Solo Ice Dancing?

[Orianna2000]

Is there such a thing as solo ice dancing? I'm curious because I'd like to try ice dancing, as opposed to singles skating, because I don't think I'm physically cut out for all the major jumps and spins. (Health issues, anxieties, etc.) But there doesn't seem much point if it requires a partner, because there's not going to be any of those around here. We have only one rink, and aside from two male coaches, I've only ever seen one young male skater at Freestyle, and I get the impression that he's already spoken for.

So can I do ice dancing alone? Or does it require a partner?

[icedancer]

Yes you can do ice dancing alone - there is a solo testing track and you can even do Free Dance!

See if any of your coaches teach dance.  If they do then they can partner you for tests and lessons and all of that.  You can even test with your same-sex coach!!

You can't really start by saying, "Well, there are no partners therefore I cannot do ice dance!" - if that were the case there probably wouldn't be any ice-dancers at all as it is very difficult for most people to find suitable partners.  There is so much to learn in ice-dance and you have to practice a lot of it solo anyhow, so it is a worthwhile pursuit if you can find someone who can teach you about dance.

Have fun - ice dancing is great!  You may find that once you start inquiring about it there are more ice-dancers in your community than you know at this point - they will come out of the woodworks once they find out you are interested!

[Orianna2000]

That's wonderful news, thank you! I still need to master the Adult classes, but once I've done that, I'll see if there's a dance coach at our rink.

[jjane45]

Is there an ice dance class at your rink or nearby rinks? It's a relatively affordable way to get the feeling, both solo and partnered.

[Orianna2000]

Looks like there are ice dance classes, but they're part of the "Skate Academy" classes, for which you must have passed Basic 5. I'm halfway through Adult 2, which, looking at the Basic Skills curriculum, puts me around Basic 3. There's a couple things I haven't been taught yet, like dips and rocking horses, and there's a few things from Basic 4 that I already know, like forward edges and backward half-swizzle pumps. I'll ask my instructor to teach me the things I'm missing, so that I can do the ice dance classes once I reach the equivalent of Basic 6.

Yay! Something to look forward to. 

[PrettySk8Dress]

Yes you can do ice dancing alone - there is a solo testing track and you can even do Free Dance!

See if any of your coaches teach dance.  If they do then they can partner you for tests and lessons and all of that.  You can even test with your same-sex coach!!

 There is so much to learn in ice-dance and you have to practice a lot of it solo anyhow, so it is a worthwhile pursuit if you can find someone who can teach you about dance.

Have fun - ice dancing is great!  You may find that once you start inquiring about it there are more ice-dancers in your community than you know at this point - they will come out of the woodworks once they find out you are interested!

This is how I started in ice dancing, by having a coach teach me the steps, oversee my solo dance practice, and arrange for a partner of the opposite gender for me to do the dance tests with. I have been practicing the dances with a partner when they are available, and solo when they are not.
Now, with the lack of male dance partners continuing, I have begun to learn both the man's and woman's steps for at least the beginner ice dances. I think that the knowledge of both sets of steps may come in useful sometimes. I could partner other lady ice dancers at ice dance weekends, if it turns out that there are few male dancers, and the beginner ladies don't mind a lady partner skating the man's steps.

[SynchKat]

Hope you have fun with your dances.  I went out to the rink tonight and did abunch of dances by myself.  It was great to really push them out and do nice edges.  I think you will find it lots of fun and it is something you don't need a partner for.  As someone else said once you start you may find there are some partners out there.

[Orianna2000]

It's really good to know I can ice dance alone, without a partner. That will make things much easier!

[fsk8r]

It's really good to know I can ice dance alone, without a partner. That will make things much easier!

It's way easier without a partner. Sometimes having a partner at your standard of a slightly lower one can actually make skating some of the dances rather difficult. Having had one gentleman pull me over because he decided to cut another dance couple up but didn't have the edge to get around them, I'd much rather solo. I now compete solo but have a male coach to test compulsories with having tested the first few dances solo. In learning the dances solo it means you're a lot more powerful as you've got to make the pattern all on your own without "assistance" from your partner.

[icedancer]

Maybe true easier solo but so much fun to skate with a good partner!  I'll never forget the first time I did the Rocker Foxtrot - wow, that Rocker felt so great!!!

Have fun ice-dancing everyone!!!

[FigureSpins]

Does it matter if you test with a partner or solo?  If you tested solo, could you later compete with a partner?

[jjane45]

Maybe true easier solo but so much fun to skate with a good partner! 

And LEARN so much too!!

[sarahspins]

Does it matter if you test with a partner or solo?  If you tested solo, could you later compete with a partner?

No, you have to test partnered to compete partnered... which is why most people usually don't test solo, because you'll have to re-take them later if you did want to compete with a partner, but you can compete solo no matter how you test.

[Bunny Hop]

It's way easier without a partner.

I'm much happier skating with a partner. I don't feel anywhere near as confident skating the dances alone. But then, I'm the weaker partner, so I guess that would explain that. To each his own.

[fsk8r]

I'm much happier skating with a partner. I don't feel anywhere near as confident skating the dances alone. But then, I'm the weaker partner, so I guess that would explain that. To each his own.

I'm still learning the partnering and the tracking having spent all my time skating solo so I'm struggling with that bit. I've not needed that when skating solo.

Personally I think there are relative merits to both the partnering and the solo dancing, which is why I'm doing both. I'm also lucky as I can switch from testing solo to partnered without needing to restart at the beginning.