I will enjoy seeing some sort of standardization of the technical judging of elements. It's not a "perfect" assessment like the old compulsory days but it's better than a RD just being a particular theme with no consistency of technical elements from dance team to dance team. I like it.
Do Rhythm Dances actually test skating skills enough?
- Thread starter gsk8
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Just watching Anthony's dad skating here tells me why he always says he's his own person. He has always looked like a hockey player to me, so unlike his father's sleek form.
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I would agree that the RD has allowed for more creativity, but I don't think it has brought any new fans to ice dance. If anything I think the drama is what has brought some fans. Sure argument can be made that ice dance has always had drama and I completely agree with that. It hasn't brought more engaging events, nor any faster.
We have lost the overall skating quality that the CD and OD brought. There was the pattern, the holds, the upperbody, even head position, extensions, close steps, bodies being closer and hips touching. All of that was able to be compared with the other teams skating. Currently, the RD has focused more on "story telling" and I don't believe a team should have to tell a story in the RD, leave that for the FD. Ice Dance was started as ballroom dancing on ice (hence all the compulsory and test dances are ballroom dances), and it has gotten further and further away from that. I don't think we need to bring back the CD and please don't bring back the music for the CD either. I am looking forward to the return of the pattern step, and will wait to see if things improve or not with that.
Sadly, I stopped skating after I passed the Silver Tango (so so long ago, haha) and then never picked back up ice dancing when I returned to synchro skating as an adult. I did try a solo ice dance competition once when I was a teenager, but I was so nervous and shook the whole time. Never did that again. So I remember compulsory dance well.
I think a way to make ice dance more TV friendly is to actually have commentators that know about the sport of ice dance. Maybe show the pattern that the skaters are supposed to do. I love that overhead camera angle when it comes to edges and pattern, and it can show how close skaters were to it. I think the more folks understand the sport and also see what is going on that more people might be interested (thinking along lines of all the replays and slow mo replays in other sports).
The PCS, which replaced the Presentation Score has never been objective.
My mom used to love watching ice skating and ice dance in particular, but over the years she has become less and less interested because of the politics. It started to become not the best skaters who delivered a better program but who came from what school and was next in line.
We have lost the overall skating quality that the CD and OD brought. There was the pattern, the holds, the upperbody, even head position, extensions, close steps, bodies being closer and hips touching. All of that was able to be compared with the other teams skating. Currently, the RD has focused more on "story telling" and I don't believe a team should have to tell a story in the RD, leave that for the FD. Ice Dance was started as ballroom dancing on ice (hence all the compulsory and test dances are ballroom dances), and it has gotten further and further away from that. I don't think we need to bring back the CD and please don't bring back the music for the CD either. I am looking forward to the return of the pattern step, and will wait to see if things improve or not with that.
Sadly, I stopped skating after I passed the Silver Tango (so so long ago, haha) and then never picked back up ice dancing when I returned to synchro skating as an adult. I did try a solo ice dance competition once when I was a teenager, but I was so nervous and shook the whole time. Never did that again. So I remember compulsory dance well.
I think a way to make ice dance more TV friendly is to actually have commentators that know about the sport of ice dance. Maybe show the pattern that the skaters are supposed to do. I love that overhead camera angle when it comes to edges and pattern, and it can show how close skaters were to it. I think the more folks understand the sport and also see what is going on that more people might be interested (thinking along lines of all the replays and slow mo replays in other sports).
The PCS, which replaced the Presentation Score has never been objective.
My mom used to love watching ice skating and ice dance in particular, but over the years she has become less and less interested because of the politics. It started to become not the best skaters who delivered a better program but who came from what school and was next in line.
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