Ice Dance Clinic

Alpine announced that it is hosting an Ice Dance Clinic on July 9th with Brad Kleffman and Keiffer Hubbell (Madison Hubbell's brother!) so, of course I signed up. 

Looks like we'll be learning some Ice Dance technique, choreography, and an intro to lifts! Should be fun and there are other adults coming (although it's mostly kids). I'm guessing that this is mostly for people who are thinking about dance and want to try it out more than it is for people who are already competing dance but, what the hell, it's free and it's a good opportunity to work on dance for the day.

New Free Dance Choreography Begins!

Lesson today! Christopher finished cutting my music, adding in the changes that I asked for last week. OMG! It's AMAZING! It's fun, it's flirty, it's sassy! Now for choreography!

He threw some new elements at me at the start of our lesson to see what would stick so we worked on Ina Bauers, some spirals, and this other thing that I'm going to call the "Michael Jackson" where I skate, make a sharp turn and get up on both toepicks while I strike a sassy pose. Terrifying at first but I started to get the hang of it. He also mentioned that he really likes my backward catch foot spiral and may consider recycling that into this program (the judges won't remember that I used it in my previous Free Dance). 

We spent the rest of the lesson working on opening choreography. I think we got the first 25 seconds done. It's definitely sassy. There are really sexy glides and toe steps, a neat pivot, the Michael Jackson stop with a smize toward the judges, and some saucy crossovers leading into a maybe forward catch foot spiral. The music feels really fast right now (or at least the music is going faster than my brain can comprehend the movements). 

So now, time to order crystals for the dress and stone the damn thing.

Bonus Practice Day

I had an extra day off this week so I was able to squeeze in an additional day of practice! Yay! I needed it!

Gold Moves - Okay, so I realized that I have been spending a lot of time on the Forward Double 3s but completely ignoring the Backward Double 3s. I think I've been avoiding them because, even though I can do the turns, this move requires more speed and flow. So, I dedicated some serious time to doing these during my practices this week. I focused on the move itself rather than the speed and flow (which I'm hoping will come later once I'm more comfortable with everything). The placement of the turns on this move is quite different than the Forward Double 3s so I have to keep that in mind too. I was able to get one side of the move done (BO-FI) without a foot down but it was hella slow and the pattern was wonky. But hey, I worked on it. I worked on the other Gold Moves as well and I feel like they are improving. Still can't get those damn Backward Brackets done, though. Boo. 

Knee Slides - I worked on them. They are getting better but my right knee is so bruised. Good thing I never wear shorts because it looks gross. I was finally able to get a few where I turn and jut my left leg out without touching the ice with my hands so...progress. 

Spins - My broken leg sit spin really only seems to work if I do them from a standstill. I cannot seem to get it right from the windup yet. These feel a lot lower than my sit spin. I worked on camels too. No backspins. 

Jumps - I had some really nice and floaty Flip Jumps this week. Floaty like my Loop jumps! It feels so good to finally be doing this jump properly and my confidence in them is growing each week. These might be my favorite jump now (after loop jump, of course). 

Footwork - Speaking of loops, I worked on the BI loops down the length of the rink. The LBI loops are smaller than the RBI loops so I need to work on making those more consistent. I had a few RBI loops that were the proper size so I was pleased to see those tracings. I'm definitely getting more comfortable with these. 

Silver Free Skate - Run throughs have been going well minus the whole "I need to get used to my new Flip Jump" stuff. Should be in good enough shape for CSI in September, though.

Be Cunning and Full of Tricks

Lesson today!

I've been so busy at work that, believe it or not, I'm struggling right now trying to remember everything we went over. Libraries are so busy over the summer. My brain is mush. 

New Music - Christopher sent me his cut of the music I chose and I like it but I made a suggestion for changing it slightly. There is a really nice guitar solo in the music that I thought would be a lovely place for footwork so I asked if he could add that. I felt really bad asking him and it's my fault that I didn't just share my thoughts on what I wanted before he cut it. I hate that I don't speak up about stuff sometimes because now he has to edit the thing all over again. #worststudent

Gold Moves - We briefly looked at the Forward Double 3s. He really wants me to focus on looking in the direction of the turn when I'm doing my backward 3s. I know this but I still rush through them every time. 

Twizzles - These were broken today. Really struggled getting these done. 

Loops - Next up, he asked if I had been working on the Loops from last week and I was excited to show him the progress I made. Again, the LBI makes a small loop and the RBI just makes a circle. All of this can be remedied by, you guessed it, bending my knees more. Also, I've been using my free leg as a sort of training wheel for these but he had me do the RBI one with my free leg held crossed in front slightly and HECK YEAH! I made a loop!!!!! So now I have both my LBI and RBI loops. Of course, they need finesse and they are still a bit scratchy on my toepick but I did them! I was pretty excited so he showed me an exercise to work on them alternating down the length of the rink. It looks like the same thing from Junior Moves. Hopefully I can get them good enough to add to the new Free Dance. 

Knee Slides - I was able to make some progress on this as well but as soon as I get down and jut my leg out, I come to a stop. I want one of those dramatic knee slides that turn and then I get back up and continue with my program like a badass. Looks like I need more speed, an LFO 3 turn after getting down, and some knee pads (which I swear I'm going to purchase but I'm researching the best ones for me). 

Illusions - We touched on these a couple of weeks ago but turns out I've been practicing them wrong. The illusion comes on the exit edge of a forward 3 turn, not the entry edge. I tried it this way and I did one that was so good (for me) that it caught me off guard and I promptly fell on my ass. But anyway, now that I know the proper way of doing this, perhaps I can practice it without collecting bruises. 

Spins - We tried to end the lesson with some camel spins but the session was so busy, including three little girls all wearing the sash so I couldn't tell who exactly to look out for. I couldn't focus enough to get a proper entry for a spin. I don't trust small children on the ice. I've been run into before and really would not like a repeat of that. I did some really nice spins in practice so I was a little disappointed that I couldn't whip some out during my lesson. Broken leg sit spins are becoming a thing too so I kinda wanted to show him that I've made some progress there.

I think this is everything we worked on. New stuff is tricky but I'm excited to add some spice to my choreography.

Loopy

Practice this week went very well. I worked on all of the new things Christopher gave me during our last lesson and I dedicated a lot of time to Double 3s. 

Gold Moves - Forward and Backward Power Circles are finally starting to take shape (literally). I'm starting to get the hang of gaining speed while increasing the size of the circle. It's trickier than it seems, ya'll. All of the time I have been putting in with these has the added benefit of making my crossovers stronger overall so that's neat. Yay! Forward Double 3s are coming along too. I'm able to do the full pattern with minimal disruption but I'm still having random "foot down" moments. I skipped Backward Double 3s and went right into Backward Circle 8, which I only did twice. I still need a stronger push at the start of each circle but I'm getting around nearly every time now. Finally, Brackets. FI brackets are nice and controlled, FO brackets struggle but still happen, and backward brackets are just non-existent. Sigh. I feel like once I figure out the backward brackets, I can really start seriously drilling these Gold Moves in preparation for testing. Right now, I feel about 50% capable overall on this test. It sounds like a long time away when I say that I might be ready to test these in a year or two but I think I really need that time. But man, those backwards brackets are the things that are really holding me back right now, otherwise, I think I would be ready next summer if I put in the work. 

Loops - Christopher taught me BI Loops during our previous lesson and I think there's been some improvement this week. The RBI is still a big circle but I had some legit loops with my LBI. I did a few to make sure it wasn't a fluke but how cool to see that kind of progress!

Silver Free Skate - I've been struggling with the Flip jump combos lately in my program because of the new entry and also the new feel to my recently fixed Flip jumps. However, I ran my program at the Y on Sunday and everything worked! I think I'm finally getting used to my new and improved Flip jump. I've come a long way with these. Years ago, I was struggling with the fear of attempting them at all, then I started getting them done but with poor technique, and now I feel like I finally have a legit Flip jump that might at least not get negative GOE! It's been a journey!

New Things!

Lesson today and I was ready for it. I've had so much confidence lately. I think passing my test, getting my Flip jump under control, and spinning well has really helped me feel capable (and when I feel capable, I skate well). First of all, I had a huge fangirl moment when I got to the rink. It's National Pairs Camp at  the Promenade and there were some amazing people there. I got to see Chris Knierim, Timothy LeDuc, and Nathan Bartholomay! It was so cool to see them skate in person!

Lesson - I was first lesson so I did one lap for warmup and then we got right to work discussing the new Free Dance. I did an attitude spin for my Dance Spin element in this previous program and would really like to challenge myself this time. Last year, I was working on a catch foot camel spin and it just didn't come together in time to compete with so that's why we went with the attitude. But now I feel stronger and think I can make it happen. My camels are stronger, yes, but my back flexibility is not. I tried a few and only one of them worked. I spent a lot of time reaching back trying to blindly find my foot to grab. So...stretching. I gotta work on some back bends or something. He had me try what I'm calling a broken leg camel and he really liked it. I go into the camel and bend my free leg as if I'm going in for the catch foot but don't. It was nicely centered and it felt like a lot of revolutions. I don't know. He likes it but it feels like a mistake spin. I'll keep working on it. Next up was a broken leg sit spin. My sit spins were gross today because I really have not been working on them but I had one broken leg sit spin that was actually good! I did it slowly from a standstill on the blue line and he told me to go down so low that my "broken leg" drags on the ice. It was REALLY low! I think being able to anchor myself like that helps me get lower. Something else to work on. We worked on some Twizzles with different arm positions and that was about as expected. These are getting better but slowly. Finally, I told him I wanted to expand my turn vocabulary for this next Free Dance. My FI Brackets are a good contender so he had me work on those with an extended free leg on the exit edge. We touched on Rockers and he introduced me to BI Loops (my attempts were either just really big circles or backward 3 turns. These are HARD). 

Knee Slides - We talked about adding a knee slide so we worked on these for about 10 minutes. My old lady knees hurt to begin with so this didn't feel lovely. I think I got the hang of it but I'm reluctant to go down quickly because of the pain. Time to invest in knee pads, I guess. 

So, it was a good lesson and seeing amazing skaters on the ice helped inspire me as well. Yay for feeling fantastic!

Adult Juvenile Solo Free Dance Test

It's test day!!!!!

I think this is the most relaxed I've felt going into a test. Normally, I start getting really anxious in the days leading up to the test and start overthinking things. Then, when I get to the rink for the test, my legs turn to mush and I start making stupid mistakes. That did not happen today! Before I go further, you should know I PASSED! wOOt!

Practice - Our club is so accommodating to testing skaters (one of the many reasons why I love Alpine!). They had a 45 minute FREE practice this morning at 7:00am for testing skaters and, even though I wasn't testing until 10:30, you better believe I took advantage of that. Practice went really well! Everything was happening as it should, I even threw some camel spins in there and they were some of the best I've had in a while. It was busy and there were some close calls with running into people but I didn't get anxious about it! I just did my thing with no worries! This has never happened, EVER! I'm usually at my most anxious during practice ice because of the chaos. I'm not sure what was different about me today but I wasn't bothered in the slightest. Neat!

Six Minute Warmup - Christopher got to the rink right after I finished my off-ice warmup. He asked me how practice went this morning and I told him it was lovely. I then got my skates on and our group got called out to the ice for our six minute warmup. This is the time when he usually has to work hard to keep me calm. None of that today. I did my laps, did my spins, ran through my footwork and twizzles and skated up to him for next steps. He wanted to see the twizzles again but overall, he seemed pleased. Easy! I really only got a five minute warm up because I was the first skater out of the group to test so I spent that last minute just breathing and relaxing. OH! Also, they played my Free Dance music during the entire warmup so we had some background music to warm up to and I know I should have taken advantage of that and worked on sections of my Free Dance while my music was playing but that seemed like cheating. I know it's not but it felt wrong somehow.

The Test! - I skated up to the judges and they were super friendly and excited to see me do well. We joked a bit because they asked if I was here for the Adult Juvenile Solo Free Dance and I corrected them saying that I was there for the Adult Bronze Solo Free Dance and how silly it is that it's the same damn thing and why they need two different names for the same damn test. Their score sheets said Adult Juvenile so that's what we went with. Someone make this make sense. I thanked them and told them I appreciate them and then took one final breath before I got into my starting pose. There was a false start on my music so I had to start again. Basically, my music started playing before I really got into position but I just went with it. I guess the judges told them to stop playing the music so I could start again properly. Fair enough but I've been trained to roll with the punches so I was prepared to do it either way. Everything went well. My short edge element was my backward catch foot spiral and that was nice. My solo dance spin was lovely and I got 4 revs in position. Step sequence was nice too. Finally my twizzle got done with 2.5 revs. The only snag was my end pose. My competition gloves are very slippery on the ice and I have to put a hand down to get into my end pose since I end on one knee. I have had my hand slip out from under me before in competition and did not want a repeat so I got down gingerly and a bit slower than normal to ensure I didn't fall. So yeah, it was a great skate! I bowed to the judges and they said "Thank you" to me and I was done! I got positive marks from all three judges! Here's what they said: 

 

Judge Karen: 

• Short Edge Element - Nicely skated
• Solo Dance Spin - Well done
• Step Sequence - Good. 
• Twizzle - A bit slow
• Overall comments - Good form and expression throughout. 
• Elements = +1
• Skating = +1
• Program = +1
• TOTAL = +3 (Pass!)
   

Judge Janet: 

• Overall comments: All skating looks easy and flows. Good mix of elements throughout. 
• Elements = +1
• Skating = +1
• Program = +1
• TOTAL = +3 (Pass!)

 

Judge Kelly: 

• Short Edge Element - Ina and Catch Foot Spiral elements performed with confidence. 
• Solo Dance Spin - Upright spin 4 revolutions
• Twizzle - 2
• Overall Comments - Understanding of music and consistent rhythm shown. 
• Elements = +1
• Skating = +1
• Program = +1
• TOTAL = +3 (Pass!)
  

 

 

Test Prepping and Flip Progress

Lots of stuff happening this week so let's get started!

Sunday Practice - It was busy at the Y but everyone was respectful of space. I warmed up and then ran my Free Dance. It went very well. In the last month, I have been working on adding another rotation to my twizzle at the end so it is now 2.5 rotations instead of 1.5. Looks a bit more twizzle-y, I think. So yeah, everything looks good and the twizzle at the end happened as it was supposed to. Next up was my Free Skate that went well until I got to the last 30 seconds with all of the jumps. It's the damn Flip Jump again. Since I've been working on getting the technique better, I've also discovered that going into it with the LFO 3 Turn works better for the jump to happen. However, since I've been going into it from a mohawk entry for an entire season, my muscle memory is all wonky. I just have to reprogram that too, I guess. Moving on, I worked on Gold Moves and was able to do the full Forward Double 3 Turn Move. I had a couple of "foot down" moments but at least I'm getting through the whole move. Power Circles also felt better today. 

Monday Lesson - I got on the Blue Rink and did one warm up lap before we were told to get off the ice and move over to the Red Rink while they Zam (they had 15 minutes to Zam the ice prior to our session but forgot so now we have to jump from rink to rink, ugh). I got 10 minutes into my lesson with Christopher on the Red Rink when we were told to move back to the Blue Rink. So annoying. At that point, just let us stay on Red instead of having us  move. Anyway, rink shenanigans aside, we worked on Gold Moves first. Same thing as yesterday with the Forward Doubles 3s - A couple of "foot down" moments but I'm getting through it. Power Circles were meh. I either get the sizing right or the speed right, but never both. We didn't have time to look at the rest because he really needed to see my Free Dance ahead of Thursday's test. It was so lovely yesterday and today it was a hot mess. I fell on the twizzle, didn't get enough rotations in position during my spin, and then fell again during the reskate. I really hope I'm getting all of my jitters out now and can pull it back together for the test. I know I can skate this program well. So frustrating. Moving on, he wanted to see my Flip Jump progress. It's been two weeks without a lesson and during that time, I've been working really hard on this damn Flip Jump but I couldn't tell if I was making it worse or if it actually improved. Today he confirmed that it actually improved! It's still rough but the tracings prove I'm finally doing this damn jump correctly. I've been jumping the Flip for 5 years using the wrong technique so it has been really difficult to break the jump and start from scratch doing it differently. But, what a relief! It's still not beautiful but I'm getting it done. And, I have to admit, all of these years when he kept telling me to think of it like a loop jump...he was right. When I do it properly, it really does feel like a loop. Neat!

Testing on Thursday!!!!