Competition elements in ice dance


, a discipline of figure skating, has required elements that make up a well-balanced rhythm dance program and free dance program, which must be performed during competitions. They include: the dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, turn sequences, and choreographic elements. The elements must be performed in specific ways, as described by published communications by the International Skating Union, unless otherwise specified. The ISU has also provided a list of illegal movements.

General requirements

The International Skating Union, the governing body that oversees figure skating, announces the list of required elements in a well-balanced rhythm dance program and free dance program, and each element's specific requirements, each year. The following elements may be included: the dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, turn sequences, choreographic elements, and, in the rhythm dance, pattern dance elements. As of the 2022-2023 season, senior ice dancers no longer had to perform a pattern dance in the RDs, but instead were required to execute a choreographic rhythm sequence.
Illegal movements in the rhythm dance, the free dance, and in the pattern dances include the following, including the introductory and concluding steps, unless otherwise stated by the ISU:
  1. Sitting on the partner’s head.
  2. Standing on the partner’s shoulder.
  3. The lifted partner placed in an upside-down split pose, with a sustained angle of over 45 degrees between their thighs.
  4. The lifting partner swinging the lifted partner around by holding only their skate, boot, and/or leg with fully extended arm.
  5. The lifting partner swinging the lifted partner around without the assistance of their hand and/or arm and the lifted partner holding only with their legs and/or feet around the lifting partner’s neck.
  6. The point of contact of the lifting hand and/or arm of the lifting partner with any part of the body of the lifted partner is sustained with the fully extended arm higher than the lifting partner’s head, although the supporting arm may be sustained and fully extended above the head.
  7. Jumps of more than one revolution except during the jump entry and/or jump exit.
  8. Lying on the ice.
The first six movements are permitted if they are not established and sustained, or if they are used only to change pose.

Dance lifts

The ISU defines dance lifts as "a movement in which one of the partners is elevated with active and/or passive assistance of the other partner to any permitted height, sustained there and set down on the ice".S&P/ID 2024, p. 135 Lifts should be "performed in an elegant manner without obvious feats of strength and awkward and/or dignified actions and poses". They should enhance the music that the dancers choose. All rotations, positions, and changes of these positions are allowed. The minimum required length for a dance lift is three seconds.
After the judging system changed from the 6.0 system to the ISU Judging System, dance lifts became more "athletic, dramatic and exciting". American ice dancer Charlie White stated that lifts have become "increasingly difficult", requiring teams to, like pair skaters, work with acrobats to develop their lifts. According to former competitive dancer Pilar Bosley, ice dance lifts rotate faster than pair lifts. In order to maximize the difficulty of the lifts, dancers must hit certain patterns and positions, with differences in entering and exiting their lifts. They have also become more acrobatic, although they do not get as high as pair skating lifts, because ice dance lifts cannot be supported over the man's shoulder. Dance lifts have also become more dangerous, resulting in more falls and injuries.
There are two types of dance lifts: short lifts and combination lifts. There are four types of short lifts: the stationary lift, the straight-line lift, the Curve lift, and the Rotational lift. The stationary lift is done "on the spot", or at the stationary location, by the lifting partner, who may or may not be rotating at the time. A straight line lift is one in which the lifting partner is traveling in a straight line, in any position, on either one foot or two feet. A curve lift is one in which the lifting partner is traveling on one curve, in any position, on either one foot or two feet. A rotational lift is one in which the lifting partner is rotating in one direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise, while traveling across the ice. There are three types of combination lifts: two Rotational lifts in different directions, two Curve lifts performed in a serpentine pattern, and two different types of short lifts performed together.

Dance spins

The ISU defines a dance spin as "a spin skated by the Couple together in any hold".S&P/ID 2024, p. 134 The ISU also states that the dance spin should be "performed on the spot around a common axis on one foot with or without change of foot by one or both partners".
Dance spins have three basic positions.S&P/ID 2024, pp. 134—135 The upright position is done on one foot with the skating leg slightly bent or straight and with the upper body upright, bent to the side, or with an arched back. The sit position is done on one foot, with the "skating leg bent in a one-legged crouch position and free leg forward, to the side or back.S&P/ID 2024, p. 135 The camel position is done on one foot, with "the skating leg straight or slightly bent and body bent forward and free leg extended or bent upward on a horizontal line or higher".

Step sequences

The ISU defines a step sequence as "a series of prescribed or un-prescribed steps, turns and movements"S&P/ID 2024, p. 128 in a rhythm dance or free dance. Step sequences have three divisions: types, groups, and styles.
There are two types of step sequences: not-touching or in hold. Not-touching step sequences must include matching and/or mirror footwork. Both ice dancers must skate as close to each other as possible, not more than two arm lengths apart, without touching. They can cross each other's tracing and can switch from mirror to matching footwork, and vice versa, "unless otherwise specified" by the ISU. The distance between the partners "should generally not be more than two arm length apart, except for short distances when the partners are performing edges and turns in opposite directions". Step sequences in hold must be performed in any dance holds or any variation of dance holds, "unless otherwise specified" by the ISU. The ISU also states, about step sequences in hold, "Any separation to change a hold must not exceed one measure of music".
Types of step sequences are separated into three Groups. The first group includes straight-line step sequences. There are two types of straight-line step sequences: midline, which is skated along the full length of the ice surface, on either its short or long axis; and diagonal, which is skated from corner to corner, as fully as possible. The second group includes curved step sequences: circular, which can be skated in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction and must use the ice surface's full width; and serpentine, which can commence in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction and "progresses in three bold curves or in two bold curves and ends at the Long Axis of the opposite end of the rink, with the pattern utilizing the full width of the ice surface". The third group includes partial step sequences, which are pattern dance-type step sequences and can be executed anywhere on the ice surface or as prescribed by the ISU.S&P/ID 2024, p. 129
Characteristics of the levels of step sequences are organized as styles of step sequences, are technical requirements, and are published yearly in an ISU communication.

Turn sequences

Turn sequences are a required element in the rhythm dance and may be included in a well-balanced free dance program. Specific requirements for turn sequences are announced in an ISU communication each year.S&P/ID 2024, pp. 148, 150 There are two types of turn sequences, a set of twizzles and a one-foot turns sequence. A set of twizzles can include two types. The first type is synchronized twizzles, a series of two twizzles for each partner, with up to four steps between them. The second type is sequential twizzles, a series of two twizzles for each partner, with up to one step between them. The ISU states that for each type, each twizzle "shall be at least one full rotation on one foot performed simultaneously by both partners".S&P/ID 2024, p. 125 The one-foot turns sequence is "specified Turns performed on one foot by each partner simultaneously, in Hold or separately".

Twizzles

The ISU defines a twizzle as "a traveling turn on one foot with one or more rotations, which is quickly rotated with a continuous action". It has also been defined as "a multirotational, one-foot turn that moves across the ice". Starting in the 2018-2019 season, dancers were judged individually on the execution of their twizzles; their individual points are combined for the team's final score for the element.
A skater's weight, when performing the twizzle, "remains on the skating foot with the free foot in any position during the turn then placed beside the skating foot to skate the next step".S&P/ID 2024, p. 133 The twizzle has four types of entry edges: the Forward Inside, the Forward Outside, the Backward Inside, and the Backward Outside. Skaters can make twizzle-like motions, movements in which the skating foot completes less than a full turn and then a step forward while the body performs one full continuous rotation. A series of checked Three Turns does not constitute a twizzle because it is not a continuous action. If the traveling stops while the steps are being made, it is also not a twizzle; rather, it is a Pirouette, or solo spin.