I've had this song picked out that I wanted to do a dramatic program to for about a year and a half. I was playing the album on a nearly empty session one day and this song just grabbed me. My friend said, "Oh, you *have* to skate to this!" But up until now, I'd never done it. First, I was a little scared to try doing a dramatic event. Then I couldn't figure out how to cut the music. With the registration deadline for my last competition of the season coming up, I decided it was now or never. If I could cut the music in time for the registration deadline, I would sign up. And that's what I did.
My goal with this program was to try to move in a way that felt comfortable and expressive for me, so I wanted to do my own choreography. I ended up doing most of it, but because I only had about a month to put it together, I enlisted my coach for a little bit of help when I got into a time crunch.
There are parts of this skate that I love, and also a lot of parts that I'd like to rework. But I'm going to count my first dramatic program outing as a success, and I think I will continue to work on this program and keep it for Adult Nationals next year.
Oh, and the title of this post? Right before the competition, I ran into a young girl on a public skate who had been on a number of freestyle sessions where I'd practiced my program. She told me, "You do that program where you kick your leg! It's so FUNNY!" Her interpretation made me chuckle, but I corrected her, "Well, it's not supposed to be funny, it's supposed to be..." I struggled for the right word to use with a 7 year old, but she piped up first, "I know, I know. It's supposed to be dramatic!"
So there you have it folks. It may be funny, but it's supposed to be DRAMATIC! You be the judge!
Friday, September 26, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
About That Axel...
This post actually has almost nothing to do with skating.
It's about a pronoun.
And axels. It's about axels, too.
When my club did its spring show, they brought in an outside choreographer who chose soloists for the show by reviewing video submissions in which the skaters gave an introduction of who they are and showed some of their skating. One young girl earned herself a spot in the show by quipping, "Now about that axel..." in her video introduction. This phrase stuck out to the choreographer and inspired him to give her a little piece in the show where they explained to the audience a little bit about what the axel means to figure skaters and included a double and triple axel demo from our top skaters.
I've never talked about any interests outside of skating on this blog, but I am a language geek. I speak a couple of languages and I enjoy thinking about language structure and word connotation and all sorts of other language related issues. I listen to this podcast called Lexicon Valley that recently did an episode on demonstrative pronouns, you know, like this, that, these and those. Now everybody knows how these words are used to refer back to topics and things previously mentioned, but this podcast explored a different use of pronouns---using them to refer to things that you have not immediately been talking about, such as "About that axel!"
You can listen to it here if such a topic appeals to you, but the gist of it is that this use of pronoun is used to refer to a common understanding that the audience and the speaker share. Its intent is to cause a familiar emotional reaction to the thing and it forms a bond between the speaker and the listeners. The podcast centered around how a particular politician made frequent use of this type of pronoun, which has the effect of strengthening the positive reaction of people who agree with the common understanding that's put forth, and enhancing the negative reaction of people who disagree. Anyway, it can be a powerful rhetorical tool, and I didn't think much of it after I listened to the podcast.
But now I can't not notice it. I realized that I write and talk about "that axel" all the time! I am doing this exact thing with language and have never thought about why! Obviously, I've made previous posts about axels, so I could be referring back to those, but in the case of the auditioning girl in her video, no previous mention of an axel had been made, but the way she used that phrase, "about that axel"... inspired an entire piece in the show. She had tapped into that angst that all skaters have known just by the use of that one pronoun and it resonated with the choreographer who knew exactly what she was talking about. She did that with just one word! Isn't language fascinating??
Oh yah! And skating is fascinating, too. I'll get back to rambling on about that axel in my next post ;)
It's about a pronoun.
And axels. It's about axels, too.
When my club did its spring show, they brought in an outside choreographer who chose soloists for the show by reviewing video submissions in which the skaters gave an introduction of who they are and showed some of their skating. One young girl earned herself a spot in the show by quipping, "Now about that axel..." in her video introduction. This phrase stuck out to the choreographer and inspired him to give her a little piece in the show where they explained to the audience a little bit about what the axel means to figure skaters and included a double and triple axel demo from our top skaters.
I've never talked about any interests outside of skating on this blog, but I am a language geek. I speak a couple of languages and I enjoy thinking about language structure and word connotation and all sorts of other language related issues. I listen to this podcast called Lexicon Valley that recently did an episode on demonstrative pronouns, you know, like this, that, these and those. Now everybody knows how these words are used to refer back to topics and things previously mentioned, but this podcast explored a different use of pronouns---using them to refer to things that you have not immediately been talking about, such as "About that axel!"
You can listen to it here if such a topic appeals to you, but the gist of it is that this use of pronoun is used to refer to a common understanding that the audience and the speaker share. Its intent is to cause a familiar emotional reaction to the thing and it forms a bond between the speaker and the listeners. The podcast centered around how a particular politician made frequent use of this type of pronoun, which has the effect of strengthening the positive reaction of people who agree with the common understanding that's put forth, and enhancing the negative reaction of people who disagree. Anyway, it can be a powerful rhetorical tool, and I didn't think much of it after I listened to the podcast.
But now I can't not notice it. I realized that I write and talk about "that axel" all the time! I am doing this exact thing with language and have never thought about why! Obviously, I've made previous posts about axels, so I could be referring back to those, but in the case of the auditioning girl in her video, no previous mention of an axel had been made, but the way she used that phrase, "about that axel"... inspired an entire piece in the show. She had tapped into that angst that all skaters have known just by the use of that one pronoun and it resonated with the choreographer who knew exactly what she was talking about. She did that with just one word! Isn't language fascinating??
Oh yah! And skating is fascinating, too. I'll get back to rambling on about that axel in my next post ;)
Monday, September 15, 2014
Camera Shy
It was a blissfully empty morning on the ice. Two adults in lesson, one responsible teenager and me. I was getting close to the end of my session and I decided to go back to the waltz-backspin axel drill to practice the feeling of take-off and alignment over my right side.
The first one was a mess. I had a good take-off, but I landed on my inside edge and wasn't able to hold it and turn it into a backspin. Suddenly I hear my coach and his adult student exclaim from across the rink, "That was an axel!" I turned and looked at them. "That?!?" What are they smoking? I think. They confirm, "Yes!" and I ask again, because I'm sure what I've just done is a mistake. But they're waiting for me to do it again.
So I line up to do an axel from a stand-still, which I don't do often, but that's how I do the drill. As they watch, I push onto my left leg, push through the toe and lift my free knee through. I came down on the quarter mark on the other side and landed on one foot. Now that was an axel! A cheer came up from my coach and his current student, as well as the teen who had now stopped to watch.
Buoyed by this success, I tried again, the same way. Again, success! A third try was not so succesful.
"Do you want me to video you?" the teen asked. I accepted her offer, since my camera was out of battery and I needed someone to hold my phone to film me. "Of course, they probably won't show up for the camera," I joked. And so it went. The first few were back to my old familiar forward landings. "I'll take as many as you want!" The teen promised, "This is a big deal!" That one statement meant so much to me. She is not a girl who minces words. She won't tell you it was good unless it was, and she's seen me working on axels for a year. I kept going. Eleven videos later, we had a few okay ones, but none as good as the two I did before. I knew then that lightning wasn't about to strike again, so I released my volunteer videographer to her own practice.
Every day, though, that axel is getting closer. I capture that feeling that I know is the right technique and I almost get all the pieces to come together. I feel it getting closer and closer. I continue to think "any day now..." even though I've been thinking that for months. Days of progress like this one keep my hopes up.
So stay tuned for the news and the video because I'm going to land that axel any day now...
The first one was a mess. I had a good take-off, but I landed on my inside edge and wasn't able to hold it and turn it into a backspin. Suddenly I hear my coach and his adult student exclaim from across the rink, "That was an axel!" I turned and looked at them. "That?!?" What are they smoking? I think. They confirm, "Yes!" and I ask again, because I'm sure what I've just done is a mistake. But they're waiting for me to do it again.
So I line up to do an axel from a stand-still, which I don't do often, but that's how I do the drill. As they watch, I push onto my left leg, push through the toe and lift my free knee through. I came down on the quarter mark on the other side and landed on one foot. Now that was an axel! A cheer came up from my coach and his current student, as well as the teen who had now stopped to watch.
Buoyed by this success, I tried again, the same way. Again, success! A third try was not so succesful.
"Do you want me to video you?" the teen asked. I accepted her offer, since my camera was out of battery and I needed someone to hold my phone to film me. "Of course, they probably won't show up for the camera," I joked. And so it went. The first few were back to my old familiar forward landings. "I'll take as many as you want!" The teen promised, "This is a big deal!" That one statement meant so much to me. She is not a girl who minces words. She won't tell you it was good unless it was, and she's seen me working on axels for a year. I kept going. Eleven videos later, we had a few okay ones, but none as good as the two I did before. I knew then that lightning wasn't about to strike again, so I released my volunteer videographer to her own practice.
Every day, though, that axel is getting closer. I capture that feeling that I know is the right technique and I almost get all the pieces to come together. I feel it getting closer and closer. I continue to think "any day now..." even though I've been thinking that for months. Days of progress like this one keep my hopes up.
So stay tuned for the news and the video because I'm going to land that axel any day now...
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Dancing for Bronze
I interrupt this post hiatus to announce that I will be testing the Hickory Hoedown and the Willow Waltz on August 23.
Probably.
I've pencilled it in, because I'm testing on a freestyle so I don't have to turn in papers in advance. I'm hoping that neither Dance Coach or our judge has to back out.
But the good news is that Dance Coach pronounced my Hickory much better and the Willow 90% correct. This is pretty high praise coming from him. The better news is that I feel like I'm finally making improvements on these dances where I feel like I've been unable to correctly apply his corrections for months. I was getting so frustrated, not being able to understand what I was doing wrong, and never getting it right.
We had a good talk at the end of my lesson about the times when we struggle the most often being the times when we're learning the most. I mentioned that there are times when I understand that's what's happening and can continue to hope but this was a time when I started to lose faith that I was progressing through the struggle. He reminded me that all skaters go through that, citing how he sees it in the most advanced and talented skaters at our rink. It was good encouragement and a good lesson for the next time this happens, but it also just feels so good to be finally coming around and seeing the progress again.
So August 23rd I dance for two of my bronze dances. I hope for good results because the following weekend I hope to dance for gold in my first ever pre-silver solo dance event!
Probably.
I've pencilled it in, because I'm testing on a freestyle so I don't have to turn in papers in advance. I'm hoping that neither Dance Coach or our judge has to back out.
But the good news is that Dance Coach pronounced my Hickory much better and the Willow 90% correct. This is pretty high praise coming from him. The better news is that I feel like I'm finally making improvements on these dances where I feel like I've been unable to correctly apply his corrections for months. I was getting so frustrated, not being able to understand what I was doing wrong, and never getting it right.
We had a good talk at the end of my lesson about the times when we struggle the most often being the times when we're learning the most. I mentioned that there are times when I understand that's what's happening and can continue to hope but this was a time when I started to lose faith that I was progressing through the struggle. He reminded me that all skaters go through that, citing how he sees it in the most advanced and talented skaters at our rink. It was good encouragement and a good lesson for the next time this happens, but it also just feels so good to be finally coming around and seeing the progress again.
So August 23rd I dance for two of my bronze dances. I hope for good results because the following weekend I hope to dance for gold in my first ever pre-silver solo dance event!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
June
Wow, has June been a busy month!
Skating wise, I had both a competition and an ice dance weekend. They both had me thinking a lot about where I was at this time last year.
Ice Dance
The June ice dance weekend last year was my first ice dance weekend. I was just about to take my pre-bronze dances. I knew a grand total of 6 dances and when I showed up for the Friday evening dance session, I knew a grand total of no one. I was considering giving up ice dance after I tested, but the dance weekend totally changed my mind. I saw how fun social dancing was and how interesting the higher level dances were, and I decided to stick with it. Since then, I've travelled to two other ice dance weekends, did the social ice dance session at Nationals and have made occasional treks to a neighboring skate to get partnering practice with an ice dance friend. Going into the weekend this year, I was looking forward to seeing the friends I'd made throughout the year and excited to dance 13 or so different dances. Hard to believe all that has changed in a year
Competition
At the June competition last year, I skated pre-bronze. I was probably borderline bronze at the time, but my coach didn't want me to move up just yet. I didn't have a great skate. Neither of my spins were very successful, but I won anyway. I felt a little bad. This year, I skated at silver. Comparing the program I did in this year's competition to last year's competition makes it really evident how far I've come in a year. A lot of that progress I didn't really notice it as it was happening.
Other June news
I started my first double jump! We started with double loop. I think it's because there's no weight shift in it. I'm off to a pretty good start, I'm mostly trying to work out the timing. Too bad it's not even allowed at gold, but I think it will help with axel and other doubles. Also, in one banner day, we started both flying camel and flying sit. I don't have a really strong back camel so flying camel will probably take a while. But flying sit I think will be a good spin for me. Coach is even talking about putting it in my program for a competition at the end of August.
I'm trying to talk dance coach into letting me take my bronze dances. He's agreed, but I haven't gotten him to sign the test papers yet. I can't quite figure out what the hold up is. It may just be that he's not sure of his schedule yet, but I keep wondering if he doesn't think I'm ready yet, or if he doesn't want me to stop working on these dances yet. I probably won't get the test in time to do the next level of dance at the competition in August, so I may not do solo dance and instead try to put together a dramatic program.
Let's see, any other skating news? Well, I'm enjoying myself at a skate camp right now, which I hope to post about later. Camel spin continues to come and go. Axel is still not fully rotated. So, you know, business as usual :) How's your summer skating going?
Skating wise, I had both a competition and an ice dance weekend. They both had me thinking a lot about where I was at this time last year.
Ice Dance
The June ice dance weekend last year was my first ice dance weekend. I was just about to take my pre-bronze dances. I knew a grand total of 6 dances and when I showed up for the Friday evening dance session, I knew a grand total of no one. I was considering giving up ice dance after I tested, but the dance weekend totally changed my mind. I saw how fun social dancing was and how interesting the higher level dances were, and I decided to stick with it. Since then, I've travelled to two other ice dance weekends, did the social ice dance session at Nationals and have made occasional treks to a neighboring skate to get partnering practice with an ice dance friend. Going into the weekend this year, I was looking forward to seeing the friends I'd made throughout the year and excited to dance 13 or so different dances. Hard to believe all that has changed in a year
Competition
At the June competition last year, I skated pre-bronze. I was probably borderline bronze at the time, but my coach didn't want me to move up just yet. I didn't have a great skate. Neither of my spins were very successful, but I won anyway. I felt a little bad. This year, I skated at silver. Comparing the program I did in this year's competition to last year's competition makes it really evident how far I've come in a year. A lot of that progress I didn't really notice it as it was happening.
Other June news
I started my first double jump! We started with double loop. I think it's because there's no weight shift in it. I'm off to a pretty good start, I'm mostly trying to work out the timing. Too bad it's not even allowed at gold, but I think it will help with axel and other doubles. Also, in one banner day, we started both flying camel and flying sit. I don't have a really strong back camel so flying camel will probably take a while. But flying sit I think will be a good spin for me. Coach is even talking about putting it in my program for a competition at the end of August.
I'm trying to talk dance coach into letting me take my bronze dances. He's agreed, but I haven't gotten him to sign the test papers yet. I can't quite figure out what the hold up is. It may just be that he's not sure of his schedule yet, but I keep wondering if he doesn't think I'm ready yet, or if he doesn't want me to stop working on these dances yet. I probably won't get the test in time to do the next level of dance at the competition in August, so I may not do solo dance and instead try to put together a dramatic program.
Let's see, any other skating news? Well, I'm enjoying myself at a skate camp right now, which I hope to post about later. Camel spin continues to come and go. Axel is still not fully rotated. So, you know, business as usual :) How's your summer skating going?
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Upright Spins
In 2013, I made a goal to get 15 revs in my scratch spin. It's one goal that I didn't really meet. I think I did it once. But after I started working on more different types of spins, I didn't pay much attention to my scratch spin. Whenever I would try it, it would travel a mile, and then I'd try again, and still not having success, I'd move on to sit spins and camels.
But lately something has clicked. I think it's holding the entry edge longer, which is a lesson I've learned from sits and camels. I think I may have also just gained control over the free leg and position, to where I can control it without losing my balance over my sweet spot on my spinning leg. Anyhow, I achieved 15+ revs on my second try yesterday without much problem at all.
One of the reasons I've been working on my scratch spin lately is to try to make progress on a layback spin. No one has ever told me this, but I'm pretty sure that if you can't center a scratch spin, you'll have no hope of centering a layback, since it's a more difficult upright spin.
I have high hopes for a good layback, since I've always had a pretty flexible back, but most of my attempts so far have been flat out ugly. I haven't been able to get the mechanics right. We've hardly ever worked on it lesson, so I don't work on it much. But a friend of mine has a beautiful layback, and she says she got it by playing around and figuring it out for herself. This gave me motivation to do the same. The following video has two spins. The first is more or less what my laybacks have looked like for a while, and the second is one where I tried to fix the free leg position. I think it is an improvement and I could feel what the difference was, but I didn't get to replicate it, as I was starting to feel like I was getting in the way with my camera. I now have a better idea of what to work on and hope to make more improvements soon.
But lately something has clicked. I think it's holding the entry edge longer, which is a lesson I've learned from sits and camels. I think I may have also just gained control over the free leg and position, to where I can control it without losing my balance over my sweet spot on my spinning leg. Anyhow, I achieved 15+ revs on my second try yesterday without much problem at all.
One of the reasons I've been working on my scratch spin lately is to try to make progress on a layback spin. No one has ever told me this, but I'm pretty sure that if you can't center a scratch spin, you'll have no hope of centering a layback, since it's a more difficult upright spin.
I have high hopes for a good layback, since I've always had a pretty flexible back, but most of my attempts so far have been flat out ugly. I haven't been able to get the mechanics right. We've hardly ever worked on it lesson, so I don't work on it much. But a friend of mine has a beautiful layback, and she says she got it by playing around and figuring it out for herself. This gave me motivation to do the same. The following video has two spins. The first is more or less what my laybacks have looked like for a while, and the second is one where I tried to fix the free leg position. I think it is an improvement and I could feel what the difference was, but I didn't get to replicate it, as I was starting to feel like I was getting in the way with my camera. I now have a better idea of what to work on and hope to make more improvements soon.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Moving Up, Moving On
Today, the axel went into the program.
We have a local competition here in June, and I was going to skip it. I just did Adult Sectionals and Nationals not so long ago, and later this year my area has a big adult competition and is hosting Regionals, both of which I was planning on skating. This June competition seemed like a good one to skip. But I was talked into it.
Sunday, I passed my silver free skate test, and my local silver level skating friend begged me to compete. Frankly, I'm interested in seeing how we'll fare against each other. She moved up to silver last year after Nationals, before I'd passed my bronze test, so we've never competed against each other. Secondly, I knew that once time for the competition rolled around, I'd be sorry not to be out on the ice. But I've spent so much time on my program since December, I kind of wanted to give it a rest and work on some other stuff.
But I signed up, and last night I sort of grudgingly recut my music, since silver allows 2:10, where bronze can only be up to 1:50. I tried my best to do something that wouldn't completely uproot my current choreography. The easiest thing was to add music to the beginning, but that's where some of my favorite choreography is. Silver allows one more jump pass than bronze, so I knew that's what would be going in there. The cut sounded decent, so I brought it to the rink to let my coach hear it to see what she wanted to do with it.
She likes it. And she wants to put the axel in there right up front. And she found a way to put in some choreography that I really like around it. We're also changing up my spins a bit, if they'll fit. The camel-back sit, will become a camel-sit-back sit. And the sit will become a sit-pancake. It feels like we've breathed new life into my program. Suddenly there's new stuff to work on baked right into the program.
I did my first run-through, and as I went into the camel, I thought, "I'm not usually this tired here." It wasn't until I was done that I realized that I had done 20 seconds more skating at the beginning! (Well, not quite, I think I added like 17 seconds.) I still kind of see this competition as a throw-away, and luckily, my coaches do too. It's an opportunity to put some new stuff out there without too much pressure, and now I'm looking forward to it. I'm glad I signed up. I knew I would be.
We have a local competition here in June, and I was going to skip it. I just did Adult Sectionals and Nationals not so long ago, and later this year my area has a big adult competition and is hosting Regionals, both of which I was planning on skating. This June competition seemed like a good one to skip. But I was talked into it.
Sunday, I passed my silver free skate test, and my local silver level skating friend begged me to compete. Frankly, I'm interested in seeing how we'll fare against each other. She moved up to silver last year after Nationals, before I'd passed my bronze test, so we've never competed against each other. Secondly, I knew that once time for the competition rolled around, I'd be sorry not to be out on the ice. But I've spent so much time on my program since December, I kind of wanted to give it a rest and work on some other stuff.
But I signed up, and last night I sort of grudgingly recut my music, since silver allows 2:10, where bronze can only be up to 1:50. I tried my best to do something that wouldn't completely uproot my current choreography. The easiest thing was to add music to the beginning, but that's where some of my favorite choreography is. Silver allows one more jump pass than bronze, so I knew that's what would be going in there. The cut sounded decent, so I brought it to the rink to let my coach hear it to see what she wanted to do with it.
She likes it. And she wants to put the axel in there right up front. And she found a way to put in some choreography that I really like around it. We're also changing up my spins a bit, if they'll fit. The camel-back sit, will become a camel-sit-back sit. And the sit will become a sit-pancake. It feels like we've breathed new life into my program. Suddenly there's new stuff to work on baked right into the program.
I did my first run-through, and as I went into the camel, I thought, "I'm not usually this tired here." It wasn't until I was done that I realized that I had done 20 seconds more skating at the beginning! (Well, not quite, I think I added like 17 seconds.) I still kind of see this competition as a throw-away, and luckily, my coaches do too. It's an opportunity to put some new stuff out there without too much pressure, and now I'm looking forward to it. I'm glad I signed up. I knew I would be.
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