Moves I Ain’t Got

Practicing those pesky Gold Moves In The Field.  

They need some serious attention.  Especially the inside double three turns and the brackets.

The power circles need POWER.  From the first step to the last - all with POWER but increasing speed and circle size.

The double threes need more edge control and tidy feet.  I need to tuck my hips under me ~ pretty much for everything I do.  The inside double threes need some attention.  I have some great exercise for them but haven’t had enough ice time.

The backwards circle 8 is ok but needs better flow and especially the last edge = the LBI edge.  I always am misaligned and fall out of the circle or can’t continue the flow.

The brackets ..well… Plth.   They need work.  I know if I tuck my hips under me and keep neat feet without too much scissoring .. they will be cleaner.  Right now I can hardly do them without two - footing.

Lesson 2 Ice Dancing - with a partner

 Kendall LeClaire is working with my partner Mike and I for the summer.  By October we hope to test or compete somehow ~ depending on how things go.  Maybe a Bronze Partnered Free Dance or test. Finding both ice time and free time for us to practice is the only thing holding us back.  

Lesson 2 was really good.  It’s amazing how different skating with a partner at your level is compared to skating with a pro who anticipates all your faux pas’ and poor posture and skating skills.  

In Arizona when I skate with my coach Vitali Vakunov it is a totally different experience. Only one of us is learning.

When I skated pairs with Hank ~ it was similar to this; in that we had to spend a lot of time getting a feel for each other’s speed, edges and body language.  You know you’ve reached that point when you stop looking at each other’s feet!

Today we worked on stroking hand in hand, then in Kilian stroking and some Swing Rolls and Chassés then onto Progressives in Waltz hold.  We’re off to a great start.  

Tuesday Twizzles

Went for a badly needed practice session today.  No partner, just working on loosening up for tomorrow’s lesson early in the morning.  

The ice was unusually terrible today so I was cautious in my steps.  Did some warm ups and working on getting the cross rolls “dance style” vs free style.  I made a few attempts at my Pre Silver Dances .. some with overhead music and surprisingly (to myself) I did a full run of my free dance.  

My major issues right now are fatigue and knee pain and lack of confidence!

Back in the Saddle Again!

 On the ice with my previous dance partner Mike Otis.  He took me through the first 6 dances back in 2016 and 2017.  We have decided to spend some time this summer skating together and taking some partnering lessons with coach Kendall LeClaire.

Day 1:  Evaluate our current skills and see where we are at!  

My 20 minutes with coach Kendall was spent on fundamentals.  Stroking, cross rolls, swing rolls, progressives front and back.  My takeaway was finally figuring out how to set my foot down on the ice during cross rolls like an ice dancer vs a freestyler or someone doing moves in the field.  

I was busy practicing during Mike's 20 minutes so I didn't see what they worked on.  Once together we just reacquainted ourselves with stroking side by side in hand hold.  We needed some help with even that! I can stroke pretty good with my coach Vitali in Arizona but he keeps a pretty good lock in our dance positions which makes it easier.  Skating with 2 skaters vs a skater and a coach is more difficult.

We made some progress on the side by side skating and found out we did better in Kilian hold.

It was a great first lesson with Kendall.  Looking forward to more..

Back from VACAY ...

 Had a few weeks off to go to the lake and visit some of the grandkids.  

Back to biz-i-ness.   The knee is acting up so I took it easy first day back.  Just worked on moves in the field and then work on turns from my last lesson trying to remember to keep my feet together on the three turns.

One run at the 14 step near the end.

Adult Coffee Club Popurri

 Skated my first Coffee Club .. and possibly my last of the summer.  There is only 1 more before they give up for the summer due to ice maintenance and club ice being sold to hockey .. etc.  

Just three of us on the ice so I just concentrated on my task.. Gold Moves in the Field and my Pre-Silver Ice Dances.  While I did try them all .. none of them are looking very promising right now.  

I'm hunting for both a dance partner and a dance coach.  My pairs partner from a few years ago does not want to ice dance ... and my dance partner from a few years ago doesn't seem to be making any aggressive leaps toward partnering again ... hopefully that will change.

It Was All A Blur

 I knew yesterday would be foggy as they had a small fire or something back where the Zamboni room is. When I got there you could hardly see across the rink.  Some skaters were outside because they couldn’t skate with the smell.  

I got inside but didn’t smell anything I recognized as smoky but it did have some strange odor I could not put my finger on.  When I set up the camera it was either focused on something close by and never readjusted or .. well blame it on whatever was in the air.

First day back on “home ice” in Spokane at Lilac City Figure Skating Club.  Busier than I prefer, but not too bad.  Trying to work on the things coach John taught me Monday from my lesson but not having much luck.  

I did make a complete run of my moves in the field and all three Silver dances but due to the blurry video and so many people on the ice .. I chose to just post the spins I worked on at the end of the session.

I do feel like I will re-learn how to spin on these blades and find my balance.  It’s just going to take time.

Today I was able to get a little lower on the sit spin without falling over.  Yeah!

The Beginning of Summer Skating Season in the Inland NW

 I’m back in the Inland Northwest.  Trying to figure out my summer skating schedule and coaching options.  Last summer I worked with coach John Saitta in Coeur d’Alene and so loved working with him.  He is a great technician and has the ability to really explain how to get things to work when they aren’t working.  Also he’s very patient and doesn’t buy into all the adult skating excuses!  If coaches cater to our laundry list of aches and pains and excuses we would never make any progress!

While his current coaching schedule is full I was able to snag a lesson during a cancellation albeit I had to skate at O’Dark Thirty from 6:00 am to 8:00 am to get the lesson.  A major chore for me.

Still on my new dance blades I wanted him to eval my spins and see if we should continue to work on moves in the field on them.

Winding Down in Arizona

 I’ve been off the ice for a few weeks enjoying my son’s wedding in Hawaii.  Now were are back for a couple of weeks to tie up our loose ends in Arizona.  I have 2 weeks of skating here left before heading northbound for the summer to Washington/Idaho.  

Still working out the kinks in my new dance boots and dance blades.  Having a terrible time with spins but the turns feel better already.  Today I had my first partnering lesson in them.  Happy to report no falls!  The first video depicts my spinning problem. 

The second video is my lesson with Vitali.  Ice dance partnering.  We worked on some drills and then picked the Foxtrot apart.

New Boots - New Blades. The (Long) Wait is Over

Yes .. they took FOREVER to get made.  Almost a year.  

New Harlick Custom Boots    *Features (why)

* Low cut dance stay (allows better toe pointing for ice dancing)

* Higher heel (no idea .. but taller always sounds good to me!)

* Extra scallop for ankle flexibility (self explanatory)

* Comfy soft white pebble calf (self explanatory .. also this is my LAST pair of boots)

* Natural sole with chem glaze (I did not like the carbon graphite hard soles of my last pair)

New MK Dance Blades 

* Shorter length blade (short tail for close steps and no more “click of death”)

* Toe pick designed for ice dancing not jumping (top pick very small - no reaching back for a toe jump) (bottom pick - I have no idea, but it’s harder to spin so far)

So after my first session on these pretty skates I think I will love them once I get used to balancing a spin and get more secure on my edges.  Zero foot pain.  First pair of boots that didn’t draw a little ankle blood on break in.   I feel like they will improve my three turns and twizzles.  I did do a nearly complete set of inside and outside edges of compulsory figures as well as double three turns on figure patterns.  And I ran most of the Gold Moves in the Field (slowly) so I think I will be able to skate both dance and moves in the field with them.

I get too tired to skate more than one session normally, but this summer I may try skating multiple sessions in a row and changing my skates in between to get some regular Patch, Dance, Moves & Freestyle into each day I skate.  Sounds like a diet that won’t succeed!