Coronation Ace for Dance?

[bunnybarista]

Hi there, I'm an adult skater who's upgrading to dance boots soon (currently have some lovely SP-Teris on hold) and I'm trying to decide what blade to get. I have been offered a gently used Coronation Ace for $100 (only two sharpenings, lots of life left in it, no rust). I know that the Coronation Ace is NOT an ice dance blade, but I'm only on my preliminary dances and many people have said the shorter heel of a dance blade isn't strictly necessary, certainly not until I get to maybe silver dances. My primary concern, however, is the 7-foot rocker on the Coro Ace. I am currently in the low-level 8-foot Ultima Mark IV. How big of a difference will the 7-foot rocker be? My biggest fear is always falling over backwards, and part of me thinks the more curved 7-foot rocker might make me more prone to fall backwards? (That fear is also why I'm staying with a regular freestyle blade instead of switching to the short heel of a dance blade right now.) Would love any insight and pros/cons for the Coro Ace, especially from anyone who has experience with ice dance!

On a side note, do all dance blades have a 7-foot rocker? From what I've seen of John Wilson, MK, Ultima, etc. they all seem to be 7-foot.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Don't do it. If you want anything get a coronation dance blade and save yourself headaches later.

 

[bunnybarista]

Don't do it. If you want anything get a coronation dance blade and save yourself headaches later.

Could you elaborate on that please? The coro ace has the same rocker and toepick as the coro dance blade, with the difference of course being the shorter heel. Wouldn't it be an easy transition? I'm not ready for the short heel. Would an 8-ft rocker be better to stay at until I'm ready for the dance blades?

 

[silver.blades]

If you're not dancing competitively, the short answer is you can do your dances in any boot and blade you want. You're working on your preliminary dances, the coro ace blade is fine. Stick with the freeskate blade if that is what you are comfortable with. I did all my dance tests up to my diamonds in pattern 99s (except my prelimins, I did those in coro ace blades).

Switching from freeskate to dance blades will be an adjustment, but if you are a confident skater, it's not that big a deal. I wore dance blades for the first time about 4 years ago after over 20 in freeskate blades and it only took me a session to be comfortable in them. I was also coming back from a serious injury, which meant that I was not up to my usual level.

The shorter heel isn't actually the biggest difficulty I've found with the dance blade. For me, it's the tiny toe picks that freak me out.

If you're not ready mentally for the shorter heel, stick with the coro aces. Your comfort level with your skates and blades is almost as important as the quality. If they freak you out, it doesn't matter how good they are, you're not going to skate well.

 

[bunnybarista]

If you're not dancing competitively, the short answer is you can do your dances in any boot and blade you want. You're working on your preliminary dances, the coro ace blade is fine. Stick with the freeskate blade if that is what you are comfortable with. I did all my dance tests up to my diamonds in pattern 99s (except my prelimins, I did those in coro ace blades).

Switching from freeskate to dance blades will be an adjustment, but if you are a confident skater, it's not that big a deal. I wore dance blades for the first time about 4 years ago after over 20 in freeskate blades and it only took me a session to be comfortable in them. I was also coming back from a serious injury, which meant that I was not up to my usual level.

The shorter heel isn't actually the biggest difficulty I've found with the dance blade. For me, it's the tiny toe picks that freak me out.

If you're not ready mentally for the shorter heel, stick with the coro aces. Your comfort level with your skates and blades is almost as important as the quality. If they freak you out, it doesn't matter how good they are, you're not going to skate well.

Thank you so much for the detailed reply - this is exactly the kind of comforting confirmation that I needed! Turns out both of my coaches stayed in freestyle blades until about Silver/Pre-Gold dances (and were actively competing, not just testing) so it seems like I should be safe to stay with freestyle blades for now. Thanks again! :luv17:

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Could you elaborate on that please? The coro ace has the same rocker and toepick as the coro dance blade, with the difference of course being the shorter heel. Wouldn't it be an easy transition? I'm not ready for the short heel. Would an 8-ft rocker be better to stay at until I'm ready for the dance blades?

Stay in a freestyle blade if you do not ever plan on ice dancing competitively. If you are going to start doing so (dance) then it is recommended to switch earlier on in order to get used to the feel of the blades and also to prevent issues with smacking your blade tails etc together when doing dance moves. You would also benefit from not having blade collisions during mohawks etc.

There had to be a reason you chose to even go with a dance boot over just a lower cut freestyle boot. So questioning the blade puts you in the same line of thought.
It seems though that staying in a freestyle blade that a deal can be had on nonetheless was already decided prior to posting, and just looking for reassurance for that decision.

All I can wish you as I have before is good luck.

 

[bunnybarista]

Stay in a freestyle blade if you do not ever plan on ice dancing competitively. If you are going to start doing so (dance) then it is recommended to switch earlier on in order to get used to the feel of the blades and also to prevent issues with smacking your blade tails etc together when doing dance moves. You would also benefit from not having blade collisions during mohawks etc.

There had to be a reason you chose to even go with a dance boot over just a lower cut freestyle boot. So questioning the blade puts you in the same line of thought.
It seems though that staying in a freestyle blade that a deal can be had on nonetheless was already decided prior to posting, and just looking for reassurance for that decision.

All I can wish you as I have before is good luck.

I am an adult skater, so by no means will I be dancing competitively (unless you mean Adult Nationals many years for now). Thus, my goals are to have fun and, above all, be safe! (Hence not feeling comfortable with the idea of a shorter heel quite yet.) While my coaches and fitter have already said it's fine to stay with a freestyle blade for a while, I wanted advice specifically about the 7ft versus 8ft rocker within freestyle options. I haven't purchased the Coronation Ace yet and am open to other freestyle blades of a similar level / price point.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

If you plan on moving up to a gold seal or pattern 99 eventually then you want to get something with an 8 ft rocker since that is what they have, and then you will be used to it, and as far as those are concerned the picks are different on both. (Gold seal has cross cut picks, p99 has aggressive straight cut picks).

The rocker is 7 ft on the Ace and has cross cut picks if I am not mistaken. If you feel more comfortable in a 7 ft rocker then you may want to look at MK blades like the phantom or gold star if you ever want to move up to a more advanced blade since they are both 7ft rockers.

It is all in what you are looking to do for yourself and your skating down the road and if you think you would ever want something more advanced than a intermediate level blade. IF you are okay with everything the ace offers then go with it.

Good luck!

 

[bunnybarista]

If you plan on moving up to a gold seal or pattern 99 eventually then you want to get something with an 8 ft rocker since that is what they have, and then you will be used to it, and as far as those are concerned the picks are different on both. (Gold seal has cross cut picks, p99 has aggressive straight cut picks).

The rocker is 7 ft on the Ace and has cross cut picks if I am not mistaken. If you feel more comfortable in a 7 ft rocker then you may want to look at MK blades like the phantom or gold star if you ever want to move up to a more advanced blade since they are both 7ft rockers.

It is all in what you are looking to do for yourself and your skating down the road and if you think you would ever want something more advanced than a intermediate level blade. IF you are okay with everything the ace offers then go with it.

Good luck!

Thanks for the details about other blades! Eventually I'd like to end up in a real dance blade, but don't foresee that happening soon. (Five years? Who knows. Hard to tell how fast I'll progress.) Looks like I have lots of pros and cons to consider in picking the best blade for my needs right now.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thanks for the details about other blades! Eventually I'd like to end up in a real dance blade, but don't foresee that happening soon. (Five years? Who knows. Hard to tell how fast I'll progress.) Looks like I have lots of pros and cons to consider in picking the best blade for my needs right now.

Well if you want to someday be in "real" dance blades then it will be a 7 ft rocker. Just know the JW Coronation Dance has the cross cut picks and the MK Dance has straight cut picks. Then theres the shorter tail to deal with.

Good luck with whatever you decide.