Getting Closer

 I'm putting the entire week's worth of skating in one post because this is my blog and I can do what I want :P I skated Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and there really isn't too much to report back on but here goes: 

Flip Jumpz - it's a never ending project. Christopher tried to get me to calm down as I'm still forcing things. He told me to think of it as if it were Ice Dance since I guess I'm doing pretty well there. That initial 3 turn should be calm and smooth without any panic or stress just as if I were doing a 3 turn in dance. After the turn, keep the picking leg really close to the ice and don't pre-rotate. I mean, I tried. I really tried. I've been working on this damn jump for over three years and it's still not technically correct. Ugh. 

Swing Dancez - We worked a bit on the partnering aspect of this since, to me anyway, it feels like a completely different dance once you add an extra body in the mix. What I'm really struggling with is getting back into waltz hold after the end pattern. I feel like I'm too far away when I go from forward to backward so I end up reaching for him. He said it's the responsibility of the person now skating forward to get back into hold with the person skating backward. That means sometimes it will be my slow ass trying to get back to him. The steps themselves are fine and although this dance still needs some time to cook, I think it's getting there. 

Fiesta Tangoz - I worked on this dance a lot on my own since I'm really struggling with the end pattern, specifically in the last couple of steps where my feet are crossed and then I have to step forward. I was able to manage it without a foot down a couple of times so I know progress is being made. I also just really need to speed this up. It's a pretty quick dance. I haven't tried it with music yet. It's the only dance out of the six that I haven't done to music. It's just not there yet. Sigh.

Backward 3 Turnz - I got to skate with one of my Unicorn Tribe sisters and she was gracious enough to spend some time with me working on the LBO 3 turn that I'm still struggling with. She gave me some good insights so now I just need to practice some more to see if it sticks with me. 

Dance Anxietiez - I was talking with a couple of ice dancers (Unicorn Tribe Sister and one of Christopher's other ice dance students) about how much anxiety I have about partnering and how scared I am of taking my partner out and possibly hurting him. They assured me that ice dance coaches know how to fall and they deal with this stuff all the time. It's not a big deal apparently. I felt much better when one of them admitted that she has taken Christopher down a few times now and it's fine. It will eventually happen but don't anxiety about it. It's part of Ice Dance just as much as falling on a jump is part of learning freestyle. Christopher has assured me he's not scared of me so I should really believe him and have a bit more confidence. Partnering, to me, is the most difficult aspect of Ice Dance so far.