November 2021
Hi everyone! Welcome back to our blog page and if this is your first time, welcome to FSE’s blog page. We hope that you and your loved ones are well.
Carrying on from last month’s theme, now we are diving straight into the world of ice dance. This is considered a separate discipline from figure skating despite both coming under the common umbrella of ‘ice skating’. Yet ice dance resembles ballroom dancing on ice where skaters dance to set patterns alongside very beautiful music with a set and steady beat or rhythm. This allows skaters to maintain a ballroom-style hold throughout the program.
How does ice dance differ from pairs skating you may ask? Well, ice dance focuses on precision of footwork whereas in pairs skating, there are the famous jumps, lifts, spins, and death spirals we all know and love.
Dancing on ice started in the 19th century in Vienna and overtime the popularity of the sport increased in massive numbers. One of the first very popular moves and now a standard in ice dancing is the three-step waltz. Overtime, the dance patterns evolved to become more precise in their footwork, edges and use of the whole rink. This led to beginning of national competitions being held in England, Canada, and the USA.
Finally, official rules and regulations were put into place for the sport to be officially established internationally, to allow fairness whilst competing and ensure that this sport is remarkably unique in comparison to pairs figure skating. What this means is that each competing couple has to perform the same four set pattern dances and then incorporate their own dance for the smaller remainder of the score.
Today Ice dancing has continued to evolve innovatively so that it is all about maintaining the balance between the classic set patterns and new creative patterns- allowing skaters' passion and artistry to shine through. This foundation led to many more patterns to be developed.
This type of sport gives the opportunity for skaters to challenge themselves and improve their skating skills outside of jumps and spins.
From all of us at Figure Skating Egypt, we thank you for your continued support and as always, you can find out more about joining our team via our FAQs page on our website or by directly contacting our coach Captain Ahmad Saad.
Quote of the month:
'A challenge is an opportunity to prove your ability'