by Anne Calder | Banner Picture by Gina Capellazzi | Highlight Photographs by Robin Ritoss
Dancing on ice traces its origins again to the mid 1800’s as a social exercise. When determine skating was first launched to the Olympics as a sport in 1908, ice dance was not included. It took one other six many years for the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) to acknowledge its athleticism.
WINTER SPORTS IN THE SUMMER OLYMPICS
London, England hosted the 1908 Summer season Olympics. Determine Skating was contested on the Video games for the primary time. Almost six months after the Olympic opening ceremony, males and girls singles and pair groups competed at Prince’s Skating Membership in Knightsbridge October 28–29. The weird timing was as a result of the synthetic rink was a winter venue and never open throughout summer time months.
Twelve years later on the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, Ice hockey gamers joined the only and pair skaters as non-summer contributors. Competitions have been held on the Palais de Glace d’Anvers ice rink 4 months previous to the primary occasion to accommodate winter athletic situations and preserve ice on an indoor rink.
The Canadian hockey group, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons received gold. The U.S. and Czechoslovakia took residence silver and bronze. Belgium, France, Sweden and Switzerland additionally competed.
Theresa Weld (Blanchard) from the U.S. received the Girls single bronze medal. Along with skating associate, Nathanial Niles the duo positioned fourth in pairs.
FIRST WINTER OLYMPICS
The 1908 and 1920 summer time hosts didn’t have appropriate ice services for competitors. 4 years later, a separate Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France to permit a greater scheduling for ice and snow sports activities. Males and girls singles plus pair skating have been competed.
Ice Dance with its wealthy historical past and rising reputation was not but invited to the Olympic expertise.
By the 1930’s, England, Canada, Austria and the U.S. have been already holding nationwide competitions that included a number of obligatory dances, the unique dance, and the free dance. Nonetheless, the self-discipline must wait to compete on the Worldwide stage.
ICE DANCE COMPETES AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
In Paris, France on February 27, 1952 Ice Dance made it’s official World Determine Skating Championships debut. The groups skated 4 obligatory dances price 60% of the rating and a free dance. For the compulsories they drew Rocker Foxtrot; Westminster; Quickstep; Argentine Tango – the sample dances have been grouped in 4 classifications: Simple-waltz-fast-slow. All of the groups skated on the ice on the similar time.
British Ice dancers received the gold and silver medals starting an virtually two decade dominance of the game.
A kind of groups was Diane Towler & Bernard Ford who started altering the face of ice dance by introducing dangerous components in newbie competitions. As innovators within the mid 1960’s, they moved away from the extra formal ballroom types in the direction of artistic, theatrical choreography.
In 1966, the duo started their four-year run of British Nationwide, European and World Championship titles.
Previous to the closing ceremony on the 1968 Winter Video games, Towler & Ford joined groups from the 1967 World Championships to compete at an Olympic ice dance demonstration for the Worldwide Olympic Committee.
IOC President Avery Brundage, who initially had thought ice dance was not athletic sufficient, later described it as “sport, tradition, artwork and wonder and accredited it as an official Olympic sport efficient on the 1976 Video games.
Towler & Ford retired in 1969 after profitable their fourth World title. They carried out in ice reveals till Ford moved to Canada in 1971 and Towler returned to her unique ice rink in Streatham, England to teach.
As we speak she continues to mentor British ice dancers alongside facet her twin daughters Candice and Phillipa, who she educated within the sport as kids.
Lyudmila Pakhomova & Aleksandr Gorshkov Soviet Union) received their first worldwide medals in 1969 – silver on the World Championships and bronze at Europeans. In 1970, the 12 months after the British ice dancers retired, the Soviet husband and spouse received the primary of their 5 straight World Championship gold medals.
Solely six occasions within the subsequent three many years have been Soviet ice dance groups denied the highest spot on the World Championship podium.
Coincidentally, it was Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean, one other British group who received 4 of these titles – 1981-1984.
World Determine Skating Corridor of Fame inductees: Lyudmila Pakhomova & Aleksandr Gorshkov (1988), Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean (1989), Diane Tower-Inexperienced and Bernard Ford (1993).
1976 OLYMPICS
The 1976 Olympic Winter Video games have been initially awarded to Denver, Colorado USA. Nonetheless, in November 1972 the town withdrew its acceptance after a referendum to construct Olympic services was rejected.
The IOC later accepted Innsbruck, Austria’s provide to host the 1976 occasion.
Ice Dance had been competed internationally on the World Championships for 24 years, however by no means on the Olympics. Lastly inside Innsbruck’s Olympiahalle, the determine skating group witnessed its dream.
Lyudmila Pakhomova & Aleksandr Gorshkov’s efficiency to music composed by Henry Mancini for the film, Sunflower earned them the primary Olympic ice dance gold medal.
Irina Moiseeva & Andrei Minenkov (Soviet Union) received silver; Collene O’Connor & James Millns (USA) have been the bronze medalists. The People represented the Broadmoor Skating Membership in Colorado Springs, CO. simply 70 miles South down I-25 from Denver, the unique 1976 Winter Olympic Video games venue.
ICE DANCE POST-1976
- Soviet/Russian groups received each Olympic Ice Dance gold medal for 30 years (1976-2006).
Tessa Advantage & Scott Moir (2010-CAN), Meryl Davis & Charlie White (2014-USA), Tessa Advantage & Scott Moir (2018-CAN) created a North America Olympic gold medal breakthrough after the thirty 12 months Soviet/Russian Olympic medal dominance.
Tessa Advantage & Scott Moir (2010-CAN), Meryl Davis & Charlie White (2014-USA), Tessa Advantage & Scott Moir (2018-CAN) created a North America Olympic gold medal breakthrough after the thirty 12 months Soviet/Russian Olympic medal dominance.- French Connection: Ice dancers break Olympic profitable streaks twenty years aside. In 2002, Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat finish sixteen years of Russian gold medals. In 2022, Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron finish twelve years of North American gold medals.
- Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean created some of the iconic moments in ice dance historical past with their 1984 Olympic efficiency of Ravel’s Bolero. The mesmerizing gold medal free dance obtained 12 excellent 6.0s for inventive impression.
- Russians Oksana Grishuk & Evgeny Platov (1994,1998) and Canadians Tessa Advantage & Scott Moir (2010, 2018) received two Olympic gold medals.
- Soviets Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko have three Olympic medals – one among every colour – bronze (1984), silver (1988), gold (1992). The {couples}’ son, Anthony Ponomarenko will compete in ice dance with associate Christina Carreira representing the USA on the 2026 Milan Video games.
- After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian ice dance coaches and plenty of of their elite college students migrated to the U.S. and significantly affected the fashion and emphasis of the game.
- Coaching Facilities have been created within the USA (Michigan, Delaware, Lake Placid, NY, Philadelphia), Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver) and Europe (Italy, France, Germany, Finland) to offer services to additional develop ice dance.
Ice Dance is not thought-about too weak for the Olympics. In Milan, Italy starting on February 6, 2026 the world will see how the self-discipline has developed since its genesis centuries in the past.
