Imagine you're the ISU ice dance technical committee

[gkelly]

Your task is to choose Rhythm Dance themes for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

What rhythms or broader themes would work well to
*showcase each team's technical skating skills
*showcase each team's musical interpretation skills
*appeal to audiences (especially to broad casual audiences in the Olympic season)?

What existing pattern dance should be incorporated, in whole or in part?

Any other additions or specifics to the required elements you'd want to include each year?

Have fun brainstorming!

 

[Wyliefan]

WALTZ WALTZ WALTZ

That was easy.

 

[Kateri]

There, question answered, we can close the thread now.

 

[her grace]

I want a bloody polka!

Then Waltz for the Olympic season is fine by me.

 

[litenkyckling]

2024-2025
Theme: At The Movies
Pattern: Golden Waltz

2025-2026
Theme: Folk Dances
Pattern: Yankee Polka

I personally just want the pattern, but understand that the ISU don't (because they know what fans want remember). So I imagine this would be more likely placed within a Rhythm Sequence or Pattern Step.

These could be either way round too I guess in terms of seasons.

 

[skatingguy]

After the Free Dance at Worlds all the skaters from the event take to the ice. They draw names from a hat until all the skaters have new partners, and then the new partners draw a dance style for next season.

 

[Karen-W]

2024-2025
Theme: At The Movies
Pattern: Golden Waltz

2025-2026
Theme: Folk Dances
Pattern: Yankee Polka

I personally just want the pattern, but understand that the ISU don't (because they know what fans want remember). So I imagine this would be more likely placed within a Rhythm Sequence or Pattern Step.

These could be either way round too I guess in terms of seasons.

I'd flip these - do the folk dances/yankee polka next season and at the movies/golden waltz during the Olympic season. I think that a movies theme has more potential to go viral than a folk dances theme.

 

[litenkyckling]

I'd flip these - do the folk dances/yankee polka next season and at the movies/golden waltz during the Olympic season. I think that a movies theme has more potential to go viral than a folk dances theme.

I think that this is actually where the one of the biggest issue lies for me - you can't force viral moments. They just happen and can't be engineered - so why even try y'know? And if we look back - one programme that I think would have gone viral if it was in a TikTok era is the Kerr's Scottish dance - not cool or stylish or on trend but fun and out of the box!

 

[Karen-W]

I think that this is actually where the one of the biggest issue lies for me - you can't force viral moments. They just happen and can't be engineered - so why even try y'know? And if we look back - one programme that I think would have gone viral if it was in a TikTok era is the Kerr's Scottish dance - not cool or stylish or on trend but fun and out of the box!

I think DavWhite's Bollywood RD would have also gone viral - it got tons of views in India at the time. And FearGib's Disco FD which started them on their upward trajectory but was just before the TikTok era probably also would have gone viral.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

All I want to see, is the inception of same-sex couples at some point.

 

[MsZem]

I liked both of the 2009-10 CDs - Tango Romantica and the Golden Waltz. Bring them both back! I'm dying to see who can actually pull off the latter.

Let's have some sort of club theme for the RD, without specifying which era. That should give everyone something to play around with.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

. I think that a movies theme has more potential to go viral than a folk dances theme.

Unless you are John Kerr, skating in a kilt for your Folk Dance.

ETA: Glad to see someone else above had the same idea!

 

[Bigbird]

Do we remember the tango Tessa and Scott did at worlds 2011? I want that feel...I want complete patterns done in hold, one cohesive theme, with twizzles that are concealed and don't scream another element and tasteful lifts one long and one short..am I asking for much?

 

[overedge]

The Hokey Pokey or the Chicken Dance. Crowd pleasers that everyone can sing and dance along with!

In the real world: bring back the compulsory dances.

 

[skategal]

The Hokey Pokey or the Chicken Dance. Crowd pleasers that everyone can sing and dance along with!

In the real world: bring back the compulsory dances.

I was thinking the Hamster Dance so we are on the same page.

 

[litenkyckling]

Do we remember the tango Tessa and Scott did at worlds 2011? I want that feel...I want complete patterns done in hold, one cohesive theme, with twizzles that are concealed and don't scream another element and tasteful lifts one long and one short..am I asking for much?

A SD I find myself going back to time and time again - just stunning to be honest

 

[Aussie Willy]

All dances must be variations of viral Tiktok dances.

On the other hand, they can take their pick of an iconic music video (with dance) and use that as inspiration. Actually that is not such a bad idea. I want a couple to do Weapon of Choice by Fat Boy Slim. We would probably get heaps of Jungle Back on 74.

 

[Karen-W]

The Hokey Pokey or the Chicken Dance. Crowd pleasers that everyone can sing and dance along with!

In the real world: bring back the compulsory dances.

Oh, no... Let's go more contemporary than those! How about the Cupid Shuffle? Or the Electric Slide?

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Oh, no... Let's go more contemporary than those! How about the Cupid Shuffle? Or the Electric Slide?

WOP (not to be confused with WAP).

WOP (Official iTunes Version) by J. Dash ft. Flo Rida - iTunes

"WOP" available on iTunes NOW!: http://stereofa.me/ituneswopâ¨"WOP" available on Amazon NOW!: http://stereofa.me/amznwop"Wop (Club Remix)" available on iTunes...

youtu.be

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I sometimes imagine that ISU ice dance technical committee meetings are like some of the worst creative department/marketing meetings that I've been at where the loudest (but least talented) people in the room insist on making bizarre, unworkable campaign ideas happen because they're "cool," "edgy," and "over the top"

 

[Aussie Willy]

I sometimes imagine that ISU ice dance technical committee meetings are like some of the worst creative department/marketing meetings that I've been at where the loudest (but least talented) people in the room insist on making bizarre, unworkable campaign ideas happen because they're "cool," "edgy," and "over the top"

I thought that would be totally in keeping with what FSU void lovers would want to see

 

[SidelineSkater]

Do we remember the tango Tessa and Scott did at worlds 2011? I want that feel...I want complete patterns done in hold, one cohesive theme, with twizzles that are concealed and don't scream another element and tasteful lifts one long and one short..am I asking for much?

A SD I find myself going back to time and time again - just stunning to be honest

Do you both mean their FD from 2011? The SD that year was the Golden Waltz. V/M only really competed at 4CC and Worlds in 10-11, using the Hip Hip Chin Chin for their FD. The SD for 11-12 was Latin/Rhumba pattern.

 

[skatingguy]

Do you both mean their FD from 2011? The SD that year was the Golden Waltz. V/M only really competed at 4CC and Worlds in 10-11, using the Hip Hip Chin Chin for their FD. The SD for 11-12 was Latin/Rhumba pattern.

Their short dance that season was Tango/Waltz - the Frankenstein period of ice dance.

 

[Nmsis]

2024-2025 : Modern Waltz - pattern : Golden Waltz (to give a modern feel to the waltz and to stay away from the 19th /early 20th century officer / princess esthetics ; that's actually the kind of rythm that would be helped by a sub-theme like movies)
2025-2026 : Dance Party from the 70s, 80s, 90s - pattern QuickStep (hey, that's the olympic year, it's ok to be wild)

Side work : create new patterns beyond ballroom (rock, disco, urban...)

ie modernize ice dance heritage, widen the RD metrics with modern rythms.
But don't lose the metrics

 

[SidelineSkater]

Their short dance that season was Tango/Waltz - the Frankenstein period of ice dance.

Oh wow! I just started really paying attention to dance that season, and only remember mostly waltzes. I guess that's because Golden Waltz was the required steps portion, and the other part could be a waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, or tango. And most of the teams stuck with ballroom for the other part, rather than hybrid ballroom/Latin.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Oh wow! I just started really paying attention to dance that season, and only remember mostly waltzes. I guess that's because Golden Waltz was the required steps portion, and the other part could be a waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, or tango. And most of the teams stuck with ballroom for the other part, rather than hybrid ballroom/Latin.

Most of the "Wangoes" from that year were something else

 

[gkelly]

2025-2026 : Dance Party from the 70s, 80s, 90s - pattern QuickStep (hey, that's the olympic year, it's ok to be wild)

This pattern to 70s-80s-90s music? (shadow dance example chosen with more modern music)

Or

Finnstep for seniors, Quickstep pattern for juniors?

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

So if I were the ISU Ice Dance Tech Committee Queen, I would bring back the pattern dance in alternate years and update the pattern dances to include T&D's rhumba, Gil/Poi's Maple Leaf March and other new pattern dances. So if the RD theme is folk one year, there wouldn't be a pattern dance (but there would be an automatic 5 point deduction for racist/stereotypical interpretations!), but then the next year the theme could be a waltz/march combo with a prescribed CD such as the Golden Waltz.

 

[Karen-W]

So if I were the ISU Ice Dance Tech Committee Queen, I would bring back the pattern dance in alternate years and update the pattern dances to include T&D's rhumba, Gil/Poi's Maple Leaf March and other new pattern dances. So if the RD theme is folk one year, there wouldn't be a pattern dance (but there would be an automatic 5 point deduction for racist/stereotypical interpretations!), but then the next year the theme could be a waltz/march combo with a prescribed CD such as the Golden Waltz.

GilPoir's pattern can't be used on the senior level while they are still competing.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

GilPoir's pattern can't be used on the senior level while they are still competing.

That makes sense.