General skating technique differences in freestyle vs ice dance | Golden Skate

General skating technique differences in freestyle vs ice dance

Flying Feijoa

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 22, 2019
Country
New-Zealand
Just wondering if there are any particular differences in basic skating skills (stroking, edges/turns etc.) between ice dance and *good* freestyle skating?

I've done singles for about 5 years, but only in the past year or so have taken proper ice dance lessons. Now I'm progressing quite quickly through the ice dance test levels and spend about 50:50 of my time in freestyle and dance.
In ice dance (particularly in the first few months of beginning it) I get reminded a lot to have neater feet, lean more with my upper body, have a more pronounced bend and rise in the knee, turn out and point free leg etc. However, in all the years that I was only doing freestyle I had much less of this type of feedback.

Is that just because these are good skating skills and ice dance is comparatively more strict about them than freestyle, or is it because the actual technique of stroking/footwork in dance is different?

And on a related note, is there anything to note about skating skills in ice dance that isn't transferable to freestyle?
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
In ice dance (particularly in the first few months of beginning it) I get reminded a lot to have neater feet, lean more with my upper body, have a more pronounced bend and rise in the knee, turn out and point free leg etc. However, in all the years that I was only doing freestyle I had much less of this type of feedback.

Is that just because these are good skating skills and ice dance is comparatively more strict about them than freestyle, or is it because the actual technique of stroking/footwork in dance is different?

I think some of both.
Some of these things are "correct" for ice dance and simply appreciated but not required in freestyle.

And on a related note, is there anything to note about skating skills in ice dance that isn't transferable to freestyle?

Some ice dances require evil closed outside mohawks. No one does those in freestyle. (Maybe if they counted as difficult steps for step sequences they would.)

For ice dance threes, the free foot usually extends and comes next to the skating foot just in time to make the turn. This is counterintuitive to my muscle memory from holding my free foot next to my ankle for a long entry edge into forward threes in school figures many decades ago and more recently in Moves in the Field.

When I ice dance, I get noticeable muscle definition in my fat thighs. That doesn't happen with freestyle/moves.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Is that just because these are good skating skills and ice dance is comparatively more strict about them than freestyle, or is it because the actual technique of stroking/footwork in dance is different?

And on a related note, is there anything to note about skating skills in ice dance that isn't transferable to freestyle?

I think ice dance is just stricter. Those skills are far from incorrect in freestyle and will (or at least should!) give you extra points for skating skills if you compete.

Except perhaps the actual dances themselves, I think everything is not only transferable, but beneficial. There's absolutely nothing in freestyle that better edge control won't improve! :)

Some ice dances require evil closed outside mohawks. No one does those in freestyle. (Maybe if they counted as difficult steps for step sequences they would.)

I do. :laugh: I haven't competed yet, but I love practicing them. They just look so fancy. :love: If they don't count as difficult steps, a freestyle skater could always put them as a transition or choreographic move.
 

jf12

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Just wondering if there are any particular differences in basic skating skills (stroking, edges/turns etc.) between ice dance and *good* freestyle skating?

I've done singles for about 5 years, but only in the past year or so have taken proper ice dance lessons. Now I'm progressing quite quickly through the ice dance test levels and spend about 50:50 of my time in freestyle and dance.
In ice dance (particularly in the first few months of beginning it) I get reminded a lot to have neater feet, lean more with my upper body, have a more pronounced bend and rise in the knee, turn out and point free leg etc. However, in all the years that I was only doing freestyle I had much less of this type of feedback.

Is that just because these are good skating skills and ice dance is comparatively more strict about them than freestyle, or is it because the actual technique of stroking/footwork in dance is different?

And on a related note, is there anything to note about skating skills in ice dance that isn't transferable to freestyle?

In ice dance you will learn edge quality and control that will be so valuable for all other skating. However, it is not 100% applicable to moves and freestyle such that you’ll still have to switch your mindset back and forth. I am on the same level as moves and ice dance so I do notice a lot of differences (novice moves and silver dance). Interestingly some differences I’ve experienced are opposite of yours. I lean quite a lot in freestyle skating with my entire body including the upper body, and I’ve been told in dance (Russian coach who trained w Tarasova and others) to lean more with my lower body and much less with the upper body, because if your whole body is leaning over 45 degrees how can you maintain a stable upper body dance hold with the partner? Next, in ID there are lots of steps that require full locked knee in the skating leg - both knees locked for the 3 turn in the Euro for example and when your partner does their 3. You will seldom do this on MIF, as gkelly says, basically only spiral and twizzles. It’s very difficult. Most MIF your knees should be soft the whole time. Also, maybe someone more experienced could state this better, but in MIF we check a lot with our shoulders, where we twist our torso a lot, and in ID we maintain steadier shoulders for the hold and twist our hips more against the turn.

In general ice dance technique is very difficult and harder to get on the edge, given that you can’t throw around your body weight and your always bent knees to make it happen like you can and should in MIF. But that’s why gold dances still have 3 turns and chasses in them and novice, junior and senior moves are full of crazy turns.
 

skatingbeast

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Country
United-States
I just started ice dance and have been thinking about this as well! I feel like I was never taught proper stroking technique until I started working with an ice dance coach. My ice dance coach pays so much more attention to the tiny details (which I love). I was doing backward cross rolls the other day and when my ice dance lesson started my coach said I do them "like an ice dancer". Not sure what exactly that means but I'm taking it as a compliment!
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Just wondering if there are any particular differences in basic skating skills (stroking, edges/turns etc.) between ice dance and *good* freestyle skating?

I've done singles for about 5 years, but only in the past year or so have taken proper ice dance lessons. Now I'm progressing quite quickly through the ice dance test levels and spend about 50:50 of my time in freestyle and dance.
In ice dance (particularly in the first few months of beginning it) I get reminded a lot to have neater feet, lean more with my upper body, have a more pronounced bend and rise in the knee, turn out and point free leg etc. However, in all the years that I was only doing freestyle I had much less of this type of feedback.

Is that just because these are good skating skills and ice dance is comparatively more strict about them than freestyle, or is it because the actual technique of stroking/footwork in dance is different?

And on a related note, is there anything to note about skating skills in ice dance that isn't transferable to freestyle?

Yes, most ice dancers have better technique: Deeper edges and better quality and control of those edges, and many more things. But it's not something that a freestyle skater could not learn with dedication and do from there out. It has to take proper coaching of those qualities for a freestyle skater (who has no ice dance training) nowadays to do so, and they have to want it and practice it meticulously. Patrick Chan is an example of this, it can be done.

Another thing that would help a freestyle skater is off-ice dance along with what I listed above.
 

cl2

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Yes, most ice dancers have better technique: Deeper edges and better quality and control of those edges, and many more things. But it's not something that a freestyle skater could not learn with dedication and do from there out. It has to take proper coaching of those qualities for a freestyle skater (who has no ice dance training) nowadays to do so, and they have to want it and practice it meticulously. Patrick Chan is an example of this, it can be done.

Another thing that would help a freestyle skater is off-ice dance along with what I listed above.

Totally agree. It all depends on the coach's teaching ability or focus, not the discipline. I've had numerous coaches who were ice dancers but from whom I learnt freestyle. They never taught me how to properly use my edges; they were more concerned with making me look pretty from the waist up, even before I could hold a proper edge. It wasn't until I started with my current freestyle coach, who's very jumps focused, that I learnt how to utilize edge power for jumps, spins and literally every move under the sun.
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
I just started ice dance and have been thinking about this as well! I feel like I was never taught proper stroking technique until I started working with an ice dance coach. My ice dance coach pays so much more attention to the tiny details (which I love). I was doing backward cross rolls the other day and when my ice dance lesson started my coach said I do them "like an ice dancer". Not sure what exactly that means but I'm taking it as a compliment!

Not sure where you're from, but in the UK I've only found two people (other than me) who actually teach proper stroking technique. I suspect I know of a third but haven't seen him teach, so can't confirm it. There's a very distinct method and order to it and I was floored by it when I was taught it. It took me a lot of on and off-ice practice to get the order fixed in my head but was so worth it. Even these days, with woolly brain and badly injured right leg that has no muscle memory, I still go from end to end of the rink in two strokes.

I'm of the firm opinion that every skater would benefit from time with an ice dance coach, even if they concentrate on proper stroking and better awareness of body, knee bend and free leg rather than the pattern dances. There really aren't any downsides to ice dance.
 

skatingbeast

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Country
United-States
Not sure where you're from, but in the UK I've only found two people (other than me) who actually teach proper stroking technique. I suspect I know of a third but haven't seen him teach, so can't confirm it. There's a very distinct method and order to it and I was floored by it when I was taught it. It took me a lot of on and off-ice practice to get the order fixed in my head but was so worth it. Even these days, with woolly brain and badly injured right leg that has no muscle memory, I still go from end to end of the rink in two strokes.

I'm of the firm opinion that every skater would benefit from time with an ice dance coach, even if they concentrate on proper stroking and better awareness of body, knee bend and free leg rather than the pattern dances. There really aren't any downsides to ice dance.

I'm in the US. I'm learning very quickly that working with my ice dance coach is going to do wonders for my skating. I can't believe how tired my legs are now when I do perimeter stroking with proper technique... I'm not used to utilizing my legs in that way and focusing on my upper body staying upright and still. I'm still also getting the coordination together in my body. My ice dance coach has also refined my progressive/cross over technique that my freestyle/moves coach taught me.
 
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