Do most of the competitive skaters here take off ice dance?

[jumpingbeansmom]

My almost 10 year old skater HATES ballet (though she is actually pretty good at it).  I got her to take it by putting her in a class that is ballet and lyrical combined, and letting her take hip hop too-  I don't know the hip hop will help with the skating at all, but I figured if it got her to do the ballet, it was worth it. 

[Sk8tmum]

I need a "does not do dance" button. No form at all.  Coach doesn't see the need - as martial arts are studied instead, as well as intense body-kinesthetic training.

[jumpingbeansmom]

I need a "does not do dance" button. No form at all.  Coach doesn't see the need - as martial arts are studied instead, as well as intense body-kinesthetic training.

Oops, I forgot that button!! 

For my dd, the dance studio is local (the skate rink is not)-- so it give my husband a break from driving 35 miles one day a week and still furthers her skating. 

[davincisop]

I'm not competitive yet, but I plan on it, and I do yoga once a week and skate almost every day in some form. (I work at the rink so most of my skating consists of skate guarding right now)

[kssk8fan]

my daughter does two ballet classes at a dance academy and one ballet class at the rink per week.  IMO, Ballet is critical for competitive skaters.  She's been dancing for 4 years and also does tap, jazz and lyrical at the dance academy.   Her dancing has made a huge impact in her skating as vice verse.  T

[jumpingbeansmom]

my daughter does two ballet classes at a dance academy and one ballet class at the rink per week.  IMO, Ballet is critical for competitive skaters.  She's been dancing for 4 years and also does tap, jazz and lyrical at the dance academy.   Her dancing has made a huge impact in her skating as vice verse.  T

WOW, where does she find the time (or should I say where do YOU find it?)-  I too think the one year of lyrical dance my dd has taken is making a difference- of course it could partly be age or her Russian coach who was an ice dancer as well, but I see much more expressions, coordination etc than a year ago before the dance.

[dak_rbb]

My daughter does ballet and jazz.  She LOVES jazz, not so much ballet.  However, it's my condition for her.  If she wants to compete, she needs to do ballet.  Actually, now after about a year and a half, she is starting to like it much more.  She looks better on the ice too--better posture, arms, etc and better at using the upper half of her body in expressing the music.  I'm not sure if it's the dance or just age or something else, but I figure it can't hurt.  She also has occasional on-ice lessons with her dance teacher on her programs--they work on seemingly little things which make a huge difference in the overall look.

[isakswings]

My almost 10 year old skater HATES ballet (though she is actually pretty good at it).  I got her to take it by putting her in a class that is ballet and lyrical combined, and letting her take hip hop too-  I don't know the hip hop will help with the skating at all, but I figured if it got her to do the ballet, it was worth it. 

I think hip hop will help. Think of all the artistic and showcase programs you can combine that style of dance in! My daughter doesn't take dance. She would like to, but we've never gotten around to taking it. She will start ICE dance this week tho. LOL! Not quite the same... but I am hoping it helps her skating skills.

[jumpingbeansmom]

My daughter does ballet and jazz.  She LOVES jazz, not so much ballet.  However, it's my condition for her.  If she wants to compete, she needs to do ballet.  Actually, now after about a year and a half, she is starting to like it much more.  She looks better on the ice too--better posture, arms, etc and better at using the upper half of her body in expressing the music.  I'm not sure if it's the dance or just age or something else, but I figure it can't hurt.  She also has occasional on-ice lessons with her dance teacher on her programs--they work on seemingly little things which make a huge difference in the overall look.

I did something similar, my dd hates ballet too (she is actually pretty good at it too), and she really wanted to take Hip Hop-- so I told her she could if she took ballet too. 

[twokidsskatemom]

My kids takes ballet twice a week and a private lesson as well.In the private they do barre work, pilates,stretching ect.They also do other classes when we can, Irish  dance,highland,swing, salsa. Anything helps!~

[techskater]

How about Pilates and/or Yoga?  My coach requires yoga.

[twokidsskatemom]

We do yoga as a drop in class when it  works out with the ice schedule.Maybe twice a month. They also do pilates in their private ballet lessons.

[kssk8fan]

yoga and pilates are great for figure skating (or anything for that matter).   I wish there were more days in a week to fit in everything....

As far as Ballet goes, IMO, ballet is as critical to figure skating as off ice conditioning.  There is so much more to the study of ballet.  It's  the foundation of any dance form and allows the dancer to control the body (awareness) with strength and grace, which is so important in figure skating.   Figures taught body awareness and control to a great extent as well.  You weren't good at figures if you did not have a full awareness of your body and the strength to pull it off.

[jumpingbeansmom]

yoga and pilates are great for figure skating (or anything for that matter).   I wish there were more days in a week to fit in everything....

As far as Ballet goes, IMO, ballet is as critical to figure skating as off ice conditioning.  There is so much more to the study of ballet.  It's  the foundation of any dance form and allows the dancer to control the body (awareness) with strength and grace, which is so important in figure skating.   Figures taught body awareness and control to a great extent as well.  You weren't good at figures if you did not have a full awareness of your body and the strength to pull it off.

Class started this week, new studio, another year older, some friends in class and VOILA....suddenly ballet isn't so awful...phew

[phoenix]

Oh, WOULD that I could get my students to take a ballet class!! I have several that would benefit IMMENSELY from it, including one who claims to be serious about wanting to be a top level competitor, wants to shoot for regionals & beyond, but refuses to take ballet. I've told the parents that it's just not possible to be a competitive skater without some ballet background, but so far to no avail.

Anyone have any tips on persuading kids that this is important?! I'm so frustrated!!

[Isk8NYC]

See if you can find a ballet instructor willing to give a special seminar on "Ballet for Figure Skaters."  A focused group lesson with other skaters, especially with a skating-smart instructor, makes all the difference in the world.

I worked at a rink in NYC that offered it as a weekly class with a professional ballet instructor who was also a skater.  It was a little out of the way and held during group lessons, so it wasn't convenient, but she regularly had 10 or 12 students at each class.  (Parking and traffic were issues.)

The other rink in my area was closed during the summer.  I had a neighbor whose family owned a dance studio.  Over the summer, the studio offered this class as a semi-private lesson for five or six skaters at the request of the parents.  It was a hit because the studio was closer to the closed rink and some of the skaters from the other rink lived nearby.

Instead of focusing on becoming a ballerina, the instructors emphasized ballet skills that crossed over to figure skating.  They didn't teach spotting on pirouettes, for example, but they did teach the ballet equivalent of split jumps.

There are a few books and tapes you might suggest.

[jumpingbeansmom]

Oh, WOULD that I could get my students to take a ballet class!! I have several that would benefit IMMENSELY from it, including one who claims to be serious about wanting to be a top level competitor, wants to shoot for regionals & beyond, but refuses to take ballet. I've told the parents that it's just not possible to be a competitive skater without some ballet background, but so far to no avail.

Anyone have any tips on persuading kids that this is important?! I'm so frustrated!!

I had a hard time with my dd- sometimes at young ages anyway, I think it is hard to them to see than sometimes they have to do something for the greater good even if they don't love it.  My dd wanted to take hip hop, so I said sure if you take ballet too.  It worked.

[Sk8tmum]

Ballet is also dependent on the style and the teacher.  Ballet school # 1 - not a good fit, as the teacher was impatient and not approachable. Ballet School # 2 - we walked away as it was billed as exam-track ballet but was really a babysitting service for moms who wanted to see their little darlings in sparkly tutus on stage in the big annual performance.

We asked for suggestions from someone who studied ballet seriously in terms of where to go, and ended up in Ballet School # 3. My tiny DD studies Cecchetti ballet, with a very firm, very structured but very pleasant woman with high standards and reasonable expectations. Ballet has gone from being ... well a disappointment ... to an eagerly awaited session where real progress is being made. We see a great deal of progress in carriage, poise, confidence, and musicality, and muscle strength.  It just took some looking. And, not looking for the glitzy, fancy studio, but instead one where ballet is honoured and studied by people who truly love this particular dance discipline.

My other two - ballet is not on the table - as noted above, they study martial arts, which has some excellent cross-training aspects for figure skating. They hated hip-hop, by the way, but, you know, ballroom dancing can also be good for carriage and grace and musicality (plus a really good workout).

[techskater]

Anyone have any tips on persuading kids that this is important?! I'm so frustrated!!

  Have you considered a video lesson where you can point out posture deficiencies and then show a little bit to the parents?  I know when I see it, I am inclined to fix it or find a way to fix it.

[isakswings]

My other two - ballet is not on the table - as noted above, they study martial arts, which has some excellent cross-training aspects for figure skating. They hated hip-hop, by the way, but, you know, ballroom dancing can also be good for carriage and grace and musicality (plus a really good workout).

Really? Hmmm. Maybe I should sign my daughter up for ballroom dancing! Her homeschool group offers a class for a very reasonable rate. Hmmmmm! Her older brother is taking it... and likes it!

[FigureSpins]

I liked the idea of a ballroom dancing as off-ice for skaters, but on Dancing with the Stars this past season, they remarked that the disciplines have different techniques that don't transfer.  Lysacek remarked about struggling with the carriage for ballroom and how it was very different (and unusable) on ice.

Yet, most pairs and dance teams take ballroom dancing, so I'm confused.

Maybe he meant that standard Ballroom Dancing would be fine for a singles skater, but Competitive Ballroom would be too extreme?


My daughters took Tae Kwon Do as off-ice until this year.  Now one does Cheerleading and the other does couch-sitting.  (She didn't make the volleyball team.)

One of my students just switched from Jazz to Ballet and I see the difference in her skating already because she's developing a lot of leg strength and control.  Flexibility is also increasing - she showed me her splits yesterday!  (So close)

Another student does swimming and her core strength is awesome.  She is also flexible (can do a stand-up outside spreadeagle) which comes from gymnastics classes.

There's a performing jump rope program in the area - they learn how to do all sorts of tricks with the ropes to perform at the halftimes during basketball games and other special events.  One of my students did the summer camp and is now in their regular program - kid can jump and has fast feet on the ice. 

I have another student who just started playing tennis on a team.  She's fast and strong on the ice, but body awareness and control is an issue.  I'm really curious to see how this affects her skating, especially the upper-body twist that just doesn't stay in place. 

[phoenix]

I liked the idea of a ballroom dancing as off-ice for skaters, but on Dancing with the Stars this past season, they remarked that the disciplines have different techniques that don't transfer.  Lysacek remarked about struggling with the carriage for ballroom and how it was very different (and unusable) on ice.

Yet, most pairs and dance teams take ballroom dancing, so I'm confused.

Ice dance carriage & FS carriage are 2 different things. Ice dancers benefit greatly from ballroom training. Maybe singles skaters don't get the same thing, would be my thought.

[Isk8NYC]

That makes sense - it's much easier to do a bracket in synchro (holding onto others) than to do it on your own without support.  Thanks!

[Clarice]

I'm currently taking ballroom as cross training for ice dance.  The dance technique isn't really transferring for me, but I'm learning a lot about partnering.

[Sk8tmum]

Ballroom dance is excellent for ice-dance pairs and freeskate pairs in terms of partnering. It also helps with musicality (keeping the beat of the music), and general physical fitness. The lifts in some dances can also be of benefit.