UPDATES ON MY DREAM TO LEARN TO ICE-DANCE...WISH ME LUCK!!

[FSWer]

HEY!!!! I owe it alot to you guys as well.

 

[FSWer]

Hopefully after the New year I'll be on the Ice for training.

 

[FSWer]

I will be checking back in with Nick in Jan.

 

[FSWer]

Ok everyone...Nick believes I can be hooked up with a partner. I just need to learn the Fox-trot...and I DO have the correct books to go by. But can anyone help me with how to translate Ice-Dance diagrams?

 

[overedge]

@FSWer are you sure he wants you to start with the Foxtrot? That is a more advanced dance than you would usually start with when you are learning ice dance.

ETA: The ice dance diagrams are like maps. They show you the steps of the dance and the pattern in which the steps travel around the ice. Usually the point where the pattern of the dance starts is marked with a little triangle, and the steps are numbered after that from 1 through to the end of the pattern. Along with the diagram there should also be a chart that lists the number for each step with a short description of the step next to its number. You will also see codes on the diagram itself, like "Pr" for a progressive and "Ch" for a chasse.

But you can't learn a dance just from reading the diagram. The best (and safest) way to learn a dance is to take the diagram with you to the rink *and* have a coach show you the dance steps when you are both on the ice.

 

[Shyjosie]

overedge is right, FSWer, the safest way to learn a dance is with a coach - but you can have a look at the patterns of (almost) all dances if it helps. Just google "ice dancing foxtrott pattern" and click "pictures" and then you'll get the maps overedge mentioned, like this:
http://www.icedancing.org.uk/main/wp-content/uploads/Foxtrot5.jpg
You may insert any other dance you want to look up instead of Foxtrott, of course (I once did the same for the Canasta Tango, which is the very first dance you're normally taught in ice dancing).

 

[Skittl1321]

Are you sure Nick isn't saying he thinks you'd be ready for a partner once you learn the foxtrot, but he would still want you to start with the basics: Dutch waltz, canasta tango, rhythm blues etc... not start with such a difficult dance.

You've said in another thread you are not good at memorizing, so you will want to work very hard on that skill. Two dance partners won't attempt a dance together until both of them have the steps very well memorized. it can be dangerous otherwise.

 

[Clarice]

I agree with everybody else, FSWer. The Foxtrot is a pretty hard dance, and you won't be learning that as a beginner. I'm not sure what Nick meant, but you will almost certainly start with the Dutch Waltz or Canasta Tango.

People use the dance diagrams in different ways. I have one student who really likes them and learns the steps by studying the diagrams. I've had other students who find them way too confusing and won't look at them at all. I myself like to learn the dance from my coach on the ice first, and then use the diagram to help me remember what I learned.

I'll try to explain how they work, but you'll probably need someone to show you in person, too.

Can you look at the diagram for the Dutch Waltz? Let's use that one because it doesn't have too many steps and it will be easier to follow. All the diagrams work the same way. The lines show you the shape the dance makes on the ice. Each line is one step. You start where it says "start or repeat". Usually you take a few strokes to get up some speed, then start the steps of the dance. Those first "intro steps" are not shown on the diagram.

I'm looking at the diagram from the USFS Rule Book. There are numbers in little white circles next to each step. Those numbers tell you how many counts to hold each step. There are also numbers that are not in circles. Those just number the steps in order: 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on. Next to those numbers are codes for what each step is.

Here are the codes used in the Dutch Waltz:
LFO = Left Forward Outside edge
RFI Pr = Right Forward Inside Progressive
RFO SwR = Right Forward Outside Swing Roll
LFO SwR = Left Forward Outside Swing Roll
RFO = Right Forward Outside Edge
LFI Pr = Left Forward Inside Progressive
RFI = Right Forward Inside Edge

Now this is the part where you might need your coach to show you. The first three steps of the dance are LFO, RFI Pr, LFO. What the diagram can't show you very well is that those three steps together are sort of like a forward crossover. You hold the LFO for 2 counts, then the RFI for 1 count (the right foot crosses over and the left foot pushes under - that's what happens in a progressive), then another LFO for 3 counts. It's way easier to have a coach show you first, then use the diagram to help you remember. There's no way the diagram can show you what position your body is in, only what edges you are supposed to be using.

 

[Kecasyl]

I agree with the posters above. Definitely let the coach teach you these dances.

 

[FSWer]

@FSWer are you sure he wants you to start with the Foxtrot? That is a more advanced dance than you would usually start with when you are learning ice dance.

ETA: The ice dance diagrams are like maps. They show you the steps of the dance and the pattern in which the steps travel around the ice. Usually the point where the pattern of the dance starts is marked with a little triangle, and the steps are numbered after that from 1 through to the end of the pattern. Along with the diagram there should also be a chart that lists the number for each step with a short description of the step next to its number. You will also see codes on the diagram itself, like "Pr" for a progressive and "Ch" for a chasse.

But you can't learn a dance just from reading the diagram. The best (and safest) way to learn a dance is to take the diagram with you to the rink *and* have a coach show you the dance steps when you are both on the ice.

LOL. I misread his reply. I ment to say something else. I wish I could remember what he said. If someone could remind me of the starter moves,that would be great. If you can't learn from a diagram. Then why put them in books?

 

[FSWer]

LOL. I misread his reply. I ment to say something else. I wish I could remember what he said. If someone could remind me of the starter moves,that would be great. If you can't learn from a diagram. Then why put them in books?

LOL. I think he said the Dutch-Walz

 

[Sylvia]

Here you go - earlier posts about the Dutch Waltz:

You would work on swing rolls and basic stroking to see what dance you should start at. For me (and pretty much everybody), it was the Dutch Waltz.

All the steps you learn in ice dance are part of an already made up dance, with the same steps.

The first one you learn is called the Dutch Waltz.
Once you learn to do it, you can Dutch Waltz with anyone who also has been taught it.
I will try to find a good video of the dutch waltz for you.

[Dutch Waltz video] https://youtu.be/Up7rtb6iMmYUp7rtb6iMmY

I like this one because this shows how the dance can be done by people learning the dance, not people in a competition.

 

[Skittl1321]

LOL. I misread his reply. I ment to say something else. I wish I could remember what he said. If someone could remind me of the starter moves,that would be great. If you can't learn from a diagram. Then why put them in books?

The books are a helpful reminder for those who have been taught by a coach. I always brought a printout of but he dance with me to practice to help me remember my lesson. it also helped me learn which steps went in which location on the rink, but I still had to be taught how to properly execute them.

 

[Kecasyl]

LOL. I misread his reply. I ment to say something else. I wish I could remember what he said. If someone could remind me of the starter moves,that would be great. If you can't learn from a diagram. Then why put them in books?

They are put in books for a guidelines for coaches, choreographers and officials and to have an official outline of each dance.

 

[FSWer]

Here you go - earlier posts about the Dutch Waltz:

I saw part of it,and amazingly the hold looks just like the Killan-Hold. Also,I have a funny feeling that I have done that Hold and just never knew there was a name for it. I can reconize a way I might hold people sometime. BUT..I might be wrong.

 

[overedge]

@FSWer the Dutch Waltz dance is skated in a Kilian hold. So if you saw part of it, you would have seen skaters doing the Kilian hold. There is a dance called the Kilian, and that is where the name came from, but the Kilian hold is used in many other dances as well as the Kilian.

 

[FSWer]

@FSWer the Dutch Waltz dance is skated in a Kilian hold. So if you saw part of it, you would have seen skaters doing the Kilian hold. There is a dance called the Kilian, and that is where the name came from, but the Kilian hold is used in many other dances as well as the Kilian.

So,I basicly just need to learn how my feet should be moving,right? BTW. I have a question that I've always wondered about in Partnerships. I myself am about the same height as a teen,or sometimes even a kid. When the time comes, would I still be partnered with an adult OR could I even be Partnered with a Teen who is at least my height?

 

[overedge]

@FSWer yes, you have to learn how your feet move, but you also have to learn to do the steps in the right time to the music, and learn to do the steps in the right order and on the right edge. *And* if you are doing the dance with a partner, you also have to learn to do the dance with the partner - which is more than just doing the right steps together.

With a partner, their age isn't always the most important thing. Most coaches are more concerned with partners having the same skill level (like, working on the same dances) and not being too much taller or too much shorter than each other.

 

[FSWer]

@FSWer yes, you have to learn how your feet move, but you also have to learn to do the steps in the right time to the music, and learn to do the steps in the right order and on the right edge. *And* if you are doing the dance with a partner, you also have to learn to do the dance with the partner - which is more than just doing the right steps together.

With a partner, their age isn't always the most important thing. Most coaches are more concerned with partners having the same skill level (like, working on the same dances) and not being too much taller or too much shorter than each other.

Say,can anyone send me a DVD. on Ice-Dancing?

 

[FSWer]

@FSWer yes, you have to learn how your feet move, but you also have to learn to do the steps in the right time to the music, and learn to do the steps in the right order and on the right edge. *And* if you are doing the dance with a partner, you also have to learn to do the dance with the partner - which is more than just doing the right steps together.

With a partner, their age isn't always the most important thing. Most coaches are more concerned with partners having the same skill level (like, working on the same dances) and not being too much taller or too much shorter than each other.

Say,can anyone send me a DVD. on Ice-Dancing?

 

[FSWer]

@FSWer yes, you have to learn how your feet move, but you also have to learn to do the steps in the right time to the music, and learn to do the steps in the right order and on the right edge. *And* if you are doing the dance with a partner, you also have to learn to do the dance with the partner - which is more than just doing the right steps together.

With a partner, their age isn't always the most important thing. Most coaches are more concerned with partners having the same skill level (like, working on the same dances) and not being too much taller or too much shorter than each other.

Say,can anyone send me a DVD. on Ice-Dancing?

 

[overedge]

Say,can anyone send me a DVD. on Ice-Dancing?

@FSWer there are some good DVDs on learning ice dance available at this site:
http://www.icedancers.com/learn-to-ice-dance-vol-1

There are also videos on learning ice dance on the same site:
http://www.icedancers.com/apps/videos/channels/show/3724134-learn-to-ice-dance-vol-1

 

[purple skates]

@FSWer there are some good DVDs on learning ice dance available at this site:
http://www.icedancers.com/learn-to-ice-dance-vol-1

I danced with him at the AN social ice dance this year. He's really good. Of course, as a solo dancer, I'm not used to dancing with people and rather messed up the dance - which is sad because it was one of the dances I had just competed.

 

[FSWer]

Hi Purple. Do you know if they are still competing together? Do they have a site?

 

[Sylvia]

I Googled their names and it looks like both Terri Levine and Mike Ricigliano are U.S. national ice dance judges now: http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2016/22830/t217-f226c4.htm

Ricigliano is featured in this 2014 article: http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/02/12/bay-area-athletes-put-age-on-ice/
"Ricigliano and skating partner Julie Keith ... have won seven Adult Nationals ice dancing championships."

The bottom of the learn to ice dance vol. 1 DVD description page says this:

Mike Ricigliano is an eight-time gold medalist in Championship Gold Dance at the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships.
Terri Levine is the 2007 silver medalist in Pre-Gold dance at the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships.
Both are gold medalists in ice dance, having successfully passed the standard gold dance test.

 

[purple skates]

Yes, @FSWer, @Sylvia is correct. He actually judged my event. I haven't seen him compete in some years.

 

[FSWer]

LOL. their names are new to me. Any videos of when they competed? I sure hope I can do good in Ice-Dancing.

 

[Sylvia]

It sounds like Levine and Ricigliano never competed together but they demonstrated the dances together in the first instructional video (30 second clips):

Dutch Waltz (Learn to Ice Dance Vol. 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81oGSIONg6Y

Canasta Tango (Learn to Ice Dance Vol. 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Cw1joA4Xw

Rhythm Blues (Learn to Ice Dance Vol. 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nE4XvmKqcE

Julie Keith and Mike Ricigliano competed in the U.S. Adult Championships (so are not "famous" except within the adult skating community) and are featured in the second instructional video - here's the promotional trailer showing them demonstrating higher level dances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dwU1Xbvsqk

 

[purple skates]

@FSWer, winning Adult Nationals is an incredible accomplishment. However, it is not the same as what you see on tv. Us adults usually fly under the radar which is why you can't find much as far as videos etc on line

 

[Yazmeen]

@FSWer, one of the coaches I know and have worked with is Shay Sterlace, and she and her partner Yovanny Durango are the 3-time and current Eastern Sectional, US National, and World Adult Ice Dance Champions. They may not be as well known as their younger elite partners, but their accomplishments are terrific, and they are going for #4 in 2017!