The relatively recent success of American ice dance would not have come about if it wasn’t for the Soviet Union and communism and has nothing to do with American ice dance from the 1950s and 1960s. You can think it has all you like, but it doesn’t.
Did you actually read what I wrote? Maybe you missed this part:
...and of course the influx of ex-Soviet emigrants coming to the U.S. and forming their own ice dance schools has heavily influenced American ice dance to what it was now.
You forget, my initial response was to this post of yours:
Must be a hard pill for all those patriotic American ice dance fans that there would be no American ice dance programme without the Soviet Union and communism.
All I said in response was:
There used to be and they used to get medals too until for some reason one had to have Russian technique to start winning ice dancing titles and medals
There's nothing false in my statement.
Then you for some reason felt the need to challenge me and ask about Americans who won medals in ice dance and then excluded the first Olympics where there was an American team that won both an Olympic and World medal.
I just thought to provide some history that there was American ice dance out of respect and not to ERASE history. Once it became an Olympic sport and the sport side changed, it seemed the only techniques and style that were rewarded came from the Russian school of ice dance with their emphasis on more drama, athleticism, and speed. American ice dance subsequently suffered a drought but got back to the world competitive stage with the influx of ex-Soviet coaches coming here and forming their own ice dance schools. Which, I repeat, I already mentioned in a previous post.
I didn't say anything about influencing the current crop of American ice dance success which I clearly gave credit to the Russian coaches coming here and teaching generations of American skaters, thus giving them Russian technique that the judges appreciated.
I will say it is kind of false that American ice dance culture hasn't been part of the American ice dance success because I'm sure it's still there among the many teams of coaches who are not Russian/Soviet ex-patriates coaching under the ones who are Russian/Soviet ones. I mean, for one, Judy Blumberg is a tech caller and gets called in to check levels and such. Renee Roca is still coaching and helped the Shibs prepare for Pyeongchang, etc. Me saying that isn't erasing the fact that the Ex-Soviet/Russian coaches have driven the success of the American teams in the past few decades. That said, despite all the coaches being Russian, there is clearly something distinct about the "North American style" or otherwise people wouldn't have been bitching about it for a decade+ of Belbin/Agosto, Davis/White, and Virtue/Moir.
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