I am a beginning ice dancer and have been doing MITF for a few years. Footwork is not my strong suit. However, even in my very limited exposure to dance (Canasta Tango and Dutch Waltz), I find these patterns far more entertaining to practice than MITF. Granted these are basic dances, but I am only working on MITF up to juv.

Both must improve overall skating (speed, posture, edge quality) etc. I just find the dances more fun.

Anyone else?

Kay

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Hi Kay!

Actually, I'm doing it the other way around. I started with dance but I've decided to work on the MITF (adult pre-bronze) to improve my skating overall and of course, it's now required before you can take the FS test. However, I'm not a big fan of practicing moves. I enjoyed learning the preliminary dances except the Dutch Waltz which I thought was boring. I'm working on my pre-bronze dances and they are much more fun, but I'm finding that I need to develop better flow & stronger edges and I think that will come if I work on moves.

I'm working on my European Waltz (US Pre-Silver... the last of my pre-silvers I need to pass).

This summer I took time off from the EW and worked on forward power 3's as well as solo Foxtrot and 14Step. I found that working on the forward power 3's significantly helped my EW when we went back to training it more seriously. Specifically, the forward power 3's helped the check.

Re the dance, what I find helps me is to do lots of solo patterns at tempo with as much flow as I can muster. Besides EW, I'm training Foxtrot/14Step for an upcoming Pro-Am competition... coach and I skated both dances as a pair for the first time since the WFSC Pro-Am, and we could both tell that all the solo work over the summer had paid off. So now I am debating postponing the EW test until I know I can do 2 consecutive clean solo patterns. Even if I would still test EW on the adult dance track.

--jsl

I don't do dance at all, but as I move up in MITF levels I find them more fun to work on. Right now I'm on intermediate/adult gold, and I really like most of the patterns. But for juvenile the only ones I enjoyed practicing were the double threes and the cross strokes.

Dances are more fun, but moves feed into the dances and help improve them, and vice versa!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I've always been one to practice the edges and footwork of a program and leave the jumps to last! I have tried the dance lessons our club offers, as it's just before the fs time. They are a great warm up, and I really enjoy learning the skills. The dances, however are not for me. I have a hard time telling the differenes in the dances, and usually end up following whoever is in front of me. I've also registered for a year of club moves ice. It's great practice time and I like praticing one skill, like brackets, up and down the ice until I get them. But then I'm ready to move on and use them in something. What my coach has been doing is working with me on the moves, then also incorporating them into patterns for programs.

deleted

I'm on my Silver dances and my Novice moves, and I'm sorry but MITF bore me to tears- that is, when they're not frustrating me to tears! I don't know if it's the lack of music or what, but I would rather practice dance than MITF any day. Probably part of that is due to the fact that I absolutely stink at them

I am nowhere near those moves, but I find that my moves work well when I skate them to music. A couple of our coaches have been choreagraphing our theater on ice show and so they play that music a lot. It is a little funky with a nice beat. I find it helps with the timing and I think it makes it a little more fun.

Hugs!
Danielle

I agree! I bought an MP3 player and now listen to music when I practice moves. I have yet to program properly though, so sometimes I have to stop one move and do another, or skip a track to keep from skating too fast or too slowly.

I just started dance, and know from my roller dance days that I will enjoy it more than moves.

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Personally, dance bores the you-know-what out of me. And the music they play for it is so awful!! I hate it when a new skate school ice dance class starts up because I have to hear Moon River (Dutch Waltz) and Bye Bye Blackbird (Cha Cha) until I'm ready to hork! Can you tell I don't like ice dance?

I'd rather work on Moves any day. Each level has enough variety to keep me interested.

You may not like it, but it is extremely good for your skating! A dancer who takes up figure skating always looks better - more graceful, more controlled, more on top of their music - than a figure skater who takes up dance. Although they find the low-level dances easy, it takes some time before they stop looking like a figure skater and start to look like a dancer!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

True, but I thought this discussion was more along the lines of what you like as opposed to what's good for you. Even knowing that dance is good for me isn't enough to make me do it! Maybe if my back problems continue to affect my skating, I may have to stop jumping. But even then I don't think I can do dance.

In terms of posture and carriage, I do have a slight advantage over many other adult skaters. Twelve years of ballet have left me with some strong habits. (Some good for skating; some not so good, but that's another thread.)

skaternum

I used to totally detest dance but once I got past the 'baby' dances I started to enjoy it! MITF (or Field Moves as they're called here) .... mind numbing but good for you! I do them but don't like them. ITA agree with you about the music, most of it is pretty dire .... until you get to the OD's and Free Dances. I guess that I'm 'lucky' in that most of the dancers that skate on the same patch as me are of a higher level so not only work on Compulsories but on OD's/Free Dances too!

dooobedooo - did you say in a previous post that you were in the UK? Whereabouts do you skate, if you don't mind me asking?

L x

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