Building artistry | Golden Skate

Building artistry

renla

Rinkside
Joined
May 11, 2017
Hey guys! I just passed my pre-bronze MITF and free skate tests this weekend :)yahoo:) and now that it's over and done with, both my coach and I are looking forward to working on my first program. I already picked and cut a song, and I found the dress I will eventually buy for it. But as I start working on whatever elements that will be put into the program, I was wondering what kind of things I could be doing to improve my artistry? I plan on starting yoga classes weekly to help with my flexibility. I know ballet would be ideal, but I don't think there are any adult classes near me. I'm also not sure how I will do on the artistic side since when I skate I'm usually concentrating on not falling, lol!

Any advice would be welcome. I'm not sure if this is something that just takes experience, but if there are steps I could be taking to help with this, I'd like to start now. Thank you!
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Congratulations!

Are there any all-ages ballet classes in your area?

Yoga will help, as would pilates and strength training. You can't have beautiful, smooth movements without the flexibility and muscle strength to control them.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Do alot of core work. Also, just movement on the ice and experimenting with that, without worrying about tripping.
 

renla

Rinkside
Joined
May 11, 2017
Ok, so I basically need to exercise more. And all the ballet classes I've seen have been separated by age groups. I feel like I won't have a good sense of what my limbs are doing during a program since I struggle with that now. I heard that ballet helps with that awareness so that's what I was fixated on trying, but it may not be possible at the moment.

I'll try experimenting a little, Icerabbit. I think I'll ask my coach for simple movements to try while I'm skating and see how I feel about them.
 

jf12

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
If there’s no adult ballet near you, really any kind of dance class can help.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Ok, so I basically need to exercise more. And all the ballet classes I've seen have been separated by age groups. I feel like I won't have a good sense of what my limbs are doing during a program since I struggle with that now. I heard that ballet helps with that awareness so that's what I was fixated on trying, but it may not be possible at the moment.

I'll try experimenting a little, Icerabbit. I think I'll ask my coach for simple movements to try while I'm skating and see how I feel about them.

Just "feel" when you are on the ice. That doesn't really require movement suggestions from coach, but if you would be more comfortable starting out that way, then do so.

Any kind of off-ice dance will help: Ballet, hip hop, modern, jazz, etc. Even taking a few barre classes will help.
 

sandraskates

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Congratulations on passing your tests!!

What helped me was occasionally dedicating my private lessons to only working on program presentation. Concentrating on where arms, body, head, etc. should be positioned at the parts of the program.

Think about: If it's a "happy" program, how can I further project that feeling? If the the program is "sad", what look should my face have? Forget just plastering a smile on your face during a program no matter what.
We also worked on presenting an element both before and after executing it.
 

vlaurend

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
In any performance art--whether it be dance, playing an instrument or figure skating--the ability to express relies on strong underlying technique. So I would actually recommend spending as much time as you can working on your Bronze MIF. The control and power you will develop working on higher and higher moves-in-the-field are the basis of that "second mark" because they will give you the balance, power and edge control you need in order to express with your upper body while demonstrating strong skating skills with your lower body. You can also practice crossovers and edges WITH arm movements to get used to expressing with your arms without sacrificing your alignment. Have your coach give you some arm movements to practice with forward, backward, CW and CCW crossovers and give you pointers, then use those as a warmup.
 

renla

Rinkside
Joined
May 11, 2017
Thanks, everyone! I'll do some more research on the dance classes offered near me. The song I chose to skate to is from a video game I enjoyed, and I want to be able to at least express some of the emotion from it, though I know not to expect too much since this will be my first program. I have my lesson on Friday so I'll experiment some then!
 

renla

Rinkside
Joined
May 11, 2017
Just saw your comment vlaurend -- thanks! My coach says that I have good control, but I do lack power. The judges mentioned that I was cautious on my score sheet, and I usually am on the ice, so that is something I'll have to work on. Testing has given me a new appreciation for MIF, and I've already been looking at the exercises for the bronze level. I'll bring up the crossover with arm movements to my coach. I think that will help a lot!
 
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