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Which dances do you think transferred better to the ice?
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Before Sunday night's international themed episode, I had been bemused during the week trying to work out which dance styles would translate better to the ice. As a ballroom/latin dancer myself I was interested to see how it would work. I know that certain dances are picked for real ice dance competitions but were these the same dances?
In advance I had reservations on the suitability of trying to Charleston on ice, as the flexibility required in the feet and ankles must surely have been hindered by wearing a boot.
So did anyone else ponder these questions or was it just me?
I personally thought that the waltz translated well although it wasn't identical to either a waltz or Viennese waltz (and nor did it need to be).
The Irish dancing also transferred to ice better than I had anticipated given that it is a more stationary dance.
Even now I'm not sure that the charleston transferred that well. I think some of the more characteristic charleston steps and postures were made much harder by being on blades.
The middle eastern 'belly dancing' style routine seemed to translate quite well as I think the lines were easier to produce whilst maintaining a posture for balancing on the ice.
Samba I felt really didn't translate that well - or certainly not in the way they tried to choreograph the dance. The same with the flamenco and tango.
The music can also have a huge effect too. The samba didn't remind me of a samba as I've heard it used as a cha cha cha, whilst the 'flamenco' just reminded me too much of hip-hop, nor did i feel the tango music to be at all right for tango. These are the dances that for me really didn't work, so was the music to blame?
I've tried to leave the celeb/performer out of this as it's not about how well they performed but whether the essence of the dance can be effectively conveyed on ice.
In advance I had reservations on the suitability of trying to Charleston on ice, as the flexibility required in the feet and ankles must surely have been hindered by wearing a boot.
So did anyone else ponder these questions or was it just me?
I personally thought that the waltz translated well although it wasn't identical to either a waltz or Viennese waltz (and nor did it need to be).
The Irish dancing also transferred to ice better than I had anticipated given that it is a more stationary dance.
Even now I'm not sure that the charleston transferred that well. I think some of the more characteristic charleston steps and postures were made much harder by being on blades.
The middle eastern 'belly dancing' style routine seemed to translate quite well as I think the lines were easier to produce whilst maintaining a posture for balancing on the ice.
Samba I felt really didn't translate that well - or certainly not in the way they tried to choreograph the dance. The same with the flamenco and tango.
The music can also have a huge effect too. The samba didn't remind me of a samba as I've heard it used as a cha cha cha, whilst the 'flamenco' just reminded me too much of hip-hop, nor did i feel the tango music to be at all right for tango. These are the dances that for me really didn't work, so was the music to blame?
I've tried to leave the celeb/performer out of this as it's not about how well they performed but whether the essence of the dance can be effectively conveyed on ice.
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Up until 2010, ice dance competition was made up of three elements:
1) Compulsory Dances, with all competitors performing the same standard steps and holds to music of a specified tempo, very often a specific ballroom dance.
2) Original Dances (previously Original Set Pattern) with all competitors skating to a designated rhythm, set of rhythms - very often latin - or theme.
3) Free dance.
The CDs and ODs have now been discontinued and replaced by a short programme which combines elements of both.
Music choices are a large part of it but, overall, the routines on Sunday that worked best are the ones based on traditional ice dance.
I agree that neither the flamenco nor the tango really came off on Sunday but in the past I've seen stunning tangos and paso short dances and even full competition programmes with a Spanish theme, so I suspect the secret to some extent lies in the complexity of the steps you can use to get the portayal right.
I also agree the north african theme went particularly well as the typical dance lines and shaps seemed to sit well in ice dancing positions. Then again, I guess we knew that could work after the mega-spectacular Jai Ho last year as the Indian dance lines seem pretty similar (well to a non-dance expert like me anyway).
Waltzs, Foxtrots anything in smooth, gliding hold with spins always seem to translate well - I'd imagine you'd need really good skaters to cope with a quickstep well though. Of course traditional, folk-dances have been really popular in competition for years so perhaps it's surprising no one got that style this week.
Rather than the Charleston I would have thought the Lindyhop would have worked out better especially the lifts which fit the ice dancing patterns pretty well I'd have thought..
I did like Riverdance, which had more flow than I thought it would - and I really never thought I'd see an Argentine tango on ice, so full marks to T&D. Best thing they've done on the show in years.
I thought the North African stuff was a bit of a diluted Jai Ho, really - and the Charleston wasn't terribly well done either, as you lost all the twisty footwork element because it was on blades
Certainly Jeff's music fitted a waltz beat and transferred a lot better to the ice than some of the dances. I'll have to do some hunting on youtube for routines.
I was trying to avoid bringing the performers into it as I wanted a thread that didn't descend into a mud slinging match between fans of different contestants :eek: but I agree with Lorelei Lee that the flamenco shapes were much better demonstrated by Chris in the VT than what Vanilla pulled off on the night. However I really thought the music was dire and made it much harder for him to lose his hip-hop roots for that routine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaJtKHeis_g
The Charleston and Irish dances both suffered massively from lack of fast, intricate footwork which then hindered the overall rhythm. The samba had no bounce and the tango was just boring.
I suppose the flamenco showed a passing resemblence to a normal flamenco as Rob got some nice lines, but the music was a rubbish choice. It was nearer to hip hop music, no wonder he struggled to get a Spanish flavour in there when hip hop is his thing!