Which discipline is the most popular? And why?

[andromache]

What was more popular in the 90s/early 2000s in the US - ice dance or pairs? I was a kid, but I definitely preferred pairs over ice dance at that time. I didn't understand ice dance at all and there were no good US teams. I became interested once Belbin/Agosto came on the scene, and obviously US ice dance changed from there.

As for why pairs is less popular in general....I think it's partially because there are fewer teams. Less overall competition = less interesting. And I really think pairs can be difficult/not fun to watch other than the top 10-12 teams or so. The lack of depth in the discipline hurts it. There's not a lot of clean performances, and even when there are, plenty of teams look awkward/sloppy.

ETA: Overall, I prefer watching top-tier pairs to top-tier ice dancers. But if I'm going to HAVE to watch, say, an entire field at Nationals/4CCs/Europeans, I would generally prefer to watch ice dance as the overall quality will be higher.

Plus, pairs always seems like its more depleted due to injuries than ice dance.

 

[TallyT]

My feeling from browsing is, all other things (number of stars, intensity of competition etc) being equal, ladies would take it in the US and Russia (and probably Korea given Yuna's shadow), men in Japan, China and Canada (with a strong side order of ladies in the first, pairs in the second and dance in the third ) and everywhere else it would depend on what was getting the most news at the time. Yuzu, Mao, Yuna, Plushy, Virtue and Moir - the phenoms both in skill and success but in sheer star quality - they can lift their discipline but whether that lift outlives them is always a question.

 

[NaVi]

I like pairs and was really impressed by the entertainment value of the pairs programs at the junior grand prix final... but the big problem with pairs is that it's the most predictably laid out discipline and it's also the most purely acrobatic one too. Every team either starts out with the twist lift or side by side jumps if they have trouble with them. Spinning in pairs are usually more awkward in comparison to ice dance because of the more extreme body type differences. I highly question the need for every pairs program to need to have both a twist lift and a death spiral. I love the step sequences in the SP but for some reason there is not one in the FS. Most jump combinations are +2T or +2T+2T which is boring and I'd just get rid of them or mandate a sequence of jumps which is simpler to do but less boring to watch IMO. The end of programs tend to have a lot of lifting and spinning. I like overhead pairs lifts but I kind of wish one of the was more like an ice dance lift.

 

[IndiaP12]

Why is pairs the least popular?

I like pairs, especially juniors. I actually don’t watch ice dance unless it happens to be on or I really like the couple or program, because I find it less interesting as no jumps or anything [emoji848] but I guess as I get older my taste will develop. And I also just became a fan this season so Virtue/Moir, Shibs are out therefore it’s not overly exciting * I almost prefer Junior cause they are closer to my age, in Pairs as well

 

[happycamper2554]

Pairs is my favorite because it has all the drama. Partner relationships, death defying stunts what more do you need to be entertained.

 

[Scrufflet]

I don't know if this is the case but I will throw out one idea I have. Pairs is so dependent upon jumps and throws being done successfully that if they are missed, its really obvious. It can be an all or nothing situation. There can be tons of poor pairs skating and it takes a long time to become really good. Ice dance can cover up a lot of things and give so many different things to look at that one might not notice mistakes so much. With pairs, it's glaringly obvious that a jump or throw was missed. Also, some years it has seemed that pairs did not change much (to the uninitiated). Just random thoughts, no proof.

 

[lurkz2]

What was more popular in the 90s/early 2000s in the US - ice dance or pairs? I was a kid, but I definitely preferred pairs over ice dance at that time. I didn't understand ice dance at all and there were no good US teams. I became interested once Belbin/Agosto came on the scene, and obviously US ice dance changed from there.

As for why pairs is less popular in general....I think it's partially because there are fewer teams. Less overall competition = less interesting. And I really think pairs can be difficult/not fun to watch other than the top 10-12 teams or so. The lack of depth in the discipline hurts it. There's not a lot of clean performances, and even when there are, plenty of teams look awkward/sloppy.

ETA: Overall, I prefer watching top-tier pairs to top-tier ice dancers. But if I'm going to HAVE to watch, say, an entire field at Nationals/4CCs/Europeans, I would generally prefer to watch ice dance as the overall quality will be higher.

Plus, pairs always seems like its more depleted due to injuries than ice dance.

This. I think as the U.S. teams did better in ice dance these teams got more media focus, which got more people interested in them.

ITA that sloppy pairs are more difficult to watch because of the acrobatic and jump elements.

For me personally, I found it difficult to watch pairs because I was always comparing them to Gordeeva and Grinkov. There have been some programs that I have found beautiful since then (like Aljona and Bruno last year), but IMO no team has as yet achieved that unison and emotional connection married with the technical goods.

 

[Mathman]

I don't know if this is the case but I will throw out one idea I have. Pairs is so dependent upon jumps and throws being done successfully that if they are missed, its really obvious. It can be an all or nothing situation. There can be tons of poor pairs skating and it takes a long time to become really good. Ice dance can cover up a lot of things and give so many different things to look at that one might not notice mistakes so much. With pairs, it's glaringly obvious that a jump or throw was missed. ...

But then, too, it seems like it could be the opposite as well. The fact that pairs skaters often fall on throw jumps, etc., show that they are actually doing something. Dancers might be seen as just skating around like, well, ballroom dancers.

 

[vesperalvioletta]

I'm one of those who finds pairs incredibly dull, though its hard for me to explain why. I guess probably because its so predictable and can become more about the elements than the artistry. I like ice dance for its storytelling quality, not necessarily because I understand how its scored at a high level. For me, I'd rather watch an ice dance team give a compelling, artistic performance, than watch the same pairs elements done over and over again by different teams.

 

[NaVi]

I wonder how popular a hypothetical "duet" discipline would be that is pairs skating with some elements of ice dance with all the things removed that makes pairs skating scary for some. 2 side by side jumps in the SP and 4 in the LP. No required overhead or twist lifts though they could be done for choreographic purposes. Probably no throw jumps or let them replace a solo jump with a throw jump. A close hold dance sequence required somewhere in there.

 

[Mathman]

I wonder how popular a hypothetical "duet" discipline would be that is pairs skating with some elements of ice dance with all the things removed that makes pairs skating scary for some. 2 side by side jumps in the SP and 4 in the LP. No required overhead or twist lifts though they could be done for choreographic purposes. ...

A pairs program without this?

https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/2k2w...trip_icc()/twist-56a2e8553df78cf7727b24e4.jpg

Or this?

http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100305/0011432100f50cfb2c473b.JPG

 

[composer]

I find the top pairs teams to be the most exciting and interesting to watch out of all the disciplines, and the lower ranked ones the most painful. So for me anyway while pairs may be the most interesting discipline, it has the fewest skaters for whom I root, if that makes sense.

 

[NaVi]

A pairs program without this?

https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/2k2w...trip_icc()/twist-56a2e8553df78cf7727b24e4.jpg

Or this?

http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100305/0011432100f50cfb2c473b.JPG

We might get to see lifts that look more like the ones done here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrL54VzA1T4

 

[Mathman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrL54VzA1T4

Be still my heart. Thank you.

 

[bunnybarista]

Ice dance adds in something that the singles or the pairs don't have. Which is the relationship to ballroom dance and a strong storytelling component. It's rare you'll have a top ice dance team that is not artistic.

Precisely! I came here to say pretty much the same thing. You can watch all the jumps you want in Singles, and if you want partnership, storytelling, excellent footwork, and beautiful lifts, Ice Dance is the place to be. For me, Pairs can be hard to watch sometimes because it looks so dangerous - thinking of Cain/LeDuc most recently. (This element of danger might be a selling point for some people, though.) I'll always favor the intricacy and intimacy in Ice Dance. (I'm totally not biased...)

 

[crazydreamer]

Pairs is boring, sorry. It seems to be all about technical elements, which are done very mechanically and for some reason don’t leave as big an impression as they should, perhaps because there is not a lot of variety. Most pairs have zero chemistry, uninteresting choreography, and bland performance skills. Maybe harsh, but I honestly do find it an extremely dry and boring discipline.

 

[BillNeal]

What took Aliona and Bruno's skating to the next level was them working with ice dancers Christopher Dean and John Kerr to incorporate qualities of ice dance into their pairs programs. Their Olympic programs are regarded as masterpieces and we are seeing a trend of teams moving in that direction.

 

[silverfoxes]

Precisely! I came here to say pretty much the same thing. You can watch all the jumps you want in Singles, and if you want partnership, storytelling, excellent footwork, and beautiful lifts, Ice Dance is the place to be. For me, Pairs can be hard to watch sometimes because it looks so dangerous - thinking of Cain/LeDuc most recently. (This element of danger might be a selling point for some people, though.) I'll always favor the intricacy and intimacy in Ice Dance. (I'm totally not biased...)

I like pairs much more than ice dance, but I certainly understand why some would find it too dangerous to be enjoyable. I definitely don't like seeing very little girls getting tossed about by much bigger partners...yes, I understand they all have to start somewhere, but I'd rather watch a more evenly matched, mature pair at a decent level. Of course serious accidents can still happen as in Ashley's case, but the smaller and more fragile the girl, the more it makes me nervous.

As for ice dance, maybe I'd be into it if there were more diversity of programs. I'm so bored with the "sensitive artiste," faux-romantic style...make ice dance weird again!

 

[lesnar001]

Going with my own observations on watching pairs over the years.

Even relatively minor mistakes can really mar a program. Out of sync spins, slowing down or struggling on lifts, jumps not timed together.
It has seemed to me that only the VERY top teams don't have these problems.
It can take a very long time for a team to "skate as one" as Dick Button used to say.

And much more than any other discipline for me, the music used really matters.
Maybe because I remember the great Russian pairs (G&G M&D for example) I expect to hear classical music.
I think it works very well with the huge pairs moves.

And although Ice Dance probably is just as difficult for the team to come together....
Small mistakes don't detract from the programs.
For the layman, it is much harder to see a little glitch in a twizzle sequence that 2 people spinning out of sync in pairs.

edited to add....
Sometimes the size difference between the male and female can be really distracting to me.

 

[kenboy123]

I had no idea that ice dance was more popular than pairs???...I honestly not too much into pairs either...but it's ok...i find ice dance really really boring...every single program looks like the same to me...