A Dancer's Journey through Figure and Fancy Skating
Mention the word “figures” in a skating forum and you get a predictable set of two-sentences replies. In my opinion you can love figures for the visual art, or for the way they help train your body, or for both. My story: I entered for the training. I had just been skating 2 months and … Read more
It is in fact called Freestyle Ice Skating — or more recently Ice Freestyle. I understand the “freestyle” word can be confused with figure skating, but that is an unfortunate coincidence. I can assure you, Ice Freestylers don’t give a flying hoot about figure skating, nor do they want to look like ballet. The “Freestyle” … Read more
https://www.facebook.com/groups/adultsskatetoo/permalink/2070537187182935 Siri Hammond · Elizabeth Fisch ballet arabesques have a slight stacking of the hips at and above 90, it is a myth that the hips can stay square. Reply Elizabeth Fisch · Siri Hammond I’m a ballet professional and I know how arabesque works and how to teach it. My 5-word sentence is just a summary. … Read more
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1503550726620855/permalink/3957480411227862 Thank you for an interesting post that requires a serious response. Here is mine. First of all, ballet / contemporary dance is NOT a sport, rather it’s an athletic art (and chess is a non-athletic sport). The distinction may seem academic, but it results in world of difference in the social communities. That said, … Read more
https://www.facebook.com/groups/adultsskatetoo/permalink/2050449785858342 I have faced endless crap surrounding the practice of figures, and it’s mostly from figure skaters (and their coaches and parents): 1. Run out of town by two USFSA clubs, both which banned my practice of figures during their sessions. One also made up stories, tried to get me arrested and accused me of … Read more
I am quickly responding to this video, with more notes later: This is so fascinating, it explains how we learn and train our bodies to dance. It’s basically the same process I described here, which is what I learned at JMBT: Very exciting work. Watching the video I believe the key missing component for people … Read more
Yes. The reason most adult skaters look like this is because they haven’t learned to twist their spine (shoulders against hips), a movement that is critical to figure skating. Without spinal torsion, the only way to turn things is to turn your entire body, which is slow because it has adult-size mass and inertia. The … Read more
A little history here… there is no single “real music.” In the 1930’s and 1940’s — a time when social ice dance was the backbone of most FS clubs — Skating Magazine published various lists of commercially available (78 rpm) records recommended for each dance. Some but not all of those recordings are now available … Read more
RHV: Many of the positions and even the jumps are ballet based. EF: No they’re not. RHV: Elizabeth Fisch yes they are- there are many ballet positions, jumps end in arabesque, spirals in arabesque, spins in attitude or à la seconde, lifts in ballet positions. An axel is basically a tour jete with extra rotations. The … Read more
How important is ballet for figure skating? Has the IJS caused it to be disincentivized with so many other things to work on? https://www.facebook.com/TheSkatingLesson/posts/pfbid0Rraqd6EUDRkRVMt1A1GFaqRXSvU16SftQw4r759xDFm1gXrgVXDDJ359Yn9W1jchl Ballet develops a number of things that are essential to figure skating, and are easier to develop on the floor vs on ice. For that reason it should be at the … Read more