What Exactly Is The Pattern Dance We Have At Novice Level? | Golden Skate

What Exactly Is The Pattern Dance We Have At Novice Level?

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
I have recently started watching Novice Ice Dance for the first time, largely due to one of the skaters I adopted a few years ago switching from Junior Men to Advanced Novice Ice Dance.

And now that I have started watching Ice Dance at the Novice levels, I am confused by the Pattern Dances.

Up until now, I had just assumed that "Pattern Dance" was just a new-fangled name for the old Compulsory Dance that we used to have (alongside the Original Dance and Free Dance as part of the 3-segment system used until the 2009-10 season). And that it was just given a different name because at Novice level there were 2 of them (the Novices don't have the Original Dance that there used to be at Junior and Senior level).

But after seeing a few partnerships in the first Pattern Dance segment I watched, I realised that this is not the case. For the simple reason that every partnership was using different music.

That was what I never liked the Compulsory Dance. It was boring sitting there watching the same thing being done to the same music over and over and over again. And having to sit through this boring repititiveness again, and for 2 segments, was what I was dreading about watching Novice Dance. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I discovered that this wasn't what the Pattern Dance was.

But, it now begs the question - what exactly is the Pattern Dance then?

Is it something along the same lines as the Short Dance that was brought in to replace the CD and OD at Junior and Senior level, where the skaters are told that they have to use a particular rhythm? And is it called something different because there are more set sequences that they have to do within it, and less original content?

I haven't a clue! :confused:

In case you're wondering what I have watched so far, there was the Advanced Novice Ice Dance at the Volvo Open Cup, and all three levels of Novice Ice Dance at the British Championships.

I don't normally stray into The Lutz Corner, because I am not technically minded. But, the fact that I have this time is a sign of how curious I am to find out!

CaroLiza_fan
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
My understanding -- based primarily on US practice, which might be different from what's being done internationally or in Britain -- is:

"Pattern dance" is a new name for "compulsory dance." These are set pattern dances in which everyone does the same steps in the same pattern and the same rhythm.

Novice and lower events do two pattern dances and a free dance. They never had an original dance or "short dance" in which they could make up their own steps. That is only for the free dance at those levels.

Historically, there were up to 6 official ISU-approved pieces of music used for each compulsory/pattern dance, and the competition organizers would rotate a few of them in warmup and in competition. So not everybody in the same competition used the exact same music, but only the same few tunes would get used for all couples.

A few years ago rules changed to allow teams to provide their own music, as long as it met the requirements for number of beats per minute and type of rhythm required for that dance.

But they're still all doing the exact same steps, except for introductory steps and some kind of creative exit. Just the way that junior and senior couples used to do in compulsory dances before the short dance (now called "rhythm dance") was introduced.


ETA:
Each pattern/compulsory dance has a name and pattern charts etc. and is known throughout the ice dance world

I see from the results page from the recent British championships that the patterns used there were Swing Dance and Willow Waltz for the Basic Novice event, 14 Step and Tango for the Intermediate Novice event, and Argentine Tango and Blues for Advanced Novice.

You can google the names of those dances (I recommend using "Willow Waltz" as an example because you probably won't find those words together in many other contexts outside ice dance) to find step charts and explanations, or search on youtube to find them executed by varied levels of skaters in practice, testing, competition, and how-to contexts.

The Reference section at ice-dance.com is a good source for information about the higher level pattern dances, most of which are now used only as parts of rhythm dances at junior and senior level, some as pattern dances for novices. The lower dances are listed there, but you'd need to go elsewhere to find the detailed information.

The ISU establishes dances down to novice level; individual federations have formalize lower level dances for use at developmental levels including testing and lower competitions; some federations use dances that were invented in other countries, but the lower levels are less universal than the ones that get used in ISU competition.

For example, as an adult bronze-level dancer, I have done and passed tests on the Swing Dance, Willow Waltz, and 14 Step, but I can't do the others listed, which are too hard for me. I could go to a a social ice dance session almost anywhere in the world with an active ice dancing program and find others who know the some of the same dances and find a partner I'd never met before to skate them with.

This would be even more true for higher level ice dancers who know more of the dances that are used in international competition.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
My understanding -- based primarily on US practice, which might be different from what's being done internationally or in Britain -- is:

"Pattern dance" is a new name for "compulsory dance." These are set pattern dances in which everyone does the same steps in the same pattern and the same rhythm.

Novice and lower events do two pattern dances and a free dance. They never had an original dance or "short dance" in which they could make up their own steps. That is only for the free dance at those levels.

Historically, there were up to 6 official ISU-approved pieces of music used for each compulsory/pattern dance, and the competition organizers would rotate a few of them in warmup and in competition. So not everybody in the same competition used the exact same music, but only the same few tunes would get used for all couples.

A few years ago rules changed to allow teams to provide their own music, as long as it met the requirements for number of beats per minute and type of rhythm required for that dance.

But they're still all doing the exact same steps, except for introductory steps and some kind of creative exit. Just the way that junior and senior couples used to do in compulsory dances before the short dance (now called "rhythm dance") was introduced.


ETA:
Each pattern/compulsory dance has a name and pattern charts etc. and is known throughout the ice dance world

I see from the results page from the recent British championships that the patterns used there were Swing Dance and Willow Waltz for the Basic Novice event, 14 Step and Tango for the Intermediate Novice event, and Argentine Tango and Blues for Advanced Novice.

You can google the names of those dances (I recommend using "Willow Waltz" as an example because you probably won't find those words together in many other contexts outside ice dance) to find step charts and explanations, or search on youtube to find them executed by varied levels of skaters in practice, testing, competition, and how-to contexts.

The Reference section at ice-dance.com is a good source for information about the higher level pattern dances, most of which are now used only as parts of rhythm dances at junior and senior level, some as pattern dances for novices. The lower dances are listed there, but you'd need to go elsewhere to find the detailed information.

The ISU establishes dances down to novice level; individual federations have formalize lower level dances for use at developmental levels including testing and lower competitions; some federations use dances that were invented in other countries, but the lower levels are less universal than the ones that get used in ISU competition.

For example, as an adult bronze-level dancer, I have done and passed tests on the Swing Dance, Willow Waltz, and 14 Step, but I can't do the others listed, which are too hard for me. I could go to a a social ice dance session almost anywhere in the world with an active ice dancing program and find others who know the some of the same dances and find a partner I'd never met before to skate them with.

This would be even more true for higher level ice dancers who know more of the dances that are used in international competition.

Thank you so much, gkelly. (I was actually hoping you would answer, as you always give really detailed and informative answers on things like this)

So, my initial theory was correct - it is just a new name for the Compulsory Dance.

I wonder why the ISU bothered to change the name, then? You could understand a name change if there was a major change in the rules, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. (Although, they did the same at the end of last season, changing the name of the "Short Dance" to the "Rhythm Dance").

And, of course, you are right - the ISU did change the rules to allow different pieces of music to be used. I had completely forgotten that that had happened in the last few years of the 3-segment system.

Although, when there was set music, I thought it was only a choice of 2 different pieces of music. I didn't realise that there were as many as 6 pieces of music available.

The Dancers must all have been choosing the same 2 pieces just to annoy us! :laugh:

It is the Advanced Novice that I have been following on the international stage, as that is the level that Maria Milyukova / Nikita Vitryanyuk are competing at (with the British Championships, it just happened that the Novice Dancers were competing on the days that the BBC were doing coverage of the Seniors, so I watched them too). So, I can confirm without looking it up that the Argentine Tango and the Blues are the same PD's that are being used in the international competitions at Advanced Novice level, not just in British Championships.

Thank you so much for the links. Up to now, the only times I have been on ice-dance.com have been when I have been looking up partnership profiles. But, exploring more there now, it seems to be a really invaluable and useful resource.

And very interesting reading about your personal experiences. I didn't realise that you actually compete, never mind that it is in Ice Dance. No wonder you are so clued up on the rules.

Although it was monotonous to watch (especially there was set music), I always understood the benefits for doing direct comparisons between partnerships. But I had never thought that it also meant that Ice Dancers could just pick up with somebody strange without much bother. That would be a major advantage for practicing if you are travelling.

Thank you again for your reply. :bow:

:thank:

CaroLiza_fan
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Although, when there was set music, I thought it was only a choice of 2 different pieces of music. I didn't realise that there were as many as 6 pieces of music available.

The Dancers must all have been choosing the same 2 pieces just to annoy us! :laugh:

I believe it was the competition organizers, not the individual teams, who chose and supplied the compulsory dance music from among the approved recordings. As I recall there were often 3 tunes used per competition, but the number may have varied.

The teams may not have known until they arrived at practice which of the standard tunes would be played when it was their turn to compete. But the teams probably would have practiced to all of the standard recordings many many times over the weeks or months leading up to the competition, if not also for years previously for testing purposes, etc. And rhythms of the standard recordings are supposed to be identical and obvious.

And very interesting reading about your personal experiences. I didn't realise that you actually compete, never mind that it is in Ice Dance. No wonder you are so clued up on the rules.

I don't compete in ice dance, but I do test. And I have skated on some social ice dance sessions, but mostly 20+ years ago; they don't seem to be as popular any more.
 

chiyung

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
I have a different question on Advance Novice. Is Advance Novice the same level as USFS Novice for ice dancing?

I have a daughter who’s going to tryouts with potential partners (I think at the USFS Novice level).

I thought the Novice pattern dances now are the Starlight Waltz and Paso Doble. Are the pattern dances different if the American dance couples compete internationally or in different countries?

Also, has the 2019-2020 Novice pattern dances been announced?
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I have a different question on Advance Novice. Is Advance Novice the same level as USFS Novice for ice dancing?

I think it's pretty much the same skill level. International competitions have strict age limits for each international competition level. The US does not.

I thought the Novice pattern dances now are the Starlight Waltz and Paso Doble. Are the pattern dances different if the American dance couples compete internationally or in different countries?

I haven't really kept track, but the US does not always follow ISU recommendations for novice rules in other disciplines; evidently not in the pattern dances choses for each season either.

Also, has the 2019-2020 Novice pattern dances been announced?
Not as far as I know. The US requirements are announced on the Ice Dance Technical Information page: https://usfigureskating.org/story?id=84110
 

La Rhumba

Supporting All British Skaters!
Medalist
Joined
Aug 9, 2006
Country
United-Kingdom
I have a different question on Advance Novice. Is Advance Novice the same level as USFS Novice for ice dancing?

I must say I've never understood why both North American countries just have one grouping of Novice Dance. This does not follow the ISU categories of Basic Novice, (the new this season) Intermediate Novice, and Advanced Novice.

The recent British Championships demonstrated there is a gulf between each category, from entry level Basic Novice, through to Advanced Novice and then an increase in standard to Junior. For such countries with large numbers of Dance couples as America and Canada, why have only Novice?
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
They don't.

Both the US and Canada have a category called Juvenile that is approximately equivalent to the Basic Novice level.

The US has a category called Intermediate and Canada it's called Pre-Novice, approximately equivalent to the ISU Intermediate Novice level.

These categories have existed in the US since the 1940s or 50s. Other countries have had different names for their own lower level events, but the definitions have varied from one federation to another. Only in the last couple of decades has the ISU attempted to impose some standardization.

This is most relevant in Europe where there are many federations within driving distance of each other so skaters more often compete across borders at developmental levels.

Also keep in mind that many European countries, and some others outside North America, divide their competitions by age first and then by skill level. "Novice" in ISU terms started out as an age designation and now has been divided by skill levels within that age range.

The US and Canada have historically divided their competition levels first by skill level (with tests as gatekeeping requirements). Some of these levels have age limits in qualifying competitions, with some adjustments over the years, but in the US at least there is no age limit for the Novice skill level.

What has met the needs of North American federations for well over half a century does not necessarily meet the needs of European or Asian federations -- and vice versa.

For geographical reasons, North American skaters at these levels rarely compete internationally, so there is no need for the North American federations to redefine their competition levels to meet the names and restrictions that were designed to meet the needs of European federations.
 

La Rhumba

Supporting All British Skaters!
Medalist
Joined
Aug 9, 2006
Country
United-Kingdom
I've always found it incongruous seeing Novice skaters at North American Championships who look about 19, but I understand now it delineates their standard.

In the mid to late 80s I can remember attending the British Intermediate Championships, and saw icedancers there who later went on to represent GBR at Europeans as Seniors. But I'm glad that British Skating now falls in line with the ISU categories. And the new division of Intermediate Novice is working very well. As I understand it, the PDs will progress from IntNov to AdvNov so there is some continuity for the icedancers.
 

chiyung

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
US does not always follow ISU recommendations for novice rules in other disciplines; evidently not in the pattern dances choses for each season either.

Not as far as I know. The US requirements are announced on the Ice Dance Technical Information page: https://usfigureskating.org/story?id=84110

Thank you for the information. I really appreciate your response and the discussions in the thread.

It's too early to think about international dance competitions for my daughter now, but we'll keep all this in mind for later.
 
Top