Worked on 3 of the 4 Pre-Gold dances today and really broke them down into segments to try and work on them.
The Killian is so fast. That Chocktaw is pretty scary going as fast as the dance requires.
The Starlight is very tiring for a waltz. There are so many different steps and hold changes.
The Blues requires pretty deep edges and flexibility.
Finally done with the Silver dances. I started these dances in late December of 2022 right after I finished the previous batch of Pre-Silver Dances. It’s been 2 years and 4 months of work.
The judges were fair in my opinion. A sprinkle of compliments and some deserved criticism on areas I struggle with. I love it when they say I did well for 21+ much less 50+ … and I wonder .. do they know I am 65? They should give us a whole new level! Just kidding.
I have no idea what the time frame for the Pre-Gold dances will be. I have learned the basics of the steps of 3 of the 4 of them, but they are really challenging.
30 minute lesson today on the fundamentals of the Blues dance. We did a little in the beginning on my closed mohawk of the Starlight Waltz too.
This dance is hard. There are a lot of deep edges and difficult steps and turns. Just LIFTING MY FREE LEG UP HIGH is a challenge!~
30 minute lesson cut short by some rink drama and subsequent distractions during my lesson. We managed to eke out a little practice. I took the opportunity to jump OFF the ice right after my lesson and skidaddle home!
Great short lesson today. Lots of exercises not on camera and then we worked on the Killian and Starlight Waltz. I’m so tired - very little sleep last night.
All that in 45 minutes!
Last minute decision to test my Rocker Foxtrot today. We had a virtual test session ending tonight .. so I thought I would try and attempt it today. Summer is coming and I will be off ice for most of it until November!
The version of the test is from my camera at the end of the rink. Same skate but not the official video taken for submission to the judges. You can’t see some of the dance on this copy.
After that we worked on learning (teaching ME) the unbelievably difficult steps of the Blues. Ask me again this time next year - I will probably not have changed my mind about that. Deep edges and advance turns with backwards cross rolls and high lifted blusy free legs… yes sir this one is hard.
Before I left the session I put on my free dance music without any rehearsal to see what would happen. I can’t believe I made it to the end of the song. I missed a lot of the choreography and my twizzles were really yucky in sequence .. RBO Twizzle followed by RFI Twizzle 🤮. I lost my edge element .. the spread eagle but threw in a boring unemotional spiral and forgot all my “character steps” on the short axis. Oh and that scratch spin at the end… so not what’s supposed to be there~! And I just learned the the Intermediate Solo Free Dance is now called Pre-Silver.
But a good day all in all. I hope I pass that test - on to nothing but Pre-Gold.
1) Virtual Test 2) Blues 3) Free Dance
We’re thinking this dance may be ready to try and test next week. Not perfect for sure but I want to finish the Silver Dance series of tests - so when I return after summer I will be working on only Pre-Gold.
Did a few runs, then worked for 5 minutes on the Starlight Waltz. After that I stayed on the ice and tried a little solo practice.
Another unexpected lesson. Working on the Rocker Foxtrot - waiting for our music while 2 skaters ran their programs Vitali decided to teach me a few steps of the Blues dance. This one is going to be hard with a CAPITAL H.
The Rocker Foxtrot did not cooperate today but I made a little progress on the Starlight Waltz.
I think I actually like this dance. It has so many different steps in it. The hold change is the big challenge for me as well as the mohawk with the high leg lilt.
Some days I sure feel like it!
After a weekend of being wowed watching Worlds I returned to the rink today to end up feeling so inept at everything. Nobody likes a whiner. So I won’t.
In todays videos I slowed the tempos of the music on the dances to the pace we skated -
It’s the equivilent to the skinny mirror!
Mondays are always hard. But I rallied at 7:00 am for a 30 minute lesson and stayed for the rest of the session to practice. Toward the end of the session I tried a bit of my -never finished- free dance and attempted a handful of spins.
I seem to be in no rush to test the Rocker Foxtrot - The last of the Silver Dances. With 2 new Pre-Gold dances I am trying to learn - it’s enough on my plate.
Lucky to get a lesson today at 8 am vs 7 am. What a difference an hour makes!
Rocker Foxtrot: The rocker is getting better. We did our first run of a full test pattern today.
Starlight Waltz: Wow so many steps in this dance. Nothing really difficult except for the backwards cross roll for the lady and change of hold from Waltz hold and rejoining in Kilian before start of next pattern.
Kilian: well … lets just say ITS FAST. The Chocktaw has to be just right or it wont work.
Old Irish proverb.
Didn’t kill it today. Felt a bit stronger but it didn’t show in my skating. The rocker is giving me non-stop troubled and when we tried to attempt a Kilian pattern with music - I freaked out before the Chocktaw!
This next set of dances is going to be tough. There are some difficult steps ahead.
I’m pretty frustrated with my energy level. I guess you get what you pay for. I’m not getting enough off ice exercise to help maintain, much less boost my energy levels on ice. I think I can do better but don’t want to make the commitment to get to the gym. MEH! 🫤
I already posted this video but so happy to finally get the results back! Honors to boot!
2 weeks tomorrow since I tested my Silver Tango. This is what I hate about virtual testing. Sometimes it’s a few days and sometimes it’s like this. Endless waiting.
I’ve also had COVID again. (Last and only other time was Labor Day 2021) This one was all pulmonary bad cough and chest pain, fatigue and 1 morning of low grade fever.
After doing a couple of runs of the Rocker Foxtrot coach Vitali decided to teach me some of the steps of the Starlight Waltz. NOOOO NOT ANOTHER WALTZ! I hope this one is more fun.
Today I skated another virtual test for the Silver (Harris) Tango. #2 of 3 dances in the Silver Level.
My first attempt I got behind and stepped out of the pattern during the last few steps of the dance. We rested as we looked over the dance playback and tried again. I wish it were more crisp but we felt it was worth submitting at 50+. Again we wait.
The actual test is at 2:41 and at 4:44 we practiced the Kilian again from my camera.
Video #2 is the virtual test from the rink side.
Honestly I would rather go back to in person testing. The waiting is the worst. Especially if I am moving on in my head and I end up failing again.. excuse me (getting a retry).
Here’s the excerpt from today’s lesson. I think the Tango is passing. I wish we had recorded it as a test.
I hated skating today without knowing if we have to revisit the American Waltz. Hopefully I will know this week. Meanwhile… the Tango
I will update this page with the video we shot Monday and submitted this week once the results are back.
It wasn’t the best but I really hope it passes and that I never have to do that dance again for the rest of my life!!!
Today I skated after the tragic news of the plane crash that took the lives of so my figure skaters, coaches and family of USFSA. I felt sick but wanted to skate .. because I can. The session was awkward. The ice wasn’t that crowded but I couldn’t practice without running into skaters and coaches. During my lesson we only had time to work on the Tango for like 15 minutes.
Also just heard that Dick Button passed away today at 95. RIP Dick. ❤️
Rink tag system out today. Waiting to unplug a phone, plug a phone, start music - plus a few virtual tests on the ice today did not help make good use of my hour long lesson. Monday the ice was awful - no cut in the morning so it was lumpy as hell. Today this. Aside from being a really cold rink this is another drawback to skating at Gilbert AZ Ice. But this is where Vitali coaches - so I am kind of stuck.
Here’s the first session - 30 minutes goes by so fast. We left the American Waltz for last.
The plan is to try and virtually test the Tango this month.
New Years Resolutions set you up for failure ~ So I won’t list them too specifically.
1. Lose weight
2. Skate more
3. Walk more
4. Read more
5. Play piano more
More of everything except #1.
Worked on 3 of the 4 Pre-Gold dances today and really broke them down into segments to try and work on them. The Killian is so fast. That...
