If you had to decide between the two disciplines, which way would you go?

Personally, pair skate all the way!! what is life without risk?!!!

Ice dance! Pairs is too scary for my unbrave self, LOL!

If I had to choose now- I'd go with ice dance.
If I could have chosen years ago (or in a world where I hadn't broken my neck) I'd say PAIRS!

For me Pairs is without a doubt the best discipline of skating.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Well I would need Yao Ming as a partner for pairs, since I am 5'9" and he would have to be seriously wicked strong. Besides the ice dancing is more of a challenge for me and I really love edgework. That said, I would not really be thrilled at the idea of being dropped 8-10 feet straight down.

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Who me? Couldn't be....
http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

Hi Jess,

I did fall 8' down and sitting here with a broken back, I'd choose Pairs hands down, any day. In fact, I'm off to the neurosurgeon tomorrow and if he gives me the go ahead, Pairs it is!

If I have to choose, definitely ice dance! It's my choice if God forbids I physically can't do any more jumps in skating.

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Pairs. I like learning the skills in ice dancing, but the freedom of pairs.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Well once you're back out there I have no excuse. Except lack of a partner. I heard a rumor this week there is an adult male at our rink who skates CW! Of course, he probably isn't interested in pairs, I don't know who it is, and I need to lose 30 lbs. Always excuses

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Hi Jess,

What's "CW?" Anyway, I was thinking about this thread last night, and it's really a very interesting thread, because I think it's often a question about skating as a "team" as oppossed to skating "singles."

However, putting all aside, such as fear of falling from heights, risk factors--seen some really bad falls from dance lately, too, such as the Canadian team at the Olympics, and that was from a low lift, as well as more recently the fall that Melissa Gregory and Dennis Petrikov suffered, also a low lift--I was wondering if some people would choose Dance over Pairs, or visa versa, because of the difference in the "culture" between the two disciplines?

This may be sterotyping, which is why I think it might be interesting to look at this type of choice from this angle, but I think Dance is often seen as more "refined" and "conservative", or maybe even "heady" while, on the other hand, Pairs is seen as being more (for lack of better term)
"Scrappier," "renegade," and more "physically liberating?"

Maybe each descipline attracks a different personality type that fits into one, or the other culture better?

For instance, years ago I belonged to the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society. This is one of the oldest "Dance Clubs" around, and probably not representative of many dance clubs in the country. However, they were big on the "Social Dance" and had these "Teas" that went along with it. It was all very "Main Line Philadelphia" in terms of a culture/social environment. I participated in several of them, but never felt comfortable with the whole "Tea" thing, but, sort of enjoyed learning how to dance. I think a lot of my decision not to dance, but rather do pairs was based upon feeling more comfortable with the pairs community; it just being a better "social" fit for me.

If I was 40 years younger, PAIRS in a heart beat! (Assuming I could find a partner of sufficient stature )

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

All pairs. Its way more fun and exciting to watch!

Clockwise (as opposed to counter clockwise).

Well, I'm a dancer and I'll stay that way! I don't even like watching pairs (until you get to the replays!) as it scares me. But Interpretive Pairs/couples is fun, as you get to do some pairs moves in there if you want. I don't think we are doing a number this year, but we have done a couple of numbers in the past that have been great fun - people still talk about our Leader of the Pack routine (this won't Italicise for some reason and I don't know why!) and it must be 8 or 9 years since we did it!

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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!

Mrs Redboots, I'm with you! Combining pairs and interpretive is great - my two favorite events.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

I would love to skate pairs if my skating skills were stronger (and *I* were stronger). Maybe someday.

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Gordon Zaft
http://sk8rboi.blogspot.com
School figures are skating's equivalent of the Latin Mass.

I vant to dance. I did pairs for a short time and it's not for me.

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iSK8NYC - At what level do you get to make up your own dances? Do you think more people would be interested in dance if they could do this earlier?

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Who me? *snicker* I don't ice dance; freestyle baby! I was just being dramatic in answering the OP. I don't even REMEMBER passing the Dutch Waltz, yet the USFSA says I did, but that's the only dance test I have on record.

Dancing with my twins doesn't count - I always have to skate the guy's part with the short little monkeys. (It took me three tries to spell "monkeys" right - I kept spelling it like the singing group. lol)

A few weeks ago, I skated a Dutch Waltz with a partner for the first time in 20 years. It was a lot more fun than I remember from my ice dance club days. Tonight, we talked about getting together to ice dance a bit more. Could be fun, right?

So I Vant To Be Ice Dancer! Mainly because I think it will force me to clean up my stomp-footing on the ice. It's all about me, isn't it?

To answer your question, I think original solo dances would attract more people to ice dancing. I'm not sure about partnered original dances though; it would be difficult to get two people on the same page if they weren't experienced skaters.

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There are a few competitions where they have an original solo dance event.


ANs did switch from an original dance to a free dance for next year (for pre-gold, gold, and champ) so that should be exciting. Teams will now be able to keep the same programs from one year to the next so the overall quality of the programs should go way up and there will be more variety. This year wasn't too bad since the OD category was so broad that there was more variety, but some years when you get a category like the tango and there is one fairly recent popular piece off of a movie soundtrack that every other team seems to be doing, it gets old.

Here in the UK you can test your free dance right from the word "go" - there are four tests in each level for dance: compulsory dances, free dance, original/variation dance (variation the first 2 levels; Original after that) and Skating Moves.

I'm not sure what the rules about Moves are, but the other three tests can be taken totally randomly - you could test up to level 10 or whatever the highest level is these days in compulsory dances and then go back and start at the beginning on one of the other levels, if you like. We have level 3 compulsories and level 1 free, and as yet, no variation/OD tests at all.

If you want to coach or judge you have to have a "full level 6" in the relevant discipline (less necessary for coaches, these days, but it does save time!), and the elite skaters must fill in the gaps, too, but for the likes of us....

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

Ice dance, because my goals in skating are all about the quality of my skating - edges, footwork and etc., and not about spins and jumps.

I am in awe of Pairs skaters, really, it amazes me.

For me, a lifelong wimp, it's dance. Ice dance is the only thing that has ever made me feel even vaguely elegant so I'm sticking with it!

But of course... that is a very important feature...

My NYC coach is probably the closest to that for me... but well, ummmm... he's my coach, he's an excellent technical coach to boot, and he's a family friend to me and DH!!! Why ruin a good thing?

THAT is exactly why I want to do ice dance! It's hard to find a good partner in my neck of the woods to do any type of skating with. I have enough drama in my marriage as is w/o adding another partner into the mix!!! (But seriously, I have a good friendly relationship with the male skaters at my rink. Again, "why ruin a good thing?")

Also, the scheduling is bad on my part, since my job refuses to schedule anything and I have to schedule around their "whim" and reschedule as such. (Never mind both my local coaches' schedules... )

Here we come, walking down the street...
We get the funniest looks from... everyone we meet...



(It's one of my favorite shows growing up! I had a thing for Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz before I found out that this was in syndication...and they're probably old, wrinkling and ugly now. )

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Not having a partner is not really restrictive in ice dance, despite what some people think. I have been ice-dancing for 20 years and have never had a steady partner.

What it takes is having other people interested in ice-dance. wherever I have lived there has been an active group of dancers - most of which do not have partners! We get together for social dance or just working on dances in groups - partnering each other, learning the steps and the nuances of the dances - any dancer has to do a LOT of solo work - if you just learn with a partner then I don't think you ever really learn the dances - especially if that partner is holding you up!!

Pairs, on the other hand, you need a partner. I think...

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

That's why I think it will be interesting to see how the solo dance goes next year at AN...at silver and above, I bet those who test standard track and are forced to do more solo work will stand out a lot stronger against those testing the adult track who only have to do the partnered test. I know those on the adult test track still have to practice the dances a lot on their own, but there are a lot of spots on tests that are MUCH easier to get through partnered (like the restart on the silver tango for the ladies--getting going after the inside 3 is hard on your own but so easy when you've got the partner in front of you taking the push in his pattern). I also wonder that since they will probably group men and ladies together, will men have to do the ladies steps? It might be a case-by-case basis, but some dances where steps differ are much easier solo for the men.