Original Dance or Short Dance what is your preference?

[Skatetomusic]

For Me, I really miss the original dance. Go back to the Olympics in 2006 and remember all the falls that happened in that original dance. It was exciting.

The short dance just does not seem to have the oomph factor.

What is wrong with five different elements that every skater has to do in the original dance?

 

[Tonichelle]

because they still need the skills the compulsaries gave the skaters... If they went back to the three skate event I would be very happy the CDs were my favorite part... but, I really like the Short Dance the way it's been working. Just means we won't see the Yankee Polka or Folk Dances anymore... which makes me so stinkin sad.

 

[ryanbfan]

I miss the original dance too. I don't really like the new format.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

Ideally? CD + OD + FD

The SD is growing on me, but the best SDs in these past two seasons are nowhere near the best ODs of any given year.

 

[bigsisjiejie]

Not really a howling fan of either. I really preferred the OSP (Original Set Pattern) but I guess that's hopelessly old-fashioned.

 

[dorispulaski]

I like the CD's, OD's, and OSP's better than the current SD format. Last year, there wasn't an SD that I would go back to watch for amusement. However, this year there are several SD's that I actually like, including several of the Junior's dances. However, that is a testimony to the skaters & their choreographers, and not the SD format.

 

[andante1139]

Od

 

[KKonas]

I have never been a fan of the Short Dance and much prefer the OD or the former OSP. According to the German ice dancers only two other CD's can really be used for the Short Dance - the Quickstep (not the Finnstep) and the Polka. They said that the talk at ISU is that the Quickstep will be next. Meryl said she preferred the Polka. I have no official information as yet on the next Pattern Dance to be set for 2012-13.

 

[dorispulaski]

The quickstep hasn't been used in senior competition (as opposed to the Yankee Polka) for a long time, the 2002 - 2003 season, I think? And in the juniors in the 2005-2006 season and the 2003-2004 season. So D&W, C&L, B&S and V&M all should have learned it as juniors. P&B will have learned it as seniors, in their first season.

Here's Anissina/Peizerat's quickstep CD 2002 Olympics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw6zOeySwo

Frankly, I think it is a relatively boring CD, and I hope they don't use it.

The Yankee Polka is more fun. However, I have heard people claiming the Quickstep is a done deal for next year. I hope it is not.

Did the German dancers explain why they thought those were the only 2 possible choices, other than the GW and the Rhumba, which have been used already? After all, they changed the rules between last year and this year for the SD, I presume the rules could be changed back to accomodate one or more of the other CD's.

 

[NorthernDancers]

There are 2 things that I like about the SD:

- The CD portion of the SD is very specific, and very comparable across skaters. In order to do the CD well, skaters need to have good skating skills and some quality. It's comparing apples with apples. Way too often teams will rise that skate fast and furious, but don't really have the lines and edges and quality. The CD part forces them to pay attention to real skating.

- The SD is different than the FD. It has a different purpose. It's not a mini FD and a full FD. It's 2 separate sections - one more technical than the other. I don't see value in 2 FD's. What's the point of that? Then we might as well have 2 CD's that are judged like the SD CD right now, and then the FD.


What I don't like about the SD is that we have seen some pretty strange mashups of music. We aren't seeing the cohesive programs from most teams that we could. Maybe the SD should be just 1 type of music - all waltz, or all rhumba, or all whatever the theme is. This year is definitely better than last year. Not sure why there are limited dance patterns to choose from. I seem to recall a whole bunch of CD possibilities?

 

[dorispulaski]

Obviously there are lots of senior CD's. Here's the list from ice-dance.com
http://www.ice-dance.com/reference/83-compulsory-dance-descriptions-a-patterns

One iteration takes:
Argentine Tango 35 seconds
Austrian waltz 49 seconds
Blues 24.7 seconds
Finnstep 38 seconds
Killian 8.3 seconds
Midnight Blues 49 seconds
Paso Doble 17 seconds
Quickstep 15 seconds
Ravensburger Waltz 29 seconds
Starlight Waltz 35 seconds
Tango Romantica 52.5 seconds
Viennese waltz 23 seconds
Westminster waltz 29 seconds
Yankee polka 32 seconds

So if the polka is OK with 32 seconds, I would think that everything other than the Finnstep, Tango Romantica, Midnight Blues & Austrian Waltz could be fitted in, one way or another. Since the key points are a mashup of several steps oftentimes, there has to be a relatively simple way to do this for many of those CD's.

And if the quickstep is OK, you'd think the paso doble would be OK.

So I clearly don't understand why only the Quickstep or polka would do, and hope someone will explain it to me.

I'd love to see one iteration of the Finnstep rather than the Quickstep, for example.

And in fact, the ChaCha Congalado worked really well for the juniors, and is no harder than the Quickstep which has been done as a junior dance. Also the Viennese worked well for the juniors last year, and is at least as interesting as the quickstep.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

Would it have to do with the features/key points designed to get the levels?

 

[Dragonlady]

I am not a fan of the SD's at all. And like many others here, I really miss the Original Set Pattern Dances which were done in the 1980's. I also miss the Original Dances and I do so miss the CD's. You could really see which teams were the best in these competitions, plus I love a number of the CD's. The only one I won't miss is the Yankee Polka - a dance which was choreographed for a short couple and looks AWFUL if not well done. I can only recall two or three teams doing the Yankee Polka well, through 3 large competitions. That's an awful lot of bad polkas.

 

[blue dog]

Maybe, I'm weird, but I prefer neither. I'd rather have the following competition pattern:

1 CD + OSP + FD

 

[dorispulaski]

Would it have to do with the features/key points designed to get the levels?

That's what I'd like to think, but having watched how the key points were handled the last two years, and having watched the Quickstep, I don't see any reason the Quickstep would be preferred to other dances.

 

[KKonas]

Did the German dancers explain why they thought those were the only 2 possible choices, other than the GW and the Rhumba, which have been used already? After all, they changed the rules between last year and this year for the SD, I presume the rules could be changed back to accomodate one or more of the other CD's.

Unfortunately I was not able to continue to pursue this line of questioning with the German ice dancers at the time and never got to talk to them again.

 

[dorispulaski]

It's an interesting business, for sure.

I hope we all hear more later.

 

[jcoates]

Ideally? CD + OD + FD

The SD is growing on me, but the best SDs in these past two seasons are nowhere near the best ODs of any given year.

I completely agree