Recent content by Clarice

What gkelly and overedge said! So you're already working on it! Haven't you told us that Nick has worked with you on your pushing and gliding?

That all sounds very exciting! You can learn quite a lot from virtual lessons. I did that with my coach during lock down.

Stingy is the opposite of being generous. Some judges are easier graders than others. It doesn’t really matter as long as you passed the test.

It's kind of like that. As a skater, you see the same kind of scores whether you're on the regular, 21+, or 50+ standards, but if you're older the judges go a little easier on you. And, yes, of course if you're able to skate better than most people your age you'll get a higher score. As far as...

Sure, I’ll try. I test my ice dances on the Adult 50+ standard. Because I’m older, I’m not expected to be able to skate as strongly as a teenager or even a younger adult. My skating will be slower and my pattern smaller in comparison to them. The judges take my age into account, though, so if I...

I took my first dance test in 2007, so going on 20 years. I take my tests partnered and used to compete with a partner, but currently compete solo. I didn't skate as a kid, so all my testing and competing has been done at adult levels, currently 50+.

When you're just learning you usually partner with a coach, because they are teaching you how to be a partner.

I started skating when I was 37 and was a freestyle skater. I wanted to jump and spin. I noticed that my programs did not look very smooth, though, because my basic skating skills were not very good. I decided to learn ice dance because I thought it would help me improve my edges and turns. It...

First you need to know how to skate. You need to be able to do different skating steps that could be put together into a dance - things like stroking, swing rolls, progressives, chasses, three turns, and c-steps. When you can do those things safely, you can learn pattern dances that use them or...

I think it's very important to have a good coach. You can't learn everything you need to know just from the diagrams. Watching good videos can help, but nothing beats feedback from your coach. They can see in the moment what needs to change and can tell you exactly what you need to do differently.

I'll be at the one in Geneva, IL! SOOO excited to see this!

I like what everyone has said here. I'm going to add that to get a long glide it helps to have good posture. Keep your head over your feet and don't lean forwards. Pretend you have a tail and let it hang straight down towards the ice. It shouldn't stick out behind you, and it shouldn't tuck...

When you first learn an ice dance pattern you focus on getting the edges and timing right and you tend to skate a little slower. This makes a smaller pattern. To make the pattern fill out the whole rink you need to skate faster. You do that by bending your ankles and knees and pressing on the...

I’m going! I don’t feel ready yet either and I’m currently injured, so…

Yes, the pairs at my rink do a LOT of lift practice off the ice. Sometimes they will also practice with different partners, so the person learning the lift is working with someone who already knows how to do it.