Ice Dancing: Cha Cha

I don't have much new to say about my skating, I'm in rebuilding mode, as I said in my last post. I'm thinking to describe the Pre-Bronze pattern dances that I've write about testing (read about it here), but didn't get into the actual dance.
Here is a link to the form judges use at tests, it shows the diagram of the dance and the skills they are looking for: https://www.usfsa.org/content/cha-cha.pdf

This dance goes only forward, as the Preliminay ones (Dutch Waltz, Canasta Tango and Rhythm Blues), in fact, I haven't found it more difficult than the Preliminary ones. Here is drawing where I showed the starting point with the red X, and I put in the cardinal points so I can describe the  direction of the steps.

Intro steps: 4 Forward Strokes: left, right, left, right.
The pattern dance: As in the previous dances, I will describe groups of steps as I was grouping them in my mind to remember them, usually they form lobes.
1.2. Left Forward Progressive, 3 edges LFO.RFI. (2-2, 4 beats total). When I've learned this dance, I remember that I've learned this as a crossover, maybe it changed recently, but it may be a printing mistake. To me, a crossover (that is crisper then a progressive) makes sense to show the character of the dance.
3.4.5. Left Inside Edge, Right Outside Chasse, Wide Step Left Inside Edge (1-1-2, 4 beats total). Ive must have gotten the most correction for this dance on step 3... It is not terribly difficult to do, I just kept forgetting to pay attention. I mean, is is not easy, easy would be to do an outside edge... but it is double if you only remember to pay attention and to "place" the left foot on the proper inside edge. Then, there is the chasse on the right outside edge, and you keep your weight over the right side as you move the left leg to the left and wide step on an inside edge again.
Step 3 is a very important step from few different points of view:
- if incorrect it will affect the next steps. If placed on an outside edge, the chasse will very probably be on an outside edge (otherwise there would be a wide step there) and that wouldn't allow a strong control of keeping the weight to the right side, so then, the skater would "fall" (drop, not place)  on the the wide step (step 5)
- done correctly it shows the character of the dance cha cha (the hips movement), by placing the feet first, the hips movement is delayed and when it happens it is more accentuated.
- I find it is the first step that reveals what pattern dances are all about! Accuracy while showing character of the specific dance!
6. Right Outside Edge with knee rise at the middle (4 beats total). This step was not an easy step for me. I was stepping somehow forward, instead of directly on an outside edge. It is difficult to go on an outside edge if you don't set your foot on an outside edge to start with. Also my weight was forward on my blade, instead of back of the arch where it should be and that didn't help the control of the outside edge either, especially having to do the knee rise.
7.8. Two foot slalom (1-1-2-1 1/2) The slalom should have the feet together. The timing is interesting but I've felt the music carried it trough.
9.10. Left Inside Chasse (1/2 beats) Right Forward Inside Edge (2 beats). The slalom end on the right foot and then the left one touches the ice for just half beat to set the right foot on an inside edge.
11. Left Forward Outside Swing Roll (4 beats) is important to end towards the center of the rink
12.13. Cross Forward Right Forward Outside, Cross Behind Left Forward Inside (2-2, 4 beats total)
14. Right Forward Inside Swing Roll (4 beats total)

And here is the video from when I tested it:

Test: Pre-Bronze Dances (Swing Dance, Cha Cha, Fiesta Tango)

This was my second test session

I won't go into the details of these dances, I'll come back to them after I go over more beginner stuff.  If you read my view on Figure Skating Levels, I split beginners into Low-Beginners, Beginners, and Advanced Beginners. I find that Preliminary dances correspond to a Beginner level and The Pre-Bronze Dances correspond to an Advanced Beginner level.

I tested these Pre-Bronze dances on March 2017, just 2 months after testing the Preliminary dances. Looking back, I think my skills level was in between Low-Beginner and Beginner. I had no business in testing these... I did pass them at standard track, but I didn't succeed at that point in developing the skills for that level. I also didn't enjoy working at them and I was terrified when I tested. It's all part of the learning experience I guess.

There are many reasons I tested them. I was mentioning that I've learned the first 9 dances, so 3 levels, from a friend during 6 months and it was exciting. Then I started private lessons with a young male coach/partner with whom I continued dancing at the advice of my friend. She was advising from her own experience learning the dances after 40s, 30 years ago. The thing is that then, Ice Dancing was huge as social dancing. She was learning Ice Dancing as a fun and  social activity and she was having lots of fun. It was mostly partnered dancing for her and she developed skills necessary for that (like speed), while counting on the partner to help other skills (like turns). She also didn't do any Freestyle, MITF or Free Dance. Where I'm getting at is that her skating experience didn't translate perfectly to my skating experience. At that point I added private lessons from a young female coach that started me on MITF and started correcting my Freestyle technique. I don't know how my learning experience would have gone with them (the young coaches). Maybe they were too inexperienced to have a methodology and at some point I would have plateaued, but I felt I was learning a lot and I was having fun. And then, they moved away, both of them at the same time, both of them a little unexpected, to follow great opportunities. I continued lessons with an Ice Dance coach that taught both of them, an amazingly accomplished skater and person. Her approach was very different, very methodical. I appreciated the lessons but I didn't settle into them. To keep myself excited and motivated I decided to test, and so I met my current Ice Dancing coach that is a male I can partner with. It was confusing to me on which coach is teaching what. So, confused, bored from doing the same dances for a while, and obviously thinking I've got them, I asked to test and my female coach signed the registration form. My male coach reaction was an obvious surprised one, but he did his best to get me ready.

Driving to the rink on the day of the test I didn't feel as nervous as on the first test. On the first test I didn't know what to expect, now I did. I've got really nervous at the rink waiting for my turn, around an hour. My coach babysat me again. And he used the time to teach me warming up off ice, running the steps of the dances off ice, breathing technique to relax and I suspect he was trying to get my mind off the test.

The warm up: my coach didn't have anybody else testing those dances so he was all the time with me. After 4 min with random music, the organizers played the rhythm for each of the Pre-Bronze dances. And my coach partnered me on each of them. On the Swing Dance music, the first dance of the set, we were the only ones on  ice so I asked him if that is the actual test. He said something that I thought it's yes and I perked up and present it at my best. When I realized it wasn't the test, I felt an adrenaline rush and a panic wondering if I'll have it in me to do it again... for all 3 dances.

The Swing Dance (here is my video from the test), is a longer dance. Its pattern goes around the full rink and you have to do it twice. It's done in a waltz hold and for half the women goes backward and for the other half the man goes backward. I wasn't too good on going backward both on my own and with a partner. As I didn't have enough speed I was feeling push backwards, not comfortable. Going forward with the coach going faster backwards wasn't comfortable either :( I've got passing average points on both technique and presentation and a comment that the dance felt cautious. Yeap, that's exactly how I felt.

The Cha Cha (here is the video) is a dance that goes just forward as the Preliminary ones. So it was my "better dance" from the 3. There was another student testing this, and my coach pull me back to let them go first so I can catch my breath and my composure. Those 10 seconds of resting helped... I've got points over the passing average (testing standard) on both technique and presentation.

The Fiesta Tango: (here is the video) has a quick inside Mohawk on which on the exit edge you keep the free foot at the ankle, you don't extend it. I wasn't used with both he quickness and not using the free leg as a balancing tool. I was usually doing it in practice but now at the test I was spent. I messed it up a little on both passes. I didn't actually mess up the Mohawk but I was slowing down more then acceptable and unable to continue going backwards confidently. My coach practically dragged me! I didn't get passing points on the technical part, but I got extra on presentation (hey, I love the tango rhythm) so the points added up to passing average.

I wasn't happy after the test. The redeeming experience was the yearly rink ice show where for the Ice Dancing number we did the Fiesta tango and I did reasonably well.