What's the difference between Ice Dancing and Figure Skating?
Figure skating is men's/women's singles skating and pairs skating, and is characterized by being judged on jumps, spins, footwork, and, in the case of pairs skating, lifts and death spirals. Connecting elements between these elements are also judged as part of a program. Figure skaters at the Olympic level skate both a short and long program, and the combined scores from these events determine the winner in each category. The short program is made up of required elements with less choice to the skaters in what they will perform, while the long program allows skaters to highlight their strengths by choosing jumps and spins that they perform well in order to earn points towards their total scores.Ice dancing does not have the jumps, and is nearly always skated with a partner, and always with a partner in competitions like the Olympic games. It is focused on precise footwork, edge quality, and skating strength doing the footwork and edges. Ice dancers also perform dance spins (similar to pairs spins, but without requirements to position), lifts (but they are not allowed to do overhead lifts as seen in pairs skating), and footwork elements (such as twizzles and advanced turn sequences), and are judged on these things much like figure skaters are judged on their jumps, or pairs teams on their lifts. Ice dancers have three stages to their competition: the compulsory dance, where every team of dancers does the same steps to the same music and are compared based on how well they execute those steps, the original dance, where a musical "theme" is given for all teams, but they skate different programs and can pick their music within the theme they are given for each season, and the free dance, where the musical theme is more open, and dancers can structure the program to suit their style as a team.Ice dance in considered part of the "envelope" of figure skating, but is slightly different as it is the only competitive category of skating at this level that does not have jumps as a requirement. The other way you could think of it is that ice dancing is more closely related to ballroom dancing on the ice, whereas figure skating for singles or pairs skaters is less about the dancing and more about the execution of jumps and spins, etc.
What are the two pieces of music played in the Sochi 2014 Figure Skating Gala Exhibition's finale?
Your question is slightly ambiguous. You say during the finale of the exhibition, but then specify your desired songs as "the first two"?Nevertheless, the first two songs of the Exhibition, both instrumental, are Altis and Olympia by Aleksey Galinsky.
2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi: Does free skating require a lot more skill than ice dancing?
Quick answer: yes and no. Free skating is an incredibly demanding sport, both physically and mentally. Physically, the past 30 years have seen much more emphasis on multiple-rotation jumps, which require an astounding combination of physical strength and control. One thing that is not generally known is just how punishing it is on your body to "get" a particular jump. If you can do a double Axel and you are trying for a triple, you might fall 50 or 60 times a day, for months, before you get it. And ice is damn hard. And you have essentially no protective gear. Skaters are constantly bruised and in pain. Ice dance is a bit different, since there are no jumps. However, the dances are very intricate and the marks come from being in complete control at all times. This extends to the smallest things, like the position of your hands and eyes. However...With all this said, the greatest challenge in both cases is the mental strength you need. Falling in figure skating is generally the kiss of death in any competion... I would liken it to scoring a goal into your own net in hockey. The difference in figure skating is that you don't get a whistle and time to regroup, you have to carry on regardless. The mental strength it takes to do this is the difference between good and great. (I am a former figure skater and competed in both free skating and ice dance)
What music did Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev danced to during the Olympics?
They were competing for Russia during the figure skating ice dance free dance program at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, on February 17, 2014. They were amazing. I liked their routine best out of all of them... they should have won at least a medal. :P Though I'm glad US won (besides this whole scandal now).
How does ice dancing scoring work? What are Technical and Component scores?
The scoring in figure skating — pairs, singles, and ice dancing — is judged under the International Skating Union's new Judging System, introduced in 2004, replacing the 6.0 system. As opposed to a subjective score capped at 6.0, points under the IJS are awarded for every single element the skater executes. Singles, pairs, and ice dancing all have their specific elements and criteria for certain bonuses on top of regular elements. Since the introduction of the IJS, figure skating has become a more objective, technical sport.From the International Skating Union's website:The international judging system is based on cumulative points, which are awarded for a technical score and five additional program components - skating skills, transitions, performance/execution, choreography/composition and interpretationIce dancers in particular are scored slightly differently from singles and pairs skaters. As opposed to having a short and long program, ice dancers compete in 3 different events: original dance, short dance, and free dance, whose scores combine to give their final placement at a competition.Is there a cap? I'm sure there is a cap, say if a skater executed the hardest possible elements with +3 grade of execution from every single judge and scored 10s across the board for category of the component score.However, the "hardest" element boundary is constantly being pushed. For instance, the first quadruple jump was landed in 1988, by Kurt Browning. In 2011, Brandon Mroz landed the first quadruple lutz.But, in terms of ice dancing, here's an example of a near perfect score:
Why was ice dancing created?
Ice- dancing is considered as the most entertaining activity throughout the world. All dance teams in a competition perform the same standard steps and hold to music which becomes the center of attraction. Initially, it was a recreational dance for high class, it quickly became popular for all classes and started being viewed as a viable dance for competitions. In some of the countries, it is done on occasion of festivals. It is mandatory to have a perfect ice skate for perfect dance performance.Another reason for its creation is that it offers great exercise for the leg muscles, building and toning them with a great aerobic workout.
Who are the famous figure skaters?
I believe the first famous skater was Sonja Henie from Norway. After winning an unprecedented THREE Olympic gold medals - in 1928, 1932, 1936 - Henie became a Hollywood icon who starred in movies and performed in ice shows exclusively produced to feature her.Check out this list of other Olympic winners in Ladies figure skating compiled by Jo Ann Schneider Farris.2010 Olympic champion Yuna Kim is so famous in Korea that she required bodyguards. According to this article in The Atlantic (published after the 2014 Olympics in Sochi where Kim finished a controversial second) her endorsements are plentiful and put her net worth into the millions of dollars.There are far too many famous figure skaters to list (as well as numerous fan favourites) and they come in all disciplines of the sport, i.e., men, pairs, ice dance. In order to get an idea of who the ‘public’ think are the best, go to Ranker.com. There you will find lists on which readers vote for the best, the most famous and various other categories of athletes.
What makes twizzles so difficult in ice dancing?
It USED to be the opposite of what a figure skater intended: a spin begun on a center, loses it’s balance, and begins to “travel”. Frowny face. But in ice dancing, the essence of being able to dance AND move across the ice at speed has been the goal, so the travelling spin is an attractive dance move if done well.As in spins, the twizzling ice dancer must find that sweet spot near the ball of the foot on the blade and not allow any rocking back or forth as the spinning motion proceeds. One aspect of blade design and sharpening to the dancer’s blade promotes this, because as sharp as a free skater needs their blade to be for the landings of jumps, the ice dancer requires a grind which is less sharp, allowing for the blade edge to be not so easily caught in the ice surface during the many turns required by a twizzle sequence.Posture is also essential, as the twizzler must rotate many times and in both directions around the vertical axis, and many a championship has been lost by a simple loss of core control during this maneuver.On top of this one must consider the unison, which is a tad easier to maintain in a dance couple than in a pair couple, where the size differential between partners can be significantly greater. Think of Jupiter rotating next to the earth, trying to be in synch; it requires greater expenditures of energy to synchronize two very different sized bodies as they rotate, while in dance pairings the partnerships one sees at the higher levels of competition have body sizes which are closer in size and stature, with the height differential being preferred as being within 6 inches of each other. With similar body heights the rotational abilities for a twizzle section synchronization improves—but it’s still not an easy go.Lastly, and this is something that might present more of a challenge to pairs as opposed to dance couples…is the direction of rotation preferred by each skater when spinning. A left-handed spinning skater may have difficulty performing side-by-side twizzles if their direction of rotation is opposite to their partner’s, so this is something which is considered as early as partner tryouts, preference being given to like-rotating dancers.
What are your top 5 favorite figure skating programs of all time?
This was really difficult, and all opinions are my own. My top 5 programs are in no particular order:Kim Yuna’s 2009-2010 “Concerto in F” Free Skate - Yuna is my favorite female figure skater of all time (closely followed by Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan, Mao Asada, and Karen Chen), and this program, which won her Olympic Gold in Vancouver, is my personal favorite.Maia and Alex Shibutani’s 2015–2016 “Fix You” Free Dance - I absolutely adore the ShibSibs, and this free dance was what got me into watching ice dance. The emotion, music, and choreography was perfect, and this program earned them their first national title and their way into my heart.Karen Chen’s 2016–2017 “On Golden Pond” Free Skate - Karen Chen is a wonderful skater and my favorite U.S. ladies figure skater. I was so excited for her when she won bronze in 2015, and after the disappointment she faced in the 2015–16 season, this was the perfect short program for her national title in 2017. The costume, beginning pose, and incorporation of traditional dances were absolutely breathtaking.Mao Asada’s 2014 “Piano Concerto No. 2” Free Skate - Mao is such an amazing skater, and her resilience after the disappointment of her short program in Sochi was so inspiring. She performed this program so well, and I was so sad that it didn’t go that well in the short program. Her step sequence is extraordinary, and I can’t not mention the triple axel. As if it couldn’t get any better, she followed that sixth-place Olympic finish with near-perfect performances just weeks later to win the world title in 2014.Nathan Chen’s 2017 “Stole the Show” Exhibition Program - I’m not sure if this really counts, because it’s an exhibition program rather than a short or long program, but this program showcases Nathan’s talent and artistry so well, and it beats out all of his competitive programs, though Back From the Edge (2018 EX) and Nemesis (2017–18 SP) are also pretty great.