Questions about beginning ice dance

[ayb2]

Hard to figure out this information from usfsa.org, so I thought I'd ask here.

2 young skaters (girl 7yo, boy 9yo) starting ice dance lessons together. Girl has preliminary mitf completed, boy working on pre-preliminary mitf (typical boy trouble with spirals). What is the testing route for ice dance (what do you need to have to start testing preliminary pattern dance? i.e. Dutch Waltz, Rhythm Blues, etc) and where do young kids in early ice dance compete? (Plenty of local competitions with solo ice dance pattern competition, but no info on partnered pattern dance). Could do duet showcase, I suppose?

 

[sandraskates]

Wow - aren't you lucky - a little ice dance team in the making!

https://www.usfsa.org/content/AllAboutTests.pdf


I don't think there is any MITF field requirements to start testing in ice dancing (someone will correct me if I'm wrong). Ice dance is it's own separate category.
They will start their tests at the Preliminary level: Dutch Waltz, Canasta Tango and Rhythm Blues. Once all three are passed they will test Pre-Bronze, and up the ladder they go.
Their coach will determine when they are ready to test. Now the problem you may face is that one skater is better than the other and passes a level while the other has to re-test.

You'll have to check for competitions that include ice dance on announcements. But yes, they could come up with duet programs that incorporate ice dance skills. That would also enhance their pairing. Good luck!

 

[bunnybarista]

How exciting! Always makes me happy to hear of people starting ice dance! :luv17:

Sandra is correct - there are no MITF requirements for testing ice dance. While you don't have to take or pass all three Preliminary dances at the same time, you won't be able to move up to Pre-bronze dances until you've passed all three Preliminary dances. There are also free dance tests but those aren't important until much later - there are Juvenile through Senior tests for this.

As an adult ice dancer, I can't really speak much about finding competitions for kids, but it seems that a lot of competitions don't offer dance categories for couples until you're at least doing Pre-bronze if not Bronze dances. Certainly at adult competitions, like adult sectionals and nationals, I usually see Bronze dance as the starting point. I looked up a local competition just for fun and saw that, within kids, they seemed to start at Juvenile pattern / free dance and move upwards from there. FYI, the 2019-20 Juvenile pattern dances are the Hickory Hoedown and the Ten-Fox, both of which are Bronze pattern dances.

Good luck!!

 

[chiyung]

...where do young kids in early ice dance compete? (Plenty of local competitions with solo ice dance pattern competition, but no info on partnered pattern dance).

The first major ice dance competition this season is next week at Chesapeake Open in Laurel, Maryland. Here’s the schedule.
http://comp.entryeeze.com/FullSchedule.aspx

On the link for Resor rink, you’ll see Couples Pattern Dance and Couples Free Dance at the Pre-Juvenile level. The pattern dances are Rhythm Blues and Fiesta Tango. There are 3 Pre-Juv couples competing at this event. The ages of 7 to 10 are typical for this level.

Here is a link to the major partnered (or couples) dance competitions this season. I believe all levels from Pre-Juv to Senior should be available at these competitions.
https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/NQS Dance 2019-20.pdf

It may be a little late to sign up for this season, but it's still possible. If the kids start learning the Prelim pattern dances now, they could be ready for Philadelphia Challenge Cup in Sept, but the ice dance coach would be the best to determine that. Else, maybe next year. Good luck!

 

[ayb2]

OK, so sounds like really no little local competitions like learn to skate events for singles. We're pretty far away from any of the major couples competitions here in Ohio. The closest would be about 6 hours away by car so probably not worth it for a few years. We'll start with learning pattern dance and see what happens.

 

[gkelly]

OK, so sounds like really no little local competitions like learn to skate events for singles. We're pretty far away from any of the major couples competitions here in Ohio. The closest would be about 6 hours away by car so probably not worth it for a few years. We'll start with learning pattern dance and see what happens.

There are solo dance events held at a number of spring/summer competitions, including two in Ohio this year:

solo dance page at US Figure Skating

Strongsville Spring Fling in April

Troy Summer Competition in July

It's just too late to register for the July competition this year, but solo dance is something to think about for next year.

There are 7 competitions offering ice dance as part of the National Qualifying Series this summer
East:
Chesapeake Open June 19-22
Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships July 30-August 2
Challenge Cup September 12-15
Midwest:
Cannon Texas Open July 11-14
Dance-Pairs Chicago August 9-11
Pacific Coasts:
Sun Valley Summer Camps July 17-21
Orange County Open Championships August 9-11

Those should all be offering partnered dance events starting with Pre-Juvenile.


Some other nonqualifying competitions may offer partnered dance events, but they may be hard to find and there might not be other entries at the same level. It would be up to the referee and host club whether to hold single-entry events.
If the kids will be participating in nonqualifying competitions for singles, it's worth checking the announcements to see if the club is also offering solo or partnered ice dance.

 

[iceskating21]

May I ask here, where do you get ice dance dress for girls if you can't find second hand ones from someones? Is it different from dance dress? I mean if I can get normal ballroom dance dress, is it fine too?

 

[silver.blades]

May I ask here, where do you get ice dance dress for girls if you can't find second hand ones from someones? Is it different from dance dress? I mean if I can get normal ballroom dance dress, is it fine too?

You can usually buy dresses online if you can't find one to borrow or there isn't a store in your area.

A standard ballroom dress could work. Just make sure the skirt isn't too long. Lots of ballroom dresses, especially for waltzes and foxtrots, are too long for the ice, but the latin ones should be fine.

 

[bunnybarista]

May I ask here, where do you get ice dance dress for girls if you can't find second hand ones from someones? Is it different from dance dress? I mean if I can get normal ballroom dance dress, is it fine too?

Lyrical ballet dresses sometimes work well, too, as they will have an attached panty / leotard. If they are too long (past the knees), you might be able to cut them yourself without hemming depending on the material.

 

[funnybunny]

Never would have thought you could look for dress in that direction.

 

[ayb2]

Random update from 2019 to 2026 - the 7 and 9 year old skated together for a summer and learned the Dutch Waltz, then the boy decided he wanted to just jump solo instead. Then Covid happened and the boy quit skating for 2 years. The girl got another school classmate to try ice dance and they competed prejuvenile dance at Margaret Faulkner and Chesapeake Open in 2023 before he decided he wanted to go jump solo instead. She then got another local skater to try ice dance and they qualified for National Development Team in juvenile dance this past year. That boy then decided he wanted to skate with someone closer in age to him and closer in location to him. My daughter is now back to ice dancing with the first boy and they are going to Lake Placid in juvenile at the end of this month. Keep your fingers crossed. She is now pre-gold skating skills, silver solo pattern dance, bronze partnered pattern dance, pre-silver singles. It's a long road. She also competes solo dance. She still loves ice dance.