Say, I hope it's ok to ask this. But how many dresses do all our skaters here own each for both their Long and Short Programs?

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FSWer

I plan to make a leotard for my artistic programme next year and keep the current artistic dress for my technical programme.
I have another competitional dress but I don't like it and plan to sell. The rest are practice dresses, one of which I plan to take apart as well.

This is the sort of leotard I plan to make, more like a cat-suit actually.

But with more industrial/cyber gothic details. IF I can find the right type of material.

I don't think many skaters on these boards have long and short programmes - they are for elite skaters at Novice, Junior and Senior level! Most of us just have the one programme, or occasionally a free and an artistic programme, but they are separate issues, and the artistic (or interpretive, or exhibition, or whatever it is called where you live!) may well require a costume to suit the character portrayed rather than a generic skating dress.

I have several dance dresses, but that's slightly different in that even at the lowest levels dancers do more than one dance.

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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!

Hi,
I have quite a few dresses from pairs, freestyle and interpretive. I really try to use them for more than one program. I've given quite a few of them away and have replaced a couple that have worn out!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

I don't have a short program. I will have one dress for my free program, and will use it until I change the music. When my daughter was competing, she had one dress for her short and one for her long, which she also used as long as she used those programs. When we're finished with a program, we either sell the dress or keep it as a potential show costume. Sometimes they can be reused - once she was able to use an old show dress for a short program.

One for my FS that I also use until the music is done (all programs get "adjustments" for the second season). One interp costume for LE/C and one for A/D

In dance, even the elite skaters recycle their costumes, as they need so many in a season. Navka and Kostemarov used their OD costumes from the previous season as compulsory costumes in the run-up to the last Olympics. (Her dress was covered in feathers, and looked distinctly less fluffy in its later outings.)

I only have a free program and an artistic. For my free programs, god only knows why but I'm never happy with my dress. Sooo... I wind up with at least two. Thank goodness I keep my free programs for about two years. My artistic program I have had the same dress for almost two years.

It seems the cheaper the dress the more comfortable it seems and the better it looks. Go figure.

Lets see well this year I did two showcases, so I actually had two completely different costumes for each..(a spanishy one and an overly showy one) and in addition 2 backup ones. Plus I had a seperate dress for my compulsories event. I'm scared to think about next season because I want to definatly do an artistic/dramatic, a showcase, and possibly a freestyle.

Ok,I am a little confused here. All of you have a Free Program (which is the Long Program from what I've read). So wouldn't the Artistic Program also be the Short? Can someone please explain why your Program titles are different simply because your not elite? Perhaps is some could please explain the history origan about that (why they do it that way to begin with) I'll understand. Because it seems to me that weather your famous or not should have nothing to do with Program titles. BTW. as far as your Skating (a skater's skating) it'self goes. Does anyone know (by age/level/or skating majority wize,whichever one they go by,or if they go by all 3) were you draw the line as a skater and make the leap from Artistic/Free Programs to Short/Long Programs? Thanks.

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FSWer

Skaters have both long and short programs starting at the Intermediate level. Below that, we just have one program, called a Free Skate. Adult skaters also only do Free Skates.

At local competitions, other events are offered that don't get offered at the big championships like Nationals. An Artistic event would be one of those. A skater can enter it if they want, but they don't have to. A skater who is Intermediate or higher could do a Short and Long program AND an Artistic program if they wanted. There are also events called Compulsories. These are very short programs with no music, where skaters have to do required elements listed for their level, but they can do them in any order. For lower level skaters, the Compulsory is kind of like doing a Short Program, and then their Free Skate is like doing a Long Program. But again, Intermediate and higher skaters could do a Compulsory in addition to their Short and Long programs if they wanted. Sometimes there are also special Spins or Jumps competitions - again, very short programs where you do a list of required elements with no music. And again, these events aren't offered at big championships. In my region, we don't have them at Regionals, either - only Short and Long programs for the Intermediates and higher, and Free Skates for the Juveniles.

And, actually, the official name for the Long Program IS the Free Skate - "long program" is really just kind of a nickname for it. So we all do Free Skates, no matter what level we are, but once you get to be an Intermediate you get to do a Short Program too.