(in case you're wondering about the title, it's Japanese for something like "Dance...yeah!!" or "dance for the fun of it". There's a song I like to skate to called the same thing Click here to see it! (yes, I realize this song/video will make me lose any and all respectability in the eyes of some, LOL)

Anyways, back to the point, I wanted to see who all out there took dance classes in addition to skating, and if and how they've helped your skating?

I just started taking Ballet lessons again (took about 5 or 6 when I first started skating) and intend to keep it up this time, and am also taking Argentine Tango lessons now. Also want to take Salsa lessons and who knows what else. It's certainly cheaper than skating lessons (they are group dance classes) and I feel like it does help my skating though it's hard to say to what extent yet, because of the improved posture and attention paid to arm position and balance.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

If it's just something you just like to skate to during session or patch, fine, enough said. If its for some sort of competition, I think you are capable of something a bit more, shall I say, "challenging"

As far as dance to compliment skating, wouldnt know from personal experiience, but it made my son more aware of his arms when he went to ballet.

you know youtube.com? You can see some great ice skating footage, I love this one , you guys have probably seen this one already though?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT7IFyXBNEE

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starting at 28

In my own experience, Ballet has helped with posture, flexibility, endurance and strength. It is an especially good leg workout. It has also given me a good awareness of arm placement. I found that even though I have enough strength to hold my free leg up for a spiral, I also needed endurance to hold it for a long period of time. (I just need more flexibility to get it higher).

I have taken Ballroom Dance. I have had the most difficult time grasping the strange phenomenon of Ice Dance. How one dances a Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot etc on hardwood floors is not the same on Ice. Ice Dance is just wierd in my opinion. Ballroom Dance has helped with partnering, timing, rhythm and presentation. For the guy, there is the element of little "multi-tasking on his part. It takes an acute consiensiousness for both dancers. If you are still anticipating pairs skating someday, it will help you with taking initiative to lead and your awareness of her timing. Wherever you go, she goes. You will learn with Tango and Salsa that you must think ahead of the step you are on and where you want her to follow. She needs time to anticipate your next move in the dance. For her, it is an awareness of where he is leading and where she is to follow. You are in control of the pace, and direction in the dance while she is all the "decoration". or "Glitter" he he he.

Have fun!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

I took 4 years of intense ballroom (privates) to help w/ my ice dancing, to learn the characters of the various dances along w/ all the partnering things.

It helped hugely, w/ posture/ partnering/ frame, as well as timing/expression/understanding the dance & music.

And yes, ballroom & ice dancing are very closely related in a lot of ways!! Especially the compulsory dances, although some of them are named incorrectly (the Cha-Cha, for example, is actually not a cha cha rhythm. )

I haven't been doing the ballroom for about 4 years now, and my posture has suffered.

Well, rats!!! I thought we were going to see you skating to "Dance Suru Noda". As far as your losing respectability, nope. The Japanese are totally obsessed with cute, so what else could we expect?

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Eh...you'll NEVER see me skating a program to that...just one of the songs on my iPod that I listen to randomly when skating to keep me going. Don't worry, I do have saner choices too that would be better candidates for program music

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

You know, I think what bothers me most about ice dance is similar to what bothers me about COP - it's too constraining. For instance, you have some really great high-level ice dance skaters, but they are forced to abide by restrictions on lifts and what they can and can't do, even though they are clearly good enough to safely exceed those constraints. It just looks odd to me when I watch some great skaters like Kostamarov and Navka, and when they have chances and obvious ability to throw something spectacular in, they have to constrain it. Pairs is like that too though, but in different ways and less so than dance in my opinion. I wouldn't mind seeing them combined, actually...

But yeah, now I'm totally off topic and hijacking my own thread!

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Yeah, but can't you see me and the Husband doing a free dance to it? I can!

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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!

Phew!!!

I could certiainly see you guys doing a show number/artistic to it, couldnt see husband being willing to wear the outfit though.

However I have just played it again and it has a good steady beat to it and as long as he doesnt have to wear a dress I think it probably would make a good free dance and I guess a lot of the moves could be done on ice, and, and, and you would look so cute in pink!! No offence to Casey.

See, I think that is what the wierd thing about it is. If it ain't Cha Cha, then what the heck is it?

Yeah, I knew I would need to take a little ration of crap for that statement even before clicking the "submit reply" button.

Actually, it means, "I'm gonna dance" (or "We're gonna dance", since there's no subject stated). And thanks for reminding me why I don't listen to Japanese pop music more often!

I took ballet as a kid and in my early teens and it definitely helped. The body positions are familiar to me because skating is based on ballet, and the repetition you have to do in ballet will make the movements more natural for you when you're on the ice. It's a great off-ice training tool.

Ooops! I better tell my hubby that. (Casey got the definition from me, indirect via hubby... What I told Casey was that "Dance suru" is how the Japanese says "Dance" and "noda!" is more "no DA!!!" as in a positive exclamation)

ETA: Here is the lyrics and the definition of the song!

And yes, as I told Casey, it's so CUTE that it's sickening!!!

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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!!!

Yes, "Dance suru" means "to dance" or "I'll/we'll dance." The "no" makes it colloquial, more like "I'm/we're gonna dance" and the "da" adds emphasis, like an exclamation mark. But I digress. . . from the topic of skating into one of the other things I love to analyze (linguistics), LOL!

Okay hubby's sorta half right!!! WHEW!!! He'll be happy to know. (I don't remember ANY of my Japanese from Japanese school! LOL!!!)

Casey, thank goodness you're not skating to this piece!!! Just the mental image of a very tall dark hair gai-jin wearing a pink outfit like that....ummm... ROTFLMAO!!!

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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!!!

And you don't have a girlfriend WHY?????* I can't understand why the girls aren't ALL over you! You skate, you're willing, even eager to dance.....what's not to love?



(*If you do have a gf and I missed it, I'm sorry! )

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

That's pretty much the funniest thing ever!