see them give it a try.

Probably first they'd need to sponsor one or more open international solo dance competitions for at least junior and senior levels, or encourage hosts of senior B or other events to add solo dance to their announcements. Then let it grow from there.

Singles skaters who can do interesting stuff between the jumps and spins, and ice dancers who also compete with partners, could also enter this track. Eventually it could become its own specialty with its own stars.

[Aussie Willy]

I am a very strong advocate for solo dance having competed in it myself (only low level) but I don't think it should be part of Worlds. Still the idea of being part of some international events is a good idea. I do get very frustrated that people don't take it as a seriously, including a number of judges. For some skaters it is the only thing they feel comfortable doing too.

Roller skating does have solo dance as a world event.

[leafygreens]

I'm all for more skating events, so I vote YES!

[Vash01]

In terms of traditional free skating, I think what has been lost under IJS/COP is the artistry, musicality, interpretation, and choreography that audiences used to enjoy. They have become too much of a jumping competition, with elements added often at random just to score points. After all, the objective is to score points, and not necessarily to choreograph and skate the most impressive program from an artistic perspective. That is where Solo Ice Dance can potentially plug the gap.

Hence, should the ISU add Solo Ice Dance to its competitions?

Your argument has validity. However, I don't think that a solo dance competition would solve the problem. It will simply be a free skate without jumps- more like a pro routine (again, without the jumps). COP has taken away musicality and expression from FS. We see it more in pairs, but ice dance is not that free anymore either. In addition, I don't believe that a solo ice dance would be that attractive to an audience, and there is a real danger of it losing its status as a sport, without the athletic moves.

IMO the lower level solo dance competitions have their purpose- to develop certain skills in FS, but once a skater reaches the international senior level, he/she has learned to put together different skills. While I occasionally enjoy watching a beautifully delivered artistic program even without the jumps, it becomes too subjective when you make it a part of Olympic level competition.

JMO of course.

[briancoogaert]

Compulsories are done to be two. it's absolutely not the same to do the dances alone or with a partner ! I do solo ice dancing, so, I have no problem with it. But IMO, it's a non-sense to have it at the international level and it wouldn't give anything more to what we already have.
Good to have solo ice dance competition for adults, but not at Worlds. IMO

[Ozzisk8tr]

Solo dance gave roller a resurgence like nobody expected. The biggest events at nationals are the solo dance events. The reason they started solo in the first place was that there were not enough males for all the females to find partners. Why deprive all these amazing skaters the right to compete when it's not their fault that there aren't enough males. We've had it now at National level for well over a decade, and it's been at world championships now for about 5 years. Some of the solo freedances we've seen have been absolute masterpieces. My only issue is that it is hard to create conflict with one person, and conflict creates interest. Here is a link to the three time Jnr World champion from the USA doing her solo freedance from a couple of years ago. Oh, a couple of rules, they have to do one spin (with no more than three revolutions... I know we hate the restriction to) and one single revolution jump, one straight line footwork segment and a diagonal footwork segment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HZRh...eature=related

[essence_of_soy]

Solo dance gave roller a resurgence like nobody expected. The biggest events at nationals are the solo dance events. The reason they started solo in the first place was that there were not enough males for all the females to find partners. Why deprive all these amazing skaters the right to compete when it's not their fault that there aren't enough males. We've had it now at National level for well over a decade, and it's been at world championships now for about 5 years. Some of the solo freedances we've seen have been absolute masterpieces. My only issue is that it is hard to create conflict with one person, and conflict creates interest. Here is a link to the three time Jnr World champion from the USA doing her solo freedance from a couple of years ago. Oh, a couple of rules, they have to do one spin (with no more than three revolutions... I know we hate the restriction to) and one single revolution jump, one straight line footwork segment and a diagonal footwork segment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HZRh...eature=related

I'm with OzziS8ter on this one.

The ISU took years to jump onto the bandwagon. But look how big syncro is and now they have their own world championship.

Introducing Solo Dance also brings interest and numbers to the sport who may not have the resources to find a partner or the technology to acquire the big jumps and spins.

For me and maybe she is the exception to the rule, I'm not sure. But Shae Lynn Bourne changed my perception of solo dance completely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrY3f...eature=related

[nuge]

[QUOTE=essence_of_soy;3709904]For me and maybe she is the exception to the rule, I'm not sure. But Shae Lynn Bourne changed my perception of solo dance completely.

I thought of Shae straight away she is wonderful on her own

[aliceanne]

Solo dance gave roller a resurgence like nobody expected. The biggest events at nationals are the solo dance events. The reason they started solo in the first place was that there were not enough males for all the females to find partners. Why deprive all these amazing skaters the right to compete when it's not their fault that there aren't enough males. We've had it now at National level for well over a decade, and it's been at world championships now for about 5 years. Some of the solo freedances we've seen have been absolute masterpieces. My only issue is that it is hard to create conflict with one person, and conflict creates interest. Here is a link to the three time Jnr World champion from the USA doing her solo freedance from a couple of years ago. Oh, a couple of rules, they have to do one spin (with no more than three revolutions... I know we hate the restriction to) and one single revolution jump, one straight line footwork segment and a diagonal footwork segment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HZRh...eature=related

It seems like you would have to be well trained at dance as well as skating to do this. It isn't merely footwork (love that she used a clip from Dola re dola btw).

[aliceanne]

I think the big problem with "artistic" sports is that when they become part of international competition and the competitors are spending a lot of time and money training you have to standardize events to make the judges accountable. This inhibits the creativity of the performers and unfortunately makes it tedious for the spectators who must watch each performer do the same elements.

[aftershocks]

Solo dance gave roller a resurgence like nobody expected. The biggest events at nationals are the solo dance events. The reason they started solo in the first place was that there were not enough males for all the females to find partners. Why deprive all these amazing skaters the right to compete when it's not their fault that there aren't enough males. We've had it now at National level for well over a decade, and it's been at world championships now for about 5 years. Some of the solo freedances we've seen have been absolute masterpieces. My only issue is that it is hard to create conflict with one person, and conflict creates interest. Here is a link to the three time Jnr World champion from the USA doing her solo freedance from a couple of years ago. Oh, a couple of rules, they have to do one spin (with no more than three revolutions... I know we hate the restriction to) and one single revolution jump, one straight line footwork segment and a diagonal footwork segment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HZRh...eature=related

Thanks for the link. I wonder why artistic roller skating has not been as widely popular or had as large a following as figure skating. I would imagine it's partly due to the lack of a long tradition and organizational structure, plus no Olympics exposure.

[gkelly]

I think the big problem with "artistic" sports is that when they become part of international competition and the competitors are spending a lot of time and money training you have to standardize events to make the judges accountable. This inhibits the creativity of the performers and unfortunately makes it tedious for the spectators who must watch each performer do the same elements.

That's true, and certainly true of figure skating in general. Maybe ice dance especially because it went through a period of extreme thematic freedom in the free dance that was then reined back in, first by restricing what was allowed and later by requiring specific kinds of elements.

Obviously compulsory dances were a separate phase of the competition in which everyone was judged on doing the exact same steps -- now they're just required sequences in a larger "short dance" for junior and senior couples, so that might be the same for solo dancers at those levels, if a preliminary phase with more requirements and restrictions before the free dance would be needed for solo dance.



However, I think one way to address this -- for freestyle as well as ice dance solo or couple -- could be to have several categories of elements that can earn points, as defined in the scale of values with or without levels, with some of these elements required and others up to the choice of the skater.

For example, the required elements for solo free dance in the US right now are
•Short Edge Elements
•Long Edge Elements
•Twizzles or Twizzle Series
•Step Sequences
•Dance Spins
http://figureskating.about.com/od/ic...Free-Dance.htm

See pp. 54-55 for US senior solo free dance test requirements: http://www.usfigureskating.org/conte...20eReaders.pdf

There could be more different kinds of elements allowed so skaters could mix and match more and not all include the exact same balance of elements, as long as they all included a few minimum elements that all solo dances are expected to have.

But in all cases dancing to the rhythm of the music should be a primary requirement that would outweigh a singles skater going out there and doing great half jumps (or single or 1 1/2 if allowed) and spirals and spins with a typical singles skater's level of music expression.

[leafygreens]

Why isn't roller figure skating in the Olympics?

[nuge]

[QUOTE=Ozzisk8tr;3709903]. The reason they started solo in the first place was that there were not enough males for all the females to find partners. Why deprive all these amazing skaters the right to compete when it's not their fault that there aren't enough males.

What about all the females who's partners have injuries ?

Yes Domnina Kokhlova Hoffman all could do great on their own

[Ozzisk8tr]

Why isn't roller figure skating in the Olympics?

The final three sports up for consideration at the Rio Olympics were Golf, Roller Skating and Baseball. Roller Skating (or Roller Sports as it is known as) would have started with speed (as there is very little discrepancy to who finishes across the line first) and then hockey (both inline and quad) but artistic would never get in. Apparently the reason has been stated: "You think we'd let another sport in that's judged on peoples opinions? Look what happens in Ice Skating at Olympics". AT least in my lifetime we have solo dance and more importantly solo freelance. Up until a few years ago there was only an OSP or what we call Solo Creative dance. They give themes for the Creative each year (Folk, Middle Eastern, 50's and 60's rock and roll, Latin Passion - which is slower latin tempos, Latin Fire which is samba/cha cha/salsa and uptempo Latin rhythms, Latin Intensity - which is Paso, Tango and Flamenco. Then there's Disco, Middle Eastern, Roaring 20's, Ballroom, Slow Rhythm (pop ballads pretty much) and a couple of others. It's really a very entertaining section. I much prefer coaching a Creative to a Freedance as there is so much more discipline involved in a creative with loving and matching two repetitions of the same steps.

[Aussie Willy]

The thing I do like about what roller do is they are a lot more adventurous with the selections of dances and music for their CDs. And when I attended the roller nationals here in Australia a couple of years ago (where I finally met Ozzisk8tr) the senior ladies were amazing. Which results in those ladies being the stars in the sport and everyone watches it because they are so good.

One of the problems with solo dance (but then I can only speak for myself in Australia) is we haven't had anyone really leading the way, but then that is probably because they are not given the opportunity. The one competition I saw and judged (which I was involved in organising anyway), where we did have a solo freedance section, only one or two competitors really did a dance. The rest were doing freeskates without jumps. So those watching, including the other judges, were very quick to put it down and say it doesn't work.

That also probably comes from the fact we do not have a strong ice dance culture here in Australia so skaters generally do not understand the concept of creating a dance.

[acraven]

I volunteered at a collegiate competition in Virginia last weekend and was pleased to see a fair number of male skaters entered, even in the solo dance events. Although the lower-level solo dancers were all female (unless I overlooked someone when I scanned the entry lists), the three highest events had the following mix:

International Solo Dance: 1 man, 3 women
Senior Solo Dance: 4 men, 6 women
Junior Solo Dance: 1 man, 8 women

This is just a guess on my part, but I assume it's much easier to fit solo dance training into a college schedule since you don't need to coordinate practice times, etc., with a partner, so it's an attractive option even for some dancers who could find partners.

[Ozzisk8tr]

I volunteered at a collegiate competition in Virginia last weekend and was pleased to see a fair number of male skaters entered, even in the solo dance events. Although the lower-level solo dancers were all female (unless I overlooked someone when I scanned the entry lists), the three highest events had the following mix:

International Solo Dance: 1 man, 3 women
Senior Solo Dance: 4 men, 6 women
Junior Solo Dance: 1 man, 8 women

This is just a guess on my part, but I assume it's much easier to fit solo dance training into a college schedule since you don't need to coordinate practice times, etc., with a partner, so it's an attractive option even for some dancers who could find partners.

Snap. It's also rather hard to give the death stare to yourself. Most people have a pretty good relationship with themselves, which really assists in training.

[briancoogaert]

Snap. It's also rather hard to give the death stare to yourself. Most people have a pretty good relationship with themselves, which really assists in training.

LOL
But a partner can help to find motivation