Recent content by Clarice

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.

Solo pattern dances are what they are - you skate the pattern of the dance. In solo free dance there are required elements. Those include step sequences, twizzles, spins, and edge elements like spirals or spread eagles. I do Adult Silver solo free dance. My dance has a pivot and a spiral for the...

Learning how to track with a partner is a skill unique to partnered dance. If you have only tested solo, you don't know how to work with a partner and so you need to go back to the beginning to learn that. It can be dangerous otherwise.

My daughter moved to southern Maine about a year and a half ago. She says The Sharper Edge is where the hardcore skaters go. In Portland, she uses Back Bay Skate - so far, so good.

Yeah, it's closer to $5000 for the spinner, and you still need the harness. https://championskatingharness.com/web/index.php?siteid=397

This thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrU6lzm0AT8 It's really expensive, though.

The hardest part of videotaping an ice dance test is having empty ice for the test. I did one for one of my students, and we were able to be on an empty freestyle. I've also been present for tests where other skaters were asked to clear the ice to tape the test, but you're going to make people...