Why no Solo Dance? | Golden Skate

Why no Solo Dance?

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
In roller skating, solo dance competitions are really popular and we have Senior and Junior categories who compete at Worlds together with Singles, Pairs and Dance Couples; for example, these are the reigning WCs, both from Italy: Paola Fraschini http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxWlspY6gSg and Alessandro Spigai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vjX5nPwTBs. A lot of people compete both in SL and Couples: for example, Alessandro is WC in Solo Dance and in Dance Couples (with Anna Remondini).
I know that there are Solo Dance competitions in the US, but at low levels: what would you think about making it an international discipline, with the same importance as the others (as it is in roller skating)? I personally think that, with all the beautiful opportunities that skating on ice gives (for turns and flow, a lot more than roller skating for sure!), we would see wonderful programs and skaters! And maybe some skaters who are not great jumpers but are able to skate with excellent edges, posture, basic technique etc. could have a chance to shine in these competitions without having to skate with a partner! What do you think?
 

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
great! :clap: I have never seen before...

But I don't like to see this on ice. The skaters are dancing + jumping. More exciting.
 

alia jackson

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
I often read some people want to see artistry and complaining about falling in jumps, too many jumps etc. So probably this single/solo dance can be a category to satisfy this group of viewers/fans...artistry rather than athletics.
 

JayW

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Not sure about the solo. If solo is introduced, how about Pas de Trois, Pas de Quatre...
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Not sure about the solo. If solo is introduced, how about Pas de Trois, Pas de Quatre...
The thing is: we have both solo skaters and couples executing jumps/spins, but we have only couples performing Ice Dancing, why this difference? (Because this is the tradition, I know, but this is what I propose to discuss about in this thread ;) )
 

silverfoxes

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
I love it when singles skaters incorporate dance into their programs, but I don't watch a lot of ice dance because I find it rather dull watching team after team without any jumps at all. I think ice shows and exhibitions are the best place for those kinds of skaters to show off what they can do. It would be nice if there were more opportunities for them, though, no question.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Solo dance is competed in some countries. It is part of the Lake Placid Ice Dance Competition in the US every year, for example.

There is no ISU Solo Dance at this time, I believe.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
I'm not against this in principle. I dunno if I'll find it as interesting as dancing with jumps, but if there's duo ice dance why not a solo one? The question is, how will such a contest be judged? It'll be even harder to judge than ice dance: no lifts, no holds, no matching lines/synchronization/side-by-side twizzles to judge, and less ability to tell a story since you have only one character to work with. I don't want it to be "4 minutes of tedious COP step sequence," on one end of the spectrum, but I also don't want it to be "who can make the best faces at the judges?"
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I would love to see this take off as another discipline. I expect that it will build from the bottom up. If enough federations end up holding national championships in solo dance, and maybe offering the event at various internationals, not necessarily senior-only, eventually there will be dedicated international solo dance competitions.

If becomes popular enough with participants, the ISU may offer a world championship in the discipline.

Whenever that happens, which may take decades, then it will start attracting more talented skaters who choose to focus on skating and music interpretation rather than jumps, or who have the wrong body type to master triple jumps or to skate and perform lifts with an opposite-sex dance partner, but who otherwise have everything it takes to reach an elite level.

If the ISU should offer solo dance championships before the discipline builds up its own stars from the grassroots up, they could attract more preteen/teen skaters sooner to choose that discipline as a first choice. Meanwhile, if they wanted to hold championships before enough elite-level skaters had worked their way up through the solo dance ranks, we'd probably see mostly established ice dancers without partners and a few elite singles skaters who have chosen (or their bodies chose for them) to take their focus off jumping.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
^That sounds like it'll attract more girls than guys, because, well, puberty monster... :slink:
 

NMURA

Medalist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
I'd rather see the removal of "ice dancing" from figure skating disciplines than development of "solo dance".
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
If you're not interested, you don't have to watch.

If few fans want to watch, then there won't be TV contracts and it's less likely that the ISU would be interested in setting up championships.

But if enough skaters want participate at a grass roots level and entry fees cover the costs of the competitions, the existence of a non-fan-friendly discipline would have no impact on what fans do want to see.

Same with synchronized skating, which does have world championships now.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Sure, institute it, but I wouldn't make it an Olympic or World medal worthy sport any time soon, given the lack of distinguishable elements (compared to other disciplines) and HUGE subjectivity involved in determining a winner.
 

carriecmu0503

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Sure, institute it, but I wouldn't make it an Olympic or World medal worthy sport any time soon, given the lack of distinguishable elements (compared to other disciplines) and HUGE subjectivity involved in determining a winner.

Do you know the elements required for solo dance? They are very distinguishable. Twizzles, spins, footwork with specific turns required at each level, edge elements (spirals, spread eagles, etc), not to mention actually skating to the beat of the music. There really is a LOT more to skating than just the jumps. Solo dance is a great opportunity for skaters who are good SKATERS (as opposed to jumpers) and want to focus on skating skills, transitions, choreography, interpretation, performance, etc. For those who have not tried ice dance or synchro skating, these skaters are every ounce the athlete freestyle skaters are. They are completely different disciplines that are just as difficult in different ways. Perhaps to the person who does not understand dance, the elements aren't distinguishable, but if you take the time to learn about dance, you will realize that is not the case.
 

NMURA

Medalist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
So solo dance is something for maniacs, not even average skating fans can't understand, let alone ordinary people.
 

carriecmu0503

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
So solo dance is something for maniacs, not even average skating fans can't understand, let alone ordinary people.

It's really not that hard to understand. I just told you what the elements are; look for them in a program. If you can tell a person is doing a jump, you can tell if a person is doing a twizzle. The "average fan" can't tell if a jump was done well or not (proper edge, full rotation, etc), but that doesn't keep them from watching! Try spending just a little time learning about something before being so dismissive.
 

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
The "average fan" can't tell if a jump was done well or not (proper edge, full rotation, etc),
But the "average fan" can tell if you stood up or not. :yes: I don't suppose there'll be a lot of people falling on twizzles? ;)

Solo dance does present some challenges in judging (as well as a lot of sport/not sport debates). Rather than comparing it to singles, better to compare it to ice dance. My conclusion: it's even harder to understand and judge, because in ice dance you have holds, lifts, and side-by-side twizzles.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Quite a few people have fallen or tripped on twizzles ,;)

Ask Nikita Katsalapov this year.

Heck, ask any dance team.
 
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