The Ice Dance Industrial Test Process

People used to ice dance for fun, on dates, at all ages.

What happened?

The heyday of ice dance was between the 20's and the 50's. Rock and roll had a hand in killing it. The rhythms just were too popular to ignore and appealed to the younger crowd. The old dance standards died out and ice dancing became stuffy, and too hard, and the bar was raised too high.

And at one time ice dance was ragingly popular! So popular that, ice dance testing was introduced in the US (the earliest testing record is from 1928 in Canada, but the US dance test structure was adopted in 1939). You had to learn the pattern dances, and test them.

By 1941:

"...as dancers became test conscious, they did not want to spend time learning non- compulsory dances. With the focus on new dance  test requirements, the social dances that did not make the test schedule would gradually disappear...Serious skaters are goal oriented. They work on elements that offer a visible  measure of progress, such as a passed test, entry in competition, or the ability to skate a Silver level dance" (Figure Skating History: The Evolution of Dance on Ice) 

So in the fifties, when Rock and Roll took over the music world, young people must have looked at the  time and testing requirements for ice dance and abandoned the sport in droves. They wanted to ice dance for dates--who wants to spend months (years!) learning to ice dance when you can go out on the floor and dance right away! And who wanted to test to go on a date! It was too much commitment! Skating required commitment! The social aspects of ice dance were already beginning to die.

And now, 70 years after testing was introduced what do we have? We have the Ice Dance Industrial Test Process, where you test so you can take more tests.

And hardly any social dance sessions to dance on.

Or any male partners to dance with.

The Magic Marker of Doom

Why is it that when any coach brings out the Magic Marker of Doom, do I know I'm going to have a bad 10 minutes?

It all starts so innocently. Coach reaches into his/her pocket and pulls something out. It's never candy or gum. It's always that stupid magic marker with the ultra broad tip. You know the kind, it's used for making posters in elementary schools, and for coaches to outline something new and difficult on the ice.

Moves coach is all motivated to get me to do three turns on a bigger circle. Out comes the marker. On the ice is drawn a gentle curve for me to do a 3 turn on. I do my 3 turn and because I have a bad habit of pre-rotating the turn, I'm on a much smaller circle. I hate this exercise. I just got my 3 turns solid this year. I'm still having fun doing them pre-rotation and all. Making them on a better shape curve seems like real work. I just want to play with them the way a kitten plays with a ball.  Threes in a circle, alternating 3s, 3s to landing position. But it's back to work on big girl 3 turns. Urgh.

Dance coach will pull his marker out (where do they come from? Is there a special coach's store?)  and draws small dance patterns on the ice. He's got the patterns in his head. I can't remember them for more than 30 seconds.  I need a Heads Up Display, and laser pattern projections on the ice to get a dance pattern the first time.  It took me two months to learn the Dutch Waltz and Canasta Tango and that was with carrying printouts of patterns  so I could consult them when I got dance lost. With my memory, Coach needs to draw the whole pattern on the ice the first time for me. Ahhh! That would be perfect.

At what point do I get good enough skills that the marker never leaves the pocket? It has to happen sometime. Does Igor Shpilband carry one in his pocket and draw on the ice for Davis and White? Doubt it.

AOSS

There is a serious syndrome in the world today. It forces people to exercise, to improve their flexibility and endurance, and to achieve physical and inner balance. It occurs when an adult enters an ice rink and has a good time, followed by dreams of gliding expertly across the ice. Soon comes Learn to Skate group lessons, private lessons,  meeting other adult skaters, participating in Christmas ice shows, skating club participation, muttering darkly at judges' decisions during National, World and Olympic championships, and having your doctor comment "You're amazingly graceful. What have you been doing?" This is called "Adult Onset Skating Syndrome." (AOSS)

I am a victim.

Because of AOSS, I lift weights, do Pilates,  do endurance exercises, and know the schedule of every ice rink in a 50 mile radius. Fortunately, I've not advanced to AOSS Stage IV: "Swarovski Crystal Stoning Compulsion" (SCSC). I'm only at Stage I: Ecto-Endous Edge-opexy (EEE--outside inside edge fixation) with Stage 1a Torvil-Dean Dance Disease (TDDD) and Stage 1b Moves in the Field Morphology  (MM). I've been told this is incurable and will get worse. Eventually I will be in Stage V: Gold Test Tension Grumbling (GTTG). 

I can't wait.

Fortunately, I am an engineer by trade with 40 years of  experience analyzing complex physical systems.  I've approached my skating like an engineering problem.   I'll share some simple tips that have worked for me, and some stories of how I learned to improve my skating.  It's a big scary frozen world out there. We adult skaters need to hang together. Join me in the glide across the ice.